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.

In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life

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Little things mean a lot
Non Fiction
Remember Small Things
copied directly from Scientific American Nov. 96

In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life
James Deetz
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0385483996
Release Date: 1996-08-01

Book Description

History is recorded in many ways. According to  author James Deetz, the past can be seen most fully  by studying the small things so often forgotten.  Objects such as doorways, gravestones, musical  instruments, and even shards of pottery fill in the  cracks between large historical events and depict  the intricacies of daily life. In his completely  revised and expanded edition of In Small  Things Forgotten, Deetz has added new  sections that more fully acknowledge the presence  of women and African Americans in Colonial  America. New interpretations of archaeological finds  detail how minorities influenced and were affected  by the development of the Anglo-American tradition  in the years following the settlers' arrival in  Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. Among Deetz's  observations:
Subtle changes in building long before the  Revolutionary War hinted at the growing independence  of the American colonies and their desire to be  less like the  British.

Records of estate auctions show that many  households in Colonial America contained only one  chair--underscoring the patriarchal nature of the  early American family. All other members of the  household sat on stools or the  floor.

The excavation of a tiny community of  freed slaves in Massachusetts reveals evidence of  the transplantation of African culture to North  America.

Simultaneously  a study of American life and an explanation of  how American life is studied, In Small  Things Forgotten, through the everyday  details of ordinary living, colorfully depicts a  world hundreds of years in the past.

Customer Reviews:

Little things mean a lot.......2007-10-09

I enjoyed Deetz' newly updated introduction to Historical Archaeology in America. He makes clear that much can be gleaned from the seemingly insignificant material things that are left behind in the process of living. I greatly enjoyed his putting the pieces of the puzzles together. Sometimes the result was an interesting surprise. For instance, I didn't know that porches, which became so popular in America, were not a feature of European houses and were introduced by Africans. "Shotgun houses" also have African roots. Another surprising story is told by the changing styles of Colonial gravestones. They change subtly as the religious climate changes. The oldest being very stiff and stern and later ones becoming more decorative, replacing deaths heads with angels.

Non Fiction.......2007-09-03

This text looks at the recovery of everyday items from the past in the United States of America. Things like plates, cup, bowls, what stuff was thrown in the rubbish bun, all that sort of thing, as opposed to recovering things that are of highly significant historical, political or scientific importance. So, trying to piece together personal life.

Remember Small Things.......2002-04-01

The main thrust of Deetz's argument in this book points to the incomplete nature of the traditional historian's approach to understanding past societies. By focusing only on written documentation, traditional historians necessarily confine the groups they can examine to literate societies, thereby excluding most people in the history of human existence. Furthermore, written documents contain the bias of the author, and so cannot always be trusted.

Deetz argues that historical archaeology and the study of material culture opens the door to understanding a far wider band of human societies, and can further help us relate to the literate cultures we study, by providing corroborating evidence, in some cases, and filling in the gaps overlooked in traditional written documents in other cases.

This work focuses mainly on early New England societies, but the research methods Deetz puts forth readily adapt to studies in other areas. The fact that this book still stands as required reading on university course lists 25 years after its first publication testifies to its usefulness...

copied directly from Scientific American Nov. 96.......1997-04-07

History is pretty much junk, one might conclude after finishing this breezy introduction to historical archaeology. Poring over estate listings, pottery shards, gravestones and excavated foundations, James Deetz reconstructs the changing face of American life during the colonial era, as immigrant traditions and aesthetics adapted to the New World. The book makes a powerful argument for an empirical kind of history far removed from the anonymous assertions of high school textbooks

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Capitalism and Slavery is definitely food for the brain.
Capitalism and Slavery
A wonderful thesis withstanding the tests of time
Misunderstanding of Islamic slavery
Caribbean History

Capitalism and Slavery
Eric Williams
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
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ASIN: 0807844888

Book Description

Slavery helped finance the Industrial Revolution in England. Plantation owners, shipbuilders, and merchants connected with the slave trade accumulated vast fortunes that established banks and heavy industry in Europe and expanded the reach of capitalism worldwide.

Eric Williams advanced these powerful ideas in Capitalism and Slavery, published in 1944. Years ahead of its time, his profound critique became the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development. Binding an economic view of history with strong moral argument, Williams's study of the role of slavery in financing the Industrial Revolution refuted traditional ideas of economic and moral progress and firmly established the centrality of the African slave trade in European economic development. He also showed that mature industrial capitalism in turn helped destroy the slave system. Establishing the exploitation of commercial capitalism and its link to racial attitudes, Williams employed a historicist vision that set the tone for future studies. In a new introduction, Colin Palmer assesses the lasting impact of Williams's groundbreaking work and analyzes the heated scholarly debates it generated when it first appeared.

