History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Personal Power Through Awareness: A Guidebook for Sensitive People (Book II of the Earth Life Series)

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Unorganized, scattered ideas..
Make positive and extremely beneficial changes in your life
As always a good book
Mark D. Hyde, Author of "Coloring Outside the Lines: One Gay Man's Journey to Self-Acceptance & Spiritual Awakening
My life is forever improved.

Personal Power Through Awareness: A Guidebook for Sensitive People (Book II of the Earth Life Series)
Sanaya Roman
Manufacturer: HJ Kramer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0915811049

Customer Reviews:

Unorganized, scattered ideas.........2007-08-28

I really hate to be the one to give this book a negative review, specially with all the positive reviews it has gotten so far, but honestly and truly this book did absolutely nothing for me. In fact, I did not get past the firt 2 chapters. I truly believe the Author holds wisdom in her words--I really do-- the only problem for me was that she(or the editor) did not take the time to focus her ideas one at a time and write them in a well-versed and organized format.

Almost every sentence is an advice on its own expressing a different idea to take in, and the reader is being told this and that relentlessly, but is it really getting through? You'll be left wondering if that sentence you just read was the same one you read in the previous paragraph. Didnt she just say that? These are some of the questions I kept asking myself. Alas, as hard as I tried, I could not finish the book.

Make positive and extremely beneficial changes in your life.......2007-08-09

Can't figure out why certain things are happening to or not working for you? You could possibly find the answer in here. "If any area of your life is not working, one of your beliefs in that area needs to be changed" -from the book.

Many universal laws and principles are covered in this book. ie: Energy and how to sense and work with it, love, forgiveness, pain, how your imagination is a very important tool, (and the way it works with your subconcious is pretty amazing.) Each chapter ends with a 'Playsheet' which is very helpful, and gives you excercises to think about and try for yourself.

Besides the abundance of information, another nice thing about this is, while it's great to start at the beginning and read through, you can open this up randomly and read something beneficial.

This is an 'Orin' book, which means evidently the book is channeled from this entity through Sanaya Roman. I've only read a few books that claimed to be 'channeled', and I don't have a problem with it especially when the information is geared towards helping people to make positive life changes. There are lots of ways to grow and learn from reading this book and applying the new knowledge.

As always a good book.......2007-08-07

I really love sanaya's books, they leave you with a warm feeling and an inner knowing. This book was very good but i wish there were more excersizes like her other books ie spiritual growth.

Mark D. Hyde, Author of "Coloring Outside the Lines: One Gay Man's Journey to Self-Acceptance & Spiritual Awakening.......2007-06-16

I initially read Personal Power through Awareness about a year and a half ago. I was COMPLETELY amazed. It felt as if this book had been written specifically for me. The adage, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear is absolutely true. Sanaya Roman's book encapsulated my entire stuggle for the first 35+ years of my life. I so desperately wanted to be the good son, the perfect minister, ideal Christian, husband, friend, employee, etc. I wanted to please everyone, but the one who matters most.....me. This book was momunental in helping me reclaim myself and getting in touch with my energy. I even quote the following reference in my own book. "Being alone, sitting quietly, allowing yourself to rest physically, emotionally, and mentally will give you an increasingly clear sense of self. In those still times you are not playing out any role or any identity, and your soul can speak to you more clearly. You have the clearest sense of your own energy when you are not around others, when you are alone." I just finished reading this book again and even after five times through it, I still walk away with something new, timely, pertinent, and extremely helpful. I have no doubt whatsoever that you will do the same.

My life is forever improved........2007-02-13

This book, as with all books by Sanaya Roman with Orin as her channel, has perminently improved my life. I understand so many wonderful things about the universe that I did not understand previously. I am experiencing joy and love at a whole new level. This book really prepared me for reading "Opening to Channel" by Sanaya. "Opening to Channel" is the greatest gift I have received from any book I have ever read. Although "Soul Love" also by Sanaya, may have benifited me as much and I may not realize it. When a person is ready for this information, it will improve their lives forever! I am gratful that I found these books.

