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.

Stalin's Secret Pogrom: The Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (Annals of Communism)

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Powerful, definitive account of Soviet anti-semitism
Important documentation of Soviet horror under Stalin

Stalin's Secret Pogrom: The Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (Annals of Communism)
Laura E. Wolfson
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300084862

Book Description

In the spring and summer of 1952, fifteen Soviet Jews, including five prominent Yiddish writers and poets, were secretly tried and convicted; multiple executions soon followed in the basement of Moscow's Lubyanka prison. The defendants were falsely charged with treason and espionage because of their involvement in the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, and because of their heartfelt response as Jews to Nazi atrocities on occupied Soviet territory. Stalin had created the committee to rally support for the Soviet Union during World War II, but he then disbanded it after the war as his paranoia mounted about Soviet Jews.

For many years, a host of myths surrounded the case against the committee. Now this book, which presents an abridged version of the long-suppressed transcript of the trial, reveals the Kremlin's machinery of destruction. Joshua Rubenstein provides annotations about the players and events surrounding the case. In a long introduction, drawing on newly released documents in Moscow archives and on interviews with relatives of the defendants in Israel, Russia, and the United States, Rubenstein also sets the trial in historical and political context and offers a vivid account of Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign.

Customer Reviews:

Powerful, definitive account of Soviet anti-semitism.......2004-03-15

Mr. Rubenstein has done an outstanding job as a researcher and writer in giving us this gripping record of Stalin's purge in 1950-52 of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. The JAC had been active during WWII in organizing international aid to the besieged Soviets. Despite their vigorous efforts in the struggle against the Nazis, some of the most respected Russian Jewish poets, writers, and cultural figures associated with the JAC were eventually imprisoned on blatantly fabricated charges of espionage, then executed in 1952. Using recently-opened soviet files, he and Mr. Vladimir Naumov have carefully and authoritatively documented this sordid chapter in recent Soviet history.

Important documentation of Soviet horror under Stalin.......2003-11-15

This book documents just one of the horrors of the Soviet regime. While Stalin murdered millions of innocent people who were unlucky enough to have been citizens under his rule, this book tells of the way this evil regime turned on fifteen people whose crime was being Jewish and wanting to examine the Nazi atrocities in the portions of the USSR they occupied.

It is a particularly poignant telling because the authors provide us with excerpts from the transcripts of the trial so you hear the victims and their accusers in their own words. These people were destroyed by the system they tried to serve and help largely because Stalin decided to use the Jews and the fear of paranoid Zionist conspiracies as the Nazis had done.

This is a very valuable book and I am glad it is in print. As part of the Annals of Communism series it provides important and permanent testimony of the criminality of the USSR that had been lied about and hidden for too long.

Book Description

Galileo Galilei was one of the world's greatest scientific pioneers. His work ranged through mechanics and motion, to sound, speech and light, astronomy, and the system of the universe. Despite his outstanding contributions to science, he was labeled a heretic by the Catholic Church and was imprisioned for life.

Customer Reviews:

A True Giant of Science!.......2005-11-16

"The mathematician and physicist Galileo Galilei is one of the most famous scientists of all times. The story of his life and times, of his epoch-making experiments and discoveries, of his stubbornness and pride, of his patrons in the house of Medici, of his enemies and friends in their struggle for truth - all is brought vividly to life in this book. Atle Nss has written a gripping account of one of the great figures in European history.He was awarded the Brage Prize, the most prestigious literary prize in Norway." (review from First Science Online Newsletter)

Inventor, Astronomer, and Rebel.......2005-03-16

Galileo Galilei was one of the world's greatest scientist. He developed the telescope. With it, he discovered Jupiter's moon and hundreds of stars. He declared that Earth was not in the centre of the universe with the sun revolving around it. Galileo proved that the Earth was acctually revolving around the sun. The Church found out and home arrested him. Galileo's methods was the birth of modern science.

Invenor, Astronomer, and Rebel.......2005-03-16

Galileo Galilei was one of the world's greatest scientist. He develope the telescope. With it, he discovered Jupiter's moons and hundreds of stars. He declared that Earth was not in the centre of the universe with the sun revolving around it. Galileo proved that the Earth was acctually revolving around the sun. The Church found out and home arrested Galileo. Galileo's methods was the birth of modern science.

