Amazon.com
1491 is not so much the story of a year, as of what that year stands for: the long-debated (and often-dismissed) question of what human civilization in the Americas was like before the Europeans crashed the party. The history books most Americans were (and still are) raised on describe the continents before Columbus as a vast, underused territory, sparsely populated by primitives whose cultures would inevitably bow before the advanced technologies of the Europeans. For decades, though, among the archaeologists, anthropologists, paleolinguists, and others whose discoveries Charles C. Mann brings together in 1491, different stories have been emerging. Among the revelations: the first Americans may not have come over the Bering land bridge around 12,000 B.C. but by boat along the Pacific coast 10 or even 20 thousand years earlier; the Americas were a far more urban, more populated, and more technologically advanced region than generally assumed; and the Indians, rather than living in static harmony with nature, radically engineered the landscape across the continents, to the point that even "timeless" natural features like the Amazon rainforest can be seen as products of human intervention.
Mann is well aware that much of the history he relates is necessarily speculative, the product of pot-shard interpretation and precise scientific measurements that often end up being radically revised in later decades. But the most compelling of his eye-opening revisionist stories are among the best-founded: the stories of early American-European contact. To many of those who were there, the earliest encounters felt more like a meeting of equals than one of natural domination. And those who came later and found an emptied landscape that seemed ripe for the taking, Mann argues convincingly, encountered not the natural and unchanging state of the native American, but the evidence of a sudden calamity: the ravages of what was likely the greatest epidemic in human history, the smallpox and other diseases introduced inadvertently by Europeans to a population without immunity, which swept through the Americas faster than the explorers who brought it, and left behind for their discovery a land that held only a shadow of the thriving cultures that it had sustained for centuries before. --Tom Nissley
A 1491 Timeline
|
Europe and Asia |
Dates |
The Americas |
|
25000-35000 B.C. |
Time of paleo-Indian migration to Americas from Siberia, according to genetic evidence. Groups likely traveled across the Pacific in boats. |
| Wheat and barley grown from wild ancestors in Sumer. |
6000 |
|
|
5000 |
In what many scientists regard as humankind's first and greatest feat of genetic engineering, Indians in southern Mexico systematically breed maize (corn) from dissimilar ancestor species. |
| First cities established in Sumer. |
4000 |
|
|
3000 |
The Americas' first urban complex, in coastal Peru, of at least 30 closely packed cities, each centered around large pyramid-like structures |
| Great Pyramid at Giza |
2650 |
|
|
32 |
First clear evidence of Olmec use of zero--an invention, widely described as the most important mathematical discovery ever made, which did not occur in Eurasia until about 600 A.D., in India (zero was not introduced to Europe until the 1200s and not widely used until the 1700s) |
|
800-840 A.D. |
Sudden collapse of most central Maya cities in the face of severe drought and lengthy war |
| Vikings briefly establish first European settlements in North America. |
1000 |
 |
|
Reconstruction of Cahokia, c. 1250 A.D.* | Abrupt rise of Cahokia, near modern St. Louis, the largest city north of the Rio Grande. Population estimates vary from at least 15,000 to 100,000. |
| Black Death devastates Europe. |
1347-1351 |
|
|
1398 |
Birth of Tlacaélel, the brilliant Mexican strategist behind the Triple Alliance (also known as the Aztec empire), which within decades controls central Mexico, then the most densely settled place on Earth. |
| The Encounter: Columbus sails from Europe to the Caribbean. |
1492 |
The Encounter: Columbus sails from Europe to the Caribbean. |
| Syphilis apparently brought to Europe by Columbus's returning crew. |
1493 |
|
| Ferdinand Magellan departs from Spain on around-the-world voyage. |
1519 |
 |
|
Sixteenth-century Mexica drawing of the effects of smallpox** | Cortes driven from Tenochtitlán, capital of the Triple Alliance, and then gains victory as smallpox, a European disease never before seen in the Americas, kills at least one of three in the empire. |
|
1525-1533 |
The smallpox epidemic sweeps into Peru, killing as much as half the population of the Inka empire and opening the door to conquest by Spanish forces led by Pizarro. |
|
1617 |
Huge areas of New England nearly depopulated by epidemic brought by shipwrecked French sailors. |
| English Pilgrims arrive at Patuxet, an Indian village emptied by disease, and survive on stored Indian food, renaming the village Plymouth. |
1620 |
|
|
*Courtesy Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Collinsville, Ill., painting by Michael Hampshire. **Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, N.M. (Bernardino de Sahagún, Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España, 1547-77). |
Book Description
In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. From the astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which had running water, immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city, to the Mexican corn that was so carefully created in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.
Customer Reviews:
Unputdownable.......2007-09-26
I found this book extremely enjoyable. It contains a wealth of knowledge about Native American cultures in N. and S. America; findings that are apparently well-known in academic circles, but which have remained largely unreported and unknown to mainstream audiences. Mr. Mann clearly admires much about the achievements of these pre-Columbus civilizations, and seeks to redress "common" misconceptions that most Westerners have about "primitive, savage" Indian life. I am glad I read this book. I learned a great deal from this book, and was fascinated by the subject matter.
This book is also beautifully written, and makes the subject matter accessible to laypeople. I was expecting it to be readable buy dry, but it was instead a book that just compelled me to keep turning pages. It helps to bring these ancient civilizations to life, talks frankly about the impact of European colonization on these civilizations, and challenges the reader to set aside his/her textbook knowledge and consider seeing Native Americans in an all new light.
Every now and then a book comes out that makes science "sexy." For example, "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond, or "Krakatoa" by Simon Winchester. To me, this is one of those books. It's both revealing and entertaining. "1491" was just a terrific read - thought provoking, compelling, entertaining, well researched. I even read all the appendices, and that's saying something.
I highly recommend this book.
Excellent insight into the latest research.......2007-09-25
Please don't confuse this excellent book with the poorly researched fantasy "1421: The Year China Discovered America." 1491 is an extremely well researched and documented look into the latest archaelogical findings and theories pertaining to life in North and South America prior to Columbus's landing.
Mann does an excellent job explaining the accuracies and flaws of the multitude of theories surrounding this topic. As he simply exposes the debates and doesn't attempt to resolve them himself, he provides an illustrative lesson that one should not become too entrenched with any particular theory on the pre-history of man as each theory is eventually overturned or modified by new findings.
