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.

What Have They Done with Jesus?: Beyond Strange Theories and Bad History--Why We Can Trust the Bible

Average customer rating:

Tackling the revisionist theories on Christ
Taking on the revisionists
Good - wonderfully takes you through the lives of those closest to Jesus and His Life through their eyes.
very readable for the layperson and for the seminarian
A fine addition

What Have They Done with Jesus?: Beyond Strange Theories and Bad History--Why We Can Trust the Bible
Ben Witherington Iii
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Bible & Other Sacred Texts | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0061120014
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Book Description

Strange theories about Jesus seem to ooze from our culture with increasing regularity. Ben Witherington, one of the top Jesus scholars, will have none of it. There were no secret Gnostic teachings in the first century. With leading scholars and popular purveyors of bad history in his crosshairs, Witherington reveals what we can—and cannot—claim to know about the real Jesus. The Bible, not outside sources, is still the most trustworthy historical record we have today.

Utilizing a fresh "personality profile" approach, Witherington highlights core Christian claims by investigating the major figures in Jesus's inner circle of followers: Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Peter, James the brother of Jesus, Paul, and the mysterious "beloved disciple." In each chapter Witherington satisfies our curiosities and answers the full range of questions about these key figures and what each of them can teach us about the historical Jesus. What Have They Done with Jesus? is a vigorous defense of traditional Christianity that offers a compelling portrait of Jesus's core message according to those who knew him best.

Customer Reviews:

Tackling the revisionist theories on Christ.......2007-08-02

Regardless of where you stand, Ben Witherington III is considered by biblical scholars to be a heavyweight contender. The title to this book sounded interesting to me, so I decided to check it out. In this book Witherington overviews the people in Jesus' live, including the disciples, the women, and Paul. I found the overview refreshing, as most of the information is not new, but it helped remind me of keeping things in historical perspective. Witherington believes that we ought to consider the earliest documents first and foremost while taking the gnostic gospels and later additions with a grain of salt. So many scholars who we see on the Easter television shows don't have that same perspective, and so we end up getting some fascinating theories that just don't have any basis in fact. Yet how many viewers walk away from the DaVinci Code-type information and doubt the historicity of the Christian church? It has to be confusing for the typical lay audience.

I found several things most fascinating. First, I had never heard Lazarus as a possibility for the disciple whom Jesus loved. This theory hit me for a loop. I'm not sure he fully convinced me, but I'm going to have to consider it more than I did before I knew it was even a valid theory. I also had never thought much about Joanna being Junia. That was interesting to me as well. In addition, I appreciate the fact that Witherington changed his mind about phileo/agape Peter/Jesus dialogue in John 21. Sometimes we get so hung up on our beliefs that it's hard to change, so I guess it was refreshing to hear that this scholar was willing to say, "Hey, I changed my mind." May I be as open-minded.

The book is profitable and so I recommend it for those searching for the historical Jesus.

Taking on the revisionists.......2007-07-17

Common to the Christological revisionists are claims that there are lost or suppressed Christianities, and that there is a radical discontinuity between who Jesus really was and how he was represented by his early - and later - followers. What much of this amounts to is an attempt to rewrite history, to undermine the reliability of the New Testament, and to recreate Jesus in the image of liberal scholarship.

Thus we need once again to determine just who Jesus really was, and what in fact was his message. And the best way to do that, argues New Testament scholar Ben Witherington, it to get back to the inner circle of Jesus. Those who were closest to him or knew him best are our most reliable guides to what he believed and what the early faith was all about. This book provides a close look at this so-called inner circle. It carefully examines those from Jesus' own physical family: Mary, James and Jude; as well as Peter, the Beloved Disciple, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Paul.

Taken together, their testimonies help us understand who Jesus was, and what his core message was. A close examination of these individuals reveals that they all agree to a common understanding of the man and his mission.

Witherington argues that no wide wedge can be driven between these close associates and their take on Jesus, and that of Jesus himself. Consider James, the brother of Jesus, and the first leader of the post-Easter Jesus movement. The contents of the epistle that bears his name are remarkably similar to that of the most basic teachings of Jesus.

For example, one can find over two dozen close similarities between what is found in his epistle and what is recorded in the Sermon on the Mount. This demonstrates, in part, that James is quite familiar with the sayings of Jesus in some form. Says Witheringtom, "the letter of James is deeply indebted to the Jesus tradition".

And the oft-heard contentions that James and Paul are fundamentally at odds, or that Paul has radically reinterpreted Jesus, are far from the truth. There are admittedly differences of emphasis between Paul - the missionary to the Gentiles - and James - who ministered to Jewish believers - but their basic message is the same, centred on a high view of Christ and his saving work.

