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.

Average customer rating:

Good start but should have been kept simple
NOT a slow book
Good fantasy hampered by romance
Wonderful!
And this was this author's first book?!

Poison Study
Maria V. Snyder
Manufacturer: Luna
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0373802307

Book Description

Choose: A quick death . . . Or slow poison . . .

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace -- and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust -- and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear . . .

Download Description

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll be food taster to the Commander of Ixia--and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill him. But she's given a poison requiring a daily antidote to keep her from escaping. Meanwhile, as rebels plot to seize Ixia, Yelena develops magical powers she can't control.

Customer Reviews:

Good start but should have been kept simple.......2007-09-14

This is a high 3-star review; consider it 3.5 stars. This debut novel from Snyder makes her an author to watch. There are many elements to like in Poison Study: the simple yet compelling storyline, the strong likable heroine, the crisp pace, and the straightforward, unpretentious style. It has a powerful yet subtle opening, and the first 100 pages are 4-star work. The rest of the novel disappointed me slightly, and I'll explain why.

At first, the novel seems to be about a clever young woman forced into terrible circumstances. She's just a traumatized girl with only her instincts and resourcefulness to rely on to survive; she's not a warrior or a thief or a wizard. Unfortunately (in my opinion), she becomes all of these things. Too many novels introduce this kind of character: an orphan or insignificant peasant who becomes powerful or discovers a great legacy. I am sick of these characters who defy realism to learn expert skills in weeks and defeat experienced opponents. Why can't she just be a girl? The novel has a gender theme, but I think that this theme would have emerged more thoughtfully if the author had excised the magic and fighting. Writing about a poison taster is original; I think that Snyder should have focused on Yelena as a poison taster, not as a potential magician or soldier. I would have preferred a novel about Yelena the poison taster who has to rebuild herself after great trauma and survive in a world where her gender is a disadvantage.

Despite my criticism, Poison Study is an entertaining and well-told novel featuring a scrappy protagonist. I will certainly read the next volume and track Snyder's progress as a fantasy writer.

NOT a slow book.......2007-09-09

I have never heard of this author before, until I stumbled across her book while searching for books to buy, and I am NOT sorely disappointed. The book doesn't start out slow, and its such a wonderful book, I was disappointed that it ended. Luckily I had the 2nd book on hand, and I am almost done with that too. I cannot wait for the 3rd one to come out which would be Fire Study.

Its about a girl who survies the harshness of Ixia, and the dangers of being a Food taster to the Commander. Its also about her facing her demons, her past and struggling to move on, but events comes by and wrecks havoc on her, but she also makes friends, strange allies....I won't tell you more, but I would Highly Recommend the book....

P.S. My grandmother is going to be reading it...so that tells me something since she;s a romance reader, adn its not a romance book....but...there is SOME romance in it...hehehehehe

Good fantasy hampered by romance.......2007-09-04

This was a nice fantasy book, one which really deserves 3.5 stars rather than 3. It's the story of a woman, who on death's door for a crime, is offered the option of becoming a poison tester for a ruler. Since all the previous tasters have died of poison, it appears to be a temporary reprieve more than a rescue from death. Along the way, you learn that magic is outlawed in the country this woman lives in, and she is, unfortunately, displaying some powers of magic.

I liked the book well enough after the first few chapters, to lend it to my husband (a fellow fantasy book lover) as a book he might like. He returned it to me with a "Decent, but so romancy" comment. I looked at him, bewildered, since the chapters I had read had been romance free. Since we were on a plane, I quickly finished the book and I wrinkled my nose at him when done. He asked me, "See what I mean?" and I nodded immediately. The romance had over-ridden what I found good about the novel, removing the fantasy and world-building and friendships and making it a romance novel instead.

After coming home, I learnt that the Luna publishing group was mainly romance rather than fantasy which might have altered my purchase if I had known before hand. It at least would have saved me from recommending it to my husband who would have given this about a 2.5.

The description of poison tasting and learning how to find poisons in a food was the BEST part of this novel. In fact, if I find any good non-fiction books about this old profession, I might give them a read. It was fascinating enough that even though I had a number of problems with this book, I still rate it a 3.5.

Wonderful!.......2007-09-04

I read this book and the next Magic Study in two days. I couldn't put either down until I was finished. It's thoroughly entertaining, magic, action, romance. It has everything. One of my favorite reads.

And this was this author's first book?!.......2007-09-04

The premise sounded interesting. I was immediately caught up in Yelena's story. Her dilemna, her survival, her growing attraction to Valek, who if anyone to trust, the totalitarian state in which she lives - all combined to keep me reading oblivious to everything else. I'm glad I bought this book and Magic Study at the same time and totally crushed that I have to wait for the next one.