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Not-so-Holy Inquisition
Beautifully written
A Heartening look at a Shameful Time
At Once Epic and Intimate . . .
Spellbinder with eloquence

The Burning Time
Robin Morgan
Manufacturer: Melville House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 193363300X

Book Description

When the Catholic Church brought The Burning Time-aka, the Inquisition-to Ireland, it met a resistance such as it met nowhere else in Europe. Leading the rebellion was one remarkable noblewoman: Dame Alyce Kyteler, who refused to grant the Church power over her, her lands or her people, and refused to stop the practice of the Old Religion.

In a tale based on actual historic documents and court transcripts, The Burning Time tells the tale of how Dame Alyce is marked as a dangerous heretic by an ambitious emissary of the Pope, who stakes his future on bringing her to heel. To lose the battle with Dame Alyce, he tells his superiors, is to loose all of Ireland.

But Dame Alyce is just as determined to fight back against the invaders' injustice, its forced imposition of a new religion, and its blatant land grab. After she outwits the Church in a court trial, there is no return: Against the penalty of being burned at the stake, she risks all to protect her people, her faith and her beloved Ireland.

Armies are mustered and battle plans laid, and what ensues is a vivid account of an astonishing but little-known woman, and a gripping tale of bravery, treachery, guile and redemption.

Robin Morgan is one of the founders of contemporary American feminism, and the author of numerous germinal books about the women's movement including three classic anthologies: Sisterhood Is Powerful, Sisterhood Is Global, and Sisterhood Is Forever. Morgan is also an award-winning poet, and the author of the bestsellers Saturday's Child: A Memoir and The Demon Lover: The Roots of Terrorism.

Customer Reviews:

Not-so-Holy Inquisition.......2007-05-13

Mention the Inquisition and images of people, mostly women and Jews, being burned alive come to mind as do instruments of almost unimaginable torture. While the Spanish Inquisition has probably received the most thorough inspection over time, the Church's ultimate punishment of those who would not acquiesce to it's power and control, occurred wherever humanity questioned that very power.

In The Burning Time, author Robin Morgan brings the true story of the Inquisition's coming to Ireland, and a tribal queen's struggle against it. Originally, the "new" religion wasn't terribly troublesome for the Celts. St. Patrick himself, had eased the transition by "saining" (christianizing) many of the symbols and celebrations of the "old" religion so that the two could fit quite comfortably together in the minds of the people. The Celtic cross is one such example. In addition, Ireland was a very remote part of the Holy Empire (the Romans themselves never ventured that far) so strict adherence to the practices of Rome, were not part of the mix.

Probably one of the most problematic discrepancies between the old and new, was the role of women in society. The Celts had always respected women as equal to men and had no difficulty respecting and honoring the wisdom of either. It was not unusual for women to be clan chieftains or to lead armies into battle. And it was not unusual then in some parts of the Celtic world, for women to preside over monasteries and fulfill priestly duties since Jesus had shown similar regard for women.

Were it not for the Church's all-consuming desire to subjugate every aspect of a believer's life to it's will and to relegate women to nothing more than the vessels from which, disgustingly, a man's seed would be born, this story and others like it would never have needed to be told.

The main characters were true persons whose names can be found in records from that time. The story itself grows out of what is known of customs of the day and legends of the event. Records show that over a 600 year period ending as late as 1793 in Poland, the Church was responsible for the holocaust of between eight and nine million persons, most of whom were women.

This is a book that should be required reading for every Christian, not just to inform of the past but to warn of a future that seems to be taking shape. To forget history is to suffer repeating it. The Inquisitions were undoubtedly the Church's darkest moments and no good ever came of it. One can't help but make comparisons to the attempts of the current Conservative Protestant Church in it's ambition to take control of the Government and to relegate women to the home. The herbalists of medieval days are the scientists of today, to be met with distrust and suspicion.

The fear-mongering of today has much the same purpose as it did then, to "relieve" us of our freedom of thought and will. To know history is to shape a better future.

Beautifully written.......2006-09-10

Morgan spins a fantastic tale, one that is definitely worth a read. She puts sentences together seamlessly and pulls you into an intriguing tale. This book takes place in a harrowing and horrible time for humanity and yet Morgan also shows us examples of kindness and love as well. Interesting characters, a great plot, and vividly descriptive writing -- read it!

