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.

Escape Fire: Designs for the Future of Health Care

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Remarkable, inspiring, and wonderful but occassionally painful to read.
Outstanding

Escape Fire: Designs for the Future of Health Care
Donald M., MD, MPP Berwick
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0787972177

Book Description

Spanning a decade (1992-2002), these speeches echo the theme that our health care system needs fundamental change and a revolutionary new design. Throughout the book, Berwick identifies innovations and ideas from a number of surprising sources—a girls' soccer team, a sinking ship, and the safety standards at NASA. Escape Fire takes its title from the 1949 Mann Gulch tragedy in which thirteen young firefighters were trapped in a wildfire on a Montana hillside. The firefighter's leader, Wag Dodge, devised a creative solution for avoiding the encroaching fire. He burned a patch of grass and lay down in the middle of the scorched earth. His team refused to join him, and most perished in the fire. Dodge survived. Berwick applies the lessons learned from the catastrophe to our ailing health care system—we must not let ingrained processes obstruct life-saving innovation.

Not content to simply define the problems with our flawed system, Berwick outlines new designs and suggests practical tools for change: name the problem, build on success, take leaps of faith, look outside of the medical field, set aims, understand systems, make action lists, and—the most fundamental of all—never lose sight of the patient as the central figure.

Download Description

Spanning a decade (1992-2002), these speeches echo the theme that our health care system needs fundamental change and a revolutionary new design. Throughout the book, Berwick identifies innovations and ideas from a number of surprising sources— a girls' soccer team, a sinking ship, and the safety standards at NASA. Escape Fire takes its title from the 1949 Mann Gulch tragedy in which thirteen young firefighters were trapped in a wildfire on a Montana hillside. The firefighter's leader, Wag Dodge, devised a creative solution for avoiding the encroaching fire. He burned a patch of grass and lay down in the middle of the scorched earth. His team refused to join him, and most perished in the fire. Dodge survived. Berwick applies the lessons learned from the catastrophe to our ailing health care system— we must not let ingrained processes obstruct life-saving innovation.

Not content to simply define the problems with our flawed system, Berwick outlines new designs and suggests practical tools for change: name the problem, build on success, take leaps of faith, look outside of the medical field, set aims, understand systems, make action lists, and¾the most fundamental of all— never lose sight of the patient as the central figure.

Customer Reviews:

Remarkable, inspiring, and wonderful but occassionally painful to read........2006-01-19

A wonderful book told with humility, intelligence, warmth, anger and knowledge.
It presents the text of Don Berwick's annual talks at IHI's (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) National Healthcare Forum.
This is a highly reccommended read if you work in healthcare. I don't know what others will think about this book.

Outstanding.......2004-09-06

Escape Fire is collection of compelling speeches by one of America's leading crusaders for health care quality and patient safety - Don Berwick, MD, founder and president of the Boston-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI.org).

Each year, IHI hosts the National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. The influential annual event draws 4,000 health care leaders from around the world in person and 6,000 via satellite. In many ways, Dr. Berwick's keynote lectures set the tone for quality improvement efforts across the US. With an effective blend of common sense, real-life stories, persuasive metaphors, and out-of-the-box thinking, Dr. Berwick's presentations make for fascinating reading for anyone interested in improving America's $1.7 trillion health care system.

Fire Department Strategic Planning: Creating Future Excellence

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A Must Have For Every Fire Department
Finally, a great planning book!

Fire Department Strategic Planning: Creating Future Excellence
Mark Wallace
Manufacturer: Fire Engineering Books & Videos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1593700032

Book Description

Successful fire service leaders know that a fire department that isn't moving forward is dying or, at least, in danger of dying. In this second edition, author Mark Wallace succinctly points out that if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. Fire departments that know where they are going, know the environment in which they must operate, and have identified how to get there have the best chance of achieving their goals and desires. These concepts form the foundation of strategic planning. They challenge fire chiefs to escape from the typical operational thinking, to begin strategic thinking, and ultimately to manage their organizations strategically.

Readers will learn about the strategic planning process and why each of the steps in the process is critical if the plan is to succeed. More importantly, while the strategic planning process may be thought of as extremely complicated this book remove the mystery that some think of when considering strategic planning by providing timely advice and easy to use tools to assist in the strategic planning process.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have For Every Fire Department.......2002-12-06

A very concise how-to book on strategic planning for today's fire department whether it is volunteer or paid. Step by step plans as well as forms and other useful information to use. Very helpful for first time strategic planners as well as those updating their plans.