The Principle of Mercy: Taking the Crucified People from the Cross

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The Principle of Mercy: Taking the Crucified People from the Cross
Jon Sobrino
Manufacturer: Orbis Books
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0883449862

Agricola and Germany (Oxford World's Classics)

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A review of A. R. Birleyýs translation of Tacitusý Agricola
Agricola and Germania
Beautiful writing. Fascinating. A very `readable' Classic.
Anyone interested in Rome needs to read Tacitus

Agricola and Germany (Oxford World's Classics)
Tacitus
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192833006

Book Description

`Long may the barbarians continue, I pray, if not to love us, at least to hate one another.' Cornelius Tacitus, Rome's greatest historian and the last great writer of classical Latin prose, produced his first two books in AD 98. He was inspired to take up his pen when the assassination of Domitian ended `fifteen years of enforced silence'. The first products were brief: the biography of his late father-in-law Julius Agricola and an account of Rome's most dangerous enemies, the Germans. Since Agricola's claim to fame was that as governor for seven years he had completed the conquest of Britain, begun four decades earlier, much of the first work is devoted to Britain and its people. The second is the only surviving specimen from the ancient world of an ethnographic study. Each in its way has had immense influence on our perception of Rome and the northern `barbarians'. This edition reflects recent research in Roman-British and Roman-German history and includes newly discovered evidence on Tacitus' early career.

Customer Reviews:

A review of A. R. Birleyýs translation of Tacitusý Agricola.......2000-10-31

Finally after 91 years of "scholarly" and mediocre translations of The Agricola by self appointed "learned academics" A. R. Birley has produced a work that demonstrates why Tacitus has been regarded as among the best historians and rhetoricians of antiquity. The beauty and the elegance of the original is apparent in this translation, that has been lacking since the translation of W. H. Fyfe in 1908. The love and the sense of loss that Tacitus had for his father in law is still apparent to us, who live two thousand years after them.

To illustrate the superiority of this translation a few examples follow:

The first example is the translation of the term "divus" as in "divus Augustus" or "divus Claudius". Fyfe translated this term as sainted, and Birley as deified. Both of these seem to be adequate renditions of the term. However the Leob Classical Library's translation, by M. Hutton, translates the term as "of happy memory." This is curious because in their edition they compare the original Latin on the left with the English on the right. One would think that one of Leob's editors would have just looked at the Latin to see if it at least resembled the English. But this is even preferable to the Penguin translation, by H. Mattingly revised by S. A. Handford, wherein they just dropped the term altogether. Apparently Messrs. Mattingly, Handford, and Hutton felt that we the reading public wouldn't understand roman titles of respect and sought to protect us from this pagan ritualism.

A second example occurs near the end of the third chapter when Tacitus laments the passage of fifteen years due to the tyranny of Domitian. Birley's (and Fyfe's was similar) translation reads; "So many years have been stolen from the middle of our lives, years in which those of us who were youths have become old men and the old men have reached almost the end of their allotted span - in silence." The Penguin translation reads; "since so many of our best years have been taken from us - years in which men in their prime have aged and old men have reached the extreme limit of mortality, without ever uttering a word." The Leob translation has, "for out of our prime have been blotted fifteen years, during which young men reached old age and old men the very bounds almost of decrepitude, and all without opening their lips." Apparently the Leob and Penguin translators wanted us (the reading public) to understand that the young are now old and the old almost dead, but in their haste to "dumb-down" the original they sacrificed the beauty, the brevity and the profound nature of Tacitus. Furthermore the Leob and Penguin translators apparently didn't realize that it was "us" that had aged and not other "young men" who had aged.

The final example is from the last paragraph of the Agricola. Birley's translation reads; "Many of the men of old will be buried in oblivion, inglorious and unknown. Agricola's story has been told for posterity and he will survive." The Penguin translation is close and reads; "With many it will be as with men who had no name or fame: they will be buried in oblivion. But Agricola's story is set on record for posterity, and he will live." But the Leob translation gives us; "Many of the ancients will forgetfulness engulf as though neither fame nor name were theirs. Agricola, whose story here is told, will outlive death, to be our children's heritage." The remarkable thing about the Leob translation is that it doesn't even resemble the Latin original with spurious details about children's heritage and engulfing forgetfulness. That is bad but Penguin is worse because the editors added a note that this last passage is "strange". They didn't realize that Tacitus had lifted a line from Horace. One must wonder why these "scholars" learned Latin in the first place if they weren't going read and study the classics. Maybe Penguin's editors simply thought we, the public, would be oblivious to other classical writers and would learn to hate the Romans as they so obviously do.