And Paul's theology flows out of the life and teaching of Jesus. He is no inventor of new theologies, but a faithful witness to the Jesus story. His message is fully in accord with the others of the Jesus circle. Any differences among them, suggests Witherington, are primarily ecclesiological in nature, not Christological.

The inner circle stands in complete continuity with Jesus and his message. And the message they spread was quite congruous. Says Witherington, "the earliest Christian leaders were remarkably similar in their beliefs about the divinity of Jesus, the way of salvation, and basic ethics".

The idea that they, or others, have somehow misrepresented Jesus or departed from his words and teachings is simply without any firm evidence, argues Witherington. Indeed, the idea that there were competing Christianities during the first century is simply incorrect. The kind of Gnostic gospels and alternative Christianities that many modern liberal theologians seek to argue for simply were not in existence during the time of the very early church, but instead begin to appear in the second to the fourth centuries.

"It is pointless to talk about `lost Christianities' if we are talking about the apostolic age," says Witherington, "because there were no forms of Christianity like later Gnosticism already extant in the first century." Indeed, "as far as we know there were no forms of earliest Christianity that did not worship Jesus as crucified and risen Lord".

The earliest leaders of the Jesus movement shared a very high Christology, and a common understanding of the basic Christian message. Indeed, all the New Testament documents "can be traced back directly or indirectly to the inner circle of Jesus," and all 27 New Testament documents present a messianic picture of Jesus.

Asks Witherington, who should we most heavily rely upon: The inner circle of Jesus or later Gnostic writings? The inner circle had "more than enough living contact with the historical Jesus to remember who Jesus was, what his teaching was like, and what claims (implicit or explicit) he made of a messianic nature".

Concludes Witherington, "There is no nonmessianic Jesus to be found at the bottom of the well of history".

It is imperative that the new Christological revisionism is challenged historically and biblically. That Witherington does here to great effect.

Good - wonderfully takes you through the lives of those closest to Jesus and His Life through their eyes........2007-05-31

Ben makes an excellent case for the historicity of the NT and for the person, life and work of Jesus of Nazareth! In most cases his research is superb, and he arrives at his deductions and conclusions carefully and brilliantly. After reading this book, there can be no question in anyone's mind about the historicity of the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. And books like the Da Vinci code and Gnostic philosophies simply do not stand.

In his attempt to show how impossible it was for these first eye-witnesses to concoct the Resurrection and spread the Christian faith however, I think Ben takes certain leaps which may not entirely be warranted. For instance, he does not satisfactorily address the issues of Mary the mother of Jesus perpetual virginity and the rival claims that Jesus' brothers were really Joseph's former sons or his cousins. I also do not think it is possible to conclude that Mary the mother of Jesus was assertive or did not believe He was the Messiah from the one passage we have in Mark Ch. 3 . Lastly, while Ben makes an excellent case for the authorship of the 4th Gospel, that may be exactly what it is, a hypothesis.

That said, the book itself is wonderful reading and anyone who is confused about the nature of the early church or what the first Christians believed would greatly benefit from reading it. When it comes to NT times, culture, history and the person of Christ, the book is first-class. For those interested in even better reading, I would recommend "Simply Christian" and "Challenge of Jesus" by N.T. Wright.

very readable for the layperson and for the seminarian.......2007-05-16

Witherington's book is an excellent scholarly work which he obviously has researched and put a lot of thought into. He clearly explains his views, and provides very rational arguments for why he holds the views he does. I had a hard time putting it down.

I think this book would be an excellent read for skeptics and non-Christians simply because of Witherington's convincing style and expertise on the subject with which he writes.

A fine addition .......2007-02-04

There are many strange theories about Jesus, but they don't come from Ben Witherington II, a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary and the author of over thirty books on the subject. His title probes what is known and what cannot be known about the Jesus presented in the Bible, dispelling myths, using a 'personality profile' to illustrate basic Christian claims, and drawing important connections between key historical figures and the Jesus image. It's a fine addition to both general-interest Christian libraries and the holdings of more advanced, college-level seminary readers alike.

Judas and the Gospel of Jesus: Have We Missed the Truth about Christianity?

Average customer rating:

The Gnostic Gospels
Topsy Turvy
Solid and timely effort from Tom Wright
No more Mr. Nice Guy
answering the modern heretics

Judas and the Gospel of Jesus: Have We Missed the Truth about Christianity?
N. T. Wright
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Apocrypha | Bible & Other Sacred Texts | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0801012945
Release Date: 2006-10-01

Book Description

Joining many other recently found and publicized ''gospels,'' the Gospel of Judas has found its way into the limelight as the subject of some recently published books and some recent television programming. The ancient manuscript is genuine-so what are Christians to make of the claims therein? Claims such as: Judas was doing what Jesus asked him to do when he betrayed Jesus; Jesus came to offer secret knowledge of how to escape this earthly world, rather than to usher in God's kingdom on earth; Jesus felt no pain on the cross, and more. This timely and necessary response to the Gospel of Judas is the authoritative, orthodox word on what it really tells us--and does not tell us--about Jesus, Judas, early Christianity, and Gnosticism. Tom Wright, as both a bishop and an historian, is uniquely qualified to speak on the subject and answers the questions Christians have after encountering this ''new gospel.''