Finally, a great planning book!.......2001-05-09

More often than not, we look to business and industry for answers to fire service problems. Most business strategic planning models have limited application to our profession. Mark Wallace has developed a fire department specific model that provides an excellent template in identifying medium and long range strategic planning issues. I have read this text and highly recomment it to the proactive planners of the future.

Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War

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Missing the target
Very Interesting
The truth hurts: face the fire and overcome it
Convince your soldiers to pull the trigger

Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War
S. L. A. Marshall
Manufacturer: Peter Smith Publisher Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

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Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0844640573

Customer Reviews:

Missing the target.......2001-08-10

The reviewers who confuse the will to fight, destroy, kill. maim the target, your enemy (him/her) miss the point. If you can't hit an area or point target why shoot? It is not necessary to "see" an enemy, "battle drills" teach instinctive, reflex, effective (accurate) fire instantly when attacked. But, even area fire must be accurate (in the area) to be effective. It is accepted doctrine to fire at a window, or base of a tree etc. if that is where the enemy is or is likely to be. The criticism of Marine known distance training vs. "train-fire" (a pre-vietnam term) totally misses the point that you must master your weapon before you move to advanced or combat firing. I speak from the experience of a national match target shooter, marine infantry leader in combat, and review of british, french, and german small arms doctrine as well as training. The totally blind "hosing" of automatic M16(or any other weapon) fire over paddy dikes or around the corner of buildings achieves no effect on the enemy if it isn't hitting where it is intended. Marshall repeatedly points out the fact that men he interviewed felt detached and uninvolved. In many cases they were physically exhausted. Implicit in this "men against fire", and "the soldiers load..." are a number of factors concerning motivation, ferocity and espirit that Marshall only partly addresses. Although he does identify some of the negative influences. In particular his subjects were the US Army and its soldiers, understandable as that was his service and his charter. In particular he points out that direction to fire from leaders was absent. In virtually every case the PFCs, Corporals, Sergeants etc. were not actively leading, directing the rifleman that Marshall interviewed. A fuller understanding of the overall problem would be gained if, at a minimum, one also read "This Kind of War" about Korea. Trying to extrapolate one dreadful incident such as "Blackhawk Down" into a conclusion concerning all small arms marksmanship training/tactics does a dis-service to the actual causes of that disaster and fails to do justice to the seriousness of that particular problem. A very definitive study of the problem of weapons types, firing and effectiveness was done by the British after the failed commando raid on Tobruk in WWII. In essence everyone fired but the weapons mix was wrong. Gaining "fire-superiority" by fighting as a team remains the crux of the problem. The army structure Marshall studied was the squad not the smaller more cohesive fire team or german assault groups of WWI and WWII. On all three of the occassions that I have read men against fire, at various stages of my life, one principal conclusion I have retained is that the conclusions and recommendations lack force and are general. The value of the book is in the documentation of the incidents and the settings and outcome. The conclusions all involve military principals that pre-date gun powder. The goal remains that of insuring the fervent, unwavering belief in the heart/mind of the soldier that it is the enemy who must suffer, be maimed and whose destiny is to die and be destroyed.

Very Interesting.......2001-02-12

This is quite an interesting book. It was written by a American Officer who served in Europe and the Pacific as a combat officer in the Second World War. For some reason he researched the fire level of American troops. That is the number of Americans who used their weapons in combat. He did this by speaking to individual soldiers after engagements. He found out the rather startling fact that only 25% of troops fired their weapons. The 25% included all who fired their weapons even if they fired them only once. He found that soldiers who had more responsibility, say those who had been allocated machine guns or anti tank weapons were more inclined to fire and those least inclined to fire were rifle men.

The author discusses these findings in some depth in the military context. His approach is aimed at working out strategies to ensure that in a future combat soldiers will use their weapons more efficiently. However he discusses the issue of why soldiers don't use their weapons at some length. He finds that one of the main reasons is the socialization that people have had in American society and how they are affected by the taboos against killing and violence. He suggests that the failure to shoot was unrelated to cowardice as many of the soldiers who did not shoot were in other respects brave and willing to place themselves in danger.