Average customer rating:

A good start

Toxicology: A Case-Oriented Approach
John Joseph Fenton
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Forensic Science | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Pharmacology | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Toxicology | Pharmacology | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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

Medicine | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0849303710

Book Description

REAL-LIFE CASES, TUTORIAL QUESTIONS, NARRATIVE HISTORY Intriguing anecdotal pedagogy, like the alleged arsenical poisonings of Napoleon and President Taylor and the probable mercury overdose of Isaac Newton, is one of the things that set Toxicology: A Case-Oriented Approach apart from other toxicology texts. Based on an undergraduate-graduate combined toxicology course at West Chester University, this innovative text captures readers' interest by combining modern case studies, historical cases, and hundreds of illustrations and tables. Each chapter presents several case scenarios that involve the reader with questions about diagnosis, testing methods, treatment, and other pertinent information. TOXICOLOGY FOR THE LABORATORY AND THE EMERGENCY ROOM In an easy-to-read style, this book covers the major organ systems and reviews the effects of toxins in each system. Most contemporary books are almost entirely clinical or entirely analytical. Toxicology: A Case-Oriented Approach treats each area extensively to benefit students and professionals who need to know aspects of both. It describes diagnosis and treatment of each specific poisonous exposure and discusses chemical basis and the laboratory testing of toxins. This dual perspective, coupled with the book's interesting narrative approach, lets readers quickly absorb the information they need to understand toxicology in the laboratory and in the Emergency Department.

Customer Reviews:

A good start.......2006-11-10

This text book is a great starting book in the field of toxicology. I am a new student to this field. The author's combination of clinical and technical knowledge makes this book all the more interesting.

Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment

Average customer rating:

Sacred Science
A Must Read
Scary.
The Important Legacy of "Silent Spring" Continues
excellent and important--though a bit too long

Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment
Sandra Steingraber
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Ecology | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0375700994
Release Date: 1998-07-28

Book Description

With this eloquent and impassioned book, biologist and poet Sandra Steingraber shoulders the legacy of Rachel Carson, producing a work about people and land, cancer and the environment, that is as accessible and invaluable as Silent Spring--and potentially as historic.

In her early twenties, Steingraber was afflicted with cancer, a disease that has afflicted other members of her adoptive family. Writing from the twin perspectives of a survivor and a concerned scientist, she traces the high incidence of cancer and the terrifying concentrations of environmental toxins in her native rural Illinois. She goes on to show similar correlation in other communities, such as Boston and Long Island, and throughout the United States, where cancer rates have risen alarmingly since mid-century. At once a deeply moving personal document and a groundbreaking work of scientific detection, Living Downstream will be a touchstone for generations, reminding us of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the integrity of our air, land, and water.

"By skillfully weaving a strong personal drama with thorough scientific research, Steingraber tells a compelling story....Well worth reading."--Washington Post

Customer Reviews:

Sacred Science.......2006-11-09

There's an image that stands out from this book, that encapsulates its heart and soul... the image of a petri dish with a deceased nun's "immortal" breast cells. These cells live on in cancer research, continuing to divide and offer themselves up, though the nun has since passed on. Regarding these cells, Steingraber makes the comment, "This is my body broken for you."

A body broken for us. That is Steingraber herself, who was diagnosed with cancer, as a young woman still in college. A heart broken for us. Again, it is Steingraber, as she loses her best friend to cancer and reveals some of her most intimate thoughts about the experience. And it is all the bodies that still pile up in brokenness... one in three Americans now get cancer, she reminds us.

It is also the brokenness of animals, soil, earth, water, and air--each of which she examines with a keen scientific eye, loads of research, and surprising poignancy.

Reading this book, one questions not so much why we, or our fathers, or our sisters get cancer, but why we as a society let this brokenness go on and think we can be immune from its effects. I wish that we'd all read this book and begin to put the pieces together again.

A Must Read.......2005-09-03

Anyone who has ever wondered about the environmental causes of cancer will be fascinated by this book. Steingraber is a gifted writer and a solid scientist (a rare but good combination) and she weaves scientific research and personal story together in a skillful way. The gist is that damning results from initial studies on the environmental causes of cancer need further study, but when all these initial studies are brought together like this it surely seems we are our own worst enemy when it comes to these terrible illnesses.

Scary........2005-06-03

This is a powerful and moving account that dissects, piece by piece, the system which allows cancer-causing chemical agents to be released within the United States, primarily by corporations.

Cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber is a poet at heart, and a scientist by trade. For me, the weakest parts of the book were the ones in which the poet takes over, speaking in deeply personal dramatic tones that, quite frankly, made me a little uncomfortable.