Customer Reviews:

The Gnostic Gospels .......2007-10-01

This book was really helpful in giving me an insight into, not only the gospel of Judas, but also the topic of Gnosticism and the way in which it varies from what could be regarded as main stream Christian teaching. It was extremely readable and answered by questions on the topic. A valuable addition to my library.

Topsy Turvy.......2007-08-10

New Testament scholar and Anglican Bishop N. T. Wright admits that when first hearing of the recently published Gospel of Judas his initial reaction was something on the lines of "Not another one of those gospels!" This was not to dispute the importance of the find for historical scholarship which Wright concedes is significant. It merely reflects his understanding that cranks, pseudo-scholars, and a gullible and willing press would turn the find into an attack on traditional Christian beleifs and use it to "prove" their were viable alternatives to the four gospels included in the New Testament. In this judgment, Wright has been unfortunately been proven correct.

Wright responds to the hysteria generated by the media coverage in Judas and the Gospel of Jesus: Have We Missed the Truth About Christianity? - a clear, concise exposition of what this new "gospel" is and what it is not. Those familiar with Wright's rebuttals of radical revisionist New Testament "scholarship" know that he does not suffer fools gladly and so it is the case he as he completely skewers the claims of those promoting this newly discovered text as challenging the preconceptions about the Christian faith. As Wright points out repeatedly, this text comes from a period nearly a century after the New Testament gospels and so while they can tell us much about what was going on in the gnostic movement, they can tell us nothing about the real Jesus and Judas.

Despite the fact that the various gnostic movements did not have the internal cohesion to put forward a unified doctrinal synthesis, Wright correctly points out that there were defining tenets that identified a movement as gnostic. The key among these were the following four points: the belief that the material world is inherently bad; the belief that the material world is the work of an inferior - and perhaps evil - god; the belief that salvation is achieved by escaping the material world for a higher plane of existence; the belief that the salvific escape from the evils of this world is gained through the knowledge provided by the group's leaders. Naturally, such an outlook would take a dim view of the Jewish emphasis on the redemption of the material world and thus would see the God of the Old Testament as the material world's capricious creator. Considering one of the claims against by contemporary apologists for the gnostics against traditional Christianity is its alleged anti-Semitism, Wright quite correctly replies that it was the gnostics who rejected any Jewish influence and the orthodox Christians who kept the link to Judaism alive and would identify the God of the Old Testament with the Triune God of the Christian faith.

It is in fact the anti-Jewish elements of gnosticism that make the Gospel of Judas possible. Given that they saw the Apostles' maintanence of the link to Judaism objectionable and their belief in a bodily ressurection as abhorent, there was an inherent desire to turn everything topsy-turvy. Figures such as Judas, Cain, and in some cases even Satan himself are turned into heroes while the Apostles, Moses, and the prophets become distorters of the true faith.

In analyzing the two possiblilties of Jesus founding a movement steeped in Jewish belief in the Kingdom of God or something akin to the gnostic view, Wright forcefully asserts the belief in a gnostic Jesus, when the evidence is weighed, as incredible and forced. The "spin" given to gnosticism is the creation of a new myth of Christian origins that gives pride of place to those outside orthodox Christianity despite the overwhelming evidence against it. It is in many ways a reflection a type of gnostic leaning that has infected American Protestantism for some time. It is an elitist view that places self-fulfillment over religious tradition and is manifested in both liberal revisionism and conservative individualism.

Wright makes a plea to avoid the errors in both ends of the theological spectrum. The trail blazed by modern neo-gnostics is one hewn of ignorance and merely repeats distortions of the message of Christ discarded cneturies ago. Yet those to whom these neo-gnostics oppose - the fundamentalist who cling to "prosperity theology" or "the rapture" - are no less distorters of the Gospel message. We must return to being the Church that "responds in gratitude and obedient faith to the powerful word that announces Jesus as the world's true Lord, and to discover in following Him and beloging to His sacramentally constituted family a new dimension of life in the world rather than to escape from the world."