There are many other examples in both the Agricola and the Germania that I could quote however; that would serve no purpose. In conclusion this translation of the Agricola reminds me of why I admire and respect the writers of antiquity. Perhaps the reason that the ancients are no longer esteemed isn't because they are no longer relevant to our age but because of the miserable quality of recent translations.

Agricola and Germania.......2000-10-08

This book contains a pair of early works by the great Roman historian Tacitus. Agricola is an homage to the historian's father-in-law, a Roman governor in Britain during the 1st century A.D. Germania describes the German people and their culture during the same period.

The author's admiration for his late father-in-law is manifest in Agricola. Sometimes his admiration comes across as tender, sometimes as fawning. Tacitus writes near the crest of Roman world-domination (Americans take note). He frequently adopts the tone of a tourist in a third-world country -- sometimes looking down his nose at local customs, sometimes in fascination at a primitive culture that compares favorably to a Roman empire suffering decay and corruption. He is a loyal Roman and an educated man. As such, he can glorify Rome and, in the same breath, criticize Rome's tyranny and empathize with the empire's victims. Tacitus lends an eloquent voice to Rome's enemies and those facing enslavement. The speech (probably apocryphal) of Caledonian warlord Calgacus before the climactic battle of the Graupian mountain may be the best section of either book. Backed up to the northern tip of modern Scotland, Calgacus tries to rally his men before battle. "Now there is no people beyond us," he says, "nothing but tides and rocks and, more deadly than these, the Romans ... They have pillaged the world ... They plunder, they butcher, they ravage, and call it by the lying name of empire. They make a desert and call it peace."

Tacitus has no personal connection to any person in the second book, Germania. His writing is more sterile here, but he provides a captivating description that seems part based on observation and part on rumor.

Tacitus is a pithy writer, given to understatement and the wry aside. The translator does a tremendous job of carrying these qualities across in English. Important books both, Agricola and Germania provide some of our only glimpses of the early ancestors of the English people, the Anglo-Saxons and the Britons.

Beautiful writing. Fascinating. A very `readable' Classic........2000-07-26

Tacitus' opens up a lost world before the Christians in what was, for many of us, our mother countries - Britian and Germany. The book is divided in two; the first piece `Agricola' (farmer)is named after the father-in-law of Tacitus. Tacitus gives us part biography and part eulogy in order to confer immortality on Agricola's memory at the edge of Empire among the barbarians. Agricola was loved and honoured by Tacitus, and Tacitus gives an account of his military and political triumphs before being called to Rome. For anyone interested in early British history, warfare or pagan themes observed first hand, this is a must have.

The second part is an amazing series of geograpgical, religious, and general cultural observations among the Germans. In this age of political correctness, Tacitus' observations are a delicious treat of unfettered notation of racial difference and character that still ring guiltily true about the Germans (good and bad), especially in the first half of the last century. "Their holy places are the woods and groves, and they call by the name of god that hidden presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence." ... "They count, not like us, by days, but by nights." ... "No form of approval can carry more honour than praise expressed by arms."

Great stuff. Short, entertaining and informative of another time and place.

Anyone interested in Rome needs to read Tacitus.......2000-06-10

This is a good edition of two of Tacitus' works, the Agricola, which is a short biography of his father-in-law, and the Germania, a look at the Roman view of the Germans (timely at the moment in view of the opening scenes of Ridley Scott's film "Gladiator"). I am especially fond of the Agricola, in particular the last few pages, where Tacitus is finished with the biography and can speak about Agricola like a son. His love and admiration for his father-in-law still reaches us, almost 2000 years later. Anyone interested in Rome owes it to themselves to read the source documents, and this is a good start.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples

Average customer rating:

Worthy Topic.
Not easy reading, but worth the effort
A very interesting yet complex read
Quite Lovely
Dryest Read ever Written

The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples
Herwig Wolfram
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0520085116

