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:

Has history been tampered with?.......2007-10-23

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

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.

State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan)

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a fine book, intelligent theory backed by strong research

State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan)
Jean C. Oi
Manufacturer: University of California Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520076370

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a fine book, intelligent theory backed by strong research.......1999-08-09

Oi's book, which adopts a clientist model of rural Chinese politics is a well supported, and strongly argued analysis backed by extensive interviews with former participants at all levels of Chinese rural politics. An added pleasure for the student of Chinese is Oi's consistent use of "pinyin" Chinese equivalents of English terms such as "production brigade" which add color to the book's already fine prose.

Social Democratic Party Policies in Contemporary Europe (Routledge/Ecpr Studiesin European Political Science)

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Social Democratic Party Policies in Contemporary Europe (Routledge/Ecpr Studiesin European Political Science)
G. Bonoli
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

This comparative volume provides an analysis of Social Democratic governments, examining the policies they have adopted and assessing the extent of similarity and convergence in policy-making among the different countries. The book includes case studies on France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Austria and the UK.

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Good intro to social & historical influences on economics

Marx's Capital Fourth Edition
Ben Fine , and Alfredo Saad-Filho
Manufacturer: Pluto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 074532049X

Book Description

This brilliantly concise book is a classic introduction to Marx's key work, Capital. In print now for over a quarter of a century, and previously translated into many languages, the new edition has been fully revised and updated, making it an ideal modern introduction to one of the most important texts in political economy.

The authors cover all central aspects of Marx's economics. They explain the structure of Marx's analysis and the meaning of the key categories in Capital, showing the internal coherence of Marx's approach. Marx's method and terminology are explored in detail, with supporting examples. Short chapters enable the meaning and significance of Marx's main concepts to be grasped rapidly, making it a practical text for all students of social science.

Discussing Capital's relevance today, the authors consider Marx's impact on economics, philosophy, history, politics and other social sciences. Keeping abstract theorizing to a minimum, this readable introduction highlights the continuing relevance of Marx's ideas in the light of the problems of contemporary capitalism.

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Good intro to social & historical influences on economics.......2005-12-23

The earliest political economists, including Smith, Ricardo and Marx, viewed economics quite differently than popular opinion sees it today. For one thing, they beleived social & political institutions had great impact on markets. Their debate was over HOW, NOT IF, social class, political institutions, culture and a society's basic beliefs would effect economic growth.

Today, neoclassical economics refers to a general approach (a "metatheory") to economics based on supply and demand. It rests on the assumption that individuals operate rationally: i.e. each person seeks to maximize his/her individual utility or profit by making choices based on only available information given by prices. More importantly, this is the only factor that matters. Altruism does not exist, making decisions based on social customs or religious beliefs do not fit (these are not economically `rationale'), and being a farmer versus a bank CEO gives no advantage to a person. Ben Fine terms this "ahistorical and asocial" economics. That is to say, the same economic principles work in every society, in every culture, and at every stage in a society's development with absolutely no need to take into account historical, political or social factors.

Marx starts off differently, with economics firmly rooted on a broader study of how society works, including social classes, historical trends and cultural values. For example, Marx used a value-led theory of production where the form of production determined the value of output, in his case, the labour put into making an item. The labour theory of value equates the "value" of an exchangeable good or service {i.e., a commodity} with the total amount of labour required to produce all the components that went in to its production.

This is opposed to the neoclassical theory that everything is reducible to maximising personal pleasure (called utility). Demand is `derived' only (and this is the critical point) from an Individual's single-minded desire to wring out the most utility from a given budget. Supply is determined solely by the production costs. The price comes from the point where the supply and demand lines intersect; i.e. price is based only on the value given to a good's exchange in the market. The idea of value coming from any other cause simply has no place in neoclassical economic models.

Interestingly, while neoclassic models dominate MBA programs, they are promptly thrown out the window in marketing classes, where brand loyalty, brand positioning and all sorts of irrational factors have been proven to be of fundamental importance to demand.

Much is made of Marx's atheistic slant, but this ignores the real issue. Marx thought religion and religious institutions have a great deal of impact on a person's demand for a given item, as did one's social ties and the political institutions of a nation. It is neoclassical, free-market capitalism that completely dismisses the relevance of God or any other factor outside influencing a person's demand for a good, outside of the all-consuming drive to maximise individual pleasure.