His writing style seems similar to Jared Diamond. Mann, however, makes his points without getting bogged down in the excruciating details which makes this book much more readable than Guns, Germs, and Steel or Collapse (both of which were excellent books as well). With over 100 pages of notes and references he provides the reader with the necessary information for them to conduct their own level of research based upon their desires.
Fascinating but flawed.......2007-09-23
Henry Ford said that all history was bunk, and he had not even read 1491! What a shock to find that the population of the new world in 1491 was greater than that of the old world! That the natives, said to be long-term farmers, had shaped the landscape to suit themselves, that buffalo roamed in small numbers until old world diseases killed off most (90%) of the native tribes and thus allowed the huge herds to form. What a shock to find that many north American tribes considered themselves libertarian compared with the hierarchy bound Europeans. Yet more than enough evidence is given from old writings long ignored, and new archeological finds.
This is all fast and entertaining reading. There are many maps to help explanations, citations by page number, and an index. Mann traveled to several of the archeological sites.
On the downside, Mann talked of the "balanced diet" as though its desirability has been proven, and does not say how maize provided this "balance" (p18). The battle between Hernán Cortés's men and the Mexica was said to have been described as the costliest battle in history with 100,000 casualties (not deaths), (p129). Why no mention of Verdun in WWI with a million deaths and Stalingrad in WWII with a million deaths? Is a mammoth's molar really the size of a bowling ball? (p152) Mann wrote of winter on the Amazon river. I thought equatorial areas had wet and dry seasons, not the 4 seasons observed far from the equator (pp301,305).
But there is another, bigger fly in the ointment. Mann accepts the carbon dioxide from combustion hypothesis of global warming (pp300,308). Solar cycles of changing heat output and the sun's influence on cosmic ray effects on the Earth's clouds determine climate, not CO2 levels. [Jaworowski Z, Solar cycles, not CO2, determine climate, 21st Century Science and Technology, Winter 2003-2004, pp52-65. Accessed as a PDF on 5 Jul 07 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Jaworowski or at: http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/] According to Laurence Hecht, Editor of 21st Century Science & Technology: "Of all the hypotheses [on Earth climate], that of human-produced carbon dioxide as the forcing mechanism for warming is the most deeply and extensively studied, and by far the most discredited. No other hypothesis rests on such flagrant and lying disrepect for data as...on the falsification of the historical CO2 record." [Hecht L, What Really Causes Climate Change? EIR Science, 2 Mar 07, pp6-9. Accessed as a PDF on 5 Jul 07 at: http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/] The other big falsification in this hypothesis, skyrocketing temperatures in the last 50 years to levels not seen in 1300 years, is exemplified by the temperature graph of Michael Mann, which was shown to be a fraud, not just a mistake [McIntyre, S., McKitrick, R. (2005). Hockey sticks, principal components, and spurious significance. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L03710; doi:10.1029/2004GL021750], [Soon, W., Baliunas, S. (2003). Proxy climatic and environmental changes of the past 1000 years. Climate Research, 23, 89-110].
So for historical controversies Charles C. Mann appeared to do balanced work, with opposing ideas neatly cited. But by failing to look up the "other side" on global warming, he missed effects of giant volcanic eruptions and solar output changes on temperature. The Roman era warming and Medieval Climate Optimum, both with temperatures higher than now and the Little Ice Age (1500-1800) were ignored, thus their effects on migration and population sizes was missed. Now it seems that the crop failures of the Little Ice Age were a main reason for northern Europeans to try to move to a warmer climate.
As always with with non-fiction, some errors make the entire work suspicious. Still a worthwhile book with its limitations in mind.
Great history, great archeology, great read.......2007-09-23
I love fresh looks on old topics. This book delivers on that theme. As a history teacher I find the same mundane, lopsided, and inaccurate truths presented in textbooks about this era time and time again. Mann's book is a counterweight to that miseducation and shed's light on often under appreciated and misrepresented Native American societies.
Eye Opening.......2007-09-23
This meaty book opens eyes and hearts to Natives' lives, systems, values, hopes and dreams and the ever conflicting and devasting arrival of Europeans, who were--in some cases--more savage than the Indians. The stories not only set fire to old "facts" but flame one's imagination to reconsider our past in general. I haven't read many books of this nature so it was a breath of fresh to me as was another book called: Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Jerry Ellis. This Cherokee author's approach to history and the Indian and American soul is unqiue in that he walked the 900 mile route of the Trail of Tears and revealed his experienes in startling honesty and clarity. A spiritual and motivational book. Both titles are highly recommended.
Book Description
The Perfect Summer chronicles a glorious English summer a century ago when the world was on the cusp of irrevocable change. Through the tight lens of four months, Juliet Nicolson’s rich storytelling gifts rivet us with the sights, colors, and feelings of a bygone era. That summer of 1911 a new king was crowned and the aristocracy was at play, bounding from one house party to the next. But perfection was not for all. Cracks in the social fabric were showing. The country was brought to a standstill by industrial strikes. Temperatures rose steadily to more than 100 degrees; by August deaths from heatstroke were too many for newspapers to report. Drawing on material from intimate and rarely seen sources and narrated through the eyes of a series of exceptional individuals — among them a debutante, a choirboy, a politician, a trade unionist, a butler, and the Queen — The Perfect Summer is a vividly rendered glimpse of the twilight of the Edwardian era.
Customer Reviews:
Lightweight social history.......2007-09-16
Examination of the summer months of 1911, the Coronation Summer of King George V. The author's style can be somewhat plodding, and there a few noticable errors of fact. For example, Queen Mary's Aunt Augusta was nearly 89, not 85, in June of 1911. And I thought it was Harold Nicolson who owned the car nicknamed Green Archie, not Vita Sackville West? (Just two examples -- I don't want anyone to think I read the book looking for errors, but there are more than these.)
The book is interesting, yet somehow not very insightful. Despite a substantial biliography, the book gives an impression of being lightweight. Perhaps that's caused by its focus being somewhat more on the English aristocracy than the lower classes, although Ms. Nicolson does reveal some interesting tidbits about the poor, such as the cost of a funeral for an English working-class person, and about the rich, such as the fact that they were rather physically dirty people!