Much more interesting is the scathing indictment of the processes by which chemicals are regulated in the United States. With impeccable logic, Steingraber frightens the bejeezus out of us by demonstrating that, when it comes to protecting the environment and public health, no one is driving the bus.

The vast majority of chemicals released into the environment have not been held up to proper scrutiny. For chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or other problems, there is an almost impossibly high burden of proof put on those who seek to have the chemicals banned.

Steingraber builds the case, simultaneously removing all doubt that certain chemicals are responsible for cancer outbreaks in certain areas while showing us that the case cannot be proved to the satisfaction of the regulatory agencies (who are themselves heavily influenced by the offending companies).

A detective story, an expose, and a lyrical narrative all in one, Steingraber has given concrete form to the sometimes-vague notion that Corporate America is behind many of our country's biggest threats.

The Important Legacy of "Silent Spring" Continues.......2005-05-08

Because of the immense importance of the subject matter- chemical contamination of our environment, this book was written for a general audience and Ms Steingraber's writing style flows with easy to understand, but alarming expose' of the hazards of chemicals in our environment.

It is a beautiful continuation of Rachel Carson's work of environmental responsibility and the examination of the dangers of chemical contamination of our shared world.
Ms Carson's famous book, "Silent Spring", published in 1962, opened up to the public the hideous side-effects of chemicals, i.e., cancer causing, biome pollution and disruption, and killing of non-targeted species. Remember the Brown Pelican and Bald Eagle almost being killed-off from DDT poisoning? Carson's work eventually led to the banning of that harmful chemical, but as Ms Steingraber so expertly points out, there is a plethora of other dangerous chemicals on the market that tests have shown should not be.

Sandra Steingraber wrote her book over 35 years after "Silent Spring" and having the benefit of a huge amount of accumulated evidence of chemical side-effects and personal experience with the serious health problems caused by chemical contamination of our environment, she has put together a powerful indictment of the irresponsibility of industry and government alike in their continuing agenda of down-playing the dangers of chemicals and this constitutes one of the most irresponsible and insidious snake-oil scams ever perpetrated against life.

Huge corporate profits from the sale of deadly, often-time untested or inadequately tested chemicals purchase lackadaisical government over-sight and slick advertising on the "benefits" of chemicals.

This book is well researched and concise, yet will give simple explanations of such topics as "biomagnification"- the accumulation of chemicals the higher up the food chain we go. Most importantly, is the topic of "risk as recklessness" in taking dangerous chemicals to market without proper safety testing, but especially allowing known carcinogens to remain on the market long after they have proven to be harmful, hence, government complicity.

And the governments stand on this? They publish guidelines for changing one's "lifestyle" to help reduce chemical exposure! In other words, they attempt to shift responsibility for health on to the public who has no control over or proper warnings of where these chemicals are and most ludicrous of this is the fact that the spread of chemicals cannot be controlled once released into the environment, so they're everywhere and unavoidable. A good summation of this irresponsible nonsense is quoted from the anthropologist, Martha Balshem: [In the end, Balshem came to believe the lesson she was transmitting-"accept authority and accept blame"-was the wrong one]. (p 262) Indeed!

The Epilog starting on page 285 is a good resource guide for finding out more about chemicals, government agencies "responsible" for monitoring their use, where chemicals are concentrated, educational materials, etc.

Sandra Steingraber has put together a beautiful, important and educational statement in this book and it is one of the most profound publications of it's type since "Silent Spring". I found it to be a great honor to Rachel Carson's legacy- thank you Ms Steingraber!

excellent and important--though a bit too long.......2004-04-21

Here is a great book I think we all should read. Steingraber's thesis is relatively simple: environmental factors play a much larger role in the increase of cancer than hitherto assumed by individuals, public health officials, and regulators, and we should act accordingly. Her argument is well-researched and takes into account many of the pollutants we find in our air, water, earth, and bodies, and is presented intermittently as narrative and analysis.

I like the structure of the book, the organization into chapters titled "time," "space," "war," and the like. I also like her alternating personal narrative (she is a bladder-cancer survivor, a native of Illinois, a graduate student, a researcher--we find out lots of things) with the cold hard facts and sometimes the fuzzy facts of cancer research and regulation of chemicals. The only thing that holds me back, which is why I gave it four stars, is that the book is a bit too long for my taste at almost 400 pages--I, a layperson, could have done with a bit less detail (though I understand she's covering her bases) and a bit more politics (though I understand she's being careful, not naming too many names).