So it is ironic to see many self-labelled `Christian fundamentalists' so eager to embrace a neoclassical economic theory that is based on the assumption that God does not matter to decision-making in the market! One recalls the discomfort of many people with the "would Jesus drive an SUV?" campaign. It assessed the essentially amoral (as in lacking a reference to morals, different from immoral) nature of free-market capitalism against Christian beliefs of altruism, compassion, so beautifully by Christ: "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

If you wish a short, but intellectually stimulating attempt to present a rigorous and careful alternative view to how value and other elements of economic theory can be defined, this book fills the need very, very well. Highly recommended.

The Primacy of Politics: Social Democracy and the Making of Europe's Twentieth Century

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buyer beware
nylawyergirl
A must for anybody interested in political economy

The Primacy of Politics: Social Democracy and the Making of Europe's Twentieth Century
Sheri Berman
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521521106

Book Description

Political history in the industrial world has indeed ended, argues this pioneering study, but the winner has been social democracy - an ideology and political movement that has been as influential as it has been misunderstood. Berman looks at the history of social democracy from its origins in the late nineteenth century to today and shows how it beat out competitors such as classical liberalism, orthodox Marxism, and its cousins, Fascism and National Socialism by solving the central challenge of modern politics - reconciling the competing needs of capitalism and democracy. Bursting on to the scene in the interwar years, the social democratic model spread across Europe after the Second World War and formed the basis of the postwar settlement. This is a study of European social democracy that rewrites the intellectual and political history of the modern era while putting contemporary debates about globalization in their proper intellectual and historical context.

Customer Reviews:

buyer beware.......2007-06-12

I picked up this book expecting to find a comprehensive history of 20th century social democracy. But it turns out the book is an intellectual history of social democratic thought in Italy, France and Germany in the 19th century through the 1930s, with a lot of detailed discussion of pretty obscure thinkers and party congresses. It may be fascinating for historians but not for political scientists. It does not really dig into political economy or political sociology, has no data on the size of workers' parties, labor unions etc in these countries. The main problem is that it peters out just when the story gets interesting - with the construction of a social democratic Europe after 1945.

nylawyergirl.......2006-10-19

Sheri Berman has written a brillant, sweeping historical review of European Politics. She offers original insights into the development of the modern global economy. Destined to become a classic in its field, this book should be mandatory reading for political historians everywhere.

A must for anybody interested in political economy.......2006-09-07

Berman argues that most of what we think about twentieth century politics is just wrong. Instead of seeing the chief ideological battle as one between democrats and totalitarians, or between capitalists and communists, she argues that the real struggle--or, better put, a crucial yet forgotten struggle--was about how to make capitalism and democracy mutually compatible.

Free markets don't only bring growth, she points out, but also bring instability, social dislocation, and other problems--problems that mass publics demand be solved. Older ideologies like classical liberalism or orthodox Marxism were unwilling to interfere with market operations, and so they got discredited when capitalism generated crises like the Great Depression. This paved the way for a battle between newer, more activist ideologies like fascism and social democracy, which were prepared to intervene in free markets as necessary to protect what they saw as society's interests. When fascism was defeated in WWII, social democracy was left standing as the only healthy and politically viable response to the problems of modern political economy.

Her argument is basically that "we're all social democrats now," even if we don't know it or acknowledge it, because pretty much everybody accepts the idea of combining some form of market-based economy with substantial government intervention to head off problems (the welfare state, countercyclical policies, etc. etc.). Yet only social democracy, she claims, has such an approach at its theoretical core, and so only social democrats really understand what they're doing and have a consistent approach to political economy.

She backs up this argument by tracing the debates over political economy in Europe from the late 19th century onward, showing how the earlier traditions foundered, how fascism and social democracy both emerged from revisionist Marxism, and how social democracy went from being an ideological outlier to being the core of the postwar settlement and contemporary policy. The book covers several countries over nearly a century of tumultuous history, but it's somehow beautifully written and very clear nevertheless.

Guaranteed to give American readers a new perspective on modern political economy, and explain to Europeans how they came to believe what they do. Highly recommended!

The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe

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The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe
Marc Morjé Howard
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521011523

Book Description

Over a decade has passed since the collapse of communism, yet citizens of post-communist countries are still far less likely to join voluntary organizations than people from other countries and regions of the world. Why do post-communist citizens mistrust and avoid public organizations? What explains this distinctive pattern of weak civil society? And what does it mean for the future of democracy in post-communist Europe? In this engaging study, Marc Morjé Howard addresses these questions by developing a provocative argument about the powerful and enduring impact of the communist experience on its countries and citizens. Howard argues that the legacy of the communist experience of mandatory participation in state-controlled organizations, the development and persistence of vibrant private networks, and the tremendous disappointment with developments since the collapse of communism have left most post-communist citizens with a lasting aversion to public activities. In addition to analyzing data from over 30 democratic and democratizing countries in the World Values Survey, Howard presents extensive and original evidence from his own research in Eastern Germany and Russia, including in-depth interviews with ordinary citizens and an original representative survey.

Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of Communist Parties in East Central Europe

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Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of Communist Parties in East Central Europe
Anna M. Grzymala-Busse
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521001463

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This major study examines one of the most surprising developments in East Central European politics after the democratic transitions of 1989: the completely unexpected regeneration of the former communist parties. After the collapse of the communist regimes in 1989, these ruling communist parties seemed consigned to oblivion. However, confounding scholarly and popular expectations, all of these parties survived. Some have even returned to power. This in-depth, comparative study systematically analyzes the trajectories of four cases: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary (with additional examination of other communist party successors). Relying on extensive, and unprecedented, primary research, this analysis employs a consistent analytical framework that combines the peculiarities of the post-socialist cases with broad theoretical concerns of institutional analysis, democratic transitions and consolidation, and party politics.

War, Racism and Economic Justice: The Global Ravages of Capitalism

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History Will Absolve
One of the most important voices of our time
not hard to believe & easy to read
Hard to Read harder to Believe
Fine survey of world's problems and their cause - capitalism

War, Racism and Economic Justice: The Global Ravages of Capitalism
Fidel Castro , and Alexandra Keeble
Manufacturer: Ocean Press (AU)
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1876175478

Book Description

In a timely analysis of international events, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the "war against terrorism," Fidel Castro discusses issues of globalization and the growing phenomenon of global apartheid.

Customer Reviews:

History Will Absolve.......2006-05-09

With incredible wisdom, erudition and experience Castro touches on all the major issues of our time in this concise and spectacular book. Over 500 years of imperialism and exploitation against the Caribbean, South America and Central America are addressed. One consistent theme he constantly refers to is the need for solidarity amongst all of the Latin people of the Western Hemisphere.

Interesting sections of the book deal with the living standards in Cuba that have all gone in a positive, life-affirming direction since the ouster of Batista in the late 1950s and the onset of the revolution's socio-economic programs. Literacy rates, infant mortality, vaccinations, poverty levels, employment rates - in all of these categories the common Cuban folks are the envy of the rest of the Latin American masses who are gripped by incredible levels of poverty and crushing exploitation.

Fidel also includes insightful chapters expounding on the speculative global economy that has developed since Nixon's dismantling of the Bretton Wood system in the early 1970s. It's an economy that hinges on the machinations of international financiers making computerized currency trades in a matter of seconds. Castro alludes to its unsustainability since it's a system that has virtually nothing to do with the substantive manufacture of goods and services. Instead, daily by the minute currency speculation and financial bubbles dictate global capitalism. Of course along with addressing this relatively recent phenomenon the book also includes a fair critique of the FTAA.

Most interesting is a chapter consisting entirely of the speech Castro delivered to the International Conference on Racism in South Africa two weeks prior to the September 11th attacks. He admonishes the Israeli and United States attendees for thumbing their noses to the conference by walking out when Palestinian rights were broached.

It is books such as this magnificent offering by Ocean Press that will help keep the spirit and hope of the Cuban revolution alive for eternity. History will indeed absolve Fidel, his comrades, and all the other Latin American liberation movements for having the bravery and compassion for humankind to attempt to rid themselves of the neo-colonialism and maldevelopment that has been their lot.

One of the most important voices of our time.......2005-04-24

"War, Racism and Economic Injustice" is not a treatise on the title subject per se but rather is a collection of speeches delivered by Fidel Castro between January 2000 and November 2001. In these coherent and passionate presentations, Mr. Castro distinguishes himself as possibly the most important, if not most misunderstood, critic of globalization and an articulate spokesperson for the invisible poor of the Third World. Indeed, Mr. Castro's unique life experiences and demonstrated ability to persuasively speak truth to power definitively distinguishes him from all other current world leaders.

The opening chapter is an interview with Mr. Castro in which he condemns the U.S. political system as undemocratic inasmuch as it is controlled by mega corporations, who have imposed "apartheid throughout the world" through the imposition of an unjust economic order. Mr. Castro goes on to credit the Cuban people for their durability in surviving the illegal U.S. economic embargo and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and asks for the forgiveness of debt on behalf of the poor nations of the world. Throughout the interview, Mr. Castro reveals myriad aspects of his personality, including intellectualism, humanitarianism, self-confidence and humor.

