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.

Death in Winter (Star Trek: the Next Generation)

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Better than I thought.
About time, but not what I'd have chosen
Decent Page-Turning Resolution of Picard's Relationship With Crusher
Who was that, and what did Friedman do with Dr. Crusher?
Disappointing

Death in Winter (Star Trek: the Next Generation)
Michael Jan Friedman
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 074349721X

Book Description

Long before Captain Jean-Luc Picard took command of the legendary Starship Enterprise,™ he fell deeply and hopelessly in love with Doctor Beverly Crusher. Though, for one reason or another, Picard never acted on his feelings, he found a measure of contentment as Beverly's close friend, colleague, and daily breakfast partner.

But when Doctor Crusher leaves her position on the Enterprise to become the chief medical officer of Starfleet, the brightest light in Picard's life is taken from him. And he has hardly resigned himself to his loss when he learns that Beverly has been declared missing in action on a distant planet -- and presumed dead.

Kevratas is a bleak, frozen world on the far side of the Romulan Neutral Zone where the Federation has become the plague-ravaged natives' only real hope of survival and freedom. Starfleet has no recourse but to send in another team to try to save the Kevrata -- and Picard is the natural choice. Critical to the success of his mission are two colleagues who served under him when he commanded the Starship Stargazer -- Pug Joseph, a man with a past to live down, and Doctor Carter Greyhorse, who has served time for attempted murder -- as well as a Romulan who left his people years earlier and never expected to return. Together, they follow the trail of Beverly Crusher to Kevratas, determined to succeed where the doctor failed.

On the Romulan homeworld, meanwhile, the political vacuum created by the demise of Praetor Shinzon has been filled by his staunchest supporter, Senator Tal'aura. But there are those who oppose her, including Commander Donatra and the warbird fleets under her command, because of the way Tal'aura has mishandled rebellions on the Empire's subject worlds.

And one rebellion in particular; the movement for self-determination on frigid Kevratas.

So begins a desperate struggle -- not only for the freedom of the long-oppressed Kevrata but also for the soul of the Romulan Empire. Before it's over, destinies will be forged and shattered, the Empire will be shaken to its ancient foundations, and Jean-Luc Picard's life will be changed...forever.

Customer Reviews:

Better than I thought. .......2007-08-21

Since this book came out in Hardcover last year ive heard a lot of bad reviews on the book. So now that I had the cance to read it I it liked better than I thought.

About time, but not what I'd have chosen.......2007-06-29

This story was a long time in coming, and I'm glad that for the book relaunch The Powers That Be had decided to finally match this couple. However, I'm not sure that this story was quite as fulfilling as I might have liked, that the story fit the directive (get P/C together), or that this is the author I would have chosen to write this story.

I thought there were too many characters and not enough time paid to any of them. Yes, I understand that Romulan politics are very twisty, but there were too many plotlines about the Romulans and none of them had any real resolution or affect on the ST universe, or any true bearing on the story. (IMHO, of course.) Worf, Geordi and Janeway appear but for no real apparent reason. It felt sort of like a setup, and while those are necessary they are often frustrating because we don't know why certain people or events have significance.

The whole romance was anticlimactic; there seemed to be no true feeling and the POVs of the "main" characters were not included enough to have any sort of momentous bearing on the universe. (I wonder, not so secretly and no particular offence to MJF, why Peter David was not tapped to write this book. He was the original Next Gen-- and P/C-- romance writer, someone who could write action and plot while making passion feel real.)

The writing is only so-so-- this book illustrates that this author is best when he sticks to the basics and gets the storytelling job done without embellishment. Attempts at fanciful wording fall flat-- I was a bit tired of the author trying to find too many different ways to describe being shot with a phasor or disruptor, and all of them basically were variations on the theme of "pierced by green death," or something equally silly.

All that said, it's not a terrible read, and touches on and continues themes from the movie "Nemesis," which is a welcome refresher. There were also some nice bits near the beginning with Beverly's past, showing how she learned to use natural medicine, and showing an early boyfriend as well as a medical disaster that affected her profoundly. Overall not great but certainly not as bad as some books.