A Heartening look at a Shameful Time.......2006-07-04

Though immediately intrigued when I saw this book in a bookstore, I hesitated to pick it up because I thought, given the subject matter, it might be a story that went from grim to grimmer to grimmest. I couldn't have been more wrong. This poetically told tale opens a window on new aspects of a sad time in history, highlighting moments that actually make you think better of your fellow beings. It's not just that Alyce Keteler fights back hard, and wins. It's how she's portrayed - her high confidence, her generosity to the people dependent upon her, and her decidedly spiritual approach to her age-old beliefs. Here is a pagan saint, and there's something glorious in that. The author's storytelling skill shows itself in the way she ekes real drama out of the masses of material yielded up by historical research - not an easy thing to do, as life does not unfold like a plot; she has consolidated this story well, and given it a satisfying beginning, middle and end. The confrontations between Alyce Keteler and the bishop who brings the Inquisition to Ireland are wonderful - the two play a wicked and harrowing chess game with the lives of many people hanging in the balance; it's unnerving and exhilarating at the same time. And this enemy is complex - the bishop despises the way the nobility (of which Keteler is a member) stride through the world crushing everything in their path - and his criticisms struck a mark within me. It makes their duel all that more interesting. Bad things happen here, to be sure; Dame Keteler doesn't win one hundred percent - but at the end, I had a sense of a well-rounded tale that taught me something I needed to know about a great woman who's generally unknown, a heroine who rose above a dark time.

At Once Epic and Intimate . . ........2006-04-18

"The Burning Time is at once epic and intimate. . . It gives the reader the privilege of a close-up view of the rituals, stories, poems, and potions of the Wiccan community and the women and men who populate it. Morgan's extended portrayal of the celebration of Lugnasad Eve, from the high priestess's self-anointing before the gathering to the final feast, is remarkable, spirited, celebratory writing. . . . The story is the thing in The Burning Time. The unstoppable course of events that makes this sophisticated book a genuine page-turner also makes it indelible, and the puzzling out of connections between our times and the Burning Time is an activity that is sure to follow this most entertaining and edifying read."-- Nimble Spirit: The Literary Spirituality Review. For full review, click on link.

Spellbinder with eloquence.......2006-04-10

Eloquent prose with spell-binding mystery, The Burning Time gives ringing voice not only to the daring, courageous and creative Lady Alyce Kyteler of medieval Ireland but to the serfs of her coven as well. Locating witch trials in the context of the Inquisition, Morgan delivers new richness to the history of women and the history of Ireland with this well researched novel. And as if that is not enough to hold the reader, this novel is an herbal pharmacopia and healing based spirituality that becomes the story of what is at risk when greed and religious intolerance conquer not only lands but hearts.

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Another beauty by my favourite author......
Perfect!
Your's in the ranks of death
great classic - gothic romance
HEY GOTH MAN

The Italian (Penguin Classics)
Ann Radcliffe
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140437541
Release Date: 2001-01-30

Book Description

The haughty, manipulative Marchesa, determined to thwart the romance between her son, the young Neapolitan nobleman Vincentio di Vivaldi, and Elena di Rosalba, has enlisted the help of the villainous, scheming monk, Schedoni. With a livid paleness of face and a melancholy eye, whose brooding presence dominates the novel, Schedoni has become an archetype of Romantic literature. Set in the mid-eighteenth century against the dramatic, lush backdrop of the Bay of Naples, The Italian is a tale of passion, deceit, abduction, and the horrors of the Inquisition.

In one of the most powerful Gothic tales ever written, Mrs. Radcliffe, the unrivalled master of the genre, skillfully combines traditional elements of danger, romance, and the supernatural with her abiding interest in history and considerable ability to paint poetic images of sublime landscape. In the introduction, Robert Miles examines the novel's literary and historical context.

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The haughty, manipulative Marchesa, determined to thwart the romance between her son, the young Neapolitan nobleman Vincentio di Vivaldi, and Elena di Rosalba, has enlisted the help of the villainous, scheming monk, Schedoni. With a livid paleness of face and a melancholy eye, whose brooding presence dominates the novel, Schedoni has become an archetype of Romantic literature. Set in the mid-eighteenth century against the dramatic, lush backdrop of the Bay of Naples, The Italian is a tale of passion, deceit, abduction, and the horrors of the Inquisition. In one of the most powerful Gothic tales ever written, Mrs. Radcliffe, the unrivalled master of the genre, skillfully combines traditional elements of danger, romance, and the supernatural with her abiding interest in history and considerable ability to paint poetic images of sublime landscape.

Customer Reviews:

Another beauty by my favourite author.............2005-11-12

I have a particular love for Mysteries of Udolpho, but The Italian is another wonderful book. I read it in one day, and couldn't put it down. The only sad part about it, is there is so few books of hers to read!