The following 14 speeches are delivered on a range of topics delivered at major cities including the United Nations, Harlem, Caracas, Panama City, Quebec, South Africa and of course, Havana. Reading the content of these speeches, one is impressed with Mr. Castro's ability to deliver relevant content that could not have failed to resonate with their diverse audiences. While Mr. Castro often supports his statements with thorough research and consistently presents a well-reasoned, cogent argument, the urgency of his still-revolutionary message fairly leaps off the page.

One of the key themes articulated by Mr. Castro is the problem of capitalist consumer culture and the unequal distribution of resources which in turn is leading the world inexorably towards environmental, social and economic disaster. Mr. Castro astutely connects the historic abuse and slavery of indigenous peoples and imperialism with the impoverishment of the citizens of the Third World today. Cuba's embrace of socialism and its successes with respect to education, health care and democracy are compared favorably with the fate of many others who have been suffering from the ill effects of globalization, including the poor of the industrialized nations and a growing class of impoverished people living within the U.S. and Europe. In my view, it is ironic that Mr. Castro's message contains many truths about what may need to be done to create a sustainable and just world economy that would help guarantee prosperity for all, although it is often the case that opinion leaders in the wealthy nations attempt to discredit him and his ideas.

For example, the final two speeches on the U.S. war on terrorism are noteworthy for their insight into current events and how all nations might collectively work together to resolve difficult issues. Delivered mere weeks after the attacks of September 11, 2001 Mr. Castro's keen political observations have proven to be prescient, including the attribution of fanaticism to both the Islamic fundamentalists and U.S. leadership, as well as his prediction that George W. Bush would probably use the crisis to further an extreme right-wing political agenda. However, Mr. Castro displays considerable statesmanship by opposing both terrorism and war, saying that "thinking and conscience can be stronger than terror and death" and calling for peace and international cooperation to help resolve differences between nations.

I encourage everyone to read this remarkably thought-provoking and inspiring book written by one of the most important voices of our time.

not hard to believe & easy to read.......2004-12-20

I enjoyed most of this book - it started to get old towards the end because Castro recycles material from earlier speeches. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book to anyone.

Hard to Read harder to Believe.......2004-10-05

Fidel Castro Lover of Humanity? This book is a poor excuse for a bad propaganda piece. Castro rails at capitalism but refuses to point the finger at the real culprit of Cuba's economic demise (himself). Only some lunatic and blind socialist could read this book without bending over from laughter or being totally revolted. Those who still believe Castro' or his revolution are anything but an abject failure or a crime against humanity will undoubtedly enjoy this trash. His statistics are not independently corrobarated, but that won't matter to any good socialist.

Fine survey of world's problems and their cause - capitalism.......2004-07-06

This book contains a selection of Fidel's speeches given between June 2000 and November 2001. A portrait of a great and humane man emerges from these pages. He addresses a remarkable variety of subjects, but always links them to their root cause, our continued tolerance of the unjust and unworkable economic disorder that is capitalism.

He defends Cuba's exceptional achievements in the fields of health and education, pointing out that in Cuba life expectancy is remarkably high. He upholds Cuba's democracy as more full and just than the parliamentary democracy that we increasingly reject.

He notes that more Cuban doctors and health workers are providing free medical services in Third World countries than at any previous time. They are training 5000 Latin American medical students to become doctors in Latin America. Cuban doctors have set up medical schools in Gambia and Equatorial Guinea to educate doctors to live and work in Africa, not to poach them, as the Blair government does. Cuban doctors are working to assist African countries to cope with the devastations of AIDS.

War, terrorism and economic crisis are all born of an unsuccessful and unsustainable political and economic order. Fidel deplores the fact that the US government holds the sole veto power in the IMF and the World Bank, which prevents these bodies from being changed from tools of destruction. Fidel asserts that theft of resources and of capital from Third World countries equals genocide, and looking at the huge numbers of unnecessary child deaths in those countries, one can only agree.

He warns against recourse to war as a solution to problems. Instead, he proposes that the UN Security Council, an executive body, should be subordinated to the democratic legislature of the General Assembly.

On the Middle East crisis, he points out that in 2001 the US government vetoed a draft resolution for setting up observers to protect the Palestinian people, and Blair's representative abstained! Since 1972, there have been 23 US vetoes on Resolutions aimed at solving the crisis there. The US alone blocks the two-state solution that the rest of the world demands.