Decent Page-Turning Resolution of Picard's Relationship With Crusher.......2007-03-24

Michael Jan Friedman is one of the better writers of "Star Trek" fiction and his 2005 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" novel "Death in Winter" is bound to please most fans of the series. It is a sequel to the film "Star Trek: Nemesis", opening with Captain Jean-Luc Picard mourning the loss of friends, both deceased and departed, including his Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Beverly Crusher, now head once more of Starfleet Medical. Crusher disappears during a secret medical relief mission to Kevratas, a desolate, frigid planet on the far side of the Romulan Neutral Zone. She is sent to find a vaccine for a virulent plague which has devastated the native furry humanoids of Kevratas and those they've been in contact. Soon Picard will join her on Kevratas, in charge of a second Federation medical relief mission, accompanied by some old shipmates from the USS Stargazer, and find himself in the midst of Romulan intrigue orchestrated from distant Romulus by the new Praetor, and her newly appointed military governor, one Commander Sela.

Friedman does a decent job in writing a memorable page-turner of a novel which successfully resolves almost all the loose ends in the longstanding professional - and personal - relationship between Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher. He also excels in emphasizing Romulan political intrigue in the aftermath of Praeter Shinzon's downfall, reacquainting us with several Romulans from "Star Trek: Nemesis" and from the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" television series, most notably, Commander Sela herself. However, I don't think Friedman has done an admirable job in offering vivid three-dimensional portrayals of his main characters, leaving merely barebone threads to explain the motivations of, for example, Picard and Crusher. Regrettably, this is in stark contrast to the fully realized characters which I've come to enjoy in David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series (Fans of fine military space opera may find the Harrington series far more rewarding.). So I've decided only to give this novel a marginal recommendation primarily for this reason, even though I realize that many "Star Trek" fans may still find it quite memorable as literary entertainment.

Who was that, and what did Friedman do with Dr. Crusher?.......2006-08-31

Perhaps this is set in an alternate universe.

Death in Winter might be a half-way decent science fiction novel for someone who doesn't watch the series or who doesn't pay too much attention to character details. I even liked the novelization of the deleted scene from Nemesis. Unfortunately, it was one of only a handful of scenes where the characters acted like themselves.

This book made me think that the author was someone who knew about the technology and political situations in the canon, but tried to write a romance novel instead, and came up short.

(A SPOILER WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW)

I've never thought that an entire book was ruined by one sentence before, but this one did it: "I've been a fool, Jean-Luc." That has to be the most out-of-character statement I have ever seen in a TNG novel. I would be willing to believe that there are circumstances where Beverly Crusher might utter those words, but this book didn't provide them.

The line was delivered after she came back to him, following a scene that expressed similar attitudes to the ones in the "Or perhaps we should be afraid" scene from "Attached," except that it had turned into an argument. Unfortunately, the characters who had that falling-out bore no resemblance to Picard or Crusher. They were far too immature to pass for the captain and the CMO.

I don't connect with Picard very well, but even with the tiny bit of knowledge I have of him, I felt like he was a little off too.

The book was not, however, completely without merit. When Dr. Crusher was being held captive, there were moments where the determined woman that we're used to was accurately portrayed and really got a chance to shine. The Romulan plot was also interesting. Thus, I gave Friedman one star for each of those things. Consider them points for effort.

Addendum: I'm sorry that the titles are not italicized like they should be. If there's any way to do that on this forum, I am unaware of it.

Disappointing.......2006-08-18

(This review contains some spoilers.) This was the first Next Generation novel I had picked up in years - I used to be frustrated with the "reset button" characteristic of the novels (except for Peter David's) and found novels such as those in the Star Wars EU much more satisfying, since they allowed for real character development and multi-book plot advancement. When I recently realized that Star Trek authors had been allowed to do the same thing, I picked up this book and looked forward to reading it. I have liked Friedman's writing in the past, and one of the most maddening threads left hanging in the years after the show ended was the Picard/Crusher relationship. So despite some of the negative reviews posted here, I was optimistic about this novel.

First, the good: Friedman does bring some resolution to the relationship thread. It was nice to see some of the old Stargazer crew again. Friedman also weaves a pretty good story with Romulan intrigue; and the plot, with several good premises, moves along briskly. I like that Friedman recalls scenes from the show, introducing familiar elements that fans can appreciate. I particularly like Picard's recollection of being rescued from the Borg.

However, the bad: I've read fanfic with more depth and better characterization than are found in this novel. The whole book, we're supposed to believe Picard is driven to find Beverly because of his love for her, but the main reasons we know this are, one, we're told this repeatedly, and two, other characters observe it repeatedly. But we're very rarely *shown* it. There is little emotion from Picard when he is told Crusher is missing, and less real angst. For her part, the musings are much more believable, but her reaction at the end is not as comprehensible because it isn't really explained. What is she *thinking*? We don't really know. For a book that's supposed to be giving more insights than we could see onscreen, that's a major shortcoming.