I can say with all honesty, while I didn't dislike this book and in fact found some parts of it very interesting, I am glad I borrowed a copy from the library rather than purchasing it.
Twilight of an Era.......2007-09-08
I found this a fascinating book, extremely well-written and a sharply-focused peek into a bygone era. For history buffs it is especially valable as not only the breaking up of a world which was never more to be, but the mindsets of various segments of a society which was to be turned u.pside-down by a war that decimated a generation. I highly recommend it.
OK, but...........2007-08-26
Not very 'deep'. Interesting, light, almost frivolous, view of 1911, and a good way to understand the differences and struggles of the various elements of post-Victorian society, but does not assess the year in the setting of post-Edwardian, and pre-WW I history, or the growing challenge of Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany. R.K.Massey's "Dreadnought" or William Manchester's "The Last Lion" (Vol 2)do a better and deeper job of this.
Deja vu.......2007-08-14
As I was born in 1925 much of what is described as occurring in 1911 was still in existence in my growing-up years. Class distictions were still "upstairs and downstairs" although the establishments were not as opulent as in 1911. My father, a rural general practitioner, was called in to treat the sick servants but had to go to the tradesmens entrance while the "county" would have specialists come down from London to treat them; this and many other things described in this book were still true in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War. I really enjoyed this book
Recaptures the summer of Edwardian/Georgian transition.......2007-08-07
The author, granddaughter of Vita Sackville West and Harold Nicholson, and daughter of Nigel Nicholson ("Portrait of a Marriage'), has written really two books in one. Her focus is the summer of 1911, when things were going swimmingly for the British and their empire. What a difference the next few years would make, with the advent of the Great War. The first half or so of the book focuses upon, what Morley Safer used to call, "everybody's favorite eccentrics" the British upper class. Here the emphasis is on shooting parties, the upcoming coronation of George V, debutants, weekend house parties at country homes, and basically filling all that time when one had virtually unlimited money and nothing much to do. I enjoyed this section very much, as I find this topic quite interesting. But then the focus and tone change in the second half of the book--the author concentrates her attention on some of the more unpleasant aspects of this period when one percent of the population owned 60% of the country. Those topics include the way of life of the lower classes (30% fell below the level of barest necessity); labor strikes and disruption; and the very deprived condition of those "in service" (who constituted 16% of the labor force). These disparities are so severe one wonders if the Great War actually foreclosed some manner of domestic insurrection. There is also interwoven throughout discussion of some of the technical changes that Britian was undergoing: airplanes; cinema; automobiles; and subways for example. The book is not meant as a scholarly treatment, although the author's bibliography indicates the substantial amount of research she has undertaken. Also helpful are a listing of the "dramatis personae" so you don't get confused as to who is who, and some helpful illustrations. The author's style is most pleasant to read and the book is quite informative. An interesting book on a very crucial period in British history.
Book Description
While everything appears to be collapsing around us -- ecodamage, genetic engineering, virulent diseases, the end of cheap oil, water shortages, global famine, wars -- we can still do something about it and create a world that will work for us and for our children’s children. The inspiration for Leonardo DiCaprio’s web movie Global Warning,
The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight details what is happening to our planet, the reasons for our culture’s blind behavior, and how we can fix the problem. Thom Hartmann’s comprehensive book, originally published in 1998, has become one of the fundamental handbooks of the environmental activist movement. Now, with fresh, updated material and a focus on political activism and its effect on corporate behavior,
The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight helps us understand--and heal--our relationship to the world, to each other, and to our natural resources.
Customer Reviews:
If this is the answer, we are doomed. .......2007-09-23
As a biology teacher, I bought this book because I thought it would be a scholarly analysis of the current environmental crisis. Instead, it is largely a diatribe against all the "evils" of Western civilization, followed by plenty of New Age mumbo.
Here are a few gems of the author's "analysis":
--All human civilizations throughout history can be divided into just two groups: Old Cultures and Young Cultures. Old Cultures universally loved each other, lived in peace, respected the earth, helped old ladies cross the street and lived sustainably. Young Cultures (Europe, USA) rape and pillage, are resource-extracting, and practice despicable acts like ownership of property and buying and selling things in an economy, rather than communally sharing all the resources.
--To get back to Old Culture, you should leave your job, home and 401k and join with small bands of like-minded individuals to buy enough rural land to build basic shelters, grow crops, and grab your own solar energy. This will re-create the small, sustainable, "tribes" of the past.
--The author proposes walking outside with the book and attempting to talk to plants and animals, waiting until they talk back. At one point, he caresses a tree and apologizes to it.
--Just by thinking good thoughts you can effect planetary change. Since the entire planet is interconnected by a "morphic energy field" any good thoughts dumped into it will improve the whole "cosmic soup."
--If you get to the end of the book, the afterword tells you that you are an exceptional person (literally, a "Chosen One") and that you should run out and buy 10 more copies of the author's other books to distribute to friends.
If this is the "strategy" of the new environmental movement, we are doomed. The author is clearly passionate about the issue and is attempting to drive deep cultural change to solve the problem, but his prescriptions are hopelessly utopian. I don't see how aboriginal mysticism is going to scrub the carbon dioxide out of our air or invent a better fuel cell.
Instead of buying 10 copies of this book, try Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" or "Collapse."
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
If there is a more important and powerful book out there, I haven't found it........2007-09-02
Better than anyone I've ever read or heard, Hartmann explains the cultural and environmental crises we have wrought, how we got there, and what we can do to overcome them. It is full of factual evidence and well-thought-out insights.
Hartmann is a brilliant and prolific writer as well as an Air America radio host. If everyone would read it, there would be a lot more hope for our future.
Everyone should READ THIS.......2007-08-01
A brilliant book, very well researched and taking us thru the times in a very easy to read style. It is not fiction but feels like a good thriller at times with a cannot put down flavour to it. It is educational and informative and moves thru the subjects systematically with a deep spiritual element towards the end and finalising with an action plan and on a positive note that all is not lost. I initially borrowed this from my library but decided I want to add this to my collection of books - it is so good ! Happy reading and please share what you have read with others so that there is a world movement to improve our environment for this earth belongs not only to humans but to all other living creatures and plants as well.