Book Description

The names of early Germanic warrior tribes and leaders resound in songs and legends; the real story of the part they played in reshaping the ancient world is no less gripping. Herwig Wolfram's panoramic history spans the great migrations of the Germanic peoples and the rise and fall of their kingdoms between the third and eighth centuries, as they invaded, settled in, and ultimately transformed the Roman Empire.
As Germanic military kings and their fighting bands created kingdoms, and won political and military recognition from imperial governments through alternating confrontation and accommodation, the "tribes" lost their shared culture and social structure, and became sharply differentiated. They acquired their own regions and their own histories, which blended with the history of the empire. In Wolfram's words, "the Germanic peoples neither destroyed the Roman world nor restored it; instead, they made a home for themselves within it."
This story is far from the "decline and fall" interpretation that held sway until recent decades. Wolfram's narrative, based on his sweeping grasp of documentary and archaeological evidence, brings new clarity to a poorly understood period of Western history.

Customer Reviews:

Worthy Topic. .......2006-02-24

After a brief narrative of early German history, he gives thorough details on the individual peoples or tribal confederations. Actually, you could read ch.15 first and then go to the Introduction. The main emphasis is on the Danubian Goths. He gives a good structural analysis of their institutions and how they blended with Roman culture. His thesis that the majority of Germanic peoples wanted to become part of the Roman World does seem to be valid to this ancient history buff. The German Kings do appear to have tried to maintain both the socio-economic conditions and Administration. It is a vivid picture of an often neglected subject. There is a good bibliography and a plethora of footnotes to research further. The omission of the Franks, who arguably were the most influential is why I'm deducting one star.

Not easy reading, but worth the effort.......2003-11-08

My reason for reading this book is that I wanted to know more about Roman Germany after visiting several sites in West Germany. I've had a lifelong interest in the Roman Empire and loved my Latin classes in high school. Since then I've occasionally read books about the Roman Empire. I am certainly not an expert in this field. This particular book is not easy reading. It is a serious, scholarly work in a solemn translation from the German. However, if one has the patience to plow through, it can be quite rewarding and provocative. I felt I was tracing the roots of our own culture when the author showed that so many of the tribes had a religion around a sacred sword. The author didn't mention Excalibur, but it immediately came to mind.

Roman Germany turned out to be far different than I had simplistically imagined. It was not a matter of conquering and occupying. There was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on. One system simply evolved into another over time. This book was tremendously informative to me. I feel that my understanding of the so-called "Dark Ages" is radically improved. As I said, this is not an easy read. It takes time and concentration. But I felt it was worth it.

A very interesting yet complex read.......2003-08-03

This book, a survey of the histories of the various so-called Germanic tribes that eventually assumed control of Europe, spanning the years from roughly 250AD to somewhere around 800AD. One of Wolfram's main theses is that the actual barbarian "invasions" were events that were much more complicated than a simple onslaught of Germanic hordes. He does a relatively good job in describing how exactly the migrations took place. Along the way, he gives the reader some good ideas about how the Germanic tribes functioned as societies.

This is an enormously complicated subject. I'm sure no two people agree on everything involved, but I must take issue to some of the criticisms that has been written here. First, this is no easy book to read. It's a history book written by and for specialists. So, it's not simply a narrative of events that happened; there's a great deal of analysis and moving back and forth in time in order to make comparisons. He does provide a time-line, though. Nevertheless, it's going to be rough-going for someone looking for a quick scan of the topic.

As for Wolfram's sources, most of them are Roman texts or in German (the book itself is a translation from the German). There's nothing quoted here that's any more spurious than any other history book I've read. In fact, Wolfram spends a lot of time weeding out what's reliable in the Roman sources and what isn't.

Lastly, it should be pointed out that another of Wolfram's big points is to distinguish the Germanic tribes as political units as opposed to ethnic units (and thus somehow "related" to modern Germans). He's very effective at convincing me at least that most of these tribes were ethnically polyglots that subsumed various "races" according to political and economic need.

Quite Lovely.......2003-06-05

The author presents a truly enlightening study of how the Empire absorbed the Germanic tribes, as well as the ultimate effect of the powerful Roman cultural hegemony on outlying provinces. As an Ancient Rome buff, I find this a necessary counterweight to Gibbon's "Decline and Fall..."