The author discusses a number of ways of overcoming what he saw as the problem. He was of the view that the major problem relates to the nature of modern battle. In previous wars soldiers have tended to be bunched and close to NCO's or Officers. With the advent of modern weapons most soldiers are isolated from command and their fellows. He noted that both German and Japanese soldiers tended to talk amongst themselves almost constantly in combat situations were as Americans did not. He formed the view that conversation was positive in a number of ways. It allowed individual soldiers to know that there were others around and it also created feelings of obligation and support. The tactic of silence on the other hand meant that soldiers became isolated unaware if others were around and fell quickly into despair. In fact the key seems to be the group dynamics of the soldiers unit. Training cannot turn normal people into cold blooded killers but it can build up a sense of belonging and this will lead to individual soldiers fighting to protect their buddies. This is complex and involves the relation between soldiers and also the relations between officers and those they command. The author suggests that during operations soldiers should be told the locations of the positions they fight over and to some extent their importance. While not suggesting jingoism appeals to their role and duty are important.

During the Second World War military training had been on a fairly old model. That is by repetition to create an automatic reflex of obedience. This method is ancient and derived from the time of Frederick the Great. It was designed to ensure fast fire rates when armies used muskets and stood shoulder to shoulder in battle. The crux of this book is that soldiers trained by this method failed when they were separated from their officers and fellows. It suggests that training should involve high standards of discipline but it should aim at training individual soldiers in such a way that they can cope with taking on individual responsibility.

The book is quite short and it is a very interesting book to read on a number of levels. The first is that it dispels a number of myths about the nature of man. The second is that it is a fascinating study of small scale warfare. One of the more interesting books I have read in some time.

The truth hurts: face the fire and overcome it.......2000-08-12

This book, together with the After-Action Review (AAR) system of asking for unvarnished observations of all battle participants and his book, "The Soldiers Load and the Mobility of the nation" are SLAM's greatest contributions to the defense of freedom. However Men-Against-Fire (MAF) is his most controversial and led to his near destruction as an authority a few years back by revisonists jealous of his life's body of work and unwilling to let their macho image of the American marine or Soldier suffer any scrutiny. Its tragic that SLAM was actually there and most of these revisionists were not; and it all hinges on his statement of truth that in modern automatic weapons swept battlefields MOST MEN DO NOT FIRE their weapons. How can they? The minute they take aim, they are hit by enemy fire, injured and killed. Instead of dismissing SLAM like most can do to his "Soldier's Load", read "Blackhawk Down!" and mark every time a Ranger or a Soldier is hit by unshielded enemy fire that reaches out and damages the minute the bullet can fly to impact. Do this, and you will see that its not a "slam" (pardon the pun) on the American Soldier its a reality of the "death ground" (re: Col Dan Bolger's book by the same name) that we have yet to solve at the dawn of the 21st century. How important is this book?

We lost the war effort (notice I chose my words carefully) in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia because of our poor ability to overcome enemy fire resulting in casualties which resulted in the American public/policy makers "throwing the towel in" amplified by media images. This is 4th Generation warfare; welcome to the modern era!

The premise of SLAM's book written in a state of WWII and Cold War urgency is that in the face of enemy fire SOME MEN WILL BE PINNED DOWN BY IT. Those that are not need to know this (cross-talk) and using terrain masking, IMTs and fire/maneuver tactics advance on the enemy and defeat the enemy to relieve pressure on the unit in trouble. To condition men to fire when threats appear, SLAM helped introduce the "TRAIN FIRE" concept of pop-up targets that teach Soldiers in the U.S. Army to even in a state of fear the thing to do is to FIGHT and FIRE to knock the threat down. This is why the Army uses pop-up targets in rapid fire succession and not the slow, predictable known distance range firing that marines think is all the rave because their last targets are a bit farther out. We are not training to fight from WWI trenches, or at least we shouldn't be if we are using our time right. In Somalia on October 3, 1993, the rapid fire capability of U.S. Army Soldiers was all they had to erect a "shield" for them from swarms of enemy. Fighting is a conditioned reflex that has to be built into our men, otherwise men will POSTURE (go through the motions of firing to appease their peers) or FLEE or SURRENDER as LTC David Grossman's works on killing verify. To fire effectively, one must AIM and as SLAM shows it must be against likely AREAS where the enemy soldier might be, not an expectation that he will appear for a sure-shot as we see constantly in Hollywood.