The Romulan intrigue plot has a good skeleton, but it's not fleshed out to the extent that it could have been, in a way that really involves the reader. Characters are brought in for cameos, and left at that (Worf and Geordi serve no real purpose here). And the scenes from the show that Friedman incorporates are, for the most part, both poorly chosen and dropped in too abruptly. Scenes from "Arsenal of Freedom" and "Sub Rosa"? I couldn't help but cringe, as these aren't scenes that did much to establish affection between the main characters. How about "Attached" or "High Ground"? There was more material here to mine, I think.

In short, this book seemed promising, but was a major letdown. In all honesty, the four preview pages for "Resistance" at the end of the book make it sound like that novel has much more potential than this one turned out to have. If you do read it (and I will say it is worth at least one read-through), I would check it out from the library. Though I'd like to report otherwise, it's not one I think many readers would want to go back to.

Death-Devoted Heart: Sex and Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde

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Death-Devoted Heart: Sex and Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde
Roger Scruton
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195166914

Book Description

A tale of forbidden love and inevitable death, the medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde recounts the story of two lovers unknowingly drinking a magic potion and ultimately dying in one another's arms. While critics have lauded Wagner's Tristan and Isolde for the originality and subtlety of the music, they have denounced the drama as a "mere trifle"--a rendering of Wagner's forbidden love for Matilde Wesendonck, the wife of a banker who supported him during his exile in Switzerland. Death-Devoted Heart explodes this established interpretation, proving the drama to be more than just a sublimation of the composer's love for Wesendonck or a wistful romantic dream. Scruton boldly attests that Tristan and Isolde has profound religious meaning and remains as relevant today as it was to Wagner's contemporaries. He also offers keen insight into the nature of erotic love, the sacred qualities of human passion, and the peculiar place of the erotic in our culture. His argument touches on the nature of tragedy, the significance of ritual sacrifice, and the meaning of redemption, providing a fresh interpretation of Wagner's masterpiece. Roger Scruton has written an original and provocative account of Wagner's music drama, which blends philosophy, criticism, and musicology in order to show the work's importance in the twenty-first century.

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leads you backstage into places opera don't know
Opera on the Couch

Opera's Second Death
Slavoj Zizek
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415930170

Book Description

Operas are about the meaning of love and life, and also very much about the meaning of death. Opera as a form, however, might even be dead itself. The last great operas are said to be those written around 1900.
But, the psychoanalytic critic and philosopher Slavoj Zizek is quick to point out, 1900 is also the year in which Freud 'invents' psychoanalysis. Can this be a coincidence? Opera's Second Death is a passionate exploration of opera---the genre, its masterpieces, and the nature of death. Using a dazzling array of tools, Slavoj Zizek and coauthor Mladen Dolar explore the strange compulsions that overpower characters in Mozart and Wagner, as well as our own desires to die and to go to the opera.
Mozart's understanding of psychoanalysis and Wagner's sense of humor are but two of the many surprises in Zizek and Dolar's operatic tour de force. Opera's Second Death is an extended aria on a subject that is far from dead.

Customer Reviews:

leads you backstage into places opera don't know.......2005-05-01

Opera is perhaps the most perfect subject for Zizek's gaze with Hegelian negations and Absolutes Lacan's "object petit a,"Four Discourses" in the Master Signifier, the divided self,desire, don't be scared away for the cloistered world of opera can use such insights to help clarify its own anxieties self-indulgences and excesses throughout its histories. In fact opera now cannot live without someone speaking about it deeply as Zizek does, especially the self-conscious dimensions in Wagner's dramas, the negations of the negations(from Hegel) as "Parsifal" a redeemer redeeming the redemption,or dealing with "Other" those aspects that we wish we could do without but are there anyways, like feminist extremism not wanting man to be around,as in Carmen, or Tosca, or Wotan not wanting to be responsible for his pacts carved on his staff. Zizek and Dolar both bring a formidable array of concepts to opera to make some illuminations clearer I think. If you simply want opera to go on as it is without comment, simply sit back and let it wash over your brain, well this is not a book for you.