Customer Reviews:

Capitalism and Slavery is definitely food for the brain........2006-08-19

This is a very, very excellent piece of work. I read and studied this book when I was a teenager in high school in Trinidad. At that time I was required to study the book as part of our Caribbean History syllabus. That was over 13 years ago. So as an adult I decided to purchase the book and appreciate the information. And boy this was the best decision I ever made. I recommend people of all races and backgrounds to read this book. As the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Eric Williams has left us with a gift.

Capitalism and Slavery.......2006-05-11

The basic theory underlying Eric Williams's Capitalism and Slavery is that slavery in the colonies, particularly the West Indies so far as this analysis is concerned, brought about capitalism, and thereby led to its own decline.

The first five chapters of the book explain the nature of British economics prior to the American Revolution. Synthesizing information rather than expressing his own view, Williams discusses triangular trade among England, the African coast, and the slave-holding colonies. In essence, England exported goods and ships, Africa exported slaves, and the colonies exported slave-produced raw materials.

American independence destroyed the mercantilist scheme of triangular trading. The ex-colonies now had no incentive to trade with the West Indies at their monopoly prices, instead turning to French islands for their sugar, at considerably lower prices. Consequently, British businessmen were no longer interested in giving economic protection to the West Indies because doing so without mainland North America would cost them money. One basic tenet of Adam Smith's capitalism is that business should be efficient and profitable, and monopolies simply were neither. The laissez-faire approach, or Smith's "invisible hand," meant eliminating monopolies and letting economics take its course.

During this time the Industrial Revolution also occurred, generating new machinery, most notably Watt's steam engine, and simplifying the extraction of raw materials. Ironworks were now much more efficient, for example, as was the process of turning wool into useable cloth. These advantages put Great Britain in a position to economically dominate the world. During this time also Spanish colonies in South America began breaking away from Spain, opening up vast regions for British trade. Similarly, Asia became a possibility for a wide variety of goods, most notably, in the scope of Williams' book, East Indian sugar. All these opportunities and Britain's economic superiority culminated in the end of monopolistic practices.

Slavery had precipitated these developments by generating fantastic wealth through triangular trading; without slavery, that trade scheme would not have existed. Once these developments came to pass, however, slavery proved itself largely pass?. Without the monopoly on West Indian sugar, slave trading became substantially less profitable. At the same time, when the American mainland split from Great Britain, suddenly Britain was no longer dependent on slavery for economic success, but instead could be a global distributor for goods. Furthermore, abolitionists in England gave cry to the crime of slavery, since they were no longer directly dependent on it, and eventually Britain banned the slave trade.

Williams's analysis is interesting and well worth reading. That said, his assertion that slavery declined is only partly true; it was alive and well in the southern United States. Furthermore, while Williams claims slavery brought about triangular trading, which in turn brought about the Industrial Revolution, one wonders if slavery simply expedited the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. Finally, he focuses to a significant extent on British humanitarianism in ending slavery; cynically, one must consider the relevance of slavery to those humanitarians, and how many there were after the Industrial Revolution.

A wonderful thesis withstanding the tests of time.......2006-03-21

I recently read this book for graduate school and highly recommend it. This book was written in 1940 and while critics have been able to pick at a few details within the book, noone has every successfully disproven his entire thesis - that the rise of industrial capitalism would not have been possible without the existence profits derived from slavery and the slave trade. Williams does a splended job of illustrating how slavery influenced all facets of the triangular trade, which in turn shaped Britian into an economic power. It also brings put the economic reasons for the abolitionist movement (namely, that abolitionists were motivated by free-trade, no necessarily compassion in their opposition to the slave trade).This is a must-have book for anyone interested in a strictly economic look at slavery, it's rise, fall and demise.