The best chapter is the final one: if you come across this book and have other things to do, at least read the last chapter--most convincing is her deconstruction of the public policy of 'personal responsibility': sure, some cancers may be associated with personal lifestyle, but more important are the things we have little individual control over, such as the air we breathe, the land our kids play on, the streams we swim in. Blame, Steingraber implies/states (she's not always so outspoken), lies less with us citizens, taxpayers, cancer patients, than with the companies that manufacture products and byproducts that may be carcinegous and are simply allowed to do so until proven otherwise, and the regulators (our government, at all levels) who let them do so. Bravo--it needed to be said, and I'm glad Steingraber did it.

Average customer rating:
Peddling Poison: The Tobacco Industry and Kids (Criminal Justice, Delinquency, and Corrections)
Clete Snell
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Drug Dependency | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Social Services & Welfare | Poverty | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Children's Studies | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Health, Mind & Body | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Nonfiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Ending the Tobacco Holocaust: How Big Tobacco Affects Our Health, Pocketbook and Political Freedom--And What We Can Do About It

Regulating Tobacco

The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America

Assuming the Risk : The Mavericks, the Lawyers, and the Whistle-Blowers Who Beat Big Tobacco

ASIN: 0275982394

Book Description

The social acceptance of tobacco use obscures the fact that it is the single greatest preventable cause of death in the U.S., and approximately 80% of those who use tobacco products began using them before the age of 18. Indeed, tobacco companies in the past routinely targeted youth in their marketing and advertising, hoping to hook kids young and keep them with their original brand. Snell explores the tobacco industry's campaign to attract youth smokers and provides an overview of the FDA's investigation of the tobacco industry and how those investigations revealed the industry's deceptions and their specific intent to target youth. As a result, many anti-smoking advocacy groups and youth-led programs have sprung up to educate other youths about the deadly nature of tobacco addiction and the industry's marketing strategies. Parents, teens, teachers, and community and policy leaders here find an engaging, thoughtful, and informative discussion of a problem that has vexed this country for decades. As a result of the Master Settlement with the tobacco industry, many states have developed comprehensive programs that have resulted in a substantial decline in youth tobacco use. While national efforts at tobacco regulation have largely failed, local tobacco control efforts have mostly been successful. Snell shows that the future of youth tobacco policy depends on the continued funding of tobacco prevention programs at the state and local level and illustrates that there is considerable evidence that the tobacco industry is shifting its marketing approach to minority populations and developing nations.

Average customer rating:

A fascinating and worthy addition to new age and modern-day magic shelves
Excellant!
Space Time Magic - and then some
Magickal applications of quantum mechanics
Space/Time, not for beginners

Space/time Magic
Taylor Ellwood
Manufacturer: Immanion Press/Megalithica Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Magic | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Alchemy | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1904853269

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating and worthy addition to new age and modern-day magic shelves.......2007-07-10

Space/Time Magic is a metaphysical studies guide to taking control of the complex probabilities of one's life. Chapters describe how to use sigils to manifest multiple probabilities; how to use the DNA spiral to explore space/time; writing as a divination practice; how to use technology to enhance space/time workings; and much more. Space/Time Magic literally lives up to its title in its study of mystical practices that affect the four dimensions, and its down-to-earth terminology makes in accessible to readers of all backgrounds. "In magic, particularly results magic, there is a tendency to expect that the result will occur now. This tendency is dangerous, showing as it does that you've fallen into the brainwashing of linear time. No result can be measured as occurring at a specific moment of time, and to try to limit magic in such a manner is ultimately to emasculate your workings. Everything, and this includes magic, happens in its own time." A fascinating and worthy addition to new age and modern-day magic shelves, featuring step-by-step exercises after each chapter.

Excellant!.......2007-04-18

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author provides theories from different points of view to explain how the magic works and lots and lots of practical exercises. He details what he has done and how it has turned out, but encourages the reader to take what he has done and build on it. He provided ideas that I would not have thought of; practices that can easily be added to anyone's daily routine. And he can write! I have purchased a few books from other authors in this genre and not all can.

Space Time Magic - and then some.......2007-02-20

(Before the review - a disclaimer. I do know the author.)

The book essentially has three themes to it:
1) Magic involving time and space/time such as retroactive magic, time manipulation, divination, and soforth.
2) Concepts and activities that involve our space, time, and space/time ideas, activites, and interpretations.
3) The direct, practacal application of #1 and #2 and how the author did them, often with detailed information.

Therefore Space/Time Magic is probably best thought of as "Space/Time Magic, Space/Time Concepts, and A Whole Lot of Other Stuff." The amount of useful ideas-per-page is extremely high and the repetition of common (or just plain over-repeated information) is extremely low. This is a book that takes difficult concepts, and shows how to apply them, often with direct author's testimony.

However, the book does suffer from times of loosing focus, or introducing techniques that may be useful for space/time work, but aren't as relevant as, say, other elements of the book. This doesn't reduce its usefullness, but it can be distracting.