N. T. Wright has proven again that he is the greatest debunker of revisionist movements within the Church. Much of this is no doubt due to the fact that among orthodox writers, he is among the most intellectually curious and willing to give unconventional ideas a fair hearing. Yet he is not one to suffer fools in silence and when faced with poorly researched theses that are presented merely to undermine confidence in the message of the Holy Scriptures, he is more than able to leave the follies of their supporters exposed. In Judas and the Gospel of Jesus, he not only debunks the idea that it presents anything authentic about Judas or Jesus, he also debunks the entire construction of novel new ideas on the origins of the Church. It is a powerhouse of a presentation that should be read by any seeking the truth on such "alternate" gospels.

Solid and timely effort from Tom Wright .......2007-05-14

Tom Wright, as few can, "quickly" responds in depth to the recently published, Gospel of Judas. He takes on the proposed "Alternative Jesus" and broadens our understanding of gnosticism, the gnostic gospels and their proponents. Another solid effort by Bishop Tom; very readable.

No more Mr. Nice Guy.......2007-05-01

In this book Rev. Wright irrefutably demonstrates the absolute incompatibility of Christianity and Gnosticism. It also exposes the egregious dishonesty of those (Ehrman, Pagels, Meyer, etc.) who pretend that Christianity and Gnosticism are philosophically akin or can be reconciled somehow.

I never thought NT Wright was someone who could even get angry but he really comes out swinging in this one. Not only does he hack away at the obvious offenders above but also at other surprising culprits including: 1) Mistrust of the Catholic Church which has been the hallmark of Protestantism. Such distrust has undermined the credibility of the Early Church Fathers and has provided fertile ground for evil Gospel-suppression conspiracy theories to take root. 2) North American Fundamentalism and its' emphasis on personal salvation epitomized by "going to heaven" and rejection of this world, which echoes the objectives of Gnosticism.

This book is not a scholarly argument over the authenticity (or lack thereof) of any given Gospel. Rev. Wright makes clear that is a settled issue which does not warrant further effort. Given his credentials and track record, he really needs to say no more.

On the other hand, in contrasting Christianity vs Gnosticism he submits a beautifully clear and simple summary of the former which I believe every Christian will find edifying, whether or not they care about the whole Gnosticism deception.

answering the modern heretics.......2007-02-10

Thorough treatment of the present excitement over the 'new' discovery of an 'authentic' gospel. Love this guys work.

The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Vol. I: 1826-August 1919 (Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers)

Average customer rating:

The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Vol. I: 1826-August 1919 (Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers)
Marcus Garvey
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Discrimination & Racism | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0520044568

Book Description

"Africa for the Africans" was the name given in Africa to the extraordinary black social protest movement led by Jamaican Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940). Volumes I-VII of the Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers chronicled the Garvey movement that flourished in the United States during the 1920s. Now, the long-awaited African volumes of this edition (Volumes VIII and IX and a forthcoming Volume X) demonstrate clearly the central role Africans played in the development of the Garvey phenomenon.
The African volumes provide the first authoritative account of how Africans transformed Garveyism from an external stimulus into an African social movement. They also represent the most extensive collection of documents ever gathered on the early African nationalism of the inter-war period. Here is a detailed chronicle of the spread of Garvey's call for African redemption throughout Africa and the repressive colonial responses it engendered. Volume VIII begins in 1917 with the little-known story of the Pan-African commercial schemes that preceded Garveyism and charts the early African reactions to the UNIA. Volume IX continues the story, documenting the establishment of UNIA chapters throughout Africa and presenting new evidence linking Garveyism and nascent Namibian nationalism.

Average customer rating:

Piece of American History
The Jefferson Bible Worth Reading
Wow
Jefferson's Bible--a lens that worked for him
Founding "god" father

The Jefferson Bible
Thomas Jefferson
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0807077143

Book Description

Featuring an introduction by Forrest Church, this reissue of The Jefferson Bible offers extraordinary insight into the logic of Thomas Jefferson and the Gospel of Jesus. Working in the White House in 1804, Jefferson set out to edit the Gospels in order to uncover the essence of true religion in the simple story of the life of Jesus. Jefferson was convinced that the authentic message of Jesus could be found only by extracting from the Gospels Jesus' message of absolute love and service, rather than the miracle of the Annunciation, Virgin Birth, or even the Resurrection. Completed in 1819, this little book is the remarkable result of Jefferson's efforts.

Customer Reviews:

Piece of American History.......2007-09-24

This bargain is an impoprtant piece of American history. Jefferson was a diest, which they viewed God as like a fine clock maker and made the government intself, not the constitution. They got rid of anything supernatural from the Bible. It stands along side the King James Bible and the 1611 edition of the King James, the works of Martin Luther as one of the most important reads for a Christian in American history. I liked it a lot, but it's too skimpy a volume to be a classic, but it is famous.

