Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World

Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World
Average customer rating:

Entertaining biographical sketches that shaped the world after 1453

Tremendous work

A Great History of a Lost Empire

Forget Byzantium at Your Peril!

Cultural and religious dispersal
Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World
Colin Wells
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books
Byzantine | World | History | Subjects | Books
Civilization & Culture | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0553803816
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Book Description

A gripping intellectual adventure story, Sailing from Byzantium sweeps you from the deserts of Arabia to the dark forests of northern Russia, from the colorful towns of Renaissance Italy to the final moments of a millennial city under siege….

Byzantium: the successor of Greece and Rome, this magnificent empire bridged the ancient and modern worlds for more than a thousand years. Without Byzantium, the works of Homer and Herodotus, Plato and Aristotle, Sophocles and Aeschylus, would never have survived. Yet very few of us have any idea of the enormous debt we owe them.

The story of Byzantium is a real-life adventure of electrifying ideas, high drama, colorful characters, and inspiring feats of daring. In Sailing from Byzantium, Colin Wells tells of the missionaries, mystics, philosophers, and artists who against great odds and often at peril of their own lives spread Greek ideas to the Italians, the Arabs, and the Slavs.

Their heroic efforts inspired the Renaissance, the golden age of Islamic learning, and Russian Orthodox Christianity, which came complete with a new alphabet, architecture, and one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions.

The story’s central reference point is an arcane squabble called the Hesychast controversy that pitted humanist scholars led by the brilliant, acerbic intellectual Barlaam against the powerful monks of Mount Athos led by the stern Gregory Palamas, who denounced “pagan” rationalism in favor of Christian mysticism.

Within a few decades, the light of Byzantium would be extinguished forever by the invading Turks, but not before the humanists found a safe haven for Greek literature. The controversy of rationalism versus faith would continue to be argued by some of history’s greatest minds.

Fast-paced, compulsively readable, and filled with fascinating insights, Sailing from Byzantium is one of the great historical dramas–the gripping story of how the flame of civilization was saved and passed on.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining biographical sketches that shaped the world after 1453.......2007-08-28

This readable history of the historical waves emanating from Byzantine influences is an indispensable work. The style is partly biographical sketches and partly telling of a story making it easily accessible and useful to novice and professional historian alike. The biographical flavor provides the structure for history as events involving human beings with complex characters and mixed motivations acting on the society in their time. The story-telling aspect provides the glue that sweeps the characters and their influence through their geographical dispersions to reveal their influence in Russia, western Europe, and Islam.

An enjoyable read for any historian looking for hints of the Byzantine in the world today. Well done.

Tremendous work.......2007-08-14

This is a great work about an empire that was - and indeed still is - important in our world today. Back when I took a course in Classics in college, my professor lectured us on the importance of the Byzantine Empire, and yet, how few people understand it, and can convey the importance. The author, in my view, has done a truly tremendous job of condensing history down into a very readable, non-intimidating book, which conveys the entire history of Byzantium, from its founding in 500 A.D. to its end in 1493 A.D. The author commands an encyclopedic knowledge of the Classical world, as well as an ability to write. I can't say enough about this work of history. And anyone who might think this is ancient history and doesn't affect us: the history of the clash and cooperation between Islam and Christian civilizations continues to this day (of course). As the author mentions, if the walls of Constantinople had not been so well designed, the Muslims might well have put Europe in a pincer movement in 750 A.D. Instead of being stopped by Charles Martel at Poitiers in France, and turned back, the Muslims might have conquered all of Europe. We would be speaking Arabic now. Yes, it is relevant ! At the same time, the author shows attempts made inside the Arabic Muslim world (which stretched from Spain to Afghanistan) to integrate Greek rationalism and Greek knowledge. Averroes was a famous Arab philosopher who not only championed rationalism, but also kick-started the European Scholastic movement. Unfortunately, Averoes lost out in the Arab world, and the reaction to rationalism, in 850 A.D. began, and continues to this day as Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. We feel the reverberations to this day...

A very valuable work, at once encyclopedic, and very accessible.

A Great History of a Lost Empire.......2007-06-18

I have always had a fasination with byzantium. This book as well as John Julius Norwich's series of books has helped to appreciate this lost empire more than ever. I especially liked the end of the book where it is just abruptly ended. In a way it made me cry a little to see what could have happened to the world if Byzantium had never have existed. I feel that more people should read this book and be aware of the several contribution that Byzantium has bestowed upon out modern world.

Forget Byzantium at Your Peril!.......2007-05-19

Ignorance of Byzantium (in two senses: lack of knowledge and lack of attention) has confounded Islamicists and Western European historians alike in the past 100 or so years. Colin Wells offers a concise and cogent description of the role Byzantium,including exiled or conquered Byzantines, played in the preservation and transmission of ancient Greek science and philosophy to the Muslim empires of the pre-Crusade "golden age" and directly to Western Europe chiefly by way of Italy. For nearly a thousand years, Byzantium WAS Rome, the hinge of civilization, linking rising and sinking cultures from the Visigoths of North Africa to the Vikings who called themselves Rus, from the humanists of Renaissance Florence to the Nestorian Christians of Syria, the primary translators of the Greek classics into Arabic.
Yet despite the significance of the material presented, it's a fun book, a quick read, written in a relaxed and simple style, accessible even to people who couldn't locate Byzantium on the map. (Hint: "Istanbul is Constantinople, now you can't go back to constantinople...")

Cultural and religious dispersal.......2007-04-20

This is not a "history" book in the exact sense of the term, if you think of "history" books as a linear progression of events. What this author has done is written a very valuable work detailing how the Byzantine Empire spread its culture and religion to its neighbors. The book is divided into three parts, each one showing the effect of Byzantium on 1: Western or "Latin" Christianity, 2: the states in the Balkan area, and 3: what eventually bcame Russia. It's a fascinating tale, extremely well told, and reveals to us that, even though 1453 saw the political end of the Empire, its influence in many different aspects spread and remain even today in many areas. These are subjects rarely, if ever, covered in this context, and should be required reading for anyone interested in obtaining a well-rounded knowledge of Byzantium.

The Mayan Prophecies: Unlocking the Secrets of a Lost Civilization

Average customer rating:

GOOD BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
Dissapointed with ending
Dodgy...
Very dissappointing
Nonsense

The Mayan Prophecies: Unlocking the Secrets of a Lost Civilization
Adrian Gilbert , and Maurice Cotterell
Manufacturer: Element Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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

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ASIN: 1852306920

Customer Reviews:

GOOD BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.......2006-02-09

THIS BOOK IS FASCINATING, HOWEVER IF YOU DON'T LIKE SCIENTIFIC READING IT MAY BE HARD TO FOLLOW. OTHERWISE ITS A GREAT READ IF ARE INTERESTED IN ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS AND EARTH'S MYSTERIES.

Dissapointed with ending.......2005-11-02

I found the conclusion of the book to be inconclusive and feel that it is not based on any hard science; its the author's opinion supported by sketchy facts, figures and theories from other sources. It's artful and entertaining, but it's not like its going to leave you with the truth of 2012 being the end of the world.

I don't regret reading it, however, and would recommend it to someone who is interested in learning about the subject. It just gives you one more opinion to chew on and ponder. And, I like pondering things.