Dryest Read ever Written.......2002-11-26

Only read this book if you are forced to. Not a casual read. Author bounces around dates with wreckless abandon. Accuracy is highly questionable.

Inside the Vatican (National Geographic)

Average customer rating:

FABULOUS!
All I Expected, and More
The Church that Peter Built - a Pictorial of the Holy Sea
Good pictures but ruined by the excessive glue
Skimpy on the ART

Inside the Vatican (National Geographic)
Bart Mcdowell
Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0792252977
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

"I was given the rare opportunity to lift the veil of privacy for a privileged look inside the Vatican," writes photographer James L. Stanfield in his foreword to this book.

For nearly a year, seven days a week, Stanfield photographed virtually every corner of the 108.7-acre enclave that is both the world's smallest nation and the center of the world's largest religious body, the Roman Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II, the Roman Curia, the color and pomp of centuries-old ceremonies, the wondrous art and architecture, the daily lives of ordinary citizens -- all are part of Stanfield's unprecedented coverage.

Author Bart McDowell guides you through this extraordinary place. He begins with a historical perspective, going back to ancient times when the area, known as the Vaticanus, was a marshland infamous for snakes and malaria. In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine built a great basilica there, the first St. Peter's; around it grew a settlement that would become home to the popes and territorial base of the church for most of its succeeding history.

In subsequent chapters, McDowell explains the workings of the Holy See, the church's labyrinthine government. He introduces many of the people who make their living in the Vatican. And he takes you into one of the world's great collections of paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, and other treasures. In a final chapter he presents the modern popes, particularly the charismatic John Paul II.

Through beautiful and exclusive photographs and revealing text, Inside the Vatican celebrates a small, dynamic community unique in the world.

Customer Reviews:

FABULOUS!.......2007-09-03

Absolutely gorgeous and chock full of fascinating information written from a very personal perspective. Well done.

All I Expected, and More.......2007-06-08

This is a lovely book. The pictures are beautiful and there were lots of them. But it is not just a picture book- it is full of information about The Vatican that I had never heard before. I didn't know that there were pinball machines and kiddie pools there-- for the families who live and work there. I thought that was an interesting facet of life behind Vatican walls. I especially liked the maps- they gave me a greater sense of how big Vatican City really is. The book certainly captures the granduer and splendor of this wonderful place.

The Church that Peter Built - a Pictorial of the Holy Sea.......2007-03-18

The Vatican is the centerpoint for the world's Catholics and this is a picture book that captures the extraordinary architecture of Rome's most famous religious landmark. "Peter built the church on the rock of our faith" ... and what it became was The Vatican. Inside the Vatican is a stunning look at what happens when all roads lead to Rome.

Good pictures but ruined by the excessive glue.......2006-09-24

Like most of National Geographic publications, this book has the flaw of excessive glue used in binding resulting in the center of two pages being glued together. It can not be spread apart without ruining the pictures.
Interesting enough, this always happened at pictures of significance,
which covers two facing pages, such as the creation of Adam from the
ceiling of sistine chapel,the School of Athens by Raphael, and many others. If you are like me who adores beautiful images or paintings and
can not tolerate imperfection, do not buy this book because most of the
pictures are glued together in the central portion and can not be spread open without ruining it.

Skimpy on the ART.......2002-01-03

If you can get this book used for under $10 dollars

AND...

You are interested in the whole workings of the Vatican National Geographic sytle, buy it it, is a great book from that perspective.

It is not an over $20 dollar art book because a large number of pages which could have been used for images are wasted on oversize text. Five pages of the books text could have fit on one page.

The photographs are great, but they are of everything including wasted full page close ups of guards. If you want a general book on the vatican this book delivers......but if you thought that "Inside the Vatican" meant a lot of art you might not see otherwise this is not the right book for the price.
It is not an Art book like one thinks of with Konemann books, there are some good photos and enough for a general book like this but it does not have enough art to warrant the price, then again I guess no one really said it was supposed to be art book.
I have written this review just as a warning for some people who might think that there is a lot of art here.....it is not an art book. This fact is kind of a shame because after 65% of the book is finished and it finally does get to the "Treasures section" the photographs are decent, however it makes you wonder why did we need a whole page close up of a guards face and only a quarter page on some of the art.
The Wonderful frescoes of the Vatican are very few and most are the usual 4 token shots of the Sistine chapel.
The wonderful Hall of Constantine isnt covered at all. I agree with all the other reviewers, if you are a National Geographic format fan, this is one of their best efforts.