The Jefferson Bible Worth Reading.......2007-09-13

First, and foremost from my perspective, I liked that Jefferson focused on the man Jesus and what He taught.
As I travel my spiritual path, my focus is also on the man Jesus, what He taught, how He lived and most of all how He treated others. Much could be learned and differences could be made today in our society if this were so. The four gospels were interwoven throughout the book which makes it easy to follow, I only wish the print had been larger. I was disappointed it was so very small and this made it much more difficult for me to read.

Wow.......2007-06-27

This was recommended to me about a year ago. Very interesting and attractive book

Jefferson's Bible--a lens that worked for him.......2007-03-23

It is interesting that any religious writing that is capable of being used in some way to detract from the "authority" of the church is so often the object of great discussion. Jefferson's Bible provides such an occasion, for no doubt Jefferson questioned some of the claims of the church that he felt to be unreasonable. That's the bind. We are attracted to Jesus but often repulsed by the Church. It is only fitting that we reclaim Jesus in any way that we can. Jesus is the chief metaphor revealing humanity at its best. Through this metaphor we learn of redemptive love. Jefferson found his lens by which to connect with Jesus. The rest of us must find our own lense--and one way we can do this, perhaps, is by trying to understand what others have done. Jefferson has left us a personal "testament" by having extracted those parts of the New Testament that spoke to him. Those parts of the Scripture are for him now "framed and on the wall", so to speak, and because the book has been published, his favorite Scripture portions are spotlighted for us in this book. I'm not sure he meant his special portions of the Scripture to be on public display. Perhaps each of us who are interested might find our own set of very special parts of the Bible? If we ourselves were to do this, that would probably have pleased Jefferson, in my opinion.

Founding "god" father.......2007-02-13

This streamlined synopsis of the teachings of Jesus Christ is drawn from the gospels of the bible without any religious dogma. The parables Jesus spoke are compiled nicely and provided me with the life lessons which I attempt to live by.

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Love, Race, and War in the Nineteenth Century

Average customer rating:

A great and haunting tale
Beautifully written, articulate and evocative
Response to the "Lover of Good Books'" Review
Stretching the Facts to Support A Rabidly Marxist Viewpoint
Reads like a novel

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Love, Race, and War in the Nineteenth Century
Martha Hodes
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

19th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393052664

Book Description

"What a terrific book! I could hardly put it down….A story of triumph over adversity."—James McPherson

Award-winning historian Martha Hodes brings us into the extraordinary world of Eunice Connolly. Born white and poor in New England, Eunice moved from countryside to factory city, worked in the mills, then followed her husband to the Deep South. When the Civil War came, Eunice's brothers joined the Union army while her husband fought and died for the Confederacy. Back in New England, a widow and the mother of two, Eunice barely got by as a washerwoman, struggling with crushing depression. Four years later, she fell in love with a black sea captain, married him, and moved to his home in the West Indies. Following every lead in a collection of 500 family letters, Hodes traced Eunice's footsteps and met descendants along the way. This story of misfortune and defiance takes up grand themes of American history—opportunity and racism, war and freedom—and illuminates the lives of ordinary people in the past. 47 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

A great and haunting tale .......2007-09-04

A wonderful book that will leave you longing for more! Eunice is a real heroine struggling as many women have to raise a family in desperate times and looking for a haven for her children. Not only an engaging story about one woman's search for her place in the world but the times in which she resides. Food for the brain and soul. Well written by a noted historian.

Beautifully written, articulate and evocative.......2007-07-13

Gifted writer Martha Hodes, a history professor at New York University, has given readers an absorbing account of the life of a New England woman in mid-1800s. Hodes researched widely from many sources, and drew extensively on the letters of Eunice Richardson Stone Connally, to give us a riveting and accurate picture of her life and times. Hodes' prose is thoughtfully elegant and carefully crafted, as she takes us through small New England mill towns, as far south as Mobile, Alabama, and in the final years of Eunice's life, to the Cayman Islands, where Eunice at last found happiness and some measure of prosperity. The book is a fine blend of the events of Civil War era and the personal struggles of an ordinary woman who made some unusual choices. Hodes writes with a superbly intelligent grasp of Eunice's situation, and with a marvelous empathy for Eunice and the people near to her.

I recently read a bloated best-seller about one of the most famous women of our own era, and I can't help contrasting the arch, dishy, and rather tiresome tone of that book, to this moving and authentic biography of an obscure woman of an earlier time. The book is richly satisfying and highly recommended.

Response to the "Lover of Good Books'" Review.......2007-06-10

A few quick comments regarding the previous negative critique...