Futhermore, there is some historical information on the Central American Civilizations of the past, the Mayan calendars, as well as some interesting theories on Sunspot's.

Dodgy..........2005-06-21

The blurb on the back reads "The present world will end on 22 December 2012. So prophesied the Maya 5,000 years ago..." - yet on page 4 the authors indicate that the Maya appeared around 500AD, which by my reckoning is only 1,500 years ago.

Such internal inconsistencies riddle this book, and make it unreliable. On the face of it - and ignoring the 2012 prophecy, which uses some pretty tortuous mathematical manipulations - there is a lot of interesting information here about the Maya, but I'm afraid I just don't know how much I can believe or trust.

I'm sure many people will lap up this book, and simply assume that the "facts" on the Maya must be true because they are written in an authoritative manner, but please keep an open mind - which includes remembering that the authors may be wrong.

Very dissappointing.......2004-09-09

It was implied that the earth's magnetic field reversed 3K years BC. This caused Atlantis to sink and new lands to appear. This scenario would make sense. What doesnt make sense is that according to a geographic magazine (scientific fact), the last time the earth's magnetic field reversed was 780,000 years ago. Moreover, its occurrence is random and not in some sequence deciphered by the Mayan calendar. Assuming the Mayan calendar was true, then what would happen in 2012? The facts are that the sunspots activity align with the Mayan calculations. In a period of years before and after 2012, there will be instances of very few or no sunspots occuring. This will effect fertility and weather patterns but mostly in the equator area. Hence, Mexico, India, Southeast Asia, Africa will be affected. The only reason the rest of the world will be affected is due to the side effect of us polluting the world with CO2 from too much cars and waste dumping, thereby melting the polar ice caps. The sunspot event before and after 2012 will just make things worse. So the doomsayers would come out and point to the Mayan prophecy as applicable to the whole world. As you can see if we did not pollute, North America would not be affected.

I give this book 1-star for the first chapter and explanation of the Mayan number system. I dont agree with the chapter about how images came up when Pacal's tomb cover were superimposed. The fact is that one can superimpose any drawing or try even Michaelangelo's fresco's. By careful delineation, one would come up with weird forms as what the author found in Pacal's about a jaguar? a bat?

Nonsense.......2003-07-09

This book is about coincidences. The authors notice a similarity between certain large numbers in the Maya calendar cycle and their own astrological theories about sunspot cycles. The numbers don't match, but from this "coincidence" the authors conclude that the Maya warned of a cosmic disaster for the year 2012.

The book could have stopped there, but instead it digresses into a sort of personal log of the authors' visits to Mexico, then revisits old material on transatlantic contact, Atlantis mythology, Edgar Cayce, Velikovsky, and other nonsense. Some of the historical material about Mexico is interesting and well written, but is clearly taken from other sources.

Some of the claims are bizarre, such as that the crystal "skull of doom" was used as a magnifying glass in a fire ceremony. Or that the "loops" on the Palenque sarcophagus represent magnetic field lines on the sun, something the Maya couldn't possibly have known about.

The authors' contempt for those with other points of view is annoying. The book that derides Von Daniken, astrologists, and professional archaeologists all at the same time.

The sloppiness about numbers is also annoying, especially since their entire case rests on numbers. The authors cite a "remarkable correlation" between the dates given for the great flood by Plato (9500 B.C), Cayce (10,500 B.C.), and the Maya (11,205 B.C.) These dates differ by over 1700 years, a variation of 15% relative to the present day. Considering that one of the authors claims to be an engineer and a scientist, this is inexcusable.

Customer Reviews:

Regarding Thomas Greco's Review.......2005-09-05

I believe that "The Lost Science of Money" is a very well written, serious, and thorough book. If you can't afford the cost based upon reviews then check it out of a library first, and judge for your self.

Please, note that Greco's review is by an author(Greco himself) who is sideways attempting to promote his own book ("Money") by pulling Down Zarlenga's book. Yes, Stephen Zarlenga does not delve deeply into alternative and community based currencies in these current times, but the basis for a solid understanding of monetary history and principles is fully accessible and clearly written, unlike Greco's exercise in muddling through without an outline.

Massive historical detail with a cogent message.......2004-11-18

This book provides a huge service to understanding one of the most central and powerful artifacts in human civilization: money. The brilliance of Zarlenga's treatment of this subject and what makes it stand out from others, is that while including massive historical detail and richness, he brings a cogent message about money that anyone (viz. the non-specialist) can walk away with. And it is, that money systems are designed by the intelligence of humans and established and empowered through a collective authority. Thus, the more all of society understands money and willingly participates in backing its authority, the greater the possibility that it will serve all people, and not private elites who may be tempted to structure its design in their favor. This single human innovation - money - has many alternative ways of being socially constructed and politically established as a means of exchange. Get the design right, and the quality of life for all people can be dramatically altered. The structural design of money will directly affect the degree to which individual market action will be morally and socially responsible. Getting the money system right can lead to the alignment of individual and collective action of people. This understanding that money is a human-specified tool (and not some mystical object that we all use but don't really know where it came from or how it works) is so important in birthing a new awareness around emergent economic and market behavior. To me, this kind of writing is a great examplar of how economics should be performed: taking a historical perspective to see what worked and what didn't work. The metaphysical clap-trap around money, as well as the professional economist's mathematical obfuscations are avoided. Seeing it for what it truly is - a designable artifact - is really the gift of this study. Highly recommended, and in my recent reading, complements Kevin Phillips', Wealth and Democracy.

If you only read one book about money this is the one........2004-11-13

Having read numerous books on the issues of money systems I can say without equivocation this is the best by far of any I have come across including many of the Austrian economics books and those by Rothbard. All of them have their perspectives but Zarlenga's work and conclusions are a synthesis from history, well documented, and ring true on deep gut level. He makes his case very well and there is no hype or misplaced emotion as there are in many works on the money issues. Taken as a history book alone I would give the book 5 stars. Too many people, including me, have been ignorant of the historical roots of money and Zarlenga helps us to learn the dramas, political games, and debasement of money systems through the ages. It is fascinating and shocking story. What is taking place in the world now, including the Federal Reserve and World Bank is a slight variation of the historical power struggles over the control of money that go back thousands of years. The most informative issues that come out of this work is the history of gold and silver as money and how they are fiat currencies just like any other proclaimed currency. The money powers, governments, and kings have at various times decreed gold to be money (fiat) as they stood to benefit from it. Yes, gold can't be created out of nothing but it is just as fiat as a dollar bill. As a defender of the gold standard I have to admit that my notions of the gold standard have been flipped upside down even though I have read many of the Mises Institutes books. I can't say that a commodity-based money may not be useful or that the connection between paper money and its basis in gold adds integrity to the system but I do believe now that the issues is not black and white, gold or paper money. What Zarlenga elegantly makes clear is that all money, short of direct barter of goods, has always been a creature of law, i.e. someone decrees it so. As such it is open to abuse and perversion. The book, Subtitled " The Mythology of Money, the Story of Power", does a great service in taking the mythology issues and presenting them in a factual and understandable way. What I like about this book is it is common sense, down to earth, expertly researched and presented in a way that avoids the curse of too much economics jargon and pseudo-science. Money is not particle physics and it is an issue that touches each and every one of us every day. Money has, and continues to shape culture and the direction of life. Leaving the control of money, which seems to me to function as a sort of cultural economic DNA, to a private and secretive group of world elites is a recipe for life out of balance on all levels. It invites exploitation and abuse and as history show there has been much of that concerning the control of money.