Misunderstanding of Islamic slavery.......2005-11-13

The last two reviewers who seemed to criticize Williams for not discussing other forms of slavery miss the point. Williams was not engaged in some sort of West bashing but attempted to explain the significance of slavery in the development of the Caribbean. Insofar as Islam is concerned, the reviewers once again miss the essential point. Rather than investigate what Islam actually says about slavery they go with a knee-jerk assumption. Here is what Kecia Ali has written about slavery in Islamic society:

"The Qur'an, which Muslims believe to have been revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century, makes numerous references to slaves and slavery (e.g., Q. 2.178; 16.75; 30.28). Like numerous passages in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament, the Qur'an assumes the permissibility of owning slaves, which was an established practice before its revelation. The Qur'an does not explicitly condemn slavery or attempt to abolish it. Nonetheless, it does provide a number of regulations designed to ameliorate the situation of slaves. It recommends freeing slaves, especially "believing" slaves (Q. 2.177). Manumission of a slave is required as expiation for certain misdeeds (Q. 4.92; 58.3) and another verse states that masters should allow slaves to purchase their own freedom (Q. 24.33).

The Qur'an also suggests certain means of integrating slaves, some of whom were enslaved after being captured in war, into the Muslim community. It allows slaves to marry (either other slaves or free persons; Q. 24.32; 2.221; 4.25) and prohibits owners from prostituting unwilling female slaves (Q. 24.33). Despite this protection against one form of sexual exploitation, female slaves do not have the right to grant or deny sexual access to themselves. Instead, the Qur'an permits men to have sexual access to "what their right hands possess," meaning female captives or slaves (Q. 23.5-6; 70.29-30). This was widely accepted and practiced among early Muslims; the Prophet Muhammad, for example, kept a slave-concubine (Mariya the Copt) who was given to him as a gift by the Roman governor of Alexandria.

Traditional Islamic law (fiqh) elaborates significantly on the Qur'anic material concerning slavery. The enslavement of war captives is regulated, along with the purchase and sale of slaves. While it is not permissible to enslave other Muslims, the jurists clarify that if a non-Muslim converts to Islam after enslavement, he or she remains a slave and may be lawfully purchased and sold like any other slave. (This rule closes a potential loophole allowing for slaves to gain their freedom by the simple fact of conversion.) The law also prescribes penalties for slave owners who maltreat or abuse their slaves; these penalties can include forced manumission of the slave without compensation to the owner.

Islamic law devotes special attention to regulating the practice of slave marriage and concubinage, in order to determine the paternity and/or ownership of children born to a female slave. A man cannot simultaneously own and be married to the same female slave. The male owner of a female slave can either marry her off to a different man, thus renouncing his own sexual access to her, or he may take her as his own concubine, using her sexually himself. Both situations have a specific effect on the status of any children she bears. When female slaves are married off, any children born from the marriage are slaves belonging to the mother's owner, though legal paternity is established for her husband. When a master takes his own female slave as a concubine, by contrast, any children she bears are free and legally the children of her owner, with the same status as any children born to him in a legal marriage to a free wife. The slave who bears her master's child becomes an umm walad (literally, mother of a child), gaining certain protections. Most importantly, she cannot be sold and she is automatically freed upon her master's death."

As for the Aztec, they had a system of slavery that also came with a bundle of rights, far different from the chattel slavery of the European variety.

Caribbean History.......2004-12-03

Although there may be complainants about Dr. Williams not addressing certain forms of slavery throughout history it has to be kept in mind that his thesis was about the hows and whys of African enslavement in the Caribbean. Williams firmly argues and details how today's culture of racism and capitalism was born.
This book is extremely well done and a great beginner for anyone interested in the topic of Caribbean history.

Goods for Sale: Products And Advertising in the Massachusetts Industrial Age

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Goods for Sale: Products And Advertising in the Massachusetts Industrial Age
Chaim M. Rosenberg
Manufacturer: University of Massachusetts Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1558495800

Book Description

During the nineteenth century, Massachusetts was transformed from a fishing and farming economy into a highly urbanized industrial state. This book presents an appealing portrait of the diverse manufacturing enterprises that flourished from 1865 through the 1920s and the colorful trade cards they used to market their goods.

More than thirty years after the Revolutionary War, the United States remained dependent on Europe for most manufactured goods. The War of 1812 persuaded a number of Boston merchants to invest in industries at home. Using waterpower, cotton from the South, and locally built machinery, they established textile mills at Waltham and later at Lowell and Lawrence. Following the decline of whaling, Fall River and New Bedford also became textile towns. With the help of protective tariffs, Massachusetts mills could compete against textile imports.

