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.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays

Average customer rating:

Not for the feint of heart
Brilliant Plays
Synge-speak a century later?
Grotesques but well done grotesques
He's brilliant

The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays
Martin Mcdonagh
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0375704876
Release Date: 1998-09-08

Book Description

These three plays are set in a town in Galway so blighted by rancor, ignorance, and spite that, as the local priest complains, God Himself seems to have no jurisdiction there.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane portrays ancient, manipulative Mag and her virginal daughter, Maureen, whose mutual loathing may be more durable than any love. In A Skull in Connnemara, Mick Dowd is hired to dig up the bones in the town churchyard, some of which belong to his late and oddly unlamented wife. And the brothers of The Lonesome West have no sooner buried their father than they are resuming the vicious and utterly trivial quarrel that has been the chief activity of their lives.

"[McDonagh is] the most wickedly funny, brilliantly abrasive young dramatist on either side of the Irish Sea.... He is a born storyteller."--New York Times

Customer Reviews:

Not for the feint of heart.......2006-06-01

The best way to sum up Martin McDonagh? Quentin Tarantino meets Edward Albee. All three of these plays, also known as the Leenane trilogy, have several things in common: (1) violence (2) black humor (3) grotesque characters and (4) did I mention violence. Like Tarantino, McDonagh's use of violence is mostly humorous. When Maureen smashes her old mothers head with a fire poker, we laugh. We laugh because the poker has been conversed about at great length, about how it would make a supreme weapon. It displays the Chekov adage perfectly - if you show a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it better go off in the third. We also laugh because Muareen and her mother are so nasty, so disgusting and despicable that one of them deserves a sweet release. But not all the characters die - some are beaten with shovels, others crashed into walls, others have their heads shot off: and somehow they return, bloodied, confused, but alive, as stupid and indestructible as ever. And at times the violence is not funny, but chillingly cold - like when Maureen burns her mother's hand in boiling oil. We are caught in between, as our laughs melt into gasps.

Juxtaposed to all this violence is an attention to the prosaic. In an instant the characters can go from arguing about the merits of different brands of potato crisps to pointing a gun at one another's head. Very Tarantinoesque. Think of Vince and Jules tucking their guns into their shorts as they leave the diner in their "dork" t-shirts at the end of Pulp Fiction. One of McDonagh's characters blows off his father's head because he makes fun of his haircut. Sure, all this is funny, but I think McDonagh is also trying to show the petty, ignorant absurdity that is the human condition. Like Edward Albee there is a lot of witty repartee between the characters. They use esoteric words like "maudlin" that belie their boorish ignorance. Two of the brothers call one another "virgin gayboys." I don't know, but there is something funny about brothers calling one another "virgin gayboys." Not far from the way so many of the brothers I knew growing up talked to one another. The construction of the narratives are tight, dramatic, usually with sharp twist at the end. I've heard it before, and it was written in the New Yorker, that McDonagh is finished with play writing. So be it. But if Six Shooter is a sign of where he plans to go with film in the future, rest assured we will be entertained.

Brilliant Plays.......2006-05-23

As a translator of different plays from english to spanish I can assure you if there's an outstanding english playwright nowadays, then that's Martin McDonagh... it's only a shame he recently announced he won't be writing any new plays soon and will turn his talent to filmmaking, which is just as great but the theatre will have a terrible absence in years to come.

Synge-speak a century later?.......2006-01-24

The comments here reflect the larger debate roiling about McDonagh's use of stereotypical language and stock characters. There definitely is a rhythm sustained in each one of these three, with its ironic echoes of another observer of the West of Ireland, Synge, in his dialogues that veer near parody even as they for other listeners ring true of "English as she is spoken in Ireland." Whether this register is one of cruelty or affection or neither seems to still be an open question when critics and audiences are discussing these plays.