Regarding the comments from a prior reviewer of the book who was somewhat critical of the work I disagree with his comment that the book does not give specific solutions. I got the sense that the reviewer wanted economic equations and esoteric pogroms that he could espouse as a scientific look at money. Money, at its roots is no more scientific than sex. Sure, you can define sex with all the science in the world but the gist of it is personal and well known to all of us. People get heated up over the issue of sex and everyone has an opinion. Money is no exception and taking the understanding and control of money and wrapping it up in academic polemics is simply a way to convince us that we need accredited experts to help us. Try that with sex and see what happens. The kinds of solutions that are needed are social and political. Zarlengas effort was not to micro-manage the topic but to show us the lay of the land and give us the broader concepts and tools to regain the control of societies money. It belongs to all of us and is part and parcel to human life and commerce. Just as "We The People" are the foundation and source of the authority for our constitution, we should also be the foundation and final arbiter of our money system. There is little difference between a dictatorship of the societal political process or the societal money process. Concentrated in the hands of the few leads to perverse distortion and societal destruction.

In my 50 years or so of life I have only a handful of books that I think are must-reads and this is one of them. With three sons all out of college and in their twenties this is one of the books I am getting for each of them to read. It is that important. I give this book 5 stars. It is a tour de force of excellent research and common sense analysis.

The History of Money Redeemed.......2004-11-02

After a decade-plus of intensive research in the monetary arena, Stephen Zarlenga has authored a book titled "The Lost Science of Money." It is a truly monumental work that, I believe, reconstitutes the history of money, and the essence of its nature, in a way that does not, and might not ever, otherwise exist. It documents this crucial, but long neglected field of study, in a manner that does justice to the finest standards of scholarship, while at the same time rendering in a subject that in lesser hands might produce a tedious tome, a lively narrative that is accessible to the interested layman. It is a good read; a page-turner even. It paints a sensitive and intelligent historical panorama that transcends the gaudier narrations of wars, rulers and empires commonly proffered by more orthodox historians. To state that it constitutes an urgently needed service to the human race is more understatement than hype. It provides the intellectual basis for comprehending the monetary undercurrent that has shaped and driven civilization. It is simply not possible to realize who we are, how we got here, and the options for the future without an understanding of what is delineated in this epic work.

A good historical perspective but little science or solution.......2004-09-26

- A Book Review by Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
The Lost Science of Money: The Mythology of Money - the Story of Power by Stephen Zarlenga
(The American Monetary Institute, PO Box 601, Valatie, NY, 2002. Hardcover, 724 pages. ISBN 1-930748-03-5)

Zarlenga's book attempts to do two things, first, to describe the dimensions of the "money problem" by tracing its roots, not only in economics and finance, but also in ethics, religion, and politics; and second, to prescribe, in broad outline at least, a solution. In the first instance it is mostly successful, but in the second, it falls far short.

This massive treatise (more than 700 pages) recounts the history of money from early times, providing an interesting historical overview based on a wide variety of sources. It is a scholarly, well researched, and insightful account of the evolution of money, banking, and finance, in which the author argues that "a main arena of human struggle is over the monetary control of societies..," and shows how the money power has historically rivaled that of governments. All that is well and good; the story of money IS the story of power, and the author tells it well. It is, indeed unfortunate that few people today realize the important political implications that are inherent in the control over money and banking, or that such control has typically been in the hands of elite private interests. This well researched history goes a long way toward clearing away the fog that has enshrouded that bastion of privilege.

The title promises to tell us about "the lost science of money," but there is little in it that would qualify as scientific. The author's subtitle, "The Mythology of Money - The Story of Power," would have been far more appropriate as a title. While I can appreciate the author for the major contribution he has made to our understanding of the evolution of money, banking, and centralized power, I must also say that the conclusions he draws and his proposed reforms are less than helpful.

It is not until the very last chapter that we see anything of proposed solutions. That is just as well, for his reform proposals are ill considered and anything but original, directing us into another blind alley of centralized control.

In a mere 28 pages, he manages to dismiss every other approach to a solution which he has ever heard of, then propose that the money monopoly be reestablished under new management. He gives short shrift to the whole alternative exchange movement - mutual credit clearing associations, LETS, and community currencies, and, does not even mention the commercial "barter" industry, thus revealing that he has not yet educated himself about the essential nature of the exchange process, contemporary methods, and the possibilities offered by voluntary, popular, and private approaches.

His critique of the "free money" movement covers less than a single page. If Zarlenga has any knowledge at all of the free money and free banking theories, it is not apparent. Likewise, his critique of the local currency movement is similarly uninformed. Again, in less than a page he dismisses it as worse than irrelevant, seeing it as a distraction from the "real" work of reform (the centralist, government-oriented approach).

His approach is both reformist and centralist, and shows no appreciation for the role of scale in making the system dysfunctional in the first place. Nor does he offer any strategy for achieving the massive reform he proposes. Having described so carefully the corrupting effects that result from centralizing the money power, it is curious that the author asks us to accept it when under the control of politicians and bureaucrats. Does he not see that the political and financial elites are in cahoots, and indeed are the same people.

Well, no one volume can hope to be competent in addressing all aspects of a problem, so we should appreciate this book for what it is rather than condemn it for what it isn't. Despite it's shortcomings, this is an important book. In sum, it is an admirable contribution to our understanding of power dynamics in today's world, and the singular importance of the democratization of the monetary power to enabling lives of dignity, freedom, and fulfillment for all.
# # #

The Lost Realms: Book IV of the Earth Chronicles

Average customer rating:

An interesting point about Meso American discoveries
The Lost Realms
The Lost Realms
Takes the New out of New World
The Lost Realms

The Lost Realms: Book IV of the Earth Chronicles
Zecharia Sitchin
Manufacturer: Harper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Controversial Knowledge | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

UFOs | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0380758903

Book Description

Thousands Of Years Before the Birth
Of Christ, Giants Roamed The Earth

In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquerors came to the New World in search of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. Instead, they encountered inexplicable phenomena that have puzzled scholars and historians ever since: massive stone edifices constructed in the Earth's most inaccessible regions ... great monuments forged with impossible skill and unknown tools ... intricate carvings describing the events and topography of half a world away.

In this, the remarkable and thoroughly researched fourth volume of THE EARTH CHRONICLES, author Zecharia Sitchin uncovers the long-hidden secrets of the lost civilizations of the pre-Columbian Americas and offers documentation of the giant gods who spawned the greatness of the Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs -- the Anunnaki -- "those who from Heaven to Earth came."

Customer Reviews:

An interesting point about Meso American discoveries.......2007-03-20

I have 3 of Sitchen's books, the best being "The 9th Planet"..."Lost Realms" takes up where The 9th Planrt left off but this time in the Americas. Both books are food for thought.

The Lost Realms.......2007-03-09

You ask it about this book and all I could say in return is Yes, Yes, Yes as He write just the way I believe. Read it!!!!

The Lost Realms.......2007-01-12

Another great book by Zachariah Sitchen, I have read all eight books of his Earth chronicles and they are all very mind boggling.