Mass-production methods of manufacture were soon applied to shoes, organs and pianos, parlor stoves and kitchen ranges, and sewing machines, among many other products. As steam power replaced water power, factories were built close to railroad tracks and near town centers. Lynn, Brockton, and Haverhill developed as shoe-towns. Boston grew rapidly as the financial and cultural hub and became a world-class center for the raw wool, cotton, and leather markets, as well as the port of export for manufactured goods. Springfield and Worcester built the machinery for the factories and became centers for precision tool making.

With fierce competition, new methods were needed to sell the goods. Massachusetts-made products were extensively displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, as well as at shows in Europe. Attractive trade cards were widely distributed to introduce these goods to customers across the United States and abroad.

During the Gilded Age of Massachusetts industry, most everything people needed was locally made and sold in locally owned stores. Patent medicines, bicycles, motorcycles, and even automobiles were added to the list of products made in Massachusetts. Over time, the old red-brick industry has been replaced by a service economy based on higher education, financial services, biomedical research, and healthcare. Goods for Sale pays tribute to the state's manufacturing enterprises during their period of greatest prominence.

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Excellent read

Exploring the middle class home and psyche

Thank God I'm Mod!

The Home as Castle

Fascinating view of the life of the past

Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England
Judith Flanders
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393052095

Book Description

"Almost criminal in its housebreaking, burglarizing, second-story genius."—James Kincaid, University of Southern California

The Victorian age is much closer to us in time than we might believe. Yet at that time, in the most technologically advanced nation in the world, people buried meat in fresh earth to prevent mold forming and wrung sheets out in boiling water with their bare hands. Such household drudgery was routinely performed by the grandparents of people still living, but the knowledge of it has passed as if it had never been.

Judith Flanders's book is laid out like a Victorian house, taking you through the story of daily life from room to room. In each space she depicts the home's furnishings and decoration: from childbirth in the master bedroom, through the scullery and kitchen, the separate male and female domains of the drawing room and the parlor, and ending in the sickroom. A rich selection from diaries, letters, advice books, magazines, and paintings fills the rooms with the people and personalities of the age. 100 illustrations, 3 8-page color inserts.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent read.......2007-10-20

This takes all the usual primary sources--the records of Beatrix Potter and Jane Carlyle, the diary of Munby's lover, Mayhew, Beeton, etc.--as well as some less well known sources and packages it in a largely accurate and very attractive whole. The book is very well written and doesn't often engage in the broad stereotypes and sensationalism that tends to predominate mass market-oriented books on the Victorian age.

Occasionally, Flanders' own inexperience in MODERN parenting and housekeeping come through. For example, she thinks that infant febrile seizures described in Beeton are sheer fantasy rather than a common side effect to high fever, and several of her other comments about children leave me wondering how much contact she's had with those under the age of 10. She also has a weirdly 1950s throwback attitude toward breastfeeding, seeming to see it as something dirty and horrible that women were forced to go through and characterizing their babies as "vampires." (As opposed to the patriarchally imposed formula that doctors invented because a male doctor can do so much better for a baby than a mere female can who has no benefit of scientific and hygienic MEDICINE. Erm. Okay, my prejudices are showing here, but sheesh, breastfeeding has been a right that women have had to fight for ever since the male medical establishement shoved a bottle of condensed cow mild into our collective hands.)

She's also no experienced hand in the kitchen--she's astonished over how MANY things are needed for a complete kitchen while any modern cook would be astonished that a kitchen was considered to be fully outfitted with so FEW. This means that her section on the kitchen and food preparation isn't nearly as insightful as some of her other chapters--she just has no frame of reference for discussing much of it. This section would have been much more helpful coming from someone who could really recognize differences.

Other times, she sensationalizes slightly, taking nontypical examples of the treatment of women (particularly those of girls) and of Victorian prudery and painting them as more mainstream than they were. I really wish that the section on children were stronger, but I feel, again, that her experience is failing her here.

Overall, however, she does an excellent job in making a broad topic digestible, fascinating, and comprehensible to any reader.

Exploring the middle class home and psyche.......2007-08-28

I've always been interested in the Victorian period of English history, especially in the ways that people lived. Most books that detail the daily lives of people are geared towards the upper classes, with their grand estates in the country, and imposing townhouses. The working classes have been summed up with conditions of appalling poverty, overcrowding and misery. But what about the middle classes, those professional workers and merchants that were suddenly new consumers and riding the crest of the Industrial Revolution?