A wake up call.......2007-07-23
This is a great book that addresses a number of critical issues, and it provides a good springboard to look at our future and how we must change to survive. Disappointing to some is that he doesn't reach any conclusions, however the purpose of the book is not to be "A idiots guide to survival" rather to force the reader to draw his own conclusions.
I feel that he either missed some research or simply left it out. Two cases in point are tribalism and democracy. What he said about ancient tribes is mostly correct, however there are strong indications that some ancient tribes that pre-dated modern civilization were exceedingly warlike and did kill their neighbors, just because they were not of the same tribe. I admit that they were the exception, but they did exist and perhaps they are the root of the modern civilization of dominance.
The other issue that could have been explored is the difference in democracies between republics and confederations. Republics always consolidate power and historically have failed as he points out. However he doesn't take a look at confederations which by his definitions are more tribal in outlook. I lived in Switzerland for many years and they are the oldest surviving democracy in the world at more than 700 years. The government was influenced by the Allemanes (sic) a German tribe that had a very grass roots form of democracy. I have lived all over the world in many different countries and the only place I have lived that had a genuine democracy that represented the individual was Switzerland. Interesting to note is that they are also the "greenest" country that I have ever lived in, recycling and environmental consciousness is a part of the culture with few exceptions.
Good read........2007-07-14
I found Thom's book a very interesting read. His science was a bit basic but he is trying to get through to the average couch potato who is more interested in American Idol than what is really happening to the world around them. Thom's out look on the world is a bit melancholy but he has good reason to be. For the average person who feeds their mind with junk T.V and their body with junk food then they might learn something by having a read of Thom's books. Although I don't agree with everything Thom is saying I think his heart is in the right place and he really wants to see a better world for all of us. This is a good read and a good wake up call!!
Book Description
In this important study, Abu-Lughod presents a groundbreaking reinterpretation of global economic evolution, arguing that the modern world economy had its roots not in the sixteenth century, as is widely supposed, but in the thirteenth century economy--a system far different from the European world system which emerged from it. Using the city as the working unit of analysis, Before European Hegemony provides a new paradigm for understanding the evolution of world systems by tracing the rise of a system that, at its peak in the opening decades of the 14th century, involved a vast region stretching between northwest Europe and China. Writing in a clear and lively style, Abu-Lughod explores the reasons for the eventual decay of this system and the rise of European hegemony.
Customer Reviews:
Eurasian interactions.......2005-12-09
A work drawing on deep scholarship providing welcome adjustment to views that overstate Europe's precocity and importance before 1500. Europe was a peripheral backwater prior to its export of the Eurasian disease pool to the Americas (and even for some time after). Abu-Lughod examines each major area of the Eurasian trading network in term, bringing out how much events in one area were affected by changes elsewhere (in particular, how much Europeans were responding to such changes).
I also found Abu-Lughod's scepticism about grand conceptual schemas and strong preference for considering the complex texture of reality engaging. She sets out a highly informative history of the creation of an interacting Eurasian economy under the period of Mongol domination and how changes among the various participating powers (particularly China) resulted in the interactions falling back to a lower level. She also argues a power vacuum was set up in the Indian Ocean that the Europeans (first the Portugese, then the Dutch and finally the British) were able to fill. That there was a "Fall of the East" prior to there being a "Rise of the West". She does a nice job of debunking "cultural" and "Confucian-isolationism" explanations for China's shift, placing the public policy considerations the Ming court was dealing with in a more plausible context.
My first quibble is with the title. This is about the Eurasian system, not a global one, a point the author herself concedes (p.37). It is a "world" system only in terms of the Old World/New World usage and, to be fair, she is responding to Immanuel Wallerstein's coinage of the term. The second is she suffers from the modern academic fetish for shudder quotes, though at least she is often prepared to explain in more detail why concepts are problematic, rather than simply engaging in the tedious knowing-virtue wink. The worst bit of the book, as so often is the way, is when she attempts to look forward. The talking down of the stability of the current world-system, and the situation of the US in particular, reads rather poorly for a book published in 1989 with clearly no sense whatsoever of the impending collapse of the Soviet empire.
But the book is very readable and extremely informative, the personality of the author engaging. An excellent way of coming to grips with how global history works.
Provocative.......2005-02-12
This book is approaching the status of a classic. While a work of history, the author is not a historian but rather a sociologist with an interest in the role of cities. Perhaps because she was a disciplinary outsider not specializing in a given historical period, as well as being used to comparative analysis, Abu-Lughod adopted a cross-cultural approach. The starting point for this book was the prevailing belief that a world economy was created by Europeans in the early modern period. More naive interpretations saw this as a logical development of European capitalism and that capitalism was unique to Europe. A major point of this book is that a world economic system, spanning all of Eurasia and including Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa existed prior to the early modern period. This world system was based on pre-existing regional trade networks in the Eastern Mediterrenean, the Indian Ocean, Central Asia, and China. Some of these linkages, like the famous Silk road across Central Asia and trade across the Indian Ocean, were ancient.
Abu-Lughod reconstructs a true world economy stretching from western Europe to China reaching its peak during the 13th and 14th centuries and then declining. She shows that Europe joined this system relatively late and was a smaller component of these large trade networks. The peak of this world system is associated with the Mongol conquest of Central Asia and China. Mongol successes are seen as simultaneously making trade across Central Asia, the northern axis of the world system, and trade through the Indian Ocean and south China, the southern axis, more efficient. This lead to a Eurasian boom. As a corollary, Abu-Lughod explores the richly capitalist nature of trade in the Muslim, Indian, and Chinese regions making up the world system. Some of the institutional innovations attributed to Medieval and Renaissance European merchants may have been borrowed from the Muslim world.
If the Mongols were the inadvertant architects of this system, they were also the inadvertant cause of its collapse. The key event is the Black Death, a Eurasian pandemic which probably originated in central Asia and was spread by Mongol armies and trade made possible by their states. The resulting depopulations and political instability, including the Ming expulsion of the Mongol from China, crippled the Medieval world system, though it left intact regional trade networks, particularly in Asia that the Europeans would join and come to dominate in the Early Modern period.
A final and more controversial point made by Abu-Lughod is that the success of Europeans in subsequently reconstructing and dominating, in an unprecedented way, the Eurasian trade system was the withdrawal of the Chinese state from interest in trade. Under the later Ming, the powerful Chinese navy was dissolved and trade through southern China ceased to be an important issue for the Chinese state. The subsequent power vacuum made European domination possible. This may not be entirely correct but is argued well.