Takes the New out of New World.......2002-07-28

The Lost Realms is one of the most speculative and interesting books in Sitchin's Earth Chronicles series. The ruins and structures of Egypt and the Near East have been wondered at and studied for centuries, and there is a veritable wealth of information from Near Eastern papyri, stelae, monuments, and similar artifacts. The ruins of Mesoamerica have largely been rediscovered only in the past couple of hundred years; indeed, unknown wonders surely remain hidden by South America's dense jungles. The immensely important records and artifacts of New World societies such as the Mayan, Inca, and Aztec civilizations were for the most part lost and destroyed at the hands of greedy Spanish conquistadors, and further site degradation has resulted from the pilfering of ancient stones by recent natives of the area for use in the construction of their own buildings. Thus, the earliest history of the lower Americas remains frustratingly impossible to understand. We are left with giant edifices with significant similarities to Near Eastern constructions in size, orientation, and purpose, many of them seemingly containing very advanced structures built for unknown purposes. Even the age of the artifacts is hotly debated, with many scientists refusing to believe scientific findings point back to as early as 2000 B.C.

Sitchin's arguments fit very nicely with the history of Sumeria, Egypt, and the Near East that he laid out in his earlier books. Basically, he argues that the Americas were exploited by the gods for the production of gold and other metals such as tin, which the Andean mountains in particular hold in abundance. Metals were refined here and shipped back to the Near Eastern lands long before Columbus ever sailed the ocean blue. Sitchin believes that the Olmecs, of which very little is known besides what has been gleaned from the artifacts they left behind, particularly in the form of large stone blocks representing men of obvious African descent, did indeed come from Africa very early on--in fact, it was the Egyptian god Thoth who brought his followers here when he was displaced by Marduk. While the Olmecs mysteriously disappeared, other societies were formed by white gods and giants from across the sea. The traditions of the diverse Indian groups all shared a common mythology, including the story of a Great Flood; they also possessed amazing arts, technologies, and sciences (particularly astronomy) very similar to those of Sumeria and Egypt. The inadequacy of artifacts in the Americas necessarily hinder any scientist studying their earliest histories, but Sitchin constructs a remarkably compelling timeline in which the story of Mesoamerica fits very neatly into the history he has gleaned of the Annunaki and their relationships with mankind in its earliest days.

Even if Sitchin were dead wrong on everything he suggests, this book would still be worth reading just for the information about the amazing ancient cities and monuments built in the lower Americas that are only now emerging from their jungle tombs. The Olmecs, Toltecs, Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs are more mysterious than the Near Eastern cultures, and the suggestion that men traveled from the Old World and Africa centuries before Columbus is as compelling as it is fascinating. The illustrations in this book are sometimes rather grainy and hard to examine closely, but the images they convey, such as that of the giant stone heads left by the Olmecs, do much to enhance Sitchin's theories. This is thought-provoking, educational, stimulating material.

The Lost Realms.......2002-05-23

There are many pieces of the puzzle of our existence in the universe that I had figured out, or "seen", but there were still dots that I could not connect, gaps I could not fill in. When I read this book it was like deja vu, a recollection of things stored in our genetic memory/code long forgotten through evolution, now recalled causing gasps of recollection. This book logically and scientifically filled in the gaps. It makes sense, it all fits. Sitchin's bibliography to support his research is tremendously extensive and impressive. I recommend it highly for the searching mind, and have given copies as gifts to many friends and associates.

The Lost Book of Enki: Memoirs and Prophecies of an Extraterrestrial god

Average customer rating:

Very different from the others books by Stichiin
Extrremely Muddled Thinking
The Lost Book of Enki
Interesting but drags...
Incredible

The Lost Book of Enki: Memoirs and Prophecies of an Extraterrestrial god
Zecharia Sitchin
Manufacturer: Bear & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

Controversial Knowledge | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Unexplained Mysteries | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1879181835
Release Date: 2001-10-01

Book Description

Will the past become our future? Is humankind destined to repeat the events that occurred on another planet, far away from Earth? Zecharia Sitchin's bestselling series The Earth Chronicles provided humanity's side of the story-as recorded on ancient clay tablets and other Sumerian artifacts--concerning our origins at the hands of the Anunnaki, "those who from heaven to earth came." In The Lost Book of Enki, we can view this saga from a different perspective through this richly conceived autobiographical account of Lord Enki, an Anunnaki god, who tells the story of these extraterrestrials' arrival on Earth from the 12th planet Nibiru. The object of their colonization: gold to replenish the dying atmosphere of their home planet. Finding this precious metal results in the Anunnaki creation of homo sapiens--the human race--to mine this important resource.

In his previous works, Sitchin compiled the complete story of the Anunnaki's impact on human civilization in peacetime and in war from the fragments scattered throughout Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hebrew sources--the "myths" of all ancient peoples in the old world as well as the new. Missing from these accounts, however, was the perspective of the Anunnaki themselves. What was life like on their own planet? What motives propelled them to settle on Earth-and what drove them from their new home? Convinced of the existence of a now lost book that formed the basis of ancient Sumerian texts holding the answers to these questions, the author began his search for evidence. Through exhaustive research of primary sources, he has here re-created tales as the memoirs of Enki, the leader of these first "astronauts." What takes shape is the story of a world of mounting tensions, deep rivalries, and sophisticated scientific knowledge that is only today being confirmed. An epic tale of gods and men unfolds, challenging every assumption we hold about our creation, our past, and our future.

Customer Reviews:

Very different from the others books by Stichiin.......2007-05-13

This book is a little bit hard to read because of the unusual English language; this is not at all an everyday English language. The construction of the sentences is the opposite way that it is usually. But anyway, this book is a must! This book is very different from the others. There is a lot of new information.

Extrremely Muddled Thinking.......2007-04-29

The first book in this series sounded so plausible. Reviewers pointed out the fact that he almost never identifies his sources, and many of the sources they could indentify turned out to be wrong, but what the heck, I could live with that. By the second book he's already beginning to write more from imagination than reality, and in the last one he writes an entire "Bible" in the words of his imaginary space guy. I love "true history of the world" kinds of books, but this guy shows a progressively worse lack of regard for logic and reality as he proceeds. For a better read, try The Mayan Prophecies : Unlocking the Secrets of a Lost Civilization

The Lost Book of Enki .......2007-03-09

If you find all the earlier books of Sitchin a hard read this book makes it far easier to understand. Out of all of his works this is the one that I go back to on a regular basis.

Interesting but drags..........2007-01-10

I'm really into Sitchin and his theories so this attracted me. But while interesting as all his stuff is, this is really a dull read. I can only take a few pages at a time.

Incredible.......2007-01-06

It may look like fiction but it is not... I already had this treasure and I bought it for my friend (the yogi). He got addicted to Sitchin books. I'm grateful there is someone in the earth that knows very well Sumerian to translated for all of us and let us know the truth...