A must read for gothic literature!

Perfect!.......2005-09-12

Timely delivery...and I saved money by buying here than at the campus book store!

Your's in the ranks of death.......2005-05-22

I discovered Ann Radcliffe's 'The Italian', like another reviewer, after having read 'The Monk'. And while I had hoped for another similarly twisting, winding, gothic thriller, this was not the case with 'The Italian'.

The opening pages seem to purport the reveal of the tale of the Black Penitents, as the story opens with a group of travelers seeing a shadowy, diabolical figure lurking in the shadows of a church.

But what follows is more of a tale of 'star-crossed lovers', leaning a bit more toward Romeo and Juliette. Vivaldi, the hero of this tale, pursues the affections of the orphaned Ellena Di Rosalba, much to the chagrin of his mother, the Marchesa Vivaldi. She employs the aide of her confessor, Father Schedoni, to separate the young lovers.

Ellena is spirited away to a convent, which Vivaldi breaks her out of, and here the tale becomes at least a bit more complex, as Vivaldi is subsequently imprisoned for his actions; as Ellena is marked for death in her new surroundings; and the Marchesa struggles to keep them forever apart.

In comparison to 'The Monk', which you find in Amazon's list of 'people who read this book also read' listing...this tale is in no way as dark, gothic, or 'thrilling' a read. Though enjoyable, the story doesn't fit the opening pages and the foreshadowing of the 'diabolical figure' seeking refuge in the church to avoid death, the mysterious 'Black Penitents' named...or any of the intrigue with which the book opens.

Still, in comparison to modern 'thrillers'; this book is paced well, plotted nicely, and comes to a logical conclusion. While I did not find the story I anticipated, it is still worth a read.

great classic - gothic romance.......2005-03-12

I had never heard of Ann Radcliffe until I read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin. Northanger Abbey is a paraody that "makes fun" of the gothic type novels that were popular at that time. Ann Radcliffe and some of her writings are mentioned by name in Northanger Abbey. So...off I went to find out more about Ann and get one her novels.

Ann was really the first gothic writer and set the scene for the other gothic writers that followed her in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Another reviewer accuses her of copying the novel The Monk - but it is actually the opposite. The author of The Monk copied her!

Anyhow...I loved this book! Vivaldi and Ellena fall in love but Vivaldi's mother is against the match because Ellena is not from a "proper" family. The mother and a monk initiate a plot to keep them from marrying each other. I don't want to say much more, because there are so many interesting plot twists that I don't want to give anything away. It is a great story line that keeps you guessing. There is romance, suspense, mystery, intrigue, evil villians, evil plots, creepy landscapes, and more!

It is a long book that took me several weeks to read but was more than worth my time!

HEY GOTH MAN.......2003-04-06

First published in 1797, this was the culmination of Ann Radcliffe's writing career. She was seen as the darling of the Gothic mode, which we would probably put into the genre of "thrillers" or "horror". All the appropriate dungeons are here, the hint of demonic influence, the seperation of star-struck lovers, revenge, the searching of dark ruins, and the diabolical and angelic facets of the Church. Radcliffe does go deeper than that though through her paced plotting and and the limited use of sentimentality that destroyed so much of writing back then. The gothic novel would run out its course eventually, but had a great effect on the talent of its day. Keats, Byron, and Shelley all owe at least some of their subject matter and modes of expression to Radcliffe.

Well, back to the novel itself. The story opens in the year 1764 in Naples, Italy as a group of English tourists are visiting a church. They notice a diabolical looking man who they are informed can never leave the safety of the church walls because he is an assasin. The place is his last sanctuary from those who wish to kill him. Of course the group asks to hear the tale of the assasin and The Italian begins.

The story opens as a young nobleman named Vincentio di Vivaldi spots the beautiful but common Ellena Rosalba during church service and falls in love with her. From this Dantesque beginning we are led into a Romeo and Juliet scenario in which Vivaldi begins to woo her without the approval of his parents. Then we have the apperance of a cowled priest who appears to warn Vivaldi of future events before they happen. Vivaldi chases him a couple of times but all he ever finds is thin air. As the book continues, Vivaldi's mother will stop at nothing to keep her son from marrying his one true love.