Researcher Judith Flanders takes a look at their world, and particularly through the eyes of the women who were often the silent, but determined decision makers in how their homes were run and organized. How she presents this information is the interesting part -- she describes this world and the people in it through the rooms of a typical middle-class home. It is also a look at the lives of the Victorians as they progress from room to room, from birth and the nursery, to death and the sickroom. It is also predominately the world of women, where the father of the household is a somewhat distant presence, there to provide the financial means, and perhaps a dominating effect, but also rather remote from the day to day workings of the family.

Where this book becomes the real draw is when Flanders describes each room in turn, drawing on the journals, homekeeping books and manuals, and the memoirs of the time. A good deal of the book is given not just to how each room was decorated and furnished, but also how it was kept clean, and how it was used, and if it was a room meant to be for private -- such as the nursery, bedrooms, and the workplaces such as the kitchen and scullery.

Public or rather, reception rooms were the Drawing Room, the Dining Room, and the Parlor. Often the Dining room and parlor would be one and the same in many homes, with the Drawing room having the best furniture and items, and saved for when visitors came and the best impressions to be made. The dining room was often where the lady of the house stayed during the day, where she did her letter-writing and account keeping, and often would teach her children, and oversee her servants.

Workplaces in the home were the Kitchen and Scullery, where meals were prepared, and clothing and dishes washed. Often this was where the servants slept if there wasn't any spare room for them. It was also where the greatest battle against bugs, rats and mice were often fought -- one description in the narrative depicts three visiting housemaids clutching each other in terror in the night atop the kitchen table as the floor 'heaved' with cockroaches. Other duties included the laundry, a laborious, backbreaking chore that took a week to complete, only to be started again almost immediately. More than any other chapters, these made me bless those inventors who have come up with such staples as modern ranges, the refrigerator, and especially the washer and dryer.

Another innovation in the Victorian home was the bathroom. And we're not just talking about bathtubs either -- in the homes of the upper middle classes, and the aristocracy, there were enough servants to haul tins of hot water up and down stairs to fill a hip bath for washing, but for more basic needs there was the odorous chamberpot, a device that had to be emptied, and scoured clean several times a day. No wonder when nonporous pipe was invented, the creation of indoor plumbing and the flush toilet were embraced so happily, especially when typhoid and cholera epidemics swept through England.

Bedrooms were for sleeping, but they could also reflect the inhabitant's likes, and often served as a retreat from busier parts of the house. The study was the man of the house's own retreat from the feminine, usually done up in dark, masculine colours. And then there was the nursery, where the youngest members of the family usually grew up in, until they had a bedroom of their own -- shared with other siblings of the same sex, or they were packed off to formal schooling.

All in all, I found this to be a remarkable book, full of information about the last half of the nineteenth century. Flanders' writing style is full of wit, and some pretty canny observations. We're not so far from our Victorian ancestors either -- a great deal of our own attitudes still linger. Keeping up with the Jones's isn't a new concept at all, and neither is the idea that a clean, beautiful home is equal to moral cleaniness as well. Flanders' insights into modern domestic thought is very revealing and worth the time to read this book.

The text has plenty of illustrations, along with several full-colour inserts. The research is top notch, and the writing style is lively and full of some tongue in cheek humor. Some things are covered that I thought had nothing to do with homes, but actually were, such as the art of the social call, with cards; the etiquette of 'At-Homes;' the elaborate rituals of mourning in behavior and clothing; and even the debate about corsetry and whether to tight-lace or not. It's not a quick book to read, but a very insightful one. There are extensive notes, bibliography and plenty of suggestions as to where to go next if any particular topic interests you.

Anyone who is interested in how the Victorians lived from day to day should try to find this one. It's a well-done book full of details and intimacies of London, and gives some new theories and revelations about that most misunderstood creature, the Victorian woman.

Five stars.

Thank God I'm Mod!.......2007-03-30

To start off with, I have never been very interested in the Victorian period, because it always seemed stultifyingly dull and hyper-religious. I'm not one of those women who coo and ooh about how "romantic!" everything was, and I find the novels insanely unreadable.

So, you're saying, Why did you buy this book? Well, because I couldn't find the book I really wanted, was browsing, pulled it off the shelf, read a page, and thought, "This is actually interesting!"

The book details in a very readable, conversational fashion the way home life was lived: cleaning, cooking, childrearing, servant/employer relations, and host of other things. It gives a fascinating picture of a daily life...that absolutely SUCKED! Anybody who read this book and didn't come away horrified missed the point. Without spoiling the details, let me just say that life back then was seriously worse than now. I can't imagine finishing the book, picking up my copy of *Victoria* magazine, and sighing, "Gosh, for the good old days!" I'd be tearing up my subscription and looking for a new historical period to be interested in.