Heaven's Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization

Average customer rating:

Alternate theory of spiritual development compellingly written
Good summary -- reffer book.
Mirror, Mirror on the Floor...
Hangcock is certainly onto something amazing
Excellent Images + Knowledge of ancient civilizations

Heaven's Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization
Graham Hancock
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Fingerprints of the Gods
Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization
The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind
Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant

ASIN: 0609804774
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Amazon.com

It could be true! That's the enthusiasm that author and scholar-mystic Graham Hancock counts on--in himself and in his readers--as he lays down his theories of an ancient (Atlantean, perhaps?) civilization that disseminated a sophisticated religion of ground-sky dualism and a "science" of immortality. Hancock's previous work, including the popular and controversial Fingerprints of the Gods, has drawn criticism for its leaps of faith and allegedly pseudoscientific conclusions, but Heaven's Mirror proves at least a little more substantial. His chief thesis is that numerous ancient sites and monuments--the pyramids of Mexico and Egypt, the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the monuments of Yonaguni in the Pacific, and the megaliths of Peru and Bolivia--are situated in such a way, geodetically, that they point towards some separate and uniform influence, some lost civilization or "invisible college" of astronomer-priests. And that civilization, as evidenced in the mathematics and architecture of the sites, points towards some gnosis, or body of knowledge, that would allow humanity to transcend the trap of mortality, a worldview in which the knowledge-giving serpent of Eden is not a villain but a hero.

Whatever you think of Hancock's ideas and theoretical musings in archaeo-astronomy, Heaven's Mirror is a gorgeous book, thanks to the photography of Santha Faiia. Lush, evocative photos of the monoliths on Easter Island and temples deep in the Cambodian jungle are enough to set the mind to introspective wandering--maybe, just maybe, Hancock's got it right after all. --Paul Hughes

Book Description

In Heaven's Mirror, author Graham Hancock continues the quest begun in his international best-seller Fingerprints of the Gods: to rediscover the hidden legacy of mankind and to reveal that "ancient" cultures were, in fact, the heirs to a far older forgotten civilization and the inheritors of its archaic, mystical wisdom.

Working with photographer Santha Faiia, Hancock traces a network of sacred sites around the globe on a spectacular voyage of discovery that takes us from the pyramids and temples of ancient Egypt to the enigmatic statues of Easter Island, from the haunting ruins of pre-Columbian America to the splendors of Angkor Wat. It is a journey through myth, magic, and astounding archaeological revelations that forces us to rethink the cultures of our lost ancestors and the origins of civilization.

The first fully illustrated book by Graham Hancock, Heaven's Mirror is a stunning and illuminating tour of the spirituality of the ancients--a search for a secret recorded in the very foundations of the holiest sites of antiquity.

Customer Reviews:

Alternate theory of spiritual development compellingly written.......2007-03-23

While I will reserve judgment on the factual merits of this book, it engaged me in a way few books do; I took extensive notes while reading it and plan to do additional research into some of the statements made.

Hancock travels the world, exploring the ancient religions and traditions of several disparate cultures, only to find shocking similarities, especially when combined with an astronomical background.

A fascinating, must-read for anyone exploring our distant past, interested in alternate spirituality or just curious about whatever crosses their hands.

Good summary -- reffer book. .......2007-03-10

I have this book in my native language. But it does not matter. One time my friend let me borrow it from him, i read it really fast (only at home, cause he won't harm the book at all) For me it was like looking to "factography" about the interesting areas, complexes, chambers, pyramids and so on. Some of the facts were already presented by Discovery and NationalGeography channels (Orion mystery document) I was looking forward this document, but with no luck. So this really suprise me, that there are same volume of facts and even more. If you are new in this type of books (2012, prophecies, ancient civs; ...and so on.) It is good start to take this book. Also there is combo with "Fingerprints of Gods" Style of authors are easy to read, few drawings/figures are also there, so imaging of facts is easier.
Some other scholars reffer to this book and this book refer to some others. Like it is usuall. But i recommend to read few of them and collect the facts/myths by own selves. John Major Jenkins's books for instance are also good ones to make bigger picture.
You can use "google earth" and some other software to simulate some viewings mentioned in the book, prety exiting, really.
So finally i found this book in our book store and bought it. Read it again (with my comments written in the book, some notices and i use it as reffer book) I am not happy that this book has brother (fingerprints of gods) and it is not translated to my language.
Nevermind i learn little bit more so English books are no longer problematic for me. So thank to Amazon i got the Graham's combo book :))
I am not going to confirm or be against the facts mentioned in this book. It is up to reader to valuate the facts not me. I already did and i found it generally usefull. But none is perfect so be sure you valuate the facts across the books/documents/your own research.
I think it is not wasting of money to buy this book.
-keep it readin'-
cheers
-vh-

Mirror, Mirror on the Floor..........2006-09-17

"Heavens Mirror" is a lush book of alternative ancient history from Graham Hancock, author of "Fingerprints of the Gods", a book I really enjoyed. Though I definitely did find it interesting, it left me with a bad taste in the mouth after I read it, if that makes sense.

Graham Hancock believes that long ago there was a civilization as sophisticated and thoughtful as ours, wiped out by the last ice age (around 10,500 BC), and whose influence can be seen in cultures round the world. He put forward this theory in his book "Fingerprints of the Gods", a well presented, heavily researched book. Graham is still writing about this lost culture, but rather than focusing on it's apparent influence like he did in "Fingerprints", he focuses on their beliefs and rituals. He finds a lot of things in common between certain cultures of the world. There's the idea of a "navel of the world", the idea of an afterlife world in the sky, references to the procession of the equinoxes, temples and structures in the form of certain constellations. Jumping from continent to continent, he tries to piece things together, hopefully coming to a conclusion.

First of all, I must say, this is a well presented book, just like "Fingerprints of the Gods". Hancock's wife, Santha Faiia, provided the photography, and there are some fantastic shots of famous ancient monuments, taken from angles and distances I have never seen before. It's almost as if you are there. They were a treat to look at, and she rightfully gets co-authorship of the book because of it. There are diagrams, which really, REALLY helped with the astronomical and mathematical elements. The content of the book, the studies on ancient beliefs, was also fascinating to read.

That's not to say this is a book without flaws. Graham doesn't seem to know who he is writing to here, newcomers to his books or old regulars. Sometimes he assumes we've read his books, and other times he repeats himself. He repeats himself in a few ways, actually. He'll make the same point a couple of times, which I found a little bit annoying, and it caused my eyes to wander from the page more than once. He seems a little more intense in his writing that he does in "Fingerprints of the Gods" too, and I can't say it's the most inviting feel to have. Plus, there are hardly as many references as his last books.

I felt a little bit uneasy reading this book, and I couldn't quite put a finger on why. It started when I noticed Graham Hancock was using the word "initiate" frequently when talking about the ancient learned people. The last alternative history book I read that used the word "initiate" frequently descended into obsessive nonsense very quickly, and was almost impossible to comprehend (let alone believe or consider). "What was Graham getting at here?" I thought. I got a little more uncomfortable when he started throwing the the words "gnosis" and "gnostic", and started mixing beliefs together.

Graham had been making all these links, pointing out these common factors, but not really stopping to explain why. The conclusion, when he finally got to it, came as something as a shock, though I felt it coming. He claims to believe that the ancient people were onto something in their rituals. He quotes gnostic gospels of the Christian era as if they were not only correct, but influenced by this ten thousand year old culture he claims existed. Then, came this sentence, wedged within the final paragraph:

"Modern religions, like modern science, have let us down, offering us no nourishment or guidance. Perhaps our only hope ... [is] when certain ideas come to life again, and we should not deprive our grandchildren of a last chance at the heritage of the highest are farthest-off times"

That says it all about why I felt so uneasy about the book, I think. Rejecting basically everyone in favor of his mish mash of ancient beliefs. It's one thing to say that civilizations have things in common, it's quite another to say that they have the answers for the future, if you know what I mean.