Space/Time Magic is a book of experimental magic. There's no repetitive correspondence tables or things you've seen before. Though you can apply the work and ideas with surprising ease, its not Magic 101 despite its friendliness.

Magickal applications of quantum mechanics.......2006-11-18

Quantum mechanics is well and truly in the public consciousness these days, largely due to the success of the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" This movie opened the eyes of viewers to the incredible possibilities available. The obvious question those viewers should have asked themselves is how they could go about taking full advantage of the possibilities.

Quantum mechanics provides an explanation for much of what is experienced while practicing magick, in particular that pertaining to the non-linearity of time. Many of the ancients viewed time as circular, while quantum mechanics assigns probabilities to various events.

Taylor takes the reader into a quantum world, where time is non-linear, and retroactive magick is possible. The concept of retroactive magick is fascinating. Taylor deals with the importance of perception defining our reality, and presents this as one of the keys to successful retroactive magick. This to me is probably the most exciting portion of the book as just about everyone has daydreamed about how they would have done things differently with the benefit of hindsight. The possibility of revisiting the past is truly exciting.

As with "Pop Culture Magic," I certainly don't accept everything that Taylor writes in this book. His ideas however, are intriguing, and certainly merit further investigation. Readers will certainly be able to adapt Taylor's ideas into their own paradigms. Taylor's message is an exhortation to leave the confines of the mainstream and experiment, and it is a message well worth sharing.

Space/Time, not for beginners.......2006-05-06

I'm with Lupa, I know Taylor from our many conversations and his posts on his blog.

I've allways been interested in space/time magick since about 2001 and ever since reading Taylor Ellwood's Space/Time magick I think I've found someone who has come to very similar conclusions.

However, I would like to put a side warning that this book is definately not for people who are used to the pop-wicca books that are mostly just regurgitated from some source like Raymond buckland or even Aleister Crowley. These ideas are very advanced, assuming that the person already knows most of the fundimentals of magick, however for some though, these other ideas could be manipulated and 'simplified' for most people.

I think though, the most of what I got out of this was a refreshingin of my own (what I call) reality warping experiments, and made me remember to think nonlinearly when working magick and when working space/time magick.

Definately recomend for others.

If You Poison Us: Uranium and Native Americans

Average customer rating:

Environmental Justice

If You Poison Us: Uranium and Native Americans
Peter H. Eichstaedt
Manufacturer: Red Crane Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Safety & Health | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1878610406

Customer Reviews:

Environmental Justice.......1999-12-10

This book explains in great detail the injustices committed agains the Dineh (Navajo) people in the last century. The book explains the connection between Uranium mining and ill effects on the Dineh people. It explores issues like the health effects, environmental effects, and workers compensation for uranium mining. It has firsthand accounts of victims of radiation exposure. This book was very helpful for a paper I wrote for a college course. I would reccommend this book for those interested. It is well written and explains the uranium issue in a understandable way.

Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy

Average customer rating:

Pandora's thinking
A Clear Eyed View of The Problem...And A Solution
Thornton's Poison
Double Value: on Environmental *and* Information Strategy
A well crafted deception

Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy
Joe Thornton
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Public Policy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Toxicology | Pharmacology | Medicine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0262700840

Book Description

Pandora's Poison presents a solution to one of the most insidious environmental problems of our time: the global build-up of toxic chemicals. In a thorough and accessible analysis, biologist Joe Thornton shows how global organochlorine pollution is already contributing to infertility, immune suppression, cancer, and developmental disorders in humans and wildlife.

Thornton proposes a major shift in environmental science and policy. He shows that the only practical solution is to take global action on broad classes of hazardous chemicals and the processes that produce them, starting with organochlorines. He lays out a democratically controlled program to replace the production and use of chlorine gas and its derivatives with safer, effective, and economically feasible alternatives, which are already available for the majority of chlorine uses. Pandora's Poison promises to revolutionize the debate over pollution, health, and the role of science in public policy.

Customer Reviews:

Pandora's thinking.......2006-02-26

Though unpersuasive, the author seems well-intended. The problems underlying his book are commonplace within public discussion of environmental pollutants. What are some?

Thornton states "organochlorines dominate virtually all of the official and unofficial lists of hazardous pollutants in the environment." It is less appreciated environmental scientists merely scratch the surface of chemical complexity. There may be tens of thousands of residues of synthetic (and natural) compounds that could be detected in the environment with sensitive analytic methods. Yet for many substances, no analytic methods exist, nor is there a comprehensive program to explore a potentially vast universe. Thornton is crucially misled by accepting official and unofficial lists as comprehensive. This selection bias leads him to focus on chlorine-compounds. His book is based on myopic appreciation of chemical complexity in the environment. This problem pervades many studies on which Thornton relies. It is wiser to appreciate how little is broadly known about substance residues in environmental samples.