I didn't have too much hope that I would like this book when I picked it up, having given up on reading a similar work called Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin. I was very impressed with Radcliffe though. She stayed away from sentimentality and none of the characters was a caricature. They all seemed like deeply drawn personalities. The book had a real modern feel to it, probably because she modeled her stuff on Shakespeare, the most advanced writer of any age. The "thriller" aspects were quite good too. I found myself desperately wanting to turn the page before I had even read it to know what would happen next. Ann is a writer I will go back to and read again.

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The Inquisition as a crime of racism

highly speculative

Even less confusion

To avoid confusion...

Origins of the Inquisition et al. by PM Benjamin Netanyahu

The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain
B. Netanyahu
Manufacturer: New York Review Books
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Binding: Paperback

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The Marranos of Spain: From the Late 14th to the Early 16th Century, According to Contemporary Hebrew Sources

The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision

Conversos, Inquisition, and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain

The Spanish Inquisition: A History

Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience

ASIN: 0940322390
Release Date: 2001-09-30

Book Description

The Spanish Inquisition remains a fearful symbol of state terror. Its principal target was the conversos, descendants of Spanish Jews who had been forced to convert to Christianity some three generations earlier. Since thousands of them confessed to charges of practicing Judaism in secret, historians have long understood the Inquisition as an attempt to suppress the Jews of Spain. In this magisterial reexamination of the origins of the Inquisition, Netanyahu argues for a different view: that the conversos were in fact almost all genuine Christians who were persecuted for political ends. The Inquisition's attacks not only on the conversos' religious beliefs but also on their "impure blood" gave birth to an anti-Semitism based on race that would have terrible consequences for centuries to come.

This book has become essential reading and an indispensable reference book for both the interested layman and the scholar of history and religion.

Customer Reviews:

The Inquisition as a crime of racism.......2005-12-20

The 'Inquistion' was one of the great disasters of Jewish history, involving the slaughter and torture of tens of thousands of innocent people. In this work of historical narrative and analysis the origins of the racist anti- Semitism that characterize the behavior of late fifteenth century Spain the beginning of the process is traced to the Egypt of 525 A.D.
The long story of Spanish Jewry is told here including that of the Conversos who left Judaism for Christianity, and who were nonetheless persecuted by the Inquistion. The fact that these people were Christian and still persecuted is the strong indication that the persecution was done on a racial basis.
The disastrous destruction of one of the great Jewish communities of history is shown to be the result of a warped ideology , an evil and cruel racism.

highly speculative.......2005-11-22

Of the many books and periodical articles that I have read concerning the Spanish Inquisition, this is the most biased and speculative and opinionated. I would not recommend this book to anyone. It is extremely long and tedious. We realize that the Inquisition was shameful. However, this work substitutes one prejudice for another.

Even less confusion.......2004-05-07

It's true that Benzion Netanyahu is not the former Israeli PM; the former Israeli PM, however, is his son. Notice the poignant dedication to his other son, Jonathan, who was one of the Israeli commandos on the Entebbe raid.

To avoid confusion..........2004-02-25

This book is written by Benzion Netanyahu, the Cornell professor and not the former Israel PM... it's a good read either way though.

Origins of the Inquisition et al. by PM Benjamin Netanyahu.......2003-12-15

This is an excellent work from beginning to end. It outlines in
detail, a history of anti-semitism dating back to Egypt in the
BC era. The focus of the work is on the brutal anti-semitism
of the Inquisition in Spain. The main argument seems to place
the process of anti-semitism within a racial context rather than
a religious one. This context may have served as a basis for
a continued persecution of Jews up through the 20th century.
There is a brilliant work which deals with the protection of
the Jewish community against harm. It is "The Keeper of the Gate"
published by the Jerusalem Publishing Company/House. The
"Keeper of the Gate" teaches how Jews protected neighborhoods
from harassing raids by marauders during the Middle Ages.
In fact, Benjamin, Daniel and Joseph have been the historical
gatekeepers of the Jewish community. PM Netanyahu's work
provides a thorough delineation of the foundations of hatred
against Jews. In so doing,the author has provided a wealth of
information to reshape hostile attitudes . [...]
For now, I plan to re-read this work in even greater depth
when the time affords. The author has gained a wealth of
knowledge as a diplomat, Prime Minister and scholar at MIT.
As such, he must be considered a top world scholar of our time.

Imperial Inquisitions: Prosecutors and Informants from Tiberius to Domitian

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Fascinating!