A). A great number, if not most, people from the laboring classes never achieve a solid sense of `class consciousness' (in other words, they do not consciously consider themselves of the `working class'). This was particularly true during the time and place of which Hodes writes ( though applicable today). Even if the economic circumstances of Hodes' key subjects fluctuated, they did 'labor' with their bodies to survive. Therefore, it is fair to allow Hodes to consider them laboring/working people, as these individuals' general economic experiences heavily impacted their existence/s.

B). A key lesson one should learn while obtaining an "advanced degree in history" (as well as in high school history classes) is to be very careful about viewing the past through the lens of the present or assuming that subjects from the past (existing under diverging conditions and pressures historians are endlessly seeking to understand) should be expected to think or act as you or I would.. In other words, one's perception of "small town rural New England" of today should not discredit Hodes' historical analysis of the same region.
(This is in reference to... "And no one who has spent any time in small town rural New England would buy into the author's contention that these people were obsessed with a racist-based fear that competition from black slave workers would further lower their social class...")

C). It should not be assumed that every scholar concerned with class is a Marxist (or using "Marxist analysis," as if there is such a thing). I, myself, come from a working class background, count working class studies as one of my fields of interest, find some of Marx's ideas (and ideas of others who have been labled Marxists) useful, but do not limit my work to, or even base it on, "Marxist ideologies." Hodes' appears to work in a similar manner.

There is much more I could critique about this unfair review, but the other comments (all five stars at this point) say much for the value others have found in Hodes' work.

Ultimately, Dr. Hodes is a well respected scholar in the field of history who writes about the intertwining of race, gender and class. If one is not particularly concerned with these issues and/or considers those who are "grievance collectors, looking for new proofs of racism and classism in the past," as the Lover of Good Books does, you should probably read something else. Otherwise, I highly recommend that potential readers not be dissuaded by an unfair review.

Stretching the Facts to Support A Rabidly Marxist Viewpoint.......2007-04-30

The author of this book is so wedded to a Marxist interpretation of history that she turns her subjects into cardboard puppets acting out a drama in which class struggle and racist viewpoints are the only motivations for human action. Occasionally the primary sources she manhandles peek through the many paragraphs of Marxist analysis, and when they do, they don't support the author's arguments.

The title character in the story, for starters, is not "working class" though the author hammers at the idea that she is throughout the book. Her family are typical smallholding Yankees, contending with varying economic conditions throughout their lives, which meant they were poor some of the time, and better off at others.

But nothing in the primary sources the author quotes supports the idea that the protagonists perceived themselves as being "workers" or working class. They did what they had to do to earn money, which was often tough, but their class identity is clearly that of small town Yankees, something very different from the "oppressed worker" identity the author would confer on them.

And no one who has spent any time in small town rural New England would buy into the author's contention that these people were obsessed with a racist-based fear that competition from black slave workers would further lower their social class.

The author supports this far-fetched idea by quoting a few other people, from other regions, mostly urban, as if their attitudes were characteristic of these Yankees, which they aren't. She tellingly does NOT quote many other people from the same actual Yankee social class as her subjects whose attitude--and ACTION--towards Black people was not the selfish racist attitude she would have us believe was typical.

Secondly, the author interprets her subject's marriage to a man from the Cayman islands as a major statement about race. This is completely NOT supported by any word in the (slim) primary sources she cites. For that matter, not a word in the primary sources supports the author's contention that her subject was shunned by her relatives. Because so much of the authorial commentary drones on about race and class and so many quotations are thrown in from people who have nothing to do with the protagonists, the reader might miss this.

For example, before she meets her mixed race husband, "The Captain's Wife" frequently complains about not getting letters from her family. Then she complains about not getting letters when she's living on an island with no postal service. But the author twists the latter complaints into proof that the woman's family has cut her off because of her interracial marriage. In fact, not a single word of any of the letters cited here tells us anything explicit about the family, or the "Captain's wife's" feelings about this marriage.

But this doesn't deter the author who seems unable to interpret any human behavior except as the product of class consciousness or racism. Even worse, the author's own smugness about the correctness of her own class and racial attitudes bleeds out of every paragraph.

I have read very widely in primary sources from this period (I, too, have an advanced degree in History) and I have lived for decades in one of the rural regions she writes about so I know something about the poor but proud Yankee mentality and racial attitudes in that culture--which are mostly formed by the complete LACK of any Black people in the environment.

The author seems to me to have come up with a theme--New England Racism--and then looked around for some bits of history she could manhandle into supporting her thesis. The critical word here is "bits" as the primary source material she builds this construction out of are so slim.

I also feel very sorry for someone whose only way of making sense of the richness of the human life experience is to map every thought or action down to a response to economically-defined social class and racial identity. There are so many fascinating issues that these letters raise that go undiscussed: the Yankee culture with its valuing of education and its resiliency in very tough economic conditions being prime.