The thing that is objectionable in MAF is its seen by too many as a panacea---its actually a "band-aid" to the problem that we have had unshielded infantry unable to advance in the face of enemy fire for centuries even though we have the armor technology to shield infantry by a weapons gunshield and an air-deliverable, tracked Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV). There are times on the battlefield where EVERYONE IS PINNED DOWN BY ENEMY FIRE--especially if infantry lacks a shield or AFVs supporting them. SLAM has stated the problem well and given us a temporary solution, but not the final solution. Its up to us to stop bickering over SLAM's status, and write the concluding chapter of MAF for our generation or else we are headed for another geostrategic defeat because our men are ill-equipped to advance against enemy fire and win with light casualties because we are in a state of denial wasting billions on posturing air/sea forces.

Convince your soldiers to pull the trigger.......1996-12-29

Marshall addresses the issue of fire head-on in this book. Quite simply, Marshall says that infantry can be much more effective by convincing the troops to fire their weapons. An astonishingly high percentage of infantrymen never fire their weapons while under fire themselves. Marshall is an astute follower of military doctrine, and this book should not be missed. (For those who have read James Webb's "Fields of Fire," this book is prominently mentioned.

Scrying the Secrets of the Future: How to Use Crystal Balls, Fire, Wax, Mirrors, Shadows, And Spirit Guides to Reveal Your Destiny

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Still a Secret

Scrying the Secrets of the Future: How to Use Crystal Balls, Fire, Wax, Mirrors, Shadows, And Spirit Guides to Reveal Your Destiny
Cassandra Eason
Manufacturer: New Page Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1564149080

Book Description

Scrying means seeing magical images in a reflective medium, such as a crystal ball, mirror, or natural source of inspiration like fire, water or clouds. The word "scry," derived from the Anglo-Saxon word descry, means to "perceive dimly."

Scrying in shiny surfaces has been practiced in almost every culture and time, not only by mystics, clairvoyants and magicians, but also by every girl who has gazed into a mirror and hoped to see her lover's face in the glass.

Though it is one of the most ancient ways of predicting the future, scrying is as relevant today as when our distant ancestors gazed into pools by moonlight to locate the herds - it does not conflict with modern scientific knowledge or psychology.

Scrying the Secrets of the Future offers practical, hands-on guidance to using a wide variety of methods from many cultures and ages—from Ancient Egypt, the Aztecs and Mayans, and Classical Greece and Rome to Medieval European magicians, village wise women and 21st century coffee-shop divination. Discussion of each method includes its history and cultural background, traditional practices, and how to adapt these techniques to the needs of the modern world and everyday decision making. This unique book will help you:

• Learn to see and interpret images in many forms, including wax, herbs and oils on water, crystal balls and candles, shadows and dark mirrors. • Explore additional techniques of clairaudience, psychic hearing and clairsentience, and psychic impressions, to make your scrying multi dimensional. • Discover how to prepare yourself psychically, find the best scrying tools, empower them, ensure you are protected spiritually as you work, and how to close down your psychic energies after divination. • Find out how to maximize future possibilities, avoid potential problems, and advise others privately and professionally through clairvoyance • Communicate with and channel angels and spirit guides and discover past lives and worlds.

Customer Reviews:

Still a Secret.......2007-06-14

Cassandra Eason has written dozen of books on the subject of psychic developement and magic, so obviously she should be an expert. When I read the biographical information on her, I assumed that this book would be very in-depth. I also expected that it would be well written and easy to understand. I have been using tarot for divination for decades and hoped to increase that knowledge with other systems. I have tried various forms of candle and dark mirror scrying in the past without much satisfaction. It was my expectation that this book would fill my need for further instruction.

The book has 14 chapters, each one focusing on a different method of scrying such as candles, water, mirrors - both clear and black, clouds and crystal balls. Each chapter discusses what you need for the particular form of divination, what otherworldly powers you might call on to help you (angels, spirit animals, Gods and Goddess, ancestors) and simple working rituals. There is also information on historical data and uses, but no footnotes of any of the source materials.

Ms. Easton has a habit I found distressing of saying the student should do a working in a particular manner only to end her statement with a disclaimer telling the reader to do whatever feels comfortable to them if the method just outlined isn't to the reader's liking. She pulls elements from different cultures and Pantheons completely willy-nilly into her discussions, listing so many options that it was often overwhelming.