This book has become the point of departure for much subsequent important work in world history. It is well written and has a nice bibliography.
A landmark of the "new" economic history.......2004-03-17
There are few books in the field of economic history that I'd say are both landmarks and enjoyable to read. Assuming the reader has a great interest in history, Before European Hegemony is certainly one of them.
Abu-Lughod's excellent world systems survey details the inter-connections between pre-modern economies and societies of the era. There is also the sense of continuity between these pre-modern economic relationships and the modern era.
Special mention should be made of the fact that Before European Hegemony was one of the first of a new wave of economic, historical and sociological studies that de-emphasized the eurocentric histories that came before them. Guilty of the same simplistic approaches the eurocentric histories were charged with, for example giving the only reason for the rise of the West as military might, much of what followed Before European Hegemony was, in a word, garbage. Not so, this groundbreaking study.
Well researched, well written and highly recommended.
Great book, but still one sided.......2003-02-23
Dr. Abu Lughod's book is a great work of scholarship and a much needed addition to the "New Histories" being written that show the history as it really happened.
Still, as Gunder Frank mentions in his review of this book, Abu Lughod misses one point in her survey. She sees the world economy as a disconnected series of events, and much like Wallerstein, maintains the idea that world after 1500 hundred was not connected to the one before that date. She treats the Mongol trade network as an isolated world-system, instead of a period in the world system.
This is a small flaw in the face of so many larger problems we have in current historiography. A great read, and I suggest you read it in conjunction with ReOrient, The Colonizers' Model of the World, and World System History.
Continuity in global connections -- the rest of the history.......2001-12-18
In much the same way that Eric Wolf shows the world before European conquest in his book titled Europe and the People Without History starting in 1400, Abu-Lughod begins before the European trade routes by ship. She traces the cross-continent trade routes of India, China and the Mediterranean. By looking back to these early systems of trade, Abu-Lughod shows how ideas, foods, language and people were transported between regions of the earth long before colonialism took hold. By looking at movements of people and ideas before Europe's world domination, Abu-Lughod is able to take a new look at the future - a perspective that does not seem as deterministic as other historic views. Europe was not necessarily "destined" to become the greatest region on the planet and it need not be in the future.
This new look at history provides a wider framework from which to understand the current era. While it is true that computer technology and the spread of the Internet has been facilitated predominately by English-speaking programmers and subsequently English-based programs, this might not be the wave of the future. Looking at how vast regions of the planet interacted centuries ago provides a better base from which to understand how they might interact in the future. The people from the same geo-political regions that Abu-Lughod describes in her book are now "commuting" or "traveling" and conversing via electronic media. How will the new instrument of communication change the way these people share time and space?
Amazon.com
Desire of the Everlasting Hills is another present from the pen of Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews. In this third volume of the bestselling Hinges of History series, he knits together history, politics, sociology, and faith with contemporary insights that yield remarkable results.
After painting with broad brush strokes an entertaining picture of the Greek, Jewish, and Roman world, Cahill focuses on Jesus. With illuminating deductions and clever speculation, Jesus is seen though the eyes of his biographers in their Gospel accounts. Each of these authors' lives is reconstructed in such a way that the richness of their writing and their subject matter is wonderfully enhanced.
The section on Paul, detailing how his life and letters shaped the early church, should be required reading for every student of the Bible. From his beginnings in the cosmopolitan city known as Tarsus through his calling, like the patriarchs and prophets before him, he becomes "the perfect vehicle for this moment in the development of the Jesus Movement." His mix of Greek reasoning with rabbinical training casts the stories of the early church into a thoughtful theology. He is seen here as the earliest egalitarian who not only impacted the early church but all of western civilization.
Cahill challenges many traditional religious ideas while also taking on some of the more radical contemporary interpreters of biblical literature. As with the other volumes in this series, the marginal notes are filled with a wealth of interesting information. Combining his own fresh translation of many New Testament highlights with respect and humor, Thomas Cahill's book is for the believer and nonbeliever alike. --Tracy Danz
Book Description
From the bestselling author of
How the Irish Saved Civilization and
The Gifts of the Jews, his most compelling historical narrative yet.
How did an obscure rabbi from a backwater of the Roman Empire come to be the central figure in Western Civilization? Did his influence in fact change the world? These are the questions Thomas Cahill addresses in his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus.
Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled—in the face of the greatest defeat: Jesus' crucifixion as a common criminal. Daring, provocative, and stunningly original, Cahill's interpretation will both delight and surprise.
Download Description
In Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Thomas Cahill takes up his most daring and provocative subject yet: Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Western civilization.
Customer Reviews:
Didn't read it.......2007-05-13
Though I might read this but as it turned out, I didn't...it is still around here somewhere....
beautiful portrait of my savior... .......2007-04-19
I loved this book because it challenged the picture I had of Jesus in my head but didn't challenge my beliefs of Jesus. It added a deepening and understanding of the divinity of Jesus. I love Cahill's books and not just because I'm Irish and we saved western civilization.
Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus .......2007-03-09
This book is not up to the quality of How the Irish Saved Civilization. Too much of his writing is merely quoting sources. Actually it is rather boring.
Magical.......2007-01-05
I have read all of Mr. Cahill's books and consider this to be the finest. He answers and ambitious question -- "Did Jesus Matter?" By comparing the expectations of the civilized world before and after Jesus in a wonderfully entertaining fashion, he provides fresh insights and makes a compelling case. Whether you are a Christian or not, you can appreciate this captivating perspective and Mr. Cahill's lively writing.