But....The wrong pictures are too big, the right pictures are too small, the really wonderful pictures never made it into the book, and way, way, too much space is dedicated to oversize text.

I bought it used, do the same, it is not a new full price book,
there is enough for under $10 even if your main interest is art but you will not get as "Inside the Vatican" as you might with other books about the Vatican Art.

Good Pope pictures, Pope-Mobile pictures, and that sort of thing
and good "Quick read history".

Average customer rating:

Interesting, easy read

Between Heaven and Earth: The Religious Worlds People Make and the Scholars Who Study Them
Robert A. Orsi
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Relating Religion: Essays in the Study of Religion

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The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, Second Edition

ASIN: 069112776X

Book Description

Between Heaven and Earth explores the relationships men, women, and children have formed with the Virgin Mary and the saints in twentieth-century American Catholic history, and reflects, more broadly, on how people live in the company of sacred figures and how these relationships shape the ties between people on earth. In this boldly argued and beautifully written book, Robert Orsi also considers how scholars of religion occupy the ground in between belief and analysis, faith and scholarship.

Orsi infuses his analysis with an autobiographical voice steeped in his own Italian-American Catholic background--from the devotion of his uncle Sal, who had cerebral palsy, to a "crippled saint," Margaret of Castello; to the bond of his Tuscan grandmother with Saint Gemma Galgani.

Religion exists not as a medium of making meanings, Orsi maintains, but as a network of relationships between heaven and earth involving people of all ages as well as the many sacred figures they hold dear. Orsi argues that modern academic theorizing about religion has long sanctioned dubious distinctions between "good" or "real" religious expression on the one hand and "bad" or "bogus" religion on the other, which marginalize these everyday relationships with sacred figures.

This book is a brilliant critical inquiry into the lives that people make, for better or worse, between heaven and earth, and into the ways scholars of religion could better study of these worlds.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, easy read.......2007-05-14

Orsi's book is an interesting intro to some of the issues facing religious studies scholars. It presents the issues of how to study a religious community and what difficulties arise in doing so. For the reader less interested in the academic field of religious studies, there is still a wealth of information on religion in America, especially the history and development of American Catholicism.

The book is accessible to a wide audience and is the kind of work that makes for good dicussions with a variety of different types of groups. I will add, however, that for those who are already sufficiently aware of the problems of doing anthropological research on religious communities, it offers little that is new or insightful.

Average customer rating:

WOW
The West is Best
Written for a Historian Already Familiar with the History of Rome
Clear; perfect balance of detail and swiftness.
Third Edition Bought Through Link

A History of the Roman People
Allen M. Ward , Fritz M. Heichelheim , and Cedric A. Yeo
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130384801

Book Description

Extensively revised, this survey of Roman history takes readers on a fascinating journey from prehistoric Italy to the death of Justinian (565 A.D.). Centered around a traditional political and military narrative core, it presents in-depth coverage of social, economic, and cultural developments, making continual references throughout of supporting evidence and providing up-to-date explanations based on the evidence and current scholarship.Considers new archaeological evidence, advances in historical demography, and recently excavated and restudied artifacts to shed new light on our understanding of the origins and early development of Rome. Provides source analyses at the beginning of all major chronological periods, constant cross-references to other relevant pages, and chronological reminders to keep readers oriented. Rewrites sections on the Regal, early Republican, and late Imperial periods to incorporate latest research and provide more social and cultural history, with major sections added on women and the growth and impact of Christianity. Also includes additional, upgraded maps throughout. For historians.

Customer Reviews:

WOW.......2007-03-16

This is the best book on Roman history that is out there.

JPD, HIS/SS B.S. Ed.