But that's just me. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that more than a few Victorian housewives took the Martha Stewart approach, reading the guidebooks more for entertainment than anything, and maybe occasionally trying one of the ideas, but hardly conforming to the ideal in every detail. I also doubt that every family was as rude and condescending to their daughters and servants as the book says. Victorian women certainly had a pathetic position relative to us today, but it's hard to believe life was sheer hell for every single one of them. That's the reason I gave the book three stars. The writing merits four, but I'm not convinced it's a balanced portrait. Even so, I'm not sorry I bought the book, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

The Home as Castle.......2006-12-20

A couple years ago someone coined the term, "cocooning" to describe what they saw as the "trend that sees individuals socializing less and retreating into their home more."

But this is hardly a new phenomenon - in fact, it's actually a Victorian ideal, one admirably expounded on in "Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England" by Judith Flanders.

It was during the Victorian era that advances in technology and transportation made it possible (and even desirable) for people to work someplace other than the home. We take it for granted now, but 150 years ago you had to live where you worked. Think about it: the farmer (obviously) lived on his farm; the shopkeeper above his store. If you were in the lower classes, work often consisted of piecework, assembled in the home. With the rise of an increasingly affluent middle-class, it was now possible to remove your family from the dirt, crowds and crime of the city to the more bucolic environs of the country or suburbs. And we've been doing it ever since.

As I said, we take this for granted today - but in the Victorian era it was a new concept and became something of a mania for all but the poorest in the population. The separation of the public life from private living was described by Dickens:

"The office is one thing, and private life is another. When I go into the office, I leave the Castle [his house in the suburbs] behind me, and when I come into the Castle, I leave the office behind me... "

And on page 8:

"Oh, how dull and dreary is the best society I fall into compared with the circle of my own Fire Side with my Love sitting opposite irradiating all around her, and my most extraordinary boy!"

For how many of us is home and family a bulwark against all the pressures of work and the outside world? It's an incredible blessing and not everyone is lucky enough to have it.

I've noticed that a few other reviewers have commented on what they perceive to be a feminist bias in the author's work. I'm a pretty conservative guy (read my other reviews) and I never felt like Judith Flanders was doing anything except giving as honest a portrayal of Victorian life as was possible. The book is heavily footnoted and well documented. Many of the more troubling comments (the breastfeeding child as vampire, for example) are not the author's opinion, but the opinion of the Victorians themselves. I found it amusing in places to see how our twenty-first century prejudices color how we can look back at beliefs and practices that were no more remarkable in their time than referring to a woman as Ms is in ours. As I've counseled in other reviews, don't read any deeper than the text on the page, gentle reader. You'll enjoy the book a lot more if you don't waste your time trying to divine some political or social meaning beyond the written words.

"Inside the Victorian Home" is a fascinating look at the daily lives of middle-class Victorians and I highly recommend it.

Fascinating view of the life of the past.......2006-08-26

I do hope that potential readers will read the publisher's comments, professional reviews, and positive reviews because they give a much more accurate account of the contents of the book than the rather nasty reviews by some readers. (Having read the book, it seems to me the reviewers have more of an ax to grind than does the author.) As an avid reader of Victorian novels over more than 50 years I found information on every page that threw light on the lost customs of the Victorians (the amazing system of visiting cards; the social complexities of meals and mealtimes; the astonishingly hard work involved in maintaining the home; the amazingly complex rituals involved in mourning; the problem of food adulteration). Every topic covered is illuminated. Plus, this book is a delight to read from first word to last. I recommend it without reservation to any reader of Dickens, Trollope, Eliot, and Arnold Bennett.

Crime, Gender And Consumer Culture In Nineteenth-Century England (The History of Retailing and Consumption)

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Crime, Gender And Consumer Culture In Nineteenth-Century England (The History of Retailing and Consumption)
Tammy C. Whitlock
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0754652076

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The London Stock Exchange: A History
Ranald C. Michie
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0199242550

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In 2001, the London Stock Exchange will be 200 years old, though its origins go back a century before that. This book traces the history of the London Stock Exchange from its beginnings around 1700 to the present day, chronicling the challenges and opportunities it has faced, avoided, or exploited over the years. Throughout, the history seeks to blend an understanding of the London Stock Exchange as an institution with that of the securities market of which it was - and is - such an important component. One cannot be examined satisfactorily without the other. Without a knowledge of both, for example, the causes of the 'Big Bang' of 1986 would forever remain a mystery. However, the history of the London Stock Exchange is not just worthy of study for what it reveals about the interaction between institution and market. Such was the importance of the London Stock Exchange that its rise to world dominance before 1914, its decline thereafter, and its renaissance from the mid-1980s, explain a great deal about Britain's own economic performance and the working of the international economy. For the first time a British economic institution of foremost importance is studied throughout its entire history, with regard to the roles played and the constraints under which it operated, and the results evaluated against the background of world economic progress.