Opera on the Couch.......2002-04-02

To those who love opera and know nothing about psychoanalysis or philosophy this book will be challenging and probably incomprehensible. Still, if anyone can get an Opera Queen to think, it might be Slavoj Zizek and Mladen Dolar. Dolar's is a more conventional and comprehensive treatment of the history of opera as a history of ideas. It is excellent and one can almost read the copious notes as a separate and equally enjoyable experience. Zizek uses particular operas to explain profound and fascinating ideas about love and death, narcissism and self-destruction, through the ideas (among others) of Lacan and Hegel. Ever since Zizek's seminal books explaining the complexities of Lacan and Hegel through popular entertainment he has accrued fame in intellectual circles without ever becoming pompous or complacent. He makes for enjoyable and provocative reading and chances are, after you've read him, you'll be keeping an eye out for his next book.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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

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

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

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

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Russians:

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

The Westerners:

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

The Chinese:

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

The Arabs:

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

The Divinity:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

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Death Star (Star Wars)
Michael Reaves , and Steve Perry
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Movie Tie-Ins | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0345477421
Release Date: 2007-10-16

Book Description

“THAT’S NO MOON.”
–Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Death Star’s name says it all, with bone-chilling accuracy. It is a virtual world unto itself–equipped with uncanny power for a singularly brutal purpose: to obliterate entire planets in the blink of an eye. Its annihilation of the planet Alderaan, at the merciless command of Grand Moff Tarkin, lives in infamy. And its own ultimate destruction, at the hands of Luke Skywalker, is the stuff of legend. But what is the whole story, and who are the players, behind the creation of this world-killing satellite of doom?

The near extermination of the Jedi order cleared the way for Palpatine–power-hungry Senator and Sith Lord–to seize control of the Republic, declare himself Emperor, and usher in a fearsome, totalitarian regime. But even with the dreaded Darth Vader enforcing Palpatine’s sinister will, the threat of rebellion still looms. And the Emperor knows that only abject fear–and the ability to punish dissent with devastating consequences–can ensure his unchallenged control of the galaxy. Enter ambitious and ruthless government official Wilhuff Tarkin, architect of the Emperor’s terrifying dream come true.

From inception to completion, construction of the unprecedented Death Star is awash in the intrigues, hidden agendas, unexpected revelations, and daring gambits of those involved on every level. The brightest minds and boldest egos, the most ambitious and corrupt, the desperate and the devious, all have a stake in the Death Star–and its potential to control the fate of the galaxy.

Soldiers and slaves, loyalists and Rebels, spies and avengers, the innocent and the evil–all their paths and fates will cross and intertwine as the Death Star moves from its maiden voyage to its final showdown. And a shadowy chapter of Star Wars history is stunningly illuminated in a thrilling, unforgettable adventure.

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Crime and Justice
Brilliant
"The answer to his death had to be there, it always did"
MUCH more than a mystery novel
Insightful Venetian Murder Mystery

Death at LA Fenice: A Novel of Suspense
Donna Leon
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Police Procedurals | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060168714

Book Description

Beautiful and serene Venice is a city almost devoid of crime. But that is little comfort to Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor whose intermission refreshment comes one night with a little something extra in it-cyanide. For Guido Brunetti, vice-commissario of police and detective genius, finding a suspect isn't a problem; narrowing the large and unconventional group of enemies down to one is. As the suave and pithy Brunetti pieces together clues, a shocking picture of depravity and revenge emerges, leaving him torn between what is and what should be right -- and questioning what the law can do, and what needs to be done.

Customer Reviews:

Crime and Justice.......2007-08-29

Most of us think of crime and punishment as being linked. Donna Leon makes the case for justice following crime instead of punishment in this interesting debut novel in the Guido Brunetti series.

Where in most mystery novels, the story focuses on the crime or the investigation, Death at La Fenice instead develops the victim's character as its primary focus. Many fictional detectives consider knowing about the victim to be essential, but few mysteries pretty much focus on that one element to the exclusion of most other elements. I like character development, but I thought this approach was a little flawed in that without tapes, documents, and other character-created evidence you cannot really learn very much about a person who isn't alive during most of the story.

I liked the way that Venice played a role beyond being simply context by helping to define the story and the crime. As someone who loves Venice very much, a good part of the joy of this book came for me in references to locations I have visited.

Guido Brunetti is a most appealing detective. He's more like the private eyes in noir stories than he is a Venice police commissario, but that's all to the good. His family situation, being married to the daughter of a Venetian count, Paolo, also makes for amusing complications which are nicely developed in this story.