But as long as academic historians see themselves as grievance collectors, looking for new proofs of racism and classism in the past, instead of students of the human experience, this kind of book will continue to issue from the academic community. Which probably explains why most of the good history writing today is coming from the pens of independent scholars.

Reads like a novel.......2007-01-11

I bought this book for my wife and she thinks that it is a fascinating and well written book. A great history book that keeps you involved all the way to the end. You just keep thinking about it.

The Jesus Mystery: Astonishing Clues to the True Identities of Jesus and Paul

Average customer rating:

Jesus Sells!
AMAZING BOOK!! Manages to be both boring AND wrong!
good overview, interesting theory
"The Jesus Mystery" is very strongly recommended reading for Christians and non-Christians alike.

The Jesus Mystery: Astonishing Clues to the True Identities of Jesus and Paul
Lena Einhorn
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1599211483

Book Description

Filmmaker and medical doctor Lena Einhorn uses all her scientific skills to elucidate the true story about the historical Jesus, changing, perhaps irrevocably, the study of New Testament history and the way we see the relationship between Jesus and the apostle Paul.

Customer Reviews:

Jesus Sells!.......2007-09-22

An thorough review of the various theories about the historic reality of Jesus, but ultimately a disappointing rehash of old theories with nothing new except the unsupported theory that Paul was Jesus. Still, a good reference source for conspiracy enthusiasts.

AMAZING BOOK!! Manages to be both boring AND wrong!.......2007-08-08

Einhorn thinks that Jesus survived his crucifixion and became Paul. But she doesn't even TRY to convince you of this. Instead, the book reads like a student who has padded his term paper with a lot of extraneous junk to get it to the required twenty pages. Only in this case, it's two hundred and twenty four pages of padding before she gets to her idea.

So the poor reader has to plow through an utterly pointless aside about a forged gospel of Mark, or speculations about Mary Magdalene. Einhorn tells you that "the Roman era was a dynamic one" (p 173) for those who have never read a history book. And then there's the travel details: "Jerusalem is situated high up on a limestone plateau, at an altitude of 2,600 feet" (115).

But where is the proof that Jesus became Paul? She offers none. She admits that the characters of Paul and Jesus were very different but gives no explanation for that. She says Jesus spoke Aramaic, Paul spoke Greek and can only say "we do not...know anything about Jesus' knowledge of languages" (p 229). She has no answers to why Paul was running from town to town persecuting Christians before his conversion if he was Jesus Christ. A fit of insanity? It was against the law to crucify a Roman citizen, so if Jesus was crucified, how did he suddenly become Paul, the Roman citizen, a few years later?

Paul, as the most famous student of Gamaliel, would have been a well known figure in Jewish circles. Everyone in Jerusalem would know him by sight. Not to mention the people in towns where he went to persecute Christians. He couldn't have been Jesus in Jerusalem and then later come back as Paul without someone noticing. Does Einhorn have any explanation for that? And the time problem--how could Paul have been both Jesus Christ living a life in a poor town while at the same time being the star pupil of the most famous rabbi ever?

She admits even she had doubts about Paul meeting the other apostles in Jerusalem and convincing these people that he was Paul, not Jesus. Yes, that would be a stumper. But she decides that maybe they were in on it too. This makes sense to her? People deciding to be persecuted for something they know to be a lie? They went to jail and gave up their lives for this lunatic liar Jesus/Paul? What for? Why the heck was Jesus/Paul slogging through all those cities trying to convince people to worship Jesus? Why did so many in Jerusalem convert if Jesus didn't die on the cross and come back to life? Why were they willing to die under Nero if Christianity was a silly lie?

She seems completely clueless that the gospels and Paul's epistles are chock full of dates and the names of people who could be checked if anything was questionable. The Romans were fiends for keeping records. Facts could be checked. Christians were smugly pointing out to people two hundred years after Jesus died that the records were still in place about the crucifixion. And yet Einhorn supposes that nobody, not a single person, thought to check out the facts when the gospels were so full of them? And nobody noticed that Jesus had become Paul. Wonder how she thinks Paul explained those nail marks. Especially as a Roman citizen.

She prepares you for her shocker about Jesus becoming Paul by throwing out everything she finds suspicious about Jesus. She marvels that the Koran says "Jesus was never crucified" (p 168). Gee, the founder of a new religion didn't agree with the claims of a prior religion?

The whole idea about Jesus surviving his crucifixion came to her "at a dinner party. Pieces fell into place" (p 173) and suddenly, she knew Jesus hadn't died on the cross. Or maybe she had too much wine. "I am irresistibly attracted to the mysterious, or rather to the reality behind the mysterious" (p 2) she admits.