Statistical association does not establish causality. Yet, this fundamental principle is oft forgotten, owing to hunger for a pollutant to blame. Papers published in journals may properly mention a pollutant is only "associated" with an effect. In common discussion, however, well-intentioned people claim causality that is not established and even far-fetched. Given the myriad of synthetic residues in the environment, how could one be distinguished as harmful, to the exclusion of other possibilities, known or unknown? Generally, it cannot.

Our health is influenced by the foods that we eat. These too contain enormous chemical complexity, including natural pesticides intrinsic to plants, defenses against predators. When chemists report much lower exposures to synthetic residues, it is very difficult to isolate their risk, amid all the potentially confounding factors. Generally, risk estimates are based NOT on observed dose/response relationships at environmental doses, but on cautious assumptions derived from vastly higher doses to test species. Some claim we have "toxic chemicals" in our bodies. In a sense they are right, because all substances are toxic in sufficient dose. Yet there will often be levels below which no harm is likely. An everyday example: taking an aspirin may be healthful, but to swallow a bottle of pills might be fatal. Is aspirin toxic? Yes, at sufficient dose, no, at apt doses. By this logic, laundry lists of chemicals with supposed propensity to induce cancer, such as Table 2.1, set aside the essential issue of dose and signify nothing.

Organo-chlorines "build to higher and higher concentrations in air, water, and sediments." How to explain the 95+ percent decline in many organo-chlorines on a global basis during the past three decades? This seems conveniently unmentioned.

Thornton errs by claiming the first chlor-alkali production technology used mercury. Diaphragm factories began in Germany during 1890, whereas the first mercury cell factory began in 1894. A trivial error, yet needless.

Thornton alludes to the promise of greener substances. Tellingly, this notion is not elaborated upon in any meaningful way. He seems to imagine a world in which all waste materials are instantly biodegraded.

Some environmentalists dwell on a few of old bugaboos, yet do not call for exploration of whether substances used today - including ones without chlorine -- yield environmental residues. They look narrowly or backwards. "The scale and severity of the [chlorine] threat is rivaled only by the hazards associated with climate change, nuclear technologies, and the reduction of biological diversity." How can someone in effect compare vinyl siding (containing chlorine) to a nuclear weapon? When an author does not pay heed to uncertainties and adopts simplifying assumptions, he is absurdly led to equate a socially useful, ubiquitous plastic with a nuclear weapon. One is reminded of poet William Butler Yeats: "the worst are full of passionate intensity."

Thornton suggests sperm abundance is decreasing among human males, owing to chlorine. Since this book was published by MIT Press, the unsuspecting might be troubled. Would not a university press aim to convey facts, with responsible appreciation for uncertainties?

What is the author's solution? A government-designed economy, steered by a technocratic elite of scientists in good standing among environmental activists. During the course of the 20th century, such centralized political planning of economies has fallen into disrepute. The thinking in this book helps explain why.

Hydrochloric acid in our stomach helps digest food and destroy disease agents. Our biological need for chlorine is not to be learned from Thornton.

Yet, his book has value, even if unintended. It could serve as reading material for a graduate-level class that aims to help students cultivate critical thinking on environmental topics. Strongly-held concerns about exposures to trace chemicals seem common in the U.S. media. Education that empowers students to weigh such claims carefully could serve the public good.

What are some books to which citizens can turn for more reliable education? There are many good ones, of which a few options:
John Emsley. The Consumer's Good Chemical Guide. (W.H. Freeman)
W. Baarschers. eco-facts & eco-fiction. (Routledge)
Aaron Wildalsky. But is it True? (Harvard U Press).
J. Rodricks. Calculated Risks: understanding the toxicity and human health risks of chemicals in our environment (Cambridge U. Press).
John F. Ross. Living Dangerously: navigating the risks of everyday life. (Perseus)
National Research Council. Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the human diet. National Academy Press.

A Clear Eyed View of The Problem...And A Solution.......2002-06-15

Mr. Thornton has an eagle-eye view of the problem and presents it in layman's terms. This is a book that is well-written, factual, and presents actual solutions instead of just ringing the alarm bell.

The current industry-driven approach which assumes chemicals "innocent until proven guilty" has clearly failed us. It is based on a microscopic and simple linear chemical-by-chemical rating system. This approach does not take into account accumulation of pollutants nor does it address the myriad and exponential effects of the chemicals in all the complex systems in the biosphere whose dynamics are still only dimly understood. This approach is heavily tilted towards the polluters as Mr. Thornton so skillfully shows.