The Gospel according to Cahill.......2006-12-08
Thomas Cahill's "Desire of the Everlasting Hills" is an engaging but somewhat disappointing work. In short, Cahill's discussion of the "world before" Jesus is more carefully considered than that of the "world after," with the author's treatment of the person of Jesus himself being an equivocation. Was Jesus merely human or was he both human and divine? I wouldn't have minded a clear argument for either position, but Cahill's narrative seems to hedge between the two. "Desire" sees Jesus as a radical visionary, to be sure, but does not have the courage to either affirm or deny the element of transcendence in the Gospel accounts. Ultimately, though hints of possible transcendence abound, the person of Jesus is reduced to what nearly everyone can affirm (that Jesus was a "great moral teacher"), and when I finished the middle chapters of the book I found myself asking "is that all?" It is true that during Cahill's later discussion of the "world after" Jesus, Paul is described as someone who unquestionably viewed Jesus as divine, but here Cahill fails to make a definitive connection between Paul's theology and the historical figure of Jesus. And the further the book proceeds into the "world after," the more selective Cahill's scholarly sources become, a selection seeming to support a mostly negative bias regarding the institutional Church. This is especially apparent in his discussion of John's Gospel, which is impugned as being anti-Semitic, and is posited to be the primary inspiration for later anti-Semitism in the history of Christianity.
Still, there is much to admire in this work. As I have said, I found the book to be engaging. Even when I disagreed or became frustrated with him, I never doubted the author's sincerity; Cahill seems to have a genuine desire to understand the impact Jesus has had on history. The discussion of the "world before" Jesus was excellent; I especially appreciated the way the description of Alexander the Great set the reader up for the inevitable contrast with the description of Jesus later in the book. And though I did not agree with many of the author's conclusions concerning the synoptic Gospels or the Pauline epistles, I was surprised to find such a thought-provoking and positive treatment of these topics. I recommend this book to those who are familiar with the New Testament from scholarly and/or devotional reading, and who are at least somewhat familiar with the history of Christianity; others might find it to be confusing or even misleading.
Book Description
There's an incredible similarity between the mechanics of a fly cast and the swing of a golf club. Perhaps that's why Chris Santella, author of Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, can be found on the links when he's not on the stream. With Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die, Santella gives voice to his other sporting passion, interviewing 50 people intimately connected to the sport about some of their favorite courses around the world.
For both passionate golfers and armchair travelers, this gorgeous full-color book presents the world's greatest golf venues, the personal favorites of renowned players, course architects, and other experts in the sport. From Ballyliffin, Ireland's northernmost course, whose rumpled fairways wander along the North Sea in the shadows of Glashedy Rock, to New Zealand's Cape Kidnappers, perched atop dramatic cliffs some 500 feet above the ocean, the book's beautiful photographs capture the architecture, noteworthy holes, location, and ambiance that make these courses standouts for ardent golfers. A brief history of each course, an experiential account-filled with local color-from the person recommending the venue, and trip-planning advice provide adventurous readers with all the information they need to chip and putt their way around the globe.
A close-up look at golf's top courses around the world, recommended by such experts as Nick Faldo and Christie Kerr (pro golfers), Pete Dye and Tom Doak (course architects), Brian McCallen (editor and author), and Donald Trump
With breathtaking color photographs of each site, this is a great gift for avid golfers and armchair travelers alike
Book Description
"The diplomatic origins, so-called, of the War are only the fever chart of the patient; they do not tell us what caused the fever. To probe for underlying causes and deeper forces one must operate within the framework of a whole society and try to discover what moved the people in it."
--Barbara W. Tuchman
The fateful quarter-century leading up to the World War I was a time when the world of Privilege still existed in Olympian luxury and the world of Protest was heaving in its pain, its power, and its hate. The age was the climax of a century of the most accelerated rate of change in history, a cataclysmic shaping of destiny.
In The Proud Tower, Barbara Tuchman concentrates on society rather than the state. With an artist's selectivity, Tuchman bings to vivid life the people, places, and events that shaped the years leading up to the Great War: the Edwardian aristocracy and the end of their reign; the Anarchists of Europe and America, who voiced the protest of the oppressed; Germany, as portrayed through the figure of the self-depicted Hero, Richard Strauss; the sudden gorgeous blaze of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet and Stravinsky's music; the Dreyfus Affair; the two Peace Conferences at the Hague; and, finally, the youth, ideals, enthusiasm, and tragedy of Socialism, epitomized in the moment when the heroic Jean Jaurès was shot to death on the night the War began and an epoch ended.
"Tuchman [was] a distinguished historian who [wrote] her books with a rare combination of impeccable scholarship and literary polish. . . . It would be impossible to read The Proud Tower without pleasure and admiration."
--The New York Times
"Tuchman proved in The Guns of August that she could write better military history than most men. In this sequel, she tells her story with cool wit and warm understanding, eschewing both the sweeping generalizations of a Toynbee and the minute-by-minute simplicisms of a Walter Lord."
--Time
Customer Reviews:
Forceful and Mostly Brilliant .......2007-09-25
Barbara Tuchman's work shows her brilliance as an historian. Having read nearly all of her works, this one is less a linear narrative than a non-linear analysis of events that intertwined at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the efforts, frankly, put me to sleep. The events in the English parliament seemed to wander and reduce to a game that had no purpose. I found myself finally skipping pages. The analysis of Richard Strauss, while interesting in places, left me wondering whether Ms. Tuchman simply threw in the biography because it coincided with the times.
However, her analysis of the Anarchists and the Socialsts, of the Dreyfus Affair, of the rise of German militarism, of young American muscle-flexing and of the tremors of future seismic activity were masterful. Each patch on this quilt gave me the sense that the ignorance of, or ideological hope for, the future led us into the worst of all possible worlds. It was clear, from a distance, that the most violent convulsions were about to envelop the world.
This book sat on my bookshelf for years. I am glad I pulled it out. As I read it, I found myself finding parallel arrogance with current events --- with terrorism, with fear of outside culture, with the loss of comfort.
It's well worth reading and it shows why Ms. Tuchman deserves her fine reputation as an historian. The Perfect President, Frameworks: Conflict in Balance
Brillian Style, as Always..........2007-07-25
Tuchman was more a writer than an historian and that shows in every one of her books, but that is not a reason for not to read her, but on the contrary, to do it with deligh. We should have in mind that history is not an exact science and so it leaves lot of room for interpretation and beauty of style. We read Gibbons for exactly that reason, no matter how much his findings and ideas has been superseded by new research and data. Same with Tuchman.
Excellent and unparalleled.......2007-03-10
I am more convinced than ever that Barbara Tuchman was the greatest historian of the 20th century. I cannot think of anyone who can outmatch her.
This is a most penetrating and incisive look at the political and social scene of Europe and America before the First World War. After reading this book the reader is inevitably led to the belief that a major war was forthcoming.