It was a very interesting look at ancient cultures, I do agree, very well presented with some fantastic pictures. That's the reason I give it four stars. Graham Hancock's conclusions, however, are rather worrying. I hope he doesn't get too sucked into these kind of theories.

Hangcock is certainly onto something amazing.......2006-01-04

This book is an amazing watch and read. His chapter about the Angkor Thom Temple in Cambodia seems to be the key issue inside his theory.

John Martin reported about that the following: "Hancock and his wife travel around the world and try to tie a lot of historical sites together with magic numbers (72 being the most prevalent but any even number being almost as good.) The problem I had was that the linking of the monuments to stars degrades as the book moves along. The link is clear in Egypt, possibly present in Mexico, requires squinting in Cambodia, and then devolves to a lot of "as ifs" and "rough alignments"."

Well now, things certainly have changed as in 2001 a new Temple object was found inside China ate the same horizontal geographical coordinate as Angkor:

http://www.china.org.cn/english/2001/Jun/13970.htm
"a group of ancient buildings was in an area of 2.4 square km at the bottom of Fuxian Lake in southwest China's Yunnan Province."

De geographical width of this location is 103o E. Which is exactly 72o east of the pyramids of Giza. Hence at exactly the same geographical width as the Angkor Thom Temple in Cambodia. This object was built in the 12th century A.C. To be exact in the year 1150 A.C

Conspiracy theory : Because the Fuxian temples (lets call em this way) are 2200 years old, they are much older as the Angkor Temples. So it could be that the City in the Fuxian Lake indeed is the lost City of Atlantis. The Cambodians built Angkor Thom much later and with these Temples took over the function of the Fuxian Lake temples. It's known that the Angkor temples didn't emit much good vibes. Hangcock writes in his book about this the following : " In the last decades there have been moments where Angkor looked like the heart of darkness - its located in the middle of a dark forest where obscure dark things have happened." Angkor Thom is oriented to the constellation of Draco or 'snake'. So dark forces could have sunk the Fuxia City and caused the rise of a replacing object, Angkor Thom.

Excellent Images + Knowledge of ancient civilizations.......2005-07-31

This book is put together perfect. The images in this book are clear and amazing. You will learn so much from this book and see beautiful pictures. I scanned the images in this book and put them in my computer room. You will not be disappointed with this book.

Secrets of the Lost Races: New Discoveries of Advanced Technology in Ancient Civilizations

Average customer rating:

Secrets of the Lost Races
A great read
An untrustworthy source
Absolutely mind boggling!
Fascinating

Secrets of the Lost Races: New Discoveries of Advanced Technology in Ancient Civilizations
Rene Noorbergen
Manufacturer: Teach Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Dead Men's Secrets
Treasures of the Lost Races
Lost World of Giants
64 Secrets Still Ahead of Us
Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients

ASIN: 1572581980

Book Description

An increasing number of historical and archaeological finds made around the world have been classified as "out-of-place artifacts" (ooparts). They have been called this because they appear unexpectedly among the ruins of the past with no evidence of a preceding period of development; their technological sophistication seems far beyond the capabilities of ancient peoples.

Drawing on the literature and art of the Chaldeans, Sumerians, Babylonians and others, Rene Noorbergen's contention is that a superior race of man was responsible for these scientific marvels that bear testimony to a civilization with technology comparable to our own.

Customer Reviews:

Secrets of the Lost Races.......2007-03-15

This book is outstanding in proving that the races that were before us were very much more capable than we have become, so far.

A great read.......2007-03-12

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author, a Christian, doesn't get "preachy" which is to the book's advantage, though he makes it plain he accepts the authenticity of the Biblical record, especially as concerns the Great Flood and the Babel incident. I'm admittedly a little skeptical of the claims made for finding the Ark and for ancient post-Flood atomic warfare but everything else that might be reasonably inferred about ancient civilization seems to be in order. There's certainly validity to the thought that pre-Flood and early post-Flood civilization was probably advanced beyond our own in many ways, given that ancient architectural mysteries as well as ooparts abound that simply do not fit the monkey-to-man progression supposed by evolution. I'd gladly recommend it to anyone interested in at least giving ear (or in this case, eyes) to a different perspective that is probably much closer to the truth, and which treats ancient man with the dignity and respect he deserves.

An untrustworthy source.......2006-10-03

Rene Noorbergin can only be seen as an alternative von Däniken and Sitchen by those who prefer a literal interpretation of the Bible. Even then, his gullibility and lack of fact checking shows up in his acceptance of Ron Wyatt's tales about the ark, which are not only rejected by archaeologists but also by most Christian fundamentalists.

He claims there is a 20000 tonne stone block at Sacsahuamán -- the largest blocks there are (and they aren't typical) around 400 tons.

He accepts uncritically the claim for a 5000 year old Chaldean manuscript the Sifrala, which is only a creation of David Hatcher Childress (you will often find it associated with his 'Vaimanika Sastra', allegedly transcribed by a medium in the early 20th century).

Following Berlitz, he writes about ancient nuclear warfare, but this is based on taking bits and pieces from the Mahabharata and putting them together to make up a story that isn't actually in the original. So there the more amazing quote says:
"A single projectile charged with all the power of the universe. An
incandescent column of smoke and flame, as bright as 10,000 suns, rose
in all its splendour.... It was an unknown weapon, and iron thunderbolt, a
gigantic messenger of death which reduced to ashes the entire race of
the Vrishnis and Andhakas.." although in fact, in the real document, 'a single projectile --- all its splendour' has its origin in Karna Parva, section 34. The second part, 'it was an unknown weapon --- Andhakas' derives from Mausala Parva section 1, reconnecting events which occurred no less than 36 years after the great battle which is the central focus of the Mahabharata. A third part 'the corpses --- unrecognisable' refers back in time to the much earlier Drona Parva section 201, and the already mentioned Agneya weapon. The fourth part, 'the hair and nails --- infected' leaps forward in time once again to Mausala Parva, section 2.

(Side point, there is no 'World Island Review' here in the UK, the story seems to be a hoax from start to finish, I and several authors have spent some time trying to trace down the journal and the people mentioned and they only show up in the same story repeated all over the web).

So, with this book and similar books, always check to find the sources and see how reliable they are. What I find amazing about our ancestors is their ability to use their brains to solve problems with a low level of technology. In some ways they were clverer than we are.

Absolutely mind boggling!.......2005-08-20

This book and the subject matter rate as one of the most interesting to date. To think that there are literally tons of Out of Place artifacts (author calls them OOPARTS) that debunk a lot of the theories that we've been taught all our lives (and still are on popular TV shows)regarding the early history of mankind.

Open your mind, if you dare! You won't regret it!

Fascinating.......2005-07-25

In this fascinating book, author and journalist Rene Noorbergen looks at the various anomalies in the archaeological and geological records and comes to a startling conclusion. It is the author's contention that the Biblical record correctly shows an earlier age in the world, when long-lived humans lived in a paradise, multiplied and filled the Earth. But, they did more than that; they actually created a technologically advanced civilization, remnants of which survived the global flood. This is a look at the evidence, and what it shows about Earth's past.