Imperial Inquisitions: Prosecutors and Informants from Tiberius to Domitian
Steven Rutledge
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0415237009

Book Description

Delatores (political informants) and accusatores (malicious prosecutors) were a major part of life in imperial Rome. Contemporary sources depict them as cruel and heartless mercenaries, who bore the main responsibility for institutionalizing and enforcing the tyranny of the infamous rulers of the early empire, such as Nero, Caligula, and Domitian. Steven Rutledge's study examines the evidence and asks if this is a fair portrayal.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating!.......2002-07-09

This is a fascinating and provocative work that gets
at the dark side of the classical world. Rutledge takes
the reader on a journey into the seedy side of Imperial
Rome, one that few classicists are willing to tackle.
Written in a lucid style, Rutledge has placed himself
at the center of the current debate on authority and
imperium. Even at over 400 pages, I could not put
it down. Read it!

Dogs of God: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the Defeat of the Moors

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An Agreeable Tour
Read with a grain of salt - or other spices...
One of the best writers
This is why journalists shouldn't write history
The Modern Era Began Here

Dogs of God: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the Defeat of the Moors
James Jr Reston
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400031915
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Book Description

From the acclaimed author of Warriors of God comes a riveting account of the pivotal events of 1492, when towering political ambitions, horrific religious excesses, and a drive toward international conquest changed the world forever.

James Reston, Jr., brings to life the epic story of Spain’s effort to consolidate its own burgeoning power by throwing off the yoke of the Vatican. By waging war on the remaining Moors in Granada and unleashing the Inquisitor Torquemada on Spain’s Jewish and converso population, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella attained enough power and wealth to fund Columbus’ expedition to America and to chart a Spanish destiny separate from that of Italy. With rich characterizations of the central players, this engrossing narrative captures all the political and religious ferment of this crucial moment on the eve of the discovery of the New World.

Customer Reviews:

An Agreeable Tour.......2007-08-30

A smoothly written summary focusing on events in late 15th century Catholic Spain, but touching also on political intrigue in Portugal, the Vatican, among the defeated Moors, and elsewhere. The Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews, and Columbus' at times clumsy efforts to win support for his initial voyage West are covered in some detail. This book is not intended for the historically learned or professional scholar. Rather, it is an agreeable tour through a fascinating and significant era in European history. I recommend it to lay readers who enjoy history while also taking pleasure in a well told story.

Read with a grain of salt - or other spices..........2007-08-28

This book is nicely written - compelling enough to keep one turning the pages. If one reads it as a work of historical fiction, the this book is quite enjoyable.

I'm no historian (that's why I purchased the book, after all), but I immediately sensed the author's factual transgressions and wayward perspectives. One need not be an historian, however, to note the one-sidedness here. I couldn't think of a concise way to sum up these shortcomings; and then I read the previous reviews: Journalist.

So what we have here is not a thoroughly researched, thought out, analytical account of an historical event. Then again, should one expect such writing from a journalist? William Shirer (Rise & Fall of the 3rd Reich)set the bar pretty high. He did have an advantage - having lived through the historical event in his book. So, I'm willing to cut Reston some slack. But without setting the bar as high as Shirer, Reston still falls far short of my humble standard for history books.

Would recommend the book. But don't go around quoting it among history scholars - unless, that is, you want to be confused by the facts.

One of the best writers.......2007-07-25

Being historical in nature one would think this would be a tough read. But, Mr. Reston has written this in such a way as to make it very interesting while at the same time perserving historical data, times and places. I was quite amazed. To gain a knowledge of events of the past and see those events repeated or attempted by others such as Hitler and the Jews left a deep inpression upon me. I would encourage everyone to read this book and be awakened by its revealing contents.

This is why journalists shouldn't write history.......2007-07-22

It's bad enough when journalists use their superficial, misleading style in writing "news" or books on modern topics. It's worse when they apply this to real history. Reston takes controversial events from 500 years ago and presents them (with no attribution) as established fact. This book is also slathered with a thick layer of political correctness, violently attacking Christianity for what was undoubtedly a dark period in its past, while gushing over the wonders of Islam. There is no mention that the West has progressed beyond that stage since then, while the religious toleration, spirit of scientific discovery and philosophical debate which abounded in Islam in the 15th century is nowhere present in Islam today. A good question might have been why? As an example, one would take from the book that the institution of African slavery was a Christian European invention, when the Portuguese and Spanish encroachment into the trade was merely an effort to steal this lucrative business away from its Moslem directors, then as today. One will come away from this book with little more knowledge than when one started. Half of it is garbage, half trivial, and you can't even tell which is which.