The real mystery is why this was published.

good overview, interesting theory.......2007-07-22

I bought this book because I wanted to read Einhorn's theory that Jesus and Paul were the same person. I was surprised (and not thrilled) to find that most of the book was a pulling together of many of the existing theories about Jesus - revolutionary, Egyptian, magician, etc. The only existing theory that really belongs in this book is the one concerning Jesus faking his own death, as that leads to and supports Einhorn's own theory. Einhorn also covers the church's editing of texts written by historians such as Josephus, which again, isn't relevant to her theory. And there is a fairly long digression concerning John the Baptist that I couldn't find a reason for. Einhorn actually did a rather good job at summarizing these theories (although of course there are still others she didn't cover), so one could appreciate this part of the book AS a summary, and an introduction to this area in general. Really the book is more like TWO books - a summary/overview of theories about Jesus, and her own theory about Jesus and Paul as the same person.

I would have liked Einhorn to have applied the same energy and thoroughness to her Jesus/Paul theory. It's quite interesting and seems plausible. I got the impression that she spent so much time reading the various existing theories that she couldn't resist writing them up, and then by the time she got to her own theory, she was worn out. I would have preferred that the bulk of the book address her own theory, and that she provide a great deal more detail to support her theory, as that is the part that is original, while the rest of the book is really just rehash. I think she could have published the rehash/overview part as a separate book and done quite well with it.

"The Jesus Mystery" is very strongly recommended reading for Christians and non-Christians alike........2007-06-09

In "The Jesus Mystery: Astonishing Clues To The Identities Of Jesus And Paul", filmmaker Lena Einhorn writes with historical accuracy the true story of Jesus of Nazareth utilizing a combination of New Testament writings and texts from contemporary Jewish and Roman historians. Of special note is what Einhorn writes with respect to the legends about Jesus' birth and childhood, death and resurrection that survived both within and outside of Christianity during the first centuries after the Nazarene's crucifixion at the hands of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem and Palestine. "The Jesus Mystery" addresses such controversial issues as whether or not there was an historical Jesus, the Paulinian influence and the role of Church politics in the opening decades of the Christian movement on the perceptions concerning Jesus. An engaging, informative, articulate, and sometimes iconoclastic work of admirable historical research and scholarship, "The Jesus Mystery" is very strongly recommended reading for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Papers Clarence Mitchell V 1: 1942-1943 (Papers of Clarence Mitchell Jr)

Average customer rating:

Papers Clarence Mitchell V 1: 1942-1943 (Papers of Clarence Mitchell Jr)
Clarence Mitchell Jr.
Manufacturer: Ohio University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Civil Rights | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0821416030

Puritans in the New World: A Critical Anthology

Average customer rating:

Puritanism remains with us.
You don't have to love the religion to read the book

Puritans in the New World: A Critical Anthology

Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Religion & Spirituality | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0691114080

Book Description

Puritans in the New World tells the story of the powerful yet turbulent culture of the English people who embarked on an "errand into the wilderness." It presents the Puritans in their own words, shedding light on the lives both of great dissenters such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson and of the orthodox leaders who contended against them. Classics of Puritan expression, like Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative, Anne Bradstreet's poetry, and William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation appear alongside texts that are less well known but no less important: confessions of religious experience by lay people, the "diabolical" possession of a young woman, and the testimony of Native Americans who accept Christianity. Hall's chapter introductions provide a running history of Puritanism in seventeenth-century New England and alert readers to important scholarship.

Above all, this is a collection of texts that vividly illuminates the experience of being a Puritan in the New World. The book will be welcomed by all those who are interested in early American literature, religion, and history.

Customer Reviews:

Puritanism remains with us........2006-04-19

Hall's book is further outstanding scholarship from this Harvard historian. Well written and adds considerably to an ever interesting part of our heritage and our present.

You don't have to love the religion to read the book.......2005-07-21

David Hall is a terrific scholar, known for his skill as an editor and anthologizer (check out his anthology on the antinomian controversy, for example). Although there are other good anthologies of Puritan writing out there (Miller, Heimert and Delbanco, etc.) any person serious about understanding these people, their worldviews, their spirituality, and their impact on American culture should consider this anthology as an additional resource. At the very least it should not be passed over on the basis of an anti-intellectual review written by someone who has not even bothered to review the book itself.

Jesus in History: An Approach to the Study of the Gospels

Average customer rating:

Jesus in History: An Approach to the Study of the Gospels
Howard Clark Kee
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Religion & Spirituality | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0155011251

Book Description

This text is a study of the historical Jesus. Specific literary sources are referenced - Roman and Jewish historians, the individual gospels, and other early Christian sources.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books