The West is Best.......2005-12-06

This could not have been an easy book to write. It is the "gold standard" college textbook on Roman History. As a textbook, one assumes that it is used in conjunction with the instruction of a competent academic teaching a course on Roman History. Therein lies the rub. It would help to have some background in the History of Antiquity at a bare minimum to read this book. And yet at least as regards the Empire in the West, the book misses next to nothing. It took Theodor Mommsen 1700 odd pages in his masterwork "Roman History" to get to the end of the Republic. Factually the book is spot on 99.9% of the time. Interpretively there is room for some quibbles in certain areas by the extremely knowledgeable in the field. For example, both Stegemann and Malina would see some things differently.

The writing style is straigtforward and academic. The amount of information packed in this book is amazing considering its size. If this leads to less than vibrant prose, so be it. There really is no replacement for this book. Judicious and circumscribed as the content may seem absolutely nothing is overlooked regarding Roman in the West at least up to 500 CE. Beyond that the consideration of the Eastern Roman Empire seems attenuated by a Euro-Centered bias. The East is fairly well covered if it is interacting with the West, and far less well covered on its own. Once there is no more Roman Empire in the West, Byzantine History is even more compressed. However, there are still some very interesting observations and information regarding the East inspite of this economy of words. My simple solution is to read Warren Treadgold's history of Byzantium as soon as you finish this book. That will provide you with another 800 odd pages of reading.

Rome was around for a long time. It ruled a good portion of the known world for at least a thousand years. There is no good "Reader's Digest" version of its history available. One should consider this mandatory reading if one wishes to pursue an understanding of the topic. But, if you wish to understand everything you read in this book come prepared. It is not unreasonable to think that a basic grasp of Roman History would entail reading ten to fifteen thousand pages of material, and that would leave no particular room for specialized interests. Either you make the commitment or you do not. That is your choice.

Written for a Historian Already Familiar with the History of Rome.......2005-09-29

This is a poorly written, textbook style book. It is an extremely boring read.

The book focuses on the sources of information used by historians as much as the history itself. The large amount of text dedicated to the early (pre-historic) history was not made meaningful in the context of how Rome developed.

If you want an overview of how The Roman Empire developed I would suggest you search elsewhere.

Clear; perfect balance of detail and swiftness. .......2005-05-28

I have assigned this book to my students who uniformly praise its clarity. It is as easy to read as a college history book can be without being weak and "lite." I cannot imagine how they condensed this so skillfully. I think it would be fine for an honors high school class as well. One of its many virtues is the extremely clear boldface section and paragraph headings which make it easy for me to assign my students to read selectively if necessary. There is plenty of "cultural" (non-military, non-political) material as well as a few well-chosen pictures. This book is practical and efficient without being dumbed down or watered down.In addition, unlike certain books often assigned in Roman civilization courses, there is no visible political bias here, right or left. The emphasis is on comprehensibility of main events, themes, etc. I would recommend it not only for Roman history courses but also for Roman civilization courses since students really do want a chronological framework and some detail on politics, in my experience at least.

Third Edition Bought Through Link.......2005-02-02

I purchased the third edition to avoid one world indoctrination, political correctness, and revisionism. I have not read the fourth edition and cannot speak about it.

If anyone is concerned about the same, the third edition is a "bring your own personal beliefs," and is wonderful. I can't recommend it enough.

A small handful of books are being reproduced from antiquity by concerned people who do not want themselves or their children taught from the present day books. I would nominate the third edition as one of those excellent and "safe" books. This is an academic classic.

This book is worthy of being pulled from antiquity. It is such fine work and so enjoyable to read. I had bought it for personal pleasure and love it. I intend to keep this book as one of my favorite "read and rereads."

A person is simply going to be highly entertained with this book. The details! The information! The pictures! It's just packed!

Daily Life in Ancient Rome : The People and the City at the Height of the Empire

Average customer rating:

Difficult to get through
Daily Life in Ancient Rome
Ditto, ditto; don't-miss reading for fans of ancient Rome
The Sharp Contrasts of Roman Society.
A modern classic on social customs in Imperial Rome.