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Politics in Hard Times: Comparative Responses to International Economic Crises (Cornell Studies in Political Economy)
Peter Alexis Gourevitch
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it helps me to understand Marx on economics

The myth of the transformation problem

A Conundrum Resolved

Reclaiming Marx's Capital: A Refutation of the Myth of Inconsistency (Raya Dunayevskaya Series in Marxism and Humanism)
Andrew Kliman
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ASIN: 0739118528

Book Description

This book reclaims Marx's Capital from the myth of inconsistency. An accessible account written for non-specialist readers, it shows that the inconsistencies are actually caused by misinterpretation; the recent temporal single-system interpretation eliminates all of the alleged inconsistencies.

Customer Reviews:

it helps me to understand Marx on economics.......2007-08-21

I have read a fair amount of Marxist economics over the last 40 years. During this period, I have always been puzzled by issues of time and how the period between the use of capital in producing a commodity and the time at which it is sold affects its value. This has clearly been a key aspect of the issues around the rate of profit and the transformation problem, and previous discussions of this have left me puzzled at how the authors could write what they did.

Kliman's answers, by contrast, make sense. They convince me that much of what passes as Marxist economics is deeply flawed. As a bonus for the reader, the book is extremely clearly written--which is often a sign that the writer understands the subject matter very well indeed.

I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand and/or to change the world.

sam friedman

The myth of the transformation problem.......2007-03-23

Andrew Kliman's book seeks to reclaim Marx' "Capital" as a work of internal consistency and a valid, if not necessarily correct, exposition of the Marxist Law of Value. His main opponents in this, interestingly enough, are other Marxists, and the followers of Sraffa, both of which have done everything imaginable over the past century to propagate the myth that there is a "transformation problem" between prices and values in Marxist economic theory, and that Marx needs to be 'corrected' to fix this glaring oversight.

Kliman demonstrates irrefutably that these claims are false. He shows that, for each and every 'exposé' and each and every subsequent 'solution' proposed, the same errors are at the basis of the reasoning. All of the arguments about the transformation problem rest on either dualism between price and value, which Marx nowhere supports, or physicalism (which means that profit exists as physical surplus), which is false, or simultaneism (which means that input prices and output prices have to be equal during the same production period), which is also false, or usually a combination of these things. Even well-respected Marxist economists, such as Laibman and Moseley, have fallen into this trap, and this goes for non-Marxists who have written about Marxist economics equally (Robinson and Samuelson for example).

By destroying the basis of the physicalist, dualist, simultaneist critique of Marx, and substituting for it the temporal single system interpretation (TSSI) of Marx, which allows everything Marx says in "Capital" to make sense and to be internally valid and consistent, Kliman demonstrates that the "transformation problem" has been a problem on the part of some readers, not Marx, all along, and that the reports of the death of the Marxist theory of value have been greatly exaggerated.

All of this is done wonderfully and with iron logic. The one downside of this book, as with every book by Kliman and/or Freeman, is the pointless invective aimed at their opponents and the almost paranoid tone in which the lack of positive reception on the part of Kliman et al. is discussed. Even respected Marxist colleagues, who probably agree politically and scientifically with Kliman on 99.9% of all issues, are constantly portrayed as ignorant at best and malevolent and intellectually dishonest at worst, without any proof for this at all. Kliman and the other TSSI people would probably do better to be more respectful in their refutations of their opponents, because in that way they make it a lot easier for these opponents to change their stance without feeling humiliated about it. This would be beneficial for Marxism and all of economics as a whole, since the TSSI interpretation is most certainly correct.

A Conundrum Resolved.......2006-12-17

Andrew Kliman has done all those that have an interest in the question of value as presented by Marx a big favor. He has finally given us as close to a definitive proof as we are ever likely to get that all of those that have qualified their discussion of Marx's value and transformation problems as "internally inconsistent" are simply wrong. Professor Kliman makes it very clear that proving the detractors of Marx ;on this seminal issue; were wrong does not necessarily prove that Marx was correct; it merely shows that the near global acceptance of the view of "internal inconsistency" rests on nothing else by shifting sand.
We all owe Andrew Kliman a debt of gratitude for illuminating this issue in a clear and uncluttered style.In a sense this book is way overdue. Reclaiming Marx's Capital proved to be a much more delightful read than I would have anticipated. Once you finish the book the reader feels that s/he is finally in control of all the varied elements of this puzzle, including its history.

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