The Factory Question and Industrial England, 18301860

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The Factory Question and Industrial England, 18301860
Robert Gray
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521496594

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This engaging study addresses the continuing controversy over industrialization, examining different perceptions of factories and factory work. Using varied sources such as sermons, medical treatises, fictional and visual representations, Robert Gray investigates the role of language in shaping the debate on factory reform, and relates conflicts over factory legislation to specific towns. The combination of regional, cultural and textual analysis makes this book an original contribution to the study of industrial Britain in the nineteenth century.

Developing Your Company Culture: The Joy of Leadership

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Culture, Evolution, and Leadership
Culture, Evolution, and Leadership
Provides a critically needed counterpoint
UNDERSTANDING COMPANY PEOPLE
UNDERSTANDING COMPANY PEOPLE

Developing Your Company Culture: The Joy of Leadership
Ph.D., Barry Phegan
Manufacturer: Context Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0964220504

Book Description

This book contains the information and tools you need to lead and manage your real bottom line -- your Company Culture. The lessons come from over 20 years working with thousands of managers in US companies. With this book you will build a work culture that has:

Employees Who are Empowered and Engaged

High Employee Morale, Motivation and Productivity

Strong Teamwork and Cross Functional Cooperation

Memorable Service that Produces Loyal Customers

Low Turnover

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Culture, Evolution, and Leadership.......2000-11-08

At some point in your career either in an organization or as an external consultant you are likely to be handed a "golden baton" and asked to facilitate or create change within the corporate culture. On one hand you may be delighted that the organization has seen the value in this sort of initiative and recognizes the need. On another hand you may be aware of the task at hand and wonder, "Does this organization really understand what it is asking for. Is it truly ready to make the necessary changes to create this `said' desired outcome." If in fact you accept at this endeavor, ( and I choose this word lightly-as many are not asked but assigned to the undertaking) I recommend you read two useful resources. The first you are probably already familiar with, John Kotter's Leading Change; the second I will be sharing with you here, Barry Phegan's Developing Your Company Culture-The Joy of Leadership.

John Kotter's Leading Change is very useful as a pragmatic guide to the strategic steps necessary in creating change. Strategy, alone, cannot ensure cultural change. What Phegan does is put strategy in the context of what he calls the "Five Levels of Evolution, Culture, and Leadership." According to Phegan, there are five areas in organizational culture that require balance: physics, life, competition, language, and experience. In most companies the organizational cultures are strong in some areas, weak in others. In order to align a "cultural change" strategy in a way to create meaningful change, there must be leadership to balance out these areas.

5. Experience-feelings, trust, fear, caring, values, involvement, satisfaction There is always experience, but in most organizations the quality of it is poor. You cannot get to this directly, only through actions at level 4.

4. Language-communications, listening, meaning, understanding, relationships, teamwork, consensus, win-win This is the thinnest area in most organizational cultures. Communications, understanding, relationships, and teamwork are usually weak. +

3. Competition-economics, authority, control, politics, win-lose, rules, information, productivity, profits, decisions Although not always discussed, openly, this level is overemphasized in most organizational cultures.

2. Life-systems and processes, biology, operational procedures and methods, training, software, efficiency Operating systems are often poorly developed. There is usually plenty of room for process improvements. *

1. Physics-chemistry, equipment, hardware, engineering, technology In most organizations, this level is fine. It is easier to talk about equipment than the more productive areas of processes (2), or communications (4). The table below (page 53 of text) points to the fact that the largest opportunity to develop changes in the work culture lies in language-which has been broken down into communications, listening, meaning, understanding-basically relationship building. The next largest opportunity lies in tackling problems in processes and procedures.