These three plays interlock with each other, with references tying characters and events into those of the other two dramas. Like "Cripple of Inishmaan," these three rely on a twist of a family set-up, a bitter and decades-long rivalry that at last bursts into violence, and a pause halfway on for a letter back from a character off in America or England that'll figure in the rest of the action. Of the three, "Skull" seems to drag on more than the others, perhaps because of its graveside setting that draws the characters into a place and locks them there for a time. "Beauty Queen" relies on a letter never received as its ploy, and while this moves the plot along, it does seem old hat. "Lonesome West" has been, in one review I read, called to task for the "ridiculous" Father Welsh Walsh Welsh (or vice versa), but I found his character the most recognizable of his caricatures, and in this play I believe McDonagh's working slowly towards arguably more empathy with the characters and situations he contrives. Girleen for the first time also gives us somebody we can listen to without feeling like she's distorted beyond all verisimilitude.

McDonagh does love his domestic brutality, and the cartoonish nature of his exaggerated disputes over Kimberleys, Wagon Wheels, Taytos, and the merits of cow burials five years exhumed make for entertaining repartee. With "Pillowman," I wonder if he's exhausted the codding and slagging of his Connemara/Aran forebears; after the "Lieutenant of Inishmore," it seems as if he's gotten sham-roguery out of his system and gone on to more "European" representations of more serious intent. Time will tell if these early plays are only the start of a long career or a burst of energy before calming his post-adolescent shock value gradually diminished into more subtle and intricate--and perhaps then more horrifyingly recognizable--explorations of violence and disruption within the mental worlds, no longer the propped-up Irish settings sketched wittily if loosely here in three Leenane plays from his relative youth.

Grotesques but well done grotesques.......2005-02-12

What he does he does well. Lonesome West is outrageous and hilarious and even a "wee bitten" sad. Beauty Queen has plenty of wit and poignant moments as well. But, his main characters aren't people. They're grotesques. The mother in Beauty Queen, the brothers and priest of Lonesome West, pretty much every character in Skull in Connamaragh. You never could confuse these characters with real people, they will always remain characters on stage or on the page. McDonagh and the audience look down on these characters and rightly so, they're psychopaths, freaks. You laugh at them not with them. McDonagh is entertaining and after years of Beckett and Ionesco and other avant garde types, its nice to see some action and a coherent story-line on stage, but there are times when you think that McDonagh is the quivalent of a good pulp writer, somebody along the lines of a Hammett or Chandler or even a Steven King or John Grisham. He writes good stories and is very entertaining, but he is not the kind of writer who will change the way that you look at the world or the way that you perceive yourself.

He's brilliant.......2001-04-21

Although my only knowledge of MM's work comes from seeing a recent production of "The Lonesome West," I would urge you to see/read his work. The man is brilliant! I haven't been this blown away in a long time.

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.

Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen

Average customer rating:

Very good read
SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED "THE KINGMAKER"
Remeber, this is fiction
Another Compelling Page Turner---Different Take on Familiar Biblical Stories
Queenmaker Brings Old Testament into 21st Century!

Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen
India Edghill
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0312289197

Amazon.com

Turning inside out the traditional view of David as a beloved king and gentle author of the Psalms, India Edghill's well-written debut novel Queenmaker paints a dark picture of the lauded biblical hero as seen through the eyes of his first wife, Michal. David's silver-tongued way with words captures Michal's heart, but her marriage to him is soon annulled by her half-mad father, King Saul. She's packed off to marry the widowed farmer Phaltiel, whom Michal soon learns to love. When David gains the throne of Israel and sends for Michal, she discovers that David has become a king who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Through courage and wit, Michal must carve out a new life as the queen and wife of a man she now despises. Edghill isn't afraid to change biblical narrative to suit her story, and paints David as a selfish, grasping leader whose feet of clay are all too evident in this tale. Those who like their biblical narrative served straight up and their heroes untarnished may be disturbed by this reassessment; those who like a good story and a new spin on biblical champions, however, will enjoy this unvarnished look at one of Judaism's and Christianity's most lauded personalities. --Cindy Crosby

Book Description

For over forty years, Michal lived and reigned in David's court. She was the beautiful and proud daughter of King Saul and the prize David would risk his kingdom to win. Behind the palace doors, beneath the burning sun of the desert, or fleeing from Absalom's warriors, Michal was at the center of court intrigues. Queenmaker introduces in unforgettable detail the characters of one of the greatest periods in Biblical history-their public deeds and private thoughts-and gives us the court of the kings as only a woman could see it.