The Modern Era Began Here.......2007-06-30

If one is looking for a starting point for the advent of colonialism, for the genesis of eastern versus western religious fanaticism, for the rise of European nationalism, one would could do no better than to read James Reston's, "Dogs of God". As he conjectures, 1492 was the year that all the elements of change began to appear and flourish thereafter.

Greed, mysticism,intrigue and power all played key roles in the demagogical minds of the European monarchs and religious leaders-most particular those of Spain and Portugal- as they attempted to outmaneuver one another for control of both the Old and and New Worlds. In their zeal to dominate and subjugate, they set in motion the notorious inquisition and the enslavement and displacement of tens of thousands of lives at home and abroad.

One must hasten to remind oneself that the events portrayed in "Dogs of God" occurred a mere 500 years ago- not that long in comparison to the 6000 years of recorded history- and the vestiges of those catastrophic days are visible today. People are still being terrorized, murdered, bought and sold by government sanctioned edicts. Misguided religion still influences those in authority. The remnants of foreign interventions upon newly emerging and struggling nations are still evidenced throughout the world.

"Dogs of God" helps to bring into perspective what we perhaps have known all along about how we have come to be where we are. It was frightfully grotesque then, as it is disconcerting to read about today.

Conversos, Inquisition, and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain

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Not the most reliable source
An author with a logic problem
Historian fails to glorify the past--finally!
Information from the author
A nice start into the toppic of Conversos.

Conversos, Inquisition, and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain
Norman Roth
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0299142345

Book Description

The Jewish community of medieval Spain was the largest and most important in the West for more than a thousand years, participating fully in cultural and political affairs with Muslim and Christian neighbors. This stable situation began to change in the 1390s, and through the next century hundreds of thousands of Jews converted to Christianity. Norman Roth argues here with detailed documentation that, contrary to popular myth, the conversos were sincere converts who hated (and were hated by) the remaining Jewish community. Roth examines in depth the reasons for the Inquisition against the conversos, and the eventual expulsion of all Jews from Spain.

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Not the most reliable source.......2007-10-08

I was very disappointed with this book and I will be giving it to Goodwill or getting rid of it so that others are not misled. On one of the first pages at the bottom of the Acknowledgments, the author thanks U of Wisconsin press for publishing a book that no one else wanted to publish, "simply because of its length." Uh, no, it's because it is not a very good or accurate book, yet the author goes on and on about how everyone else is wrong and they don't have anything to back up their ideas. It would be very interesting to understand what is driving this author. He was too busy looking for the crypto Jews in Spain that he has no idea where they went, therefore they must not have existed at all. He couldn't find them because they were busy hiding out in the mountains of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, among other places.

An author with a logic problem.......2006-04-01

Roth consulted some records but apparently failed to understand the the explicit meaning of forced conversion. This work is an example of failing to use the whole record for an accurate conclusion. There many are inquistion records, especially in the New World, of Jews clinging to the faith of their fathers and dying in inquisitional flames as a result. Also, the Amsterdam Jewish community was established by Crypto-Jews this author contends didn't exist. This blatant failure to get the facts right leads one to believe that Roth either has a hidden motive or is incompetent beyond belief.

Historian fails to glorify the past--finally!.......2004-04-06

Powerful, rebellious and intimidatingly concise, Norman Roth's tribute challenges our archaic assumptions. Unlike the typical perverse imagination many historical documents protect, "The Conversos, Inquisition, And The Expulsion Of The Jews From Spain" interrogates data, expels misconceptions and, very much like Einstein, reconfigures historical gravity.

Information from the author.......2003-11-21

(Unfortunately, I had to "rate" the book in order to get the review posted; obviously I think it's good, hope you will also).
The paperback edition is not just a reprint, it is a thorough revision with much new information, including a review essay on recent scholarship, and particularly a critique of Netanyahu's book. Three-fourths of the book deals with the Conversos, and in fact there is considerable new information here, not found in any other work on this subject. The author is always happy to hear from readers: ndroth@wisc.edu

A nice start into the toppic of Conversos........1999-07-26

If you are new to this toppic then this is the right book for you. You'll get the historical dates of the Spanish Inquisition and some more informations about the life of Jews in this time, including all problems Jews had to deal with. If you get interested in the Conversos you should read Benzion Netanyahu's books that are dealing with more background informations.