While I am sure that this makes intuitive sense to you, the task becomes how to document and put together a means to actively measure the actions you are taking and how they affect the bottom line or the goals and objectives by which you are to be measured while leading this imitative. Phegan does not offer any solution to that dilemma. What he does, however, is offer a template to improve the areas that need the attention. The most effective strategy that Barry Phegan advocates is the use of an informal interview. He provides a template for an interview format that will allow organizational leaders to get clearer understanding of the framework of the organizations employees. It is from these "non-agenda-conversations"-not "fireside chats" relationships are built, the "true" picture of the existing culture can be drawn, and human beings can feel individual and valuable. This is where he claims you get the biggest return on your cultural change investment.

The book is full of information regarding group dynamics, the art of negotiating, and skillful tips to managers. What is somewhat discouraging is that after several pages of information, guidance, and helpful hints, he ends his book with a section called Reflections where he points out that "work cultures are very stable. Sometimes they would rather die than change." He outlines why managers resist employee involvement in cultural change initiatives. Perhaps the knowledge of why there is resistance is helpful, but he does not offer any solutions to this aspect of human management nature. He even encourages external consultants to work in teams, "culture consultants should always work as a team. Work cultures are simply too seductive."

As you go forward with the task at hand to lead or create cultural change, don't get discouraged. Remember, each positive conversation, change, meeting does have a ripple effect. Phegan encourages you as a cultural leader to look for "pockets of readiness" and to encourage them. Work and gain momentum with those who "get it" and allow the change to evolve over time. It cannot be forced.

Culture, Evolution, and Leadership.......2000-11-08

Provides a critically needed counterpoint.......2000-06-09

As a teacher and practitioner of organization development I recently re-read this book and found it especially germane given today's acceleration of mergers, acquisitions, and pace of life in general. Work is more challenging yet less fulfilling than ever. Change sometimes seems to be expected if not immediately, then soon thereafter. The quick fix solution is sought all too often, typically in the form of a high profile "program" which does not adequately address underlying issues and therefore is doomed to failure. This includes culture, a label that in popular use has been hung on everything from common behavioral patterns to espoused new corporate values that senior management wishes to inculcate. The metaphor nevertheless has considerable relevance for developing organizations, particularly in regards change and change management. Language-including communications, understanding, relationships, and teamwork-is usually the weakest area in organizational cultures, particularly so with the increase in computer-mediated communication. Thus the book provides a critically needed counterpoint. For example, one of its practical tools, "the cultural interview," reveals common themes which provide the basis for discussion, thereby opening and directly developing the culture and enabling the possibility of people finding new meaning at work and life such that change actually can become welcome.

UNDERSTANDING COMPANY PEOPLE.......2000-06-05

Teaching by clear and helpful examples is the strength of `Developing your company culture'. Dr Phegan in less than 150 pages provides valuable insights on understanding the decision making process in corporate cultures, the nature of power sharing, the importance of feedback and the benefits of listening to each other. In terms of implementing consensus management and increasing productivity through creating friendly work environments his practical tips clearly come from someone who has "been there" and learned from his experience. I found this a very useful book for all levels of leadership from project management to CEO level. Highly readable with no fancy jargon. Peter Robinson, Editor "San Francisco Books and Travel."

UNDERSTANDING COMPANY PEOPLE.......2000-06-05

RISKY BUSINESS: An Insider's Account of the Disaster at Lloyd's of London

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RISKY BUSINESS: An Insider's Account of the Disaster at Lloyd's of London
Elizabeth Luessenhop , and Martin Mayer
Manufacturer: Scribner
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684197391

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In this fascinating insider's account, an American woman who became an investor alleges that irresponsibility, incompetence, greed, and fraud at Lloyd's, the world's most glamorous insurance enterprise, have caused the company to lose $12 billion in the last ten years. Lloyd's of London is not simply an insurance company; it is a society comprising thirty thousand Names (roughly 10 percent of whom are Americans) - private individuals like Elizabeth Luessenhop who accepted the risk of unlimited liability and pledged all their wealth to backing the insurance policies written by Lloyd's. The beauty was that the Names didn't have to put up any money to receive their profit share. As long as the premium calculations were sound, everybody prospered. But the 1980s were bad years for Lloyd's - and for the Names who backed its business. It was also a time when the Society of Names grew by 50 percent to cover the disastrous losses the company was beginning to incur. Risky Business, written with veteran financial writer Martin Mayer, is a detailed account of how the mismanagement of Lloyd's has affected thousands of American investors who, like Luessenhop, sought low-risk, long-term security. Luessenhop and Mayer take us inside a unique business institution and show us that the ramifications of a possible Lloyd's failure will be severe - and felt worldwide.

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