Daily Life in Ancient Rome : The People and the City at the Height of the Empire
Jerome Carcopino
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0300000316

Book Description

This classic book brings to life imperial Rome as it was during the second century A.D., the time of Trajan and Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus. It was a period marked by lavish displays of wealth, a dazzling cultural mix, and the advent of Christianity. The splendor and squalor of the city, the spectacles, and the day's routines are reconstructed from an immense fund of archaeological evidence and from vivid descriptions by ancient poets, satirists, letter-writers, and novelists-from Petronius to Pliny the Younger. In a new Introduction, the eminent classicist Mary Beard appraises the book's enduring-and sometimes surprising-influence and its value for general readers and students. She also provides an up-to-date bibliographic essay.

Customer Reviews:

Difficult to get through.......2006-11-03

I suppose if one looked closely at all of the information available at Amazon, one could learn that this book was written about fifty years ago. I suspect that the original was written in the author's mother tongue (Italian) and this is a painfully translated version. I found it to be very difficult and tedious reading.

Daily Life in Ancient Rome.......2002-04-01

A highly engaging, well thought-out book. The author dares to have an opinion--very refreshing.
The upper classes were diminished by low birth rates and had to be augmented by people who, several generations ago, were slaves. Those of the upper classes who survived considered the burden of empire too great they simply could not provide the leadership or the administration necessary for such a great enterprise. Finally, the education system did not teach their upper-class students to wrestle with real-life problems, and completely avoided subjects like philosophy and science which could have given them the enthusiasm and the tools to beneficially modify their society.

I sense the beginnings of some of the unfortunate Latin traits which followed the Iberians to South America.

Ditto, ditto; don't-miss reading for fans of ancient Rome.......2001-10-28

Were it not for the customer reviews below, I would have rejected this book for having three strikes against it: it was written in 1940, an English translation (groan) from French, and published by a university press -- a prescription for dated unreadablity. But not so! Though at first the typeface and writing style feel a little anachronistic (and the first chapter does NOT represent the richness to come), it quickly becomes charming and flowing. And what a bounty of fascinating detail is packed into its pages!
I wholly agree with what my unknown compatriots below have said. I can only add that I finished it with that rare, dejected feeling of "Oh, no! I've run out of book!"

The Sharp Contrasts of Roman Society........1999-04-12

Reading Jérôme Carcopino's timeless account of life in ancient Rome brings the reader back to the dark, narrow, crowded Roman streets, flanked on both sides by teetering, five-story tenements. Although written in a style of long ago, therein lies the charm of this book. Jérôme Carcopino has effortlessly summoned 1st and 2nd Century Rome back to life. And what a society of contrasts he evokes: on the one hand, the highly refined aspects of Roman society, epitomized by the public baths, the public parks, the theater, and the dinners hosted by the wealthy for their friends; on the other hand, he describes compellingly the dark side of Roman society, in particular, slavery and the gladiatorial games which entertained the Roman public with the appallingly casual slaughter of both man and beast. His detailed accounts depict horrific spectacles pitting man against man, man against beast, beast against beast -- and woman against dwarf. The most interesting part of his book, though, is his insight respecting the toxic impact slavery had upon Roman society, both upon the poor pleb in general and upon the Roman family in particular. This book is a must for anyone captivated by Roman social history.

A modern classic on social customs in Imperial Rome........1997-09-09

Jerome Carcopino's scholarly work on how the Romans of the second century A.D. saw and lived their lives has been in print for almost 60 years, and with good reason. This book provides, in addition to the basic facts and figures, a poignant commentary on the people and their times. Always reflective, the author does not hesitate to express his opinions (often in the first person) on his ancient subjects, whether they inspire admiration or revulsion. To bolster these opinions, he frequently quotes the views of contemporary scholars as well as ancient sources. While much of the text related to the modern era is dated and the archeological research treated as "recent" may have occurred very early in our century, "Daily Life in Ancient Rome" does not need updating or revising. The basic premise of the book, i.e., the social life and customs of the Romans, remains unaffected by the passage of time. Furthermore, the unaltered text and its references give us an interesting glimpse of Roman archeology and historical writing during the first half of the twentieth century and earlier. E. O. Lorimer's English translation of the original French text is fluid and well structured, while the bibliography and notes by Henry T. Rowell are excellent. "Daily Life in Ancient Rome" is a welcome reference for the student of Roman history

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