My only negative comment are the words accompanying ther title 'APortrait of the World before the War' These words are inapproprite and misleading. True, Europe was the dominant world power and America getting to become
one. But hardly anything was mentioned about China which was in steep decline and Japan emerging as a superpower.
A surprisingly confused work from Tuchman.......2006-10-15
I'll mention that I am a fan of Tuchman's work, from "The Guns of August" to "The Calamitous Forteenth Century" to "the Zimmerman Telegram", her works are amongst the most accessible historical works (particularly for sometimes less well covered topics) around.
As such, I was suprised by the poor editing of "Proud Tower." I gather that the chapters of this book are cobbled together from various articles that she had published. If that is the case, the lack of unity woefully shows. This is a disjointed, wandering and confused affair that would have benefited from some tough love in the editorial department. It's not so much that skipping back and forth through time to cover various regions or groups in and of itself would have been a bad idea, but there is no real connection or theme that unifies the chapters well enough.
This would have been tolerable, however, had the content of the chapters themselves been of greater coherency. Generally these seem to be little more than a series of disjointed character pieces on a series of notable figures. Although the information presented could have been interesting, rarely do you get a sense of why you're being told about many of the figures since she seems to just tell you about their mannerisms and quirks, and then drops them. Since she switches through so many names in a chapter without providing much framework for why she is doing this, some of the chapters seem little better than a list of names.
If you're interested in reading one of Tuchman's books, she has many fine works, but this is not one of her best.
Unique approach to History.......2006-05-15
This book covers events in a number of European countries just prior to world war one in way which is totally different from any history I have ever read. Tuchman's style is unique and gripping. You almost get the feeling that you were there and participating in the events. She gives a very human dimension to the events.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Book Description
Presents conclusive evidence that ancient Egypt was originally the remnant of an earlier, highly sophisticated civilization
• Supports earlier speculations based on myth and esoteric sources with scientific proof from the fields of genetics, engineering, and geology
• Provides further proof of the connection between the Mayans and ancient Egyptians
• Links the mystery of Cro-Magnon man to the rise and fall of this ancient civilization
In the late nineteenth century, French explorer Augustus Le Plongeon, after years of research in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, concluded that the Mayan and Egyptian civilizations were related--as remnants of a once greater and highly sophisticated culture. The discoveries of modern researchers over the last two decades now support this once derided speculation with evidence revealing that the Sphinx is thousands of years older than Egyptologists have claimed, that the pyramids were not tombs but geomechanical power plants, and that the megaliths of the Nabta Playa reveal complex astronomical star maps that existed 4,000 years before conventional historians deemed such knowledge possible.
Much of the past support for prehistoric civilization has relied on esoteric traditions and mythic narrative. Using hard scientific evidence from the fields of archaeology, genetics, engineering, and geology, as well as sacred and religious texts, Malkowski shows that these mythic narratives are based on actual events and that a highly sophisticated civilization did once exist prior to those of Egypt and Sumer. Tying its cataclysmic fall to the mysterious disappearance of Cro-Magnon culture,
Before the Pharaohs offers a compelling new view of humanity’s past.
Customer Reviews:
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory.......2007-09-28
Flawed premise followed by equally flawed argumentation can lead you to any conclusion you wish to find. This book is no different from the multitude of books out there trying to capitalize on the basic ignorance people have of the wealth of information we really do possess about the history of pre-Dynastic Egypt.
There's no mysterious connection between the Maya and they Egyptians...their pyramids are separated not only by thousands of miles of ocean, but by thousands of YEARS in time! The Sphinx at Giza has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt to be Fourth Dynasty in its origin... and not the fanciful product of some mysterious "Lost Civilization" for which not a stitch of evidence exists anywhere in the world. The "older sphinx" debate died when unbiased geologists (Reader, Solenhofen, Harrell, etc) looked at the site and easily explained the erosion patterns they saw within the timeframe required.
This book relies upon defunct theories from the 19th century as its theoretical foundation, and then proceeds to lead the (hopefully ignorant) reader down the rabbit hole to a place that has nothing whatsoever to do with real Egyptology, Egypt, or human history.
This book, by its very nature, is not worth the money or time to read it.
Good Book.......2007-08-13
Arrived quickly and fed into a research project that I am conducting. Excellent questions and surprisingly a lot of sound answers. Good reading if you question the status quo of things.
Interesting.......2007-07-12
The book is well written and very thought provoking. Seems well balanced considering the non-orthodox conclusions made by the author. If you have an interest, like I do, in speculative prehistory, a la Graham Handcock, then you will enjoy this book. I like that the author, unlike some, does not sweepingly dismiss conventional science and orthodox views and therefore does not come off as a fringe lunatic.
Fascinating read!.......2007-05-12
I had just come back from a trip to Egypt when I ordered this book. This book is for those genuinely interested in delving into the roots of an ancient civilisation. Its not a novel - so please don't insult the author by judging it as "slow" as has been stated in another review. Its an oustandingly well-researched, fascinating and thought-provoking study for those who have so often wondered about the origins and amazing feats of engineering of the ancient Egyptians. Malkowski is a meticulous writer who takes enormous trouble to try to clarify the origins our human history and the links between ancient civilisations and gives us the chance to make up our own minds. He forces nothing upon the reader - but dangles fascinating and seductive pieces of information which will leave you wishing for more.
interesting but slow.......2007-01-09
this book has an incredible amount of fascinating information, but it is not organized well. The writing does not grab your attention, but rather, you have to force yourself to find the interesting material. It can get a bit "Von Daniken" at times-- especially the chapter about the pyramid being a power plant, but overall it is a good, solid, informative book that challenges the typical archeological canon we are all handed. If you are willing to wade through it, you will find info that is worth while.
Book Description
Did you know that the divorce rate among Mormons is now 40%, only 10% below the national average?
With a 40% chance of marriage failure, it is more important than ever to be selective when choosing a spouse. President Spencer W. Kimball once said, "In selecting a companion for life and for eternity, certainly the most careful planning, thinking, praying and fasting should be done to be sure that of all decisions, this one must not be wrong."
300 Questions Every LDS Couple Should Ask Before Getting Married will help you and your partner explore common goals and perspectives. The questions in this book will inspire couples to gain a deeper understanding of each other to build lasting and eternal relationships.