The crime is also offbeat enough to arouse interesting speculations among curious readers. During a performance of La Traviata, the opera's conductor, the world-famous Helmut Wellauer, is found dead after the second intermission. While hundreds had access to kill him, who had motive? It turns out that many had good motives. So how do you boil it down to find the criminal? That's quite difficult. Donna Leon plays fair and gives you all the clues you need to figure out what actually happened. From there, you'll have to decide what you would do.

Those who love opera will also enjoy the references to what makes for good opera and the politics behind the performances.

If you like to think of bureaucracies as inept and filled with incompetents, you'll enjoy meeting Guido's boss, Vice-Questore Giuseppe Patta. The relationship between Patta, the buffoon, and Brunetti is filled with much good humor that plays on Patta's strong inclination to do no work and to receive all credit for any successes.

The book's main drawback is that Wellauer is someone you won't have much sympathy for, and you'll enjoy even less learning about his bad habits. I'm sure that many crime victims are equally undesirable, but the novel labors a bit more than it might have with a victim about whom you could feel more neutral.

There are many fine novels in this series, and I do recommend you read this one. After all, you want to understand the context for the series don't you? Ah, Venice!

Brilliant.......2007-08-23

The mystery "who-done-it" genre is quite far out of my comfort zone, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the murder investigation and characterizations in this story. It started out as something I wanted to read strictly to absorb myself in the vividly drawn Veniciano setting, and turned out to be an entralling page-turner! What a pleasant surprise!

"The answer to his death had to be there, it always did".......2007-08-11

Nowadays there are a wide variety of whodunit mysteries to choose from, and the list definitely includes many good ones. But in order for me to label a series as a favorite it has to have an engaging main character and interesting sub plots. Donna Leon performs extremely well in these two categories. Vice-Commissario Guido Brunetti is one of the most intriguing detectives I have come across since Hercules Poirot. He is married, has two kids and his wife Paula is also a very appealing character. She is daughter of a Count, who is one of the richest persons in Venice and she likes to guess who the killer is at the beginning of each case. Leon spends some time on family matters that are entertaining and help make Brunetti a more real character.

In this first book of the series, the Vice-Commissario is summoned to the Opera, were Helmut Wellauer, a famous conductor has been murdered. His body was discovered during an intermezzo and the cause of dead is later determined to be poisoning by cyanide. Since there was a lot of people backstage during the performance, the list of suspects is not particularly short. The fact that the victim was not a pleasant man does nothing to make things easier for Brunetti. For example, there are rumors that Wellauer was a Nazi supporter during World War II, and he was also a homophobic.

The list of suspects includes the young widow, who may have lied about being with the conductor right before he died. The director of the play, Franco Salvatore, also makes the cut, since he is a homosexual and the conductor broke a promise regarding using one of Salvatore's friends as a singer in the opera. Another main suspect is Flavia Petrelli, the soprano who seems to be hiding a secret together with his friend and assistant, the American Ms. Lynch. As the story moves along, other names will make it to this suspect list, with the common characteristic that all their stories and personalities are enthralling.

Leon delivers a well-constructed mystery, and even though the solution is not totally surprising, there are aspects of it that will certainly shock any reader. Besides that, we get a great depiction of the culture in Venice and the idiosyncrasies of the characters portrayed. Brunetti is an extremely unusual detective, he is extremely proud of his culture and knowledge and interested in showing it off. There are also a fair amount of politics within the police department involving Brunetti's supervisor, and I am looking forward to the next book to find out more about this topic.

I have trouble thinking of anyone who likes mysteries who would not enjoy this book. And if a captivating main character and a variety of sub plots make the story more appealing to you, then I am certain you will like this series even more. Those that like opera and classical music will find allure in the fact that this installment of the series includes a fair amount on these topics. Highly recommended.

MUCH more than a mystery novel.......2007-07-23

If you see this as merely a mystery novel than you are missing the best part of Leon's work. Leon is a true artist. She paints pictures so clearly that you feel you are there rowing through the canals of Venice alongside them, sharing their meals with them. You can actually almost smell and taste the surroundings.

And THAT'S STILL NOT THE HALF OF IT- she also is such a keen observer of the peculiarities of human nature, and the differences of these found in different cultures (Leon has lived and worked in countries around the world)- that she picks up on minute details that even a seasoned psychologist might miss. What's more, she can so concisely describe these observations that you will be amazed at reading them. She notes the type of thing that you may have noted yourself in someone you've known, but never been able to put a finger on exactly what it was, much less, know how to put it into words.

Some of her observations are truly HILARIOUS. I have found myself laughing out loud throughout the book. So much so, in fact, that I realized that it is almost as much of a comic work of art as it a mystery.