Customer Reviews:

Very good read.......2007-08-13

This book was a very good read for me, in fact I finished it in 2 days! It was so interesting that it was hard to put down. If you enjoyed The Red Tent, you'll also enjoy this one.

SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED "THE KINGMAKER".......2007-07-18

With an abundance of historical and biblical fact, a bit of speculation and a dash of supposition, India Edghill has created an exciting and admirable character in Michal, daughter of Saul (Israel's first King)
and first wife of David. We are introduced to Michal first as the naïve farmer's daughter who, through a prophetic event, realizes every young girls dream when she becomes a princess. She meets David, the handsome, charismatic young Shepard and slayer of giants (a man who her father views as a threat to his reign) and is besotted. She becomes David's wife and takes her first steps into a life fraught with equal measures of hope and despair, love and hate, jealousy and intrigue.

Caught up a series of events beyond her control, Michal makes the best of every bad situation. The David of Edghill's narrative is not the loving, kind warrior King we were introduced to in Sunday School, but a greedy, ruthless, conniving politician as well as an egotistical and demanding husband.

Survival on the throne of Israel is a major achievement, since the palace is a political hotbed of danger and dirty dealings. We watch as Michal slowly transforms into a strong, shrewd and perceptive Queen ........ an observer of human nature and a schemer of sorts who does her best to manipulate each situation then patiently waits for her opportunity to capitalizes on the outcome.

Rather than seeing a teenaged Bathsheba as a threat, she befriends the young girl. Later, when Bathsheba gives birth to Solomen, Michal is instrumental in his development offering her guidance and counsel and is ultimately the "Shepard" who guides the future King.

This is an epic novel about a determined, proud and resilient woman of destiny who would have done well even in today's competitive society. Michal is without doubt "The Ultimate Survivor".

Remeber, this is fiction.......2006-11-10

To read this for purely entertainment I loved it.
I wanted to keep reading and wanted to know what was next.
But I don't know much about the biblical facts. But the book bashed King David and Queen Michal had a mind of her own, very independent. I don't really think that biblically that she would of. She would have been thrown to the wolves .if she contradicted the court. But, if you read this. Read it for the entertainment value and then get your tanank out.
King David was too big for his britches many woman loved him and he had gold coming out of his ears. He had other kill for him at least 4 that are named in the book. He had many wives and comcubines. including Batsheva. But he really loved Michal. But Michal grew bitter of him. She had no love for him but just went through the motions.
King David saw Batsheva and had Batsheva's husband sent in battle knowing full well he would be killed. Since Batsheva was pregnant he could explain this away having him killed. The king was then free to marry batsheva and having a son. Michal became very found of Batsheva when she came into the kingdom, and took them under her wing.
Michal, became found of Batsheva and her son ,Solomon who would become the next king. Michal thought of Soloman as her son. As she was barren and would not have any children.
King David will never build the great temple for Hashem it will have to wait til Solomon becomes king.
Queen Michal never asked anything from king David only 2 things to help Batsheva when whe was pregnant. And for Solomon to be the next king. Very interesting ending a bit contrived. This book was never rushed. Well paced through out. I would give this 5 stars for the entertainment value only. I did love the writting, based on other biblical fiction I have read this was written like the bible very poetic.

Another Compelling Page Turner---Different Take on Familiar Biblical Stories.......2006-08-13

*****
This book was another one of those page-turners that kept me up for most of 24 hours to read. It is a novel told from the point-of-view of Michal, David's first wife. It is about Michal, about Biblical times, and hugely about David---for David is "The Queenmaker". Michal became his Queen. Although it takes place in Biblical times, it is not a Christian novel; it is rather a revealing novel, an alternative novel, and a novel that empowers women.