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Spanish Inquisition
Terror is frequently correlated with envy and religion

The Spanish Inquisition: A History
Joseph Perez
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0300119828

Book Description

This is the story of 350 years of terror. Established by papal bull in 1478, the first task of the Spanish Inquisition was to question Jewish converts to Christianity and to expose and execute those found guilty of reversion. Authorities then turned on Spanish Jews in general, sending 300,000 into exile. Next in line were humanists and Lutherans. No rank was exempt. Children informed on their parents, merchants on their rivals, and priests upon their bishops. Those denounced were guilty unless they could prove their innocence. Nearly 32,000 people were publicly burned at the stake; the “fortunate” ones were flogged, fined, or imprisoned.

Joseph Pérez tells the history of the Spanish Inquisition from its medieval beginnings to its nineteenth-century ending. He discovers its origins in fear and jealousy and its longevity in usefulness to the state. He explores the inner workings of its councils, and shows how its officers, inquisitors, and leaders lived and worked. He describes its techniques of interrogation and torture, and shows how it refined displays of punishment as instruments of social control. The author ends his fascinating account by assessing the impact of the Inquisition over three and a half centuries on Spain’s culture, economy, and intellectual life.

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Spanish Inquisition.......2006-08-24

Even the Introduction was terrific. I have heard many stories about the Inquisition but I gained so much more knowledge while being very well entertained. A great book

Terror is frequently correlated with envy and religion.......2005-05-31

Discussion of the Spanish Inquisition usually invokes emotions of disgust or anger, but also an appreciation of how precious it is to be able to pick up a book or express an opinion without fear of being either tortured or killed by government authorities. Therefore reading a book on the topic can be difficult at times, if one focuses on the brutality of the methods used and the zeal in which they were. This book, by comparison with most others on the Spanish Inquisition, is very short, but it does introduce the reader to the reasons for it and its historical legacy.

The author summarizes the Spanish Inquisition as being "350 years of terror," which is an accurate description considering the horrific acts that were committed in this time period. These acts are delineated in detail in this book, beginning essentially with the papal bull in 1478 that was targeted towards Jewish converts to Christianity. Those Jews found guilty of "reversion" were promptly executed. The three dominant religions, Islam, Christianity, and Islam were of course in existence at this time, and were, according to the author, not tolerant of each other and each was convinced that it held the keys to truth. If there was tolerance to any degree, it was a "de facto" tolerance argues the author, i.e. "suffered rather than desired." It is interesting to note that de facto tolerance is also the predominant form for these religions in the world today.

The social tensions between Jews and Christians in Spain at this time are brought out in detail in the book. On the surface these tensions even seem comical because of their absurdity. As examples of this idiocy, marriages between Jews and Christians were forbidden; Jews could charge interest on a loan to Christians, and vice versa, but never to members of the same faith; and Jews were blamed for economic recessions, and for spreading the plague. Reading of the persecutions against Jews at this time reinforces the opinion that the more economically industrious a person was the greater his danger.

In fact, envy is viewed by the author as a possible cause of the Inquisition, rather than merely from religious zealotry. Fray Luis de Leon of the University of Salamanca, who was denounced to the Inquisition by some of his own (jealous) colleagues, is given as an example of this. Other university professors were subjected to the same treatment, by those who, according to the author, wanted the "university chairs" of these professors. The author quotes Unamuno as stating that it was the "terrible Hispanic envy born of incompetence and pettiness" that was responsible for the Inquisition. Considering the typical attitudes of many in the academic community today, an environment that is typically polluted with envy, this assertion by Unamuno does not at all seem farfetched.

The author does not want to end the book without a discussion of the consequences of the Inquisition on Spanish society. One might think that such a horrific series of events lasting for as long as it did would have devastating effects on any society. The author argues that the Inquisition was responsible for some of Spain's misfortunes, but not all of them. Its economic impact was minimal he says, with the decline of Spain economically being due essentially to the ability of wages to keep up with prices, thus lowering incentives among investors. The author is aware that this argument deserves more scrutiny however.

Science and literature suffered greatly from the Inquisition however, due in large measure to the infamous book burnings and Indexes. All of these are discussed in detail in the book, terrifying as they were. This horrible destruction of knowledge is something that along with the brutality against "heretics" will be etched in the minds of all those with independent minds and who have deep respect for human life. Those individuals who launched and practiced the Inquisition should never be forgiven for their savagery against Jewish people and others who differed from the entrenched dogma of the Catholic church. The Inquisition served no constructive purpose, had no moral validity, and deserves daily condemnation. Only then can we be more confident that such a series of events does not happen again.

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