Overall, I found this to be a wonderfully fascinating book. The author makes a great case for his contention, and does so in a way that keeps you reading, page after page. If you are interested in non-establishment, highly controversial theories, then this book is for you.

Average customer rating:

Splendid! A must read!!
Suketu Mehta
Puliter Prize finalist with more f bombs than a cop movie
A great take on a vibrant city
A great civics course on Bombay polity

Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found
Suketu Mehta
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Essays & Travelogues | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Shantaram: A Novel
The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
Sacred Games: A Novel
The Inheritance of Loss

ASIN: 0375403728
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Book Description

A brilliantly illuminating portrait of Bombay and its people–a book as vast, diverse, and rich in experience, incident, and sensation as the city itself–from an award-winning Indian-American fiction writer and journalist.

A native of Bombay, Suketu Mehta gives us a true insider’s view of this stunning city, bringing to his account a rare level of insight, detail, and intimacy. He approaches the city from unexpected angles–taking us into the criminal underworld of rival Muslim and Hindu gangs who wrest control of the city’s byzantine political and commercial systems . . . following the life of a bar dancer who chose the only life available to her after a childhood of poverty and abuse . . . opening the doors onto the fantastic, hierarchical inner sanctums of Bollywood . . . delving into the stories of the countless people who come from the villages in search of a better life and end up living on the sidewalks–the essential saga of a great city endlessly played out.

Through it all–as each individual story unfolds–we hear Mehta’s own story: of the mixture of love, frustration, fascination, and intense identification he feels for and with Bombay, as he tries to find home again after twenty-one years abroad. And he makes clear that Bombay–the world’s largest city–is a harbinger of the vast megalopolises that will redefine the very idea of “the city” in the near future.

Candid, impassioned, funny, and heartrending, Maximum City is a revelation of an ancient and ever-changing world.

Customer Reviews:

Splendid! A must read!!.......2007-07-12

If you enjoy non-fiction books that follow people's lives with intricate detail, you will probably enjoy this book.

Suketu Mehta is a Bombayite who moves to New York in his teens. He decides after he is married and has young children to move back to Bombay, India. First he talks about the lifestyle and adjustments he makes into his Bombay life. Then Mehta goes into the detail and life of various people he meets: bar dancers, religion fanatic rioters, gangsters, movie producers, and NGO (non governmental organization) member and police officers. He is actually able to talk on the phone to a notorious "Don" - Chota Shakeel This book is so well written with precise detail.

Everyone is somehow connected to the corrupt system. When he was talking about methods of torture used in Indian prisons to extract confessions, I was wincing. Here is a preview - a male's private part was cut and chilies were rubbed on it - yikes!!

Then he contrasts the people who live in the edge - bar dancers, gansters, etc to people who take diksha. Diksha means (as according to this book) giving up all material possessions and your life to attain Moksha. It is an amazing contrast. As I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I have been to India many times and I felt the book was accurate, well written and unbiased. Mehta never gets emotional about his State - Gujarat, or about his religion, which is apparently Hinduism according to his name.

Maximum City by Suketu Mehta and Princess by Jean Sassoon are my favorite non-fiction books. If you like this book, I would also recommend Princess, which is about a female in the Saudi Arabian royal family.

Suketu Mehta.......2007-07-12

The book was in excellent condition and the book is a must read for folks interested in knowing more about cities in India and Asia

Puliter Prize finalist with more f bombs than a cop movie.......2007-07-05

I love, love, love this book. I've never been to Mumbai, but Mehta's extensive description of the people he meets and they way they speak and act makes me feel as I've spent a couple years there as well. He's at his best when he 's talking with his subjects, the self-introspection bits drag a little. This is an extremely compelling book whose 400 or so pages still seem too few.

A great take on a vibrant city.......2007-06-09

Sure Bombay is crowded, dirty, polluted, everything that a third world megalopis is but its also a city like no other and Maximum City really gets to the heart of that. Bombay is a mix of Hollywood, and Lagos. Its the center of the Indian Subcontinent.

The fact that that book is a personal journey and that that it tells the story of the city today (rather than a history of the city) makes it very readable, and wildly interesting. Some parts of it are a bit winded but all in all, a fun book to read and extremely well written.

If you liked this book, you may also want to check out 'Midnight in Sicily'

A great civics course on Bombay polity.......2007-06-04

This has helped me to decide whether I could handle living in Bombay (I've decided it would be a nicer place to visit than to live there).

A really amazing study of the misdevelopment of one of the world's greatest Sprawls, this book could be a college textbook on urban development. It is daunting sometimes to realize how completely unplanned many of the world's newest cities are.

Persians: Masters of the Empire (Lost Civilizations)

Average customer rating:

A very good introduction to the Persians
Excellent work on history of Persia

Persians: Masters of the Empire (Lost Civilizations)

Manufacturer: Time-Life Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Mesopotamia | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Iran | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Anatolia: Cauldron of Cultures (Lost Civilizations)
Mesopotamia: The Mighty Kings (Lost Civilizations)
China's Buried Kingdoms (Lost Civilizations)
Wondrous Realms of the Aegean (Lost Civilizations)
Southeast Asia: A Past Regained (Lost Civilizations)

ASIN: 0809491044

Customer Reviews:

A very good introduction to the Persians.......2000-11-14

This book is part of the Time-Life series: Lost Civilizations. It examines Persian history and civilization from ancient Elam through the conquest by the Arabs in 642. The book has a wealth of information on its subject, along with a large number of beautiful and interesting pictures.

My one complaint against this book is that it largely ignores the religious aspect, devoting only one small sidebar to Zoroastrianism. If you are interested in the ancient Persians, then this is an excellent book to own.

Excellent work on history of Persia.......2000-01-22

I am glad to have bought and read this book. It is quite informative and interesting to read. The pictures are excellent and the writing is plain. The book treats the origins and development of the Persian (Iranian) Empire before the coming of Islam. It celeberates the archeological efforts and historical research that have brought this important part of human's history and planet into light. I only wish that the title of the series was not Lost Civilizations but First Civilizations. Egypt, Persia and India are very much alive. These books can make very good gifts.

Voices of the Rocks : A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations

Average customer rating:

Don't buy this waste of paper
The Sphinx got wet once; does that make it older?
A book with view (point) ... - Interdisciplinary treat!
Very Disappointing.
Wishy Washy

Voices of the Rocks : A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations
Robert M. Schoch
Manufacturer: Harmony
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Voyages of the Pyramid Builders
Pyramid Quest: Secrets of the Great Pyramid and the Dawn of Civilization
The Origin Map: Discovery of a Prehistoric, Megalithic, Astrophysical Map and Sculpture of the Universe
Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory

ASIN: 0609603698
Release Date: 1999-05-11

Amazon.com

Everything changes. The great 19th-century battle between catastrophists and uniformitarians seemed to end with the notion of global cataclysms being dismissed as a back door to the supernatural. But the catastrophist theory has gradually become more and more plausible, so that now, less than a hundred years later, it is widely believed that mass extinctions are linked to meteor strikes. Geologist Robert M. Schoch believes that if a large meteor or comet could extinguish most of our planet's complex life (just ask the trilobites), then a smaller one could destroy a civilization, and perhaps did. In Voices of the Rocks, he tells us how it may have happened.