Last but not least, she also has an accute understanding of the ITALIAN CULTURE and language (having lived in Venice for many years). If you have any interest in Italian culture at all, then you will no doubt love these books. Here again, she hits the nail on the head and will surprise you that someone could be so adept at noticing the details that she does.

AS IF YOU NEEDED MORE REASON TO PICK UP THIS BOOK...Leon also has an uncanny knack for things that are human nature in general- the relationship between the detective and his family...and so many other things. You don't have to be Italian or like mysteries to appreciate the characters she creates. I think everyone could read her books and smile at how one of the characters reminds them of someone that they know.

I could go on, but really you just need to give these books a try. I can't recommend them enough.

Insightful Venetian Murder Mystery.......2007-06-27

Donna Leon, An American expatriate living in Venice, started writing her Venetian Guido Brunetti mysteries in 1992, and this is the first in the series. (She's up to number sixteen now.) Brunetti is a Commissario of police in that enchanted city. In this one don't expect a lot of action, chase scenes, gory violence, and melodramatic suspense. Rather look for subtlety of character and humor as, oh so slowly and deliberately, the sleuth weaves his way through a case involving the murder of a celebrated German orchestra conductor at the Venice opera house, La Fenice.
Leon knows the sexual intrigues and cupidity of the city's social life as well as the glories of the city's architecture and art. A myriad of witnesses come vividly to life.
Her detective has a bright and loving wife and two great kids. In a drowning and sinking city, a caring detective soldiers on. The mystery moves at a measured pace, but bear with it, and it will reward you

The Daemon in Our Dreams
Nine Lives Too Many
The Rice Queen Spy

Average customer rating:

An engrossing whodunit that is suitable for a nice day at the beach or for translation into a PBS movie
Despite "Death in the Wet," Not Wet Behind the Ears

Death at the Opera: (Death in the Wet)
Gladys Mitchell
Manufacturer: Rue Morgue Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

British Detectives | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0915230844

Customer Reviews:

An engrossing whodunit that is suitable for a nice day at the beach or for translation into a PBS movie.......2006-04-03

Charged with the mission of capturing mystery writers from the Golden Age, the Rue Morgue Press has now reprinted such greats as Dorothy Bowers, Constance & Gwenyth Little, Maureen Sarsfield, Margaret Scherf and many others. Gladys Mitchell is among those greats, having been compared to Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Mitchell's output was 66 mysteries featuring Mrs. Bradley, a dashing and colorful woman with knowledge of both psychology and the law. DEATH AT THE OPERA was filmed for British television, although details of the book were changed. Diana Rigg portrayed Mrs. Bradley.

Calma Ferris, the unassuming arithmetic teacher in Hillmaston Coeducational Day School, has decided to underwrite the school's latest production, THE MIKADO. She is pressed into service as Katisha, a part for which she is woefully unprepared. Ferris has an uncanny knack of offending people, and thus ends up murdered before the second act of the opera. Enter Mrs. Beatrice Lestrange Bradley, called in by the publicity-minded headmaster to ascertain just who killed the quiet and virtuous Miss Ferris. But first, Mrs. Bradley has to take matters in hand:

"'It seems to me,' Mrs. Bradley remarked, 'that the evidence in support of the theory that Miss Ferris was murdered in the lobby is sufficiently strong to warrant further investigation, but not sufficiently tangible to offer to the authorities. I have reason to believe'-she took out her notebook-'that, as the result of a collision in the corridor, Miss Ferris had her glasses broken and sustained a small deep cut just beneath one eye. She went into the water lobby to bathe the cut, and I have not found out yet that anyone went with her.'"

Mitchell's style of writing is quite formal and extremely articulate, and her command of the plot and facts points to an exacting and logical mind. Mrs. Bradley is a kind woman who has no time for fools, and her character is at once a little repulsive (with claw type of hands and a beak like face) and fascinating. She puts her suspects at their ease until they reveal themselves. DEATH AT THE OPERA is an engrossing whodunit that is suitable for a nice day at the beach or for translation into a PBS movie. Angela Lansbury might be a great Mrs. Bradley!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Despite "Death in the Wet," Not Wet Behind the Ears.......1999-06-08

The first Gladys Mitchell I ever read, and, again, one of her best. The plot involves three separate strands, both built around the various notions of death by drowning: the death of a snooping schoolmistress in the bathroom at the performance of The Mikado; the death of a madwoman in an asylum who fell into an ornamental pond; and an acquitted wife killer, George Bryan Cutler, based on George Joseph Smith, murdering two other people, and attempting to murder Mrs. Bradley. The ending is ingenious, with one of the most incredible motives ever to grace a detective fiction novel, though the book shares some similarities with "Speedy Death" and "St. Peter's Finger," in the scene of the crime and the method.