To those readers who are unfamiliar with Michal and David---they are written about in the Bible in the books of I Samuel, II Samuel, and I Kings primarily, but elsewhere too. It is really fun to read the Biblical stories and then read "The Queenmaker". Our American culture has taught us that David is a huge hero and "a man after God's own heart"...however, when you read India Edghill's version of Bible events, it gives you an alternative take on King David. Her view actually makes more sense than does the Biblical view, and probably was more likely to have really occurred. It's sort of what you might come to if you really thought about the Bible before you were taught what was true about it and what you HAD to believe (if you've been raised in a church).

What would we think of a man who married a woman, slept with her on her wedding night, took off in fear for his life the next morning, not to be seen from or heard from again by her for 10 years. Michal is forced to marry a farmer husband who she comes to love and they live happily together for almost 10 years. Then David returns, with other wives and concubines, and decides he wants Michal too. So he rips her from her environment and brings her to be his wife along with all of his other women. This is only the beginning. It gets worse. David's acts are mostly incredibly selfish, often cruel, frequently against Jewish law, and yet because he simply professes his love for Yahweh albeit with very little outward evidence of this love, he was revered as a hero, and is still looked up to today as a hero by many.

"The Queenmaker" brings all of this to life, as well as the time and country, the Jewish culture, and more. Michal grows wiser and learns how to survive by her wits and how to find love.

If you are open to different takes on Biblical stories, you'll like this book. It's not a Christian novel in the typical sense at all. However, I think that open-minded Christians would love it because it would make them think, and think hard about why they believe what they do.
*****

Queenmaker Brings Old Testament into 21st Century! .......2006-02-25

As you read Queenmaker, you are aware that the people are living in a much different time. However, the attitudes, the clamor for power, the "way the world turns" has not changed, even though our ways of life differ. Most readers do not live in situations where there are many other wives, concubines, servants, etc. Nor is our world so small. However, the human complexities and frailties are the same.

The writing style is most enjoyable; it moves the stories along rapidly, and keeps the reader involved.

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People were staring at me because I was laughing out loud!!!!
You gotta love her..
Easy, lighthearted read
Good light read
Really cute, fun and light hearted book

Tales Of A Drama Queen (Red Dress Ink)
Lee Nichols
Manufacturer: Red Dress Ink
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0373250630

Book Description

The only thing Elle Medina has ever been a strong candidate for is a department store credit card . . .

Application for Temporary Employment

Name: Elle Medina

Marital Status: I'm separated from my fiancé, Louis Ferris.

Occupation: He was a highly paid attorney.

Employment History: You mean mine? Technically I haven't exactly worked before. But I'm motivated and I work well with others. Most others. Usually.

Career Goals: I thought I was happy with Louis, but now I'm not sure. Ever since he dumped me for some floozy from Iowa, I've been thinking I should find out what I'm good at and pursue it in a formal job-type way.

Salary Requirements: I need my own apartment (currently staying on friend's sofa) and a car. And I've always wanted a dog. Oh, and I definitely need a shopping trip.

Elle Medina must be qualified for something other than shopping and causing trouble, but when she moved to Santa Barbara after the disastrous end of her engagement, just what she's suited for isn't clear. Bartender? Private eye? Phone psychic? It seems like everything she tries ends in humiliation or legal action -- or both. Her best friend is getting sick of her, her new boyfriend's a con artist and her creditors are on her trail. So why is this the happiest Elle's been in years?

Customer Reviews:

People were staring at me because I was laughing out loud!!!!.......2007-08-21

HILARIOUS!!!!

Elle Medina has never worked a day in her life and doesn't need to because her powerful, attorney fiance takes care of her just fine! At least until he breaks off the wedding. Elle is sent into an emotional tale-spin and is forced to find a J-O-B. Her delusions about work are fantastic! And her job choices, priceless!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

You gotta love her.........2007-01-10

...or at least feel pity for her. I surely enjoyed reading about her!