Mr. Thornton presents a solution that includes a much more prudent "guilty until proven innocent" approach that puts the rights of human beings and the planet first. He proposes viable alternatives for chlorine-based products and proposes a new paradigm for rating chemicals and classes of chemicals that takes into account all the "unknowns" and accumulation problems that the pro-industry (and one currently used by our own EPA)...does not.

Mr. Thornton advocates true science be applied to the problem instead of the "good science" that industry always touts. Unfortunately the term [servant]whore to corporate interests.

A call to arms has been rasied and champion has arisen. Mr. Thornton, on behalf of all humans, plants, and animals....thank you. An excellent job and stunningly good book.

Thornton's Poison.......2002-01-02

"God created 91 chemical elements, man more than a thousand and the devil created one: chlorine." said Greenpeace in its Belgian August magazine in 1992. That is the credo of Greenpeace for its anti-chlorine campaign and is the fundament of the book of Thornton, who still works (occasionally?) for Greenpeace.
There is no difference in methods used by Thornton as author of his MIT-based book and Thornton as (co)author of several brochures about chlorine/PVC as Greenpeace worker. There is only a difference in style, which makes it even more difficult for the average reader to know where the author is a little economical with the truth. Or to say it with the words of the Hamburg (Germany) court in the case of Greenpeace e.V. vs. Engelbeen: "The reader understands from the actual context of the text that Greenpeace presents facts that are overstated or, even though they give true information about a fact, they do not give all the details, so that at the very least a false impression can be created in the mind of the person receiving the message.". That is what Thornton does again and again in his work.

The basic assumption that the introduction of chlorine in an organic molecule in general makes that molecule more toxic is true. But that this is also true for the introduction of oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen(oxides), phosphor(oxides), etc. is omitted. Every organochlorine that can be inhaled, ingested or can pass the skin is toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, hormone-disrupting, etc. at some dose. But that is also the case for all organics, whether these contain only carbon and hydrogen (as is especially the case for aromatics) or other elements like oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen,... Again that is omitted from the book.

The introduction of chlorine makes a molecule more fat soluble, but that is similar to the addition of a CH3 group (an extra carbon with three hydrogen atoms) to such a molecule. Indeed some organochlorines are POPs (persistent organic pollutants), that means persistent *and* bio-accumulating *and* toxic. A few hundred of the more than 10,000 industrial and over 2,000 natural organochlorines can be found in human blood. With the today's analytical techniques, we can assume that most of the others are either not persistent enough, or don't bio-accumulate at all, or are released in such minute quantities that they can't be detected, even not after bio-accumulation, which makes their environmental relevance rather questionable. But that also can be said of a few hundred of non-chlorinated materials like PAHs and nitro-PAHs. While their bio-accumulation is mainly at the lower end of the food chain, their impact is far higher than for organochlorines like dioxins, as they are released in quantities which are orders of magnitude higher. Further, (nitro)PAHs are cancer inducers, while dioxins are cancer promoters at high levels, but cancer inhibitors at low levels...

One can write a similar book about the dangers of oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, phosphor,... for all life on earth. That will be more difficult than for chlorine, for the simple reason that much less is known of the results of the introduction of these elements into organics. But what is known don't make them less suspect than organochlorines. And nature is not less toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic,... than industry, to the contrary...

A few examples of (deliberate?) omissions by Thornton: Half lives of organochlorines are given in *pure* water (page 33). E.g. for 1,2 dichloroethane (EDC, an intermediate for making PVC) that is 72 *years*. That has nothing to do with real life, where bacteria break down EDC within three *days* (figure from the biological waste water treatment where I work)!
Thornton only gives carcinogenity figures for organochlorines and omits these for the "safe" alternatives (page 60). According to the German Occupational Health Authority, 50% of the workplace carcinogens are nitrogen compounds, 30% others (metals, hydrocarbons) and 20% contain chlorine, while chlorine is involved in 60% of all chemical processes...
Thornton gives the graph of dioxin deposition to the Great Lakes sediment (page 228), but stops in 1980, so that there is a good correlation with chlorine production. But he omits the 1980-2000 data which show that with steady chlorine production (and a tripled PVC production), dioxin deposition has fallen dramatically back to the pre-1945 levels.
Thornton even promotes alternatives for PVC (page 366), where the process (iron ore sintering, all from uncontaminated raw materials!) emits orders of magnitude more dioxins than PVC in its whole life cycle. The steel sector is good for 118 g TEQ dioxins in Belgium, the PVC industry emits only 0.025 g... Rather strange for a promotor af the "precautionary principle"...

There are such incredible (deliberate?) errors in what he says about the emissions of the EDC/VCM factory where I work, which are published every year since 1989 (and occasionally by the Dutch government and the UNEP), which are known by Greenpeace, that this alone completely discredits his work.