Average customer rating:

Still read it.
Different than I expected.
A worthwhile new direction for an SF star
HUGE Disappointment
I wish I could put in words why I loved this book.

Very Bad Deaths
Spider Robinson
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 141652083X

Book Description

Aging baby-boomer Russell Walker wants only to retreat from the world and the shattering death of his beloved wife, into the woods of British Columbia. But the real world won't let him become a hermit. Instead, he finds himself thrust into the mystery of a series of mass murders by a monstrous sadist and serial killer who makes Hannibal Lector look like a boy scout. And he is caught in a frightening predicament: He is the only possible intermediary between a telepath called Smelly, so sensitive he can't stand to be near most people, and a skeptical police officer who needs to hear and believe what Smelly knows about the fiend. This involuntary trio may be the only ones who can catch the inhuman butcher before he kills again-if he doesn't catch them first.

Customer Reviews:

Still read it........2007-05-21

Anything by Spider Robinson is worth reading. The three stars are in reference to all the other stuff he has written, not compared to other books in general.

Having said that, I was a bit disappointed with this work. It seems more like the first shot in a proposed series than a work finished in Robinson's usual style. The premise is great, and it has Spider's usual touch in pointing out how bad telepathy would be for anyone accursed with it. The villian is classic Spider, too. Someone so evil, just so sociopathic, that it makes you want to retch takes a master touch to accomplish.

But I never felt like the book was really going anywhere. I felt like he got caught by a deadline halfway through his usual writing and had to finish before he was ready. The characters are beautifully crafted (as usual), and so real you want to meet them, but the plot seemed to sputter.

Anything by Spider Robinson is worth reading. His worst stuff is better than many authors' best. But I still felt like this wasn't his best effort.

Different than I expected........2007-01-12

This was quite a bit more down to earth than I expected. I had never read Spider Robinson before and with all the Heinlein comparisons, I expected very sci-fi material. This one isn't, really. It is more Dean Koontz or Stephen King (not horror as much as fantastic) with some Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware novels) thrown in for good measure.

In other words, it is a mystery novel with a character that has a supernatural power. Overall, it was a pleasant read and worth checking out. I'm curious to see what his more sci-fi oriented books are like.

A worthwhile new direction for an SF star.......2006-11-10

Very Bad Deaths is a new direction for SF writer and erstwhile columnist Robinson. It is set in the real world -- if you make the small concession that the real world might contain at least one highly sensitive telepath -- and goes into depth with the questions about sadism that he flirted with in Lady Slings the Booze.

Like the suspenseful and weird Lifehouse, this book is a chamber piece, with only four onstage characters, all believable and at least two lovable. Depending on how much the reader has thought about sadism, pain and fear, and what her or his own personal horrors are, this book could be interesting to terrifying. Myself, I had to phone a friend at 4 a.m. for comfort. But now I am reading the book a second time.

If you love Robinson and this doesn't sound like him, don't panic. And do give it a try.

HUGE Disappointment.......2006-10-16

I have been an avid Robinson fan for more years than I care to admit, but, sadly enough, he has come to the point of just filling pages up with words in order to be able to sell a book.

He starts out with a truly great premise and then wanders all over the known universe to tell it. A huge portion of this book is devoted to: describing the scenic wonders of British Columbia (nothing to do with the story); slamming the United States (nothing to do with the story); slamming the Canadian police (very little to do with the story); and extolling the virtues of marijuana use (absolutely nothing whatsoeverr to do with the story line.)

I learned that the world's best coffee maker is made in Switzerland. Why that was relevant to the story, I haven't a clue. One sentence mentions the killer started when he was eight years old. This, I wanted to know more about. Nope. Just that one line.

Sorry, Spidey, you've lost it. I won't be spending any more time wondering when your next book will be out and won't be spending any more money when it does. You now join the graveyard of authors who were once great, but now just hook words together. Very sad.

I wish I could put in words why I loved this book........2006-10-10

I consider this book one of Spider's best. Yes, Spider's heroes are often Spider-like. Heinlein's heroes were all some aspect of him too. And yes, Just like Heinlein's did, Spider's libertarian outlook permeates his fiction. But I don't know that I consider these faults, especially in the face of the book's virtues.