Asked to investigate the Sphinx at Giza, Schoch was troubled to find evidence of a much greater age than the 4,500 years suggested by Egyptologists. This led him to examine the possibility of a lost civilization dating back to at least 10,000 B.C. Looking at linguistic, geological, and archaeological evidence from around the world, he proposes an outline of prehistory that differs markedly from our received wisdom--after all, if the Lascaux cave paintings really are star maps, then we've got a lot of catching up to do. Schoch's willingness to dismiss implausible evidence and to use Occam's razor to cut away unnecessary complications is admirable and refreshing in a field in which credulity pays and skepticism is viewed with deep suspicion. Ending on a note of warning, Voices of the Rocks reminds us that by weakening the planet, we have made ourselves much more vulnerable to the next global cataclysm, which may come at any time. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Could the Egyptian Sphinx have been built many centuries earlier than conventional history would have us believe? Could the great natural disasters that propelled the evolution of life on Earth have played a dominant role as well in the rise and fall of civilizations? Could Earth have been home to civilizations far greater in number -- and far older -- than orthodox researchers have suspected? In Voices of the Rocks, Dr. Robert M. Schoch examines these and other crucial questions about our past and shows how the answers can guide us in the future.

In 1990, Robert Schoch, a scientist and tenured university professor, traveled to Egypt and conducted geological testing to evaluate the accepted date for the construction of the Great Sphinx of Giza. His research revealed that the Sphinx is actually thousands of years older than previously supposed, a discovery that upended the standard history of ancient Egypt.

Following the intellectual trail uncovered by his redating of the Sphinx, Schoch became convinced that we are in the midst of a profound scientific paradigm shift. The predominant notion that our species inhabits a slow-changing, steady-state planet is falling by the wayside. Instead, we are coming to see that the history of Earth, all living beings, and human civilizations comprises a series of stops and starts, in which equilibrium abruptly ends during a sudden severe catastrophe, like the extraterrestrial impact that initiated the extinction of the dinosaurs. Meteors, asteroids, and comets are potential sources of such disasters, as are shifts in Earth's axis, movements of the continents, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.

According to Dr. Schoch, Earth's long, catastrophic history has obscured and obliterated evidence of lost civilizations. But the traces remain for those who know where to look and what to look for. At its core, Voices of the Rocks is the story of Schoch's own search, his fascinating discoveries, and the warnings we must heed if we wish to survive whatever catastrophes the future has in store for us.

Customer Reviews:

Don't buy this waste of paper.......2004-05-19

Well I got SUCKERED, what a grandly misleading title. Seeking hard science arguments from a reputed ph.D further explaining the anomities of the geological record, as the title suggests, I was greatly disappointed with the lack of story or revelations as claimed, and the petty partual inclusions of airy-fairy wish wash "Hype" themes. Lord behold, I was worried when I read the dubious praises on the rear cover by the renown cranks Hancock, West, and Bauval.

Nothing at all new, the only compelling area covers little more than the intial pages where the dating of the Sphinx
is detailed. The book then slips into crank theories where the author hovers around the sides like a timid scum-sucking iliterate fearful to be judged to be of any persuasion or belief. Everything from Atlantis in Antartica to Hapgood's maps are rehashed revealing zip.

NOTHING new, BIG disappointment, much grandstanding with a hint of "just trying to fill a book". Any beneficial data could easily have been published in a single article, and has been.

A author I would never purchase again.

The Sphinx got wet once; does that make it older?.......2004-03-01

Dr Schoch shows that the Sphinx shows water erosion marks. The last time it rained a lot in Egypt was tens of thousands of years before 4500 BC (the standard built-by date). So, Dr Schoch thinks the Sphinx was really built tens of thousands of years earlier.
Hiroshima shows higher background radiation than most Japanese cities. That's not because Hiroshima was built earlier.
Was the Sphinx built earlier? Did nasty canal-builders wash its builders and their works away?

A book with view (point) ... - Interdisciplinary treat!.......2002-03-21

This was a book I read a few years ago, but re-read recently. Its a book by an archeologist. And it aims to show how one reads history through the glasses of an archeologist.

One gets some pretty good insights into the study of archeology, the tools the subject uses and how inferences are drawn. The book takes some known facts and uses them to extrapolate in very good ways, drawing from other disciplines to construct new viewpoints of the past and our history.

Its pretty elementary in its approach and simple, so in case you're one of the more serious heavy seekers of information, this is not for you. But if you're looking for alternate viewpoints from disciplines you have not much information about, then this is definitely a good place to begin.

Very Disappointing........2001-10-16

If you saw this guy on Discovery or The History Channel, you probably won't find much of interest in this book. The amount of space devoted to the Sphinx and Yonaguni Monument is almost an afterthought. And sadly, this is the only original work in the entire book.

Most of this book deals with uniformitarianism (gradual change) and catastrophism (rapid change) in geology, evolution, and human history. The author's main credibility in presenting this evidence is that he is a dispassionate scientist that went to Yale and you are not. In creating a dispassionate work, Schoch has only managed to write a book that is very boring.

Nearly half the book is simply looking at various theories to explain impacts with space rocks. So we're treated to rocks of varying densities and speed impacting at various angles sometimes on land and sometimes on water and sometimes both. These rocks are used to explain everything from the Ice Age to Polynesian emigration to Genghis Khan leaving Mongolia to conquer the world.

In the end, there is still little science here and a lot of conjecture. Schoch clings ferociously to some "facts" and theories while tossing others aside because they weren't advanced by the right discipline. In the end, I realize that Carl Sagan did all this earlier and much better.

Wishy Washy.......2000-12-20

I was not impressed with this effort by Mr. Schoch. He seems to take a different stand depending on his mood. I would have expected more from a Yale Professor. Since I caught him on the Discovery Channel in a documentary concerning the underwater "Pyramid" off Yonaguni Island I will focus on this portion of his book. In the chapter concerning this debated monument Mr. Schoch states that it's origin is most likely natural in origin, and yet in his final paragraphs of this chapter he postulates a theory based on the idea that it is man-made.

The natural side of his theory on this monument includes erosion that "bores" holes through rocks with the shape of the resulting hole having sharp right interior angles (a perfect rectangle!). He would also have us believe that the strong current of the region has carved out and carried off what would, on land, amount to small boulders! Yet, this powerful eroding current is also supposed to have taken the care to produce inumerable right angles(exterior and interior) to form what others believe to be an ancient monument. He has also ignored the film evidence of careful, though eroded, carvings on this monument which are plainly visible! When asked about the monument onshore of the Island that is strangely similar to the sunken one, Mr. Schoch replied that it was probably a copy of the underwater one. This is the same type of thinking that has had scholars claiming that the clay tablets of Sumer are merely fanciful fairy tales even though they pointed out the outer two planets of our solar system thousands of years before we found them in the middle of this century.

Mr. Schoch is merely restating "approved" science irregardless of the evidence, and I have seen too much of that. In short, if you still believe that the Great Pyramid was the last one built, or that the pyramids were tombs, then this is your man, and your book! If, on the other hand, you feel the theory should fit the evidence and not the reverse then you would be happier looking in the direction of Sitchin or Alford

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