I found the writing of the book inconsistent in many areas. A chapter would have highly detailed areas, which were quite fascinating, that start to pull the reader in only to meander off on a tangent that was almost mind numbingly dull. I love to read but I am glad I have finally finished this book.

The chapter on tealeaf scrying was very difficult to understand. Directions on which area of the cup meant what in a reading were so poorly written I find it hard to believe anyone would get a working knowledge without other instruction. On the other hand, the chapters on crystal ball and clouds were thoroughly fascinating. If the rest of the book were as helpful as these two chapters, it would be well worth the time and effort to read it and try out the various methods presented.

The final chapter "Scrying with Shadows" appears to be a catchall area where everything that didn't fit neatly in the previous chapters ended up. There was smoke and steam divination, as well as gemstone scrying. Actual shadow scrying took up less than half the chapter.

There is an appendix with listings of different cultural names for the Fates. Plus there is a listing of useful reading for further study (the author lists 9 of her previous books here) and lastly an index.

W. Lyon Martin author of An Ordinary Girl, a Magical Child and Aidan's First Full Moon Circle

Feeding the Fire: The Lost History and Uncertain Future of Mankind's Energy Addiction

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A history of energy use - and depletion
A beginers guide to energy and Climate
A Journey Through Time and Space
Feeding the Fire

Feeding the Fire: The Lost History and Uncertain Future of Mankind's Energy Addiction
Mark Eberhart
Manufacturer: Harmony
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0307237443
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Book Description

From the first spark created by human hands thousands of years ago, mankind has grown dependent on nature’s vast stores of energy to build, explore, and experiment. Our expanding knowledge and technologies have come from the felling of forests to the harnessing of wind and water, from the burning of coal and oil to tapping the energy of the atom. Energy does more than heat our homes and fill our gas tanks; it fuels our imaginations. Our future is inextricably linked to energy, and in this groundbreaking book, Mark Eberhart examines our historic quest for power and tackles the brutal realization that there are limits to the energy Earth can provide.

In Western society, we treat energy as a given—the background noise of modern life. But as worldwide energy demand grows, supplies are, at best, holding steady—and at worst, shrinking. The implications of our dependence are enormous. And while there is evidence that great cultures of the past—the Maya, Anasazi, Easter Islanders—collapsed when their energy resources were exhausted, Eberhart argues that we have the responsibility and the ability to develop renewable energy sources now.

Eberhart leads us on a tour through the history of energy, how it was formed and how it evolved, and reveals how we became energy-dependent creatures. With an unblinking eye, he takes a close look at the consequences of our energy appetite, and, most important, imagines a secure energy future that we can all play a part in achieving.

Enlightening, bold, and practical, Feeding the Fire weaves together history, science, and current affairs to create an important and compelling thesis about humanity’s energy needs—and draws a hard line on the imperative need to avert the catastrophe that looms if we continue on our present course.

Customer Reviews:

A history of energy use - and depletion.......2007-08-06

In the world of books on sustianability, global warming and peak oil, this one is a bit different. Its focus is on presenting the energy lessons of the past. Mr. Eberhart (a prof. of material science and chemistry) takes the reader through the early days of the rather inefficient hunter-gathers which evolved to argicultural-based societies that harnesses the outside energy of donkeys and horses to increase efficiency... then to the use of wood and wood charcoal which further freed up time for mankind to think more creatively ... then with the discovery of coal (and kerosene) which powered cities like London and early American villages ushering in the industrial era, steam engines and steel mills ... up till the big jackpot of the most energy-dense material discovered - oil - which has been a main reason for the innovations and wealth creation of developed nations like ours.

In each era, the author interesting shows how the laws of thermodynamics apply to constain its use and how society increasingly used energy to do more of work, leaving more time to create "the next big thing." Most importantly, he reviews many a societies' demise that did not manage their energy resources - the early Mayan civilization and much of Europe (in the mid centuries) who stripped their forests bare, leading to a crisis and near great receeding of society. Of course this leads us to today with our management of oil resources.

Will we follow the path of history and ignore the inevitable? The author does proposes way out: a new way of thinking akin to the military/gov't/industrial complex that has worked closely, cooperative and towards the same long-term plan for decades. Take that model and apply it in an energy partnership between government and industry that looks at the hard facts of energy balance and thermodyamics (like the fact that the internal combustion engine is completely inefficient compared to electric engines) and sets long-term goals and performance benchmarks. Will it happen in our current climate of politics and capitalism-at-all-costs? One can only hope so and advocate for it.