But if you believe that chlorine is invented by the devil, this is the book for you. If you are more critical, look at the detailed critique on the Chlorophiles web pages...

Sincerely,

Ferdinand Engelbeen
Worker in a chlorine/EDC/VCM/herbicides production site in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Double Value: on Environmental *and* Information Strategy.......2001-06-02

This is the best of the several environmentally-oriented books I have reviewed recently, and it offers a double value: not only does it lay out a persuasive social, economic, and political case for abandoning the Risk Paradigm of permissive pollution in favor of an Environmental Paradigm of zero pollution; but it also provides a very fine--really excellent--case for why the current government and industry approaches to information about the environment and threats to the environment are severely flawed. In a nutshell, the current approach divorces "good science" (code for permitting what you can't prove will kill the planet today) from social consciousness and good policy; and the current approach insists on studying risk one contaminant at a time, rather than as a whole.

This book is persuasive; I believe author has the right stuff and should be consulted on major policy issues. I believe the underlying moral values and intellectual arguments that this book makes, about both science and social policy, should be adopted by the Cultural Creatives and the independent voters of America, and that the recommendations of this book are so serious as to warrant country by country translations and promulgation.

This book is exceptional in that is combines a readable policy essay for the non-technical citizen, with deeply documented technical appendices and notes that support a middle ground series of chapters relating scientific findings to long-term policy issues.

From many small actions come revolutionary change--this book is a necessary brick in the road to environmental reform. The bottom line is clear: every year more and more toxins are building up in our blood streams, and this is going to have an overwhelmingly negative impact on the humanity, capability, and survivability of our great grandchildren three generations down--we have not have grandchildren seven generations down if the insights from this book fail to reach the people, and through the people, the policy makers and legislators.

A well crafted deception.......2001-03-10

This is a mojor work, with much of the science and logic extremely sound. Unfortunately, it a a misleading and deceptive argument, based on the classical flaws of logic used by rabid environmentalists to mislead the public. It is so well documented and reasoned that it requires complex arguments, not generally comprehesible to other than the technical specialist to understand. The author therefor starts by discrediting technical specialists as being stooges in the pay of the chemical industry. Good move. Among its other flaws is to show that some orgaochlorides are very dagerous and others are pervasive in the environment. It then condems the entire class of chemicals, first just because they are manmade (un-natural). It does not admit that the chemicals which are pervasive are the least harmful, or not harmful at all, and those that are harmful are not pervasive. One statement I particularly enjoyed is that, loosley quoted, the public should not allow scientific information or method to cloud their opinion of organochlorine chemicals! All in all, a great read for those who need to understand the flawed and false logic of the "rabid" enviromentalists. The author is a former executive of Greenpeace.

Three-Cornered Hat & Captain Poison (Dual-Language) (Dual-Language Book)

Average customer rating:

A dual-language gem

Three-Cornered Hat & Captain Poison (Dual-Language) (Dual-Language Book)
Pedro Antonio de Alarcon
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0486419436

Book Description

Rooted in the medieval ballad tradition and recounted to the author by a Spanish goatherd, The Three-Cornered Hat relates a madcap series of romantic misadventures. The basis of Manuel de Falla's popular ballet of the same name, it appears here with Captain Poison, a witty "taming-of-the-shrew" tale. Original Spanish with English translation.

Customer Reviews:

A dual-language gem.......2006-08-03

This book, and all the titles in this series, will prove of great value to all who want to become better acquainted with Spanish language and literature.

Toxics A to Z: A Guide to Everyday Pollution Hazards

Average customer rating:

"Toxics A to Z" should be required reading!
Excellent reference on everyday toxics

Toxics A to Z: A Guide to Everyday Pollution Hazards
John Harte , Cheryl Holdren , Richard Schneider , and Christine Shirley
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Toxicology | Pharmacology | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0520072235

Customer Reviews:

"Toxics A to Z" should be required reading!.......2000-06-06

"Toxics A to Z" gives a complete, and thoroughly readable introduction to all of the various potential environmental hazards we face today. Although scientifically based, it gives a very good layman's explanation of the kinds of hazards to watch out for, and what we can do to avoid or reduce our exposure. Without being alarmist, it points out not just what we should be worried about, but the actions we can take to aviod these hazards and to help eliminate them from our environment. The book also gives a literally "A to Z" coverage of many of the everyday toxics we might be exposed to, either at home or at the workplace, without ever realizing it. An extremely informative and empowering book!

Excellent reference on everyday toxics.......1998-12-02

If you are concerned about the fumes you breathe at the gas pump, the No Pest Strip at home, or the pesticides on your fruit, then this is the book for you. Thousand of chemicals are listed and the level of toxicity is given. These are chemicals you encounter everyday.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books