TALES OF A DRAMA QUEEN is about Elle Medina who after being left by her fiance has to stand on her own feet for the first time in her life. She starts out crashing on her friends Maya's couch for a while until she finds shelter in a converted trolley. Not that her self esteem isn't low enough already, then she has to find out that her ex married the first best woman he found on a business trip.

Next she enters the working world as a shop detective and after she gets fired there she finds her new calling as a phone psychic which works out slightly better.

And of course all the time she's looking for a new love, with dates ranging from criminals she met during her detective days to the usually bar goers she meets at Maya's bar...

All in all this is a funny book, that has everything I look for in a novel: humor, drama, and romance.
The perfect book for a sunny Florida day at the beach!

Easy, lighthearted read.......2006-08-24

This book is such a good read when you need a good laugh. The story line makes you want to keep reading, not like a mystery, but in the sense you have to know what is going to happen next. I can't wait to read the sequel, True Lies of a Drama Queen. The other reviews are true when they say this character is very real, and quirky. You can't help but feel sorry for her. Definately recommend this as one of the great Chic books that is out.

Good light read.......2006-08-06

I read this book second, not realizing that this one was the first one of two Le Nichols books. No problem reading it secone...so I knew who was who and who got where... I liked the fact that it was very light and fun to read. It is nice to escape for a little while and this book does it.

Really cute, fun and light hearted book.......2006-03-11

I read it in 3 days. Some parts made me laugh out loud, just a fun book for easy reading.

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The Lion in Winter: A Play
James Goldman
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0812973356
Release Date: 2004-12-14

Book Description

Insecure siblings fighting for their parents’ attention; bickering spouses who can’t stand to be together or apart; adultery and sexual experimentation; even the struggle to balance work and family: These are themes as much at home in our time as they were in the twelfth century. In James Goldman’s classic play The Lion in Winter, domestic turmoil rises to an art form.
Keenly self-aware and motivated as much by spite as by any sense of duty, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine maneuver against each other to position their favorite son in line for succession. By imagining the inner lives of Henry, Eleanor, and their sons, John, Geoffrey, and Richard, Goldman created the quintessential drama of family strife and competing ambitions, a work that gives visceral, modern-day relevance to the intrigues of Angevin England.
Combining keen historical and psychological insight with delicious, mordant wit, the stage play has become a touchstone of today’s theater scene, and Goldman’s screenplay for the 1968 film adaptation won him an Academy Award. Told in “marvelously articulate language, with humor that bristles and burns” (Los Angeles Times), The Lion in Winter is the rare play that bursts into life on the printed page.

Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet (Manga Shakespeare)

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Mystery, Murder, Romance, and Action
Amazingly good!

Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet (Manga Shakespeare)
William Shakespeare , Richard Appignanesi , and Emma Vieceli
Manufacturer: Abrams Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0810993244

Book Description

Now presenting Manga Shakespeare—the Bard's greatest plays in an accessible, lively format for a new generation of readers

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most well-known plays, and this exciting new retelling provides young readers an innovative introduction to “the melancholy Dane.” Hamlet is your typical angst-ridden teen—he doesn't know how to deal with his responsibilities, how to treat his girlfriend, or how to react to his father's death. He has no one to trust, and he even acts crazy so adults will leave him alone. Manga fans—and kids who find Shakespeare intimidating—will be drawn to the style and action of the Manga Shakespeare series, learning that required reading doesn't have to be boring.

Customer Reviews:

Mystery, Murder, Romance, and Action.......2007-10-02

Reviewed by Jessica Clark (age 17) for Reader Views (9/07)

This story starts off with the King's death and Hamlet's mother married to the King's brother. Then it is discovered that the King was murdered by his own brother for his wife. Hamlet now has gone mad with revenge and wants nothing more then to seek revenge for his father's untimely death. Hamlet undergoes many changes and pushes away his love, Ophelia, and sets to work on presenting a play similar to his father's death to see his uncle's reaction. As the story unfolds there are certainly more deaths and the return of loved ones to seek justice for those that were slain, and a brutal end for all those involved.