To me the most valuable contribution this book makes is its giving us a solid history lesson in energy creation and use. He gives us some new foundations for forming our policies and comclusions regarding our energy future. And its one that the non-technical person can follow as well as the engineer/scientist. I found this book more interesting that I expected. It gives a valuable background to better understand the implications of peak oil based on how past soceities have handled their "peak wood" and other energy dilemmas.

A beginers guide to energy and Climate.......2007-06-27

This is a conversational book explaining why energy is the key to our progress. Without taking sides Mark Eberhart shows why lots of energy is important and why it is necessary to our world but not easy to seek to use energy more efficently.

A Journey Through Time and Space.......2007-06-14

In a concise presentation that is both enlightening and entertaining, Eberhart ties together physics, biology, chemistry, thermodynamics and politics. Energy, according to Eberhart, is the sine qua non of our existence. Conservation of energy, a well-known scientific principle, is often not intuitively obvious, but the clarity of Eberhart's presentation and personal examples goes a long way toward making it so.

Feeding The Fire is not yet another lecture on how we should all use EnergyStar appliances and ride bicycles to work (despite the benefits that might derive from doing so). It is rather a concise history of energy in the universe as we know it, presented in a way that is both scientifically accurate and completely accessible to a lay reader. Without attempting to write a prescription for the future, it lays a groundwork of understanding that should be a pre-requisite for those who have (or will have) the responsibility of shaping energy policy. I recommend it as required reading for legislators, presidents, vice-presidents, historians and anyone who has the slightest interest in the survival of Earth beyond 2050.

Feeding the Fire.......2007-05-23

"Feeding the Fire" The lost history and uncertain future of Mankind's energy addiction - delivers even more than its title promises. It is indeed a history of man's relationship with energy, and our current energy affairs - it is also a wonderfully entertaining, and accessible primer on the science of energy.

I love a book that both makes me feel both smarter when I have finished reading it, and at the same time completely pleased with the experience of reading it. This book accomplishes both goals. It is science writing in the vein of Carl Sagan and Lewis Thomas. I strongly recommend it.

Fantasies & The Future (Hearts Of Fire) (Harlequin Presents, No 1772)

Average customer rating:

Fantasies & the Future

Fantasies & The Future (Hearts Of Fire) (Harlequin Presents, No 1772)
Miranda Lee
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

Harlequin Presents | Series | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books

Regency | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0373117728

Customer Reviews:

Fantasies & the Future.......2005-09-14

Back cover reads:
*Dark secrets, forbidden desires, scandalous discoveries
Welcome to a glittering new six-part saga set in Australia. This, and every novel in the set, features a gripping romance that stands by itself, as the passions, scandals and hopes that exist between two fabulously rich families are revealed. But you'll also find yourself hooked throughout the series, as Gemma Smith searches for the secret of her true identity and fights for ruthless seducer Nathan Whitmore's love...
"You've no idea, Ava, just how many bored and negleted women there are around Sydney, and a lot of them look upon men like me as easy meat."
The guy who came to mow the lawns turned out to be as stunning as any of Ava's fantasies, though she soon realized Vince Morelli thought she was just another rich, lonely lady looking for excitement. But, all the same, Vince's arrival meant an end to Ava's narrow, virginal existence.
Life was changing for Gemma, too. But maybe for the worse--those evil rumors that Damian Campbell whispered to her about Nathan couldn't be true...could they?

The Fire of Invention: Civil Society and the Future of the Corporation

Average customer rating:

Correction, should be read by every person in America
should be read by the head of every corporation in America

The Fire of Invention: Civil Society and the Future of the Corporation
Michael Novak
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Ethics | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

New Business Enterprises | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Business as a Calling

ASIN: 0847686655

Book Description

A must-read book for every CEO-Robert C. Goizueta, CEO, The Coca-Cola Company A brilliant, succinct analysis of the American corporation today. Novak convincingly portrays this much-reviled institution as an unparalleled creator of wealth, mobilizing people and capital to perform innovative, complex tasks, its very independence from government making it a vital bulwark for democracy and liberty.--Forbes

Customer Reviews:

Correction, should be read by every person in America.......2001-12-06

... and the rest of the western world. This is an incredible book, successfully debunking every anti-corporate myth. Far more than the usual abstract pro-capitalist treatise; it focuses on the single institution that underpins the success of capitalism, AND that is the sole salvation of the Civil Society - the corporation.

should be read by the head of every corporation in America.......2001-03-19

Since at least the 1982 publication of his book, The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, Michael Novak has been the leading voice in the effort to reconcile Catholicism and capitalism, an effort which bore spectacular fruit with the 1991 papal encyclical, Centisimus Annus. The tension between the two -isms, though partially a function of the fact that Capitalism is associated with Protestantism, was for the most part a fairly natural result of capitalism's dependence on individualism and self-interest, as opposed to Catholicism's hierarchical and authoritarian structure and Christianity's requirement of selflessness and charity.