The story is ultimately a story of weak, nearly powerless people risking not just their own painful deaths but the pain of knowing they might well fail in sparing someone else's painful death in order to stop a very evil thing from happening. Is the villian or hero believable? Maybe, maybe not. (You should meet some of my friends!) But the SPIRITS of the heroes are true to the core of humanity Spider values so much in his species, and the villian is very much the antithesis of that same spirit. And that makes Very Bad Deaths a Very Good Book.

How Do You Know He's Real?: Celebrity Reflections on True Life Experiences with God

Average customer rating:

Review: How Do You Know He's Real?
Celebrities Share Their Christian Faith
Celebrities talk about God in their life
COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!!! Terrific Read!
The book of a lifetime!

How Do You Know He's Real?: Celebrity Reflections on True Life Experiences with God

Manufacturer: Destiny Image Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0768423325

Book Description

Between the covers of this book are testimonies from Christian role models from the worlds of film, sports, and music. The stories are real and powerful, and are presented in a way that believers and seekers alike will find compelling.

Customer Reviews:

Review: How Do You Know He's Real?.......2007-06-14

In the book, How Do You Know He's Real, you'll get an inside look into the spiritual lives of 34 celebrities. Hagberg has compiled testimonies ranging from Kirk Cameron to Rudy Sarzo (former bass player for Ozzy Osbourne). Each story is remarkably different and it's amazing to read how God has worked in the lives of each of these well-known people.

Celebrities Share Their Christian Faith.......2007-05-31

The author has collected very readable stories telling how celebrities have become Christians, and they share their low points and their joys here. This is a welcome peek into the lives of well known people who typically are more secretive.
Ricky Skaggs, Kirk Cameron, Gloria Gaynor, Bethel Johnson (34 people in all) tell about their struggles and their early days as new Christians.
Billy Ray Cyrus tells of singing in his grandpa's Pentecostal church when he was 4, and includes the touching lyrics to the song he wrote "The other side."
Jackie (Jacklyn) Zeman, star of General Hospital, advises that when you are at a crossroads "cry out to God and ask for His guidance."
Al Kasha's story resonated with me; this Academy Award winning songwriter overcame agoraphobia, and talks about how Hollywood is a tough place for a Jew who came to Christ, and how he started a Hollywood Bible study group.
There are stories here for anyone to enjoy and find spirit lifting.

Celebrities talk about God in their life.......2007-04-27

(Hagberg has written a companion book with the same title, subtitled God Unplugged)

How Do You Know He's Real? is a collection of celebrity essays about God acting in their lives. The contributors include athletes, musicians, and actors. Their stories often follow a familiar pattern of fame leading to drugs and alcohol before hitting bottom and being turned around by an encounter with God. That's not to say the accounts are all stock and cliched, but rather that God meets each person in their need--and for celebrities that need will be similar. And many of the tales include growing up in stable Christian homes, but still needing to make personal decisions about God and Christ and how that decision impacted their careers.

The stories are collected alphabetically but Hagberg has provided a topic finder so a reader battling discouragement or frustration can find offerings from Billy Ray Cyrus, Nancy Stafford, Zorro, Gary Burghoff or John Schneider.

Each essay begins with a picture and short biography of the contributor, listing their accomplishments. Following the selection is God's Road Map, a few sentences about the issues raised by the author, with Bible verses for teaching and encouragement.

The essays themselves are as varied as the contributors. Some of them read as if they were written to be given as speeches. Several sound like the writer could be sitting at your kitchen table, chatting over the coffee pot. All of them are honest and share from their heart how God has acted in their life and how they know He's real.

Reading the accounts of God acting in both miraculous and mundane ways reminds us that no matter what a person does for a living, each of us are created beings who need a loving Savior and merciful God.

Armchair Interviews says: Up close and personal stories from celebrities.

COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!!! Terrific Read!.......2006-05-18

I received this book as a gift and once I started, I couldn't put it down. Ms Hagberg has captured the beliefs of these well known and respected celebrities, sports figures, and musicians. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series and can't wait to give copies of this one to all my friends. Order 2!

The book of a lifetime!.......2006-04-18

This is a book that you will no doubt want to share with everyone you know! (I certainly am!) It was so hard to put the book down - but worth it - just to extend the time and joy of reading it! GREAT content! GREAT author! I can't wait to read the next books in the series!

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