Although I have not read the original Hamlet, I decided to read this, and I am glad that I did.

This uses original writings from Shakespeare paired with beautiful illustrations. I enjoyed reading this very much. I found it quite easy to follow and it was paired nicely with the correct drawings. I found this book to have everything storyline-wise. There was mystery, murder, romance, and action. I believe it did Shakespeare justice. I am going to have to read the actual book now to see how it compares, but I believe that it will be very close. I highly recommend that everyone read "Hamlet: Manga Shakespeare," whether they have read the actual book or not. For those that didn't follow on certain things, there is also a plot summary at the back of the book, along with a brief summary of Shakespeare's life.

Amazingly good!.......2007-06-09

It is difficult to adequately express how amazing this was. It's all the spoken parts of Hamlet as Shakespeare wrote them, spoken by characters in a comic book. It is set in the future, in space, where Denmark is it's own planet or something. This doesn't change the story, since characters are positioned the same to one another. Personalities and stories aren't time specific like clothes are.

It has pretty good art. The style shifts to different levels of detail based on what's appropriate for that scene. Transitions between scenes and how characters are introduced are done well. So, just as a comic book this flows well.

Shakepeare as a comic makes far more sense than does reading a play. Hamlet is a play. Hamlet was meant to be watched. A comic combines the language with a linear visual. This might even be better than a play; at least, for me it was much more gripping than Shakespeare as a play. In a play, the visual is there, but due to language barriers, I haven't gotten nuances and all from the language that I probably would have picked up on had I learned English in the 1600s. However, in comic book form I could reread lines, or read more slowly or quickly and I had the visual there on the page with the lines mixed into it. The book was really gripping. I got so much more out of this than any other exposure to Shakespeare. I'm all about getting more manga Shakespeare.

I highly recommend this as a way of accessing Hamlet. Libraries and school libraries should consider getting a copy, since this is required reading for classes often enough that it will get wear, and, as I've said, is a very good way of really understanding Shakespeare's nuances. Also, it's just a good read in general as a comic and reasonably priced.

Theatre Of Images: Pandering to the Masses : A misrepresentation/A Letter for Queen Victoria/The Red Horse Animation

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Theatre Of Images: Pandering to the Masses : A misrepresentation/A Letter for Queen Victoria/The Red Horse Animation
Richard Foreman , Robert Wilson , and Lee Breuer
Manufacturer: PAJ Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1555540732

Book Description

The three plays collected in The Theatre of Images challenge the conventional understanding of performance. In Pandering to the Masses: A Misrepresentation, Richard Foreman creates a reality onstage that reflects his own reality--focusing on familiar, everyday events with the addition of recorded voice and projected image. A Letter for Queen Victoria, by Robert Wilson, is an opera without singers, with verbal declamations instead of arias. Represented in comic-book form, The Red Horse Animation by Lee Breuer demonstrates the play's reliance on cinematic techniques in its composition.

The Best Boy in Spain: El Mejor Mozo De Espana

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The Best Boy in Spain: El Mejor Mozo De Espana
Lope De Vega , David M. Gitlitz , and Lope De Vega
Manufacturer: Bilingual Review Press.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Children of the Queen's Revels: A Jacobean Theatre Repertory

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Children of the Queen's Revels: A Jacobean Theatre Repertory
Lucy Munro
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521843561

Book Description

Between 1603 and 1613, The Queen's Revels staged plays by Francis Beaumont, George Chapman, John Fletcher, Ben Jonson, John Marston and Thomas Middleton, all of whom were at their most innovative when writing for this company. Combining theatre history and critical analysis, this study provides a history of the children's company, and an account of their repertory. It demonstrates the involvement in dramatic production of dramatists, shareholders, patrons, audiences and actors alike, and reappraises issues such as management, performance style and audience composition.

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