The three essays in this collection, originally delivered as the Pfizer Lectures at the American Enterprise Institute, address the future of the corporation, intellectual property rights, and corporate governance. They are unified by the way in which Novak treats business and the corporation as institutions which have important moral roles to play in society. First he discusses the fact that corporations are voluntary associations, which allow individuals to work together in ways that make them more powerful and effective than they could ever be on their own and which serve important social ends :

From the point of view of civil society, the business enterprise is an important social good for four reasons. First, it creates jobs. Second, it provides desirable goods and services. Third, through its profits, it creates wealth that did not exist before. And fourth, it is a private social instrument, independent of the state, for the moral and material support of other activities of civil society.

In fact, he argues, the effectiveness of corporations in providing goods and services, in creating wealth, jobs, and opportunities, and in providing a counterweight to the power of central government, makes them second in importance only to religious organizations in terms of the role they have played in creating and guaranteeing democracy.

In this section he makes the really intriguing point that some of the earliest capitalist corporations were born out of the Catholic monasteries of the Middle Ages. He quotes the great modern Tory historian Paul Johnson to the effect that :

A great and increasing part of the arable land of Europe passed into the hands of highly disciplined men committed to a doctrine of hard work. They were literate. They knew how to keep accounts. Above all, perhaps, they worked to a daily timetable and an accurate annual calendar--something quite alien to the farmers and landowners they replaced. Thus their cultivation of the land was organized, systematic, persistent. And, as owners, they escaped the accidents of deaths, minorities, administration by hapless widows, enforced sales, or transfer of ownership by crime, treason and folly. They brought continuity of exploitation. They produced surpluses and invested them in the form of drainage, clearances, livestock and seed...they determined the whole future of Europe; they were the foundation of world primacy.

This is ingenious both for the insight that the great innovation that these first corporate entities offered was continuity, of a type that was not available to individuals or even to families, and for the way in which it implicates the Church in the creation of capitalism. Novak's writing is characterized by this unique combination of perceptive analysis on general issues combined with more subtle demonstrations that capitalism and Christianity are and have been compatible.

The second section, on intellectual property, is so compelling that it actually made me rethink my position on Napster. Most of us have been tape recording albums, videotaping shows, "borrowing" computer programs, and now burning cd's, for so long that we've become inured to the idea that the underlying products are ours to exploit and that this will have little or no effect on the artists who create this product. Novak draws upon Abraham Lincoln's 1850 Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions in order to make the case that protection for patents and copyrights is one of the central innovations of the American system, one that deserves to be defended. He points out, for instance, that the right of inventors and authors to receive royalties is the only "right" mentioned in the body of the Constitution. It can hardly be a coincidence that the country which affords such creative activity the greatest protection has been the most creative nation. Novak discusses the ways in which these protections, which reward those who are willing to share their ideas and to take risks to develop them into products, have served to benefit not merely the innovators themselves but the society at large, and concludes :

Patent regimes recognize the right of inventors and authors to the fruit of their own labors as a right in common law. They do so because this right serves the common good by stimulating useful inventions and creative works from which a grateful public benefits. Far from protecting private interests at the expense of the common good, patent protection advances the common good by means of private interest. The common good is the end, private interest is the means.

Here again, we see that although it is often blithely assumed that capitalism serves only individual interests, it is in fact the most effective way for society in general to achieve progress.

In the final section, Novak discusses the various threats to the corporation presented by the various efforts to change how they are governed. He cites Michael Oakeshott's differentiation between the "civic association" and the "enterprise association" :

The civic association aims at something larger than any particular end, interest, or good: the protection of a body of general rules and a whole way of life; in other words, the larger framework within which, and only within which, the pursuit of particular ends becomes possible, peaceable, and fruitful. Given such a framework, individuals are free to choose myriad activities. The state is a civic association, he thought, or at least should be; so is the church; and so are many kinds of clubs, charitable organizations, and associations for self-improvement.

... By contrast, Oakeshott noted, the enterprise association is built to attain quite particular purposes... Enterprise associations are focused, purposive, instrumental, and executive: they fix a purpose and execute it.

The problem that corporations (enterprise associations) now face is that politicians and political activists are trying to blur these lines and turn them into civic institutions, with responsibilities for meeting all kinds of political and social purposes. This diffusion of aims, unwise as it may be, is perhaps appropriate for government organizations : if affirmative action and the like are going to be implemented somewhere, better that it be in government which is already moribund. But one need only look at the havoc such social experiments have wreaked on the military [as Stephanie Guttman has done in her excellent book : The Kinder, Gentler Military: Can America's Gender-Neutral Fighting Force Still Win Wars? (2000)(Stephanie Gutmann) (Grade: B+)] in order to see the disastrous effects of making an organization with a single purpose (being prepared to fight and win) try to satisfy a multitude of political purposes (gender neutrality, acceptance of homosexuals, etc.). Such fiddling by the political class has rendered our once mighty fighting forces politically correct, but much less formidable.

Corporate America now finds itself prey to these same pressures. Already overregulated on the environmental, labor, and other fronts, business finds itself under attack for not being sufficiently socially conscious. They are being asked to ignore the bottom line, to eschew profits, and to instead focus on their role in local communities. It is supposed that society would be better off if corporations were governed so as to "benefit" their employees and their neighbors, and governed in the way that government thinks fashionable at the moment, rather than being run with mere efficiency and profits in mind. One would have thought that the long and disastrous European experiment with Socialism and the spectacular failure of Japan's once vaunted economic planning would have put this argument to rest, but, alas, such is not the case. There will apparently always be a class of activists, politicians, and bureaucrats who believe that they, if given the opportunity, could run the economy. But having seen how inefficiently they run our governments, we should resist them at all costs.

Book Description

Fire Your Broker and Trade Online tells the 45 million investors who are not yet online how they can get started. It focuses on the basics investors need, from getting the right software and opening an account to executing that first trade, without bogging them down with technical factoids and confusing misinformation. From walking the readers through a typical online trade,with reproductions of actual Web pages,to directions for developing the proper mindset, Fire Your Broker and Trade Online gets investors up and running. This all-in-one online primer includes: Profiles of today's top ten online brokers. A detailed chapter on trading techniques. Which sectors are tailor-made for online investing, and why.

Unforgettable Fire: Past, Present, and Future--The Definitive Biography of U2

Average customer rating:

A Brilliant and Compelling Book About The Rock Group U2!!!
good backgroud information
Interesting historical information with much digression.

Unforgettable Fire: Past, Present, and Future--The Definitive Biography of U2
Eamon Dunphy
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0446514594

Customer Reviews:

A Brilliant and Compelling Book About The Rock Group U2!!!.......2003-02-21

This book is a wonderful look at the band known as U2. Named after a spy plane, this story takes you back to the band's humble beginnings in Dublin, Ireland and how a group of four young boys became one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time!!! It shows what incredible hardships each member had to face growing up, and all the obstacles the band has overcome. This books leads up to the band successful breakthrough album The Joshua Tree, and all the sacrifices the band had to endure to make it to that point. It also tells how Bono(Paul Hewson), and The Edge(David Evans) got dubbed their new names. Bono's name actually came from a hearing aid shop in Dublin called Bono Vox, which is latin for "good voice." That moniker seems to fit him perfectly, since he does have a damn good voice!!! Bono ended up giving the edge his name. I can't remember the source for his name, though. I'd better start reading the book again!!!

good backgroud information.......2002-02-06

Very detailed biographical information helps you understand where the band members (and others close to the band) come from and how and why they got to where they are now. Unfortunately this book only covers up to the release of Joshua Tree, but its great for information on the real early and formative years of the band. I found that some things were repeated many times throughout the book but at least that made you really remember them well. It was a fun read for a fan who wants to know more.

Interesting historical information with much digression........1997-04-04

Biographical information on the band members (and just about everyone else connected with them) and a decent amount of pictures (childhood included) make this a good addition to a fan's collection. The author, however, goes off on tangents, discussing subjects barely peripheral to the band

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