Some of the subjects covered include:
* Should your children pay for their own missions?
* What have you done financially to prepare for marriage?
* Do you expect intimacy often? Does your partner?
Couples should leave no question unasked when deciding on an eternal partner. Let 300 Questions Every LDS Couple Should Ask Before Marriage help you discover how to design a happy and everlasting marriage.
Customer Reviews:
Stimulates important discussion.......2007-08-12
This book has really helped both my significant other and I to think about the things that are important to us. It is easy in our relationship to just talk about the day-to-day activities that make up our lives, but I know that we both look forward to the time we spend talking about the future and our expectations. This book has not only helped me with my decision about whether he is the right one, but also to give me a clear idea of what I am looking for in my marriage in the future.
Very Helpful.......2007-05-30
Since this is my second marriage engagement, I am very glad to have this book to review with my fiance so that I get it right the second time around!
Great question (not a waste of time).......2005-08-02
This book has very relevant questions! This is great for creating conversations that help a couple know all aspects of each other. Well worth the money!
Every christian couple should read before marriage.......2004-11-19
The author does a good job of selecting the best quotes by the general authorities on finding a suitable marriage companion. The questions are equal to other marriage books on the market, however, the author goes a step further by supplying spiritual questions that should be asked. Questions that dig deep into a person's believes, values and spirit are lacking in other books on the subject. Therefore, I would recommend this book for couples that want questions that have depth into the soul. As a Bishop I have counseled many single adults considering marriage. Now I have a great book to recommend to them. I look forward to her other books.
Awesome book!!!.......2004-10-14
I plan to buy one for each of the girls in my Laurel's class as a graduation gift. It's too bad that BYU doesn't make it required reading. Every single adult should own a copy!
Amazon.com
Maria Shriver's warmth, humor, and wisdom are evident on every page of this little book. Inspired by her commencement speech at the College of the Holy Cross, the book contains stories and insights that will be helpful, entertaining, and encouraging to graduates at every stage of life. The lessons themselves--"be willing to fail," "stand your ethical ground," "marriage is a hell of a lot of hard work"--are nothing new. What makes them interesting are the life stories that accompany them and Shriver's personable, friendly style. Reading this book feels like having a cup of coffee with a wise and funny friend. Tales of her first television experiences are surprising and hilarious, and she takes balancing motherhood and career to new levels--imagine postponing an interview with Fidel Castro to get your daughter to her first day of kindergarten! Each chapter is easy to read and ends with a focused lesson--kind of a bullet point from her original speech--that encourages readers to be ultimately true to themselves and their dreams, while cutting through harmful illusions. The last chapter, on laughter, is one to read again and again. Shriver maintains that without laughter not much else matters, and in life's toughest times it's laughter that gets us through. For anyone starting a new adventure--graduation, marriage, parenthood, career shift, or a milestone birthday--Ten Things I Wish I'd Known brings wisdom, laughter, practical suggestions, and a down-to-earth manner together into one fabulous gift. --Jill Lightner
Book Description
Maria Shriver's warmth, humor, and wisdom are evident on every page of this little book. Inspired by her commencement speech at the College of the Holy Cross, the book contains stories and insights that will be helpful, entertaining, and encouraging to graduates at every stage of life. The lessons themselves--"be willing to fail," "stand your ethical ground," "marriage is a hell of a lot of hard work"--are nothing new. What makes them interesting are the life stories that accompany them and Shriver's personable, friendly style. Reading this book feels like having a cup of coffee with a wise and funny friend. Tales of her first television experiences are surprising and hilarious, and she takes balancing motherhood and career to new levels--imagine postponing an interview with Fidel Castro to get your daughter to her first day of kindergarten! Each chapter is easy to read and ends with a focused lesson--kind of a bullet point from her original speech--that encourages readers to be ultimately true to themselves and their dreams, while cutting through harmful illusions. The last chapter, on laughter, is one to read again and again. Shriver maintains that without laughter not much else matters, and in life's toughest times it's laughter that gets us through. For anyone starting a new adventure--graduation, marriage, parenthood, career shift, or a milestone birthday--Ten Things I Wish I'd Known brings wisdom, laughter, practical suggestions, and a down-to-earth manner together into one fabulous gift. --Jill Lightner
Download Description
· Starting at the bottom--over and over again· Dealing with--and learning from--the Boss from Hell· Giving up the Wedding Delusion, not to mention that one-way ticket to Happily Ever After· Being asked to bend your principles--by your superiors· Wanting to be a high-powered success and super parent· Knowing that children will both exhaust and sustain you· Facing that terrifying question: "What have I been put on this earth to do?" You could call them notes from life's trenches. Maria Shriver's Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went out into the Real World gives us her reflections, confessions, advice, memories, and, most of all, hard-earned lessons . . . all the things we wish we knew before we started out, and that few people ever honestly discuss. Here is the truth about: the price we pay for giving in to our fears, as well as the relief we feel when we finally face them; the humiliation of swallowing our ego so that we can learn from an abusive experience; the rewards of taking risks and the pain of failure; the joy of finding someone we can love and the limitations of every relationship; how it's never too late to tap the wisdom of others, even (especially!) our own parents; and the importance of taking what we do seriously without taking ourselves seriously.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful .......2007-07-02
This book would make a wonderful graduation gift. I wish I would've read it back when I was eighteen-years-old. Although I purchased this book over three years ago, I still come back to it from time to time. She offers so much insight and wisdom, but she also humanizes herself as a woman and teaches her readers that even she has experienced self-doubt and has strived to reach 'perfection' (something she teaches you not to do). She writes about how important it is to start at the bottom because it's where you learn the most and gain character. I especially liked reading about her husband and children. She and her family are so much more normal than anyone would ever think.
Mrs. Ahnold is a smart cookie!.......2007-01-22
I am 56 and had I had this book to read in 1968 when I graduated high school I might have had the tools to do things a little better through my 20's and 30's. She gives you a rundown on what realistically to expect out of live, love, career and everything in between. I may have even been able to avoid my ex-husband!!!
This is a must gift for any young person, maybe even younger than a high school graduate. It could actually put a kids expectations into the realm of reality without putting a damper on any of the joys of life. This is not a book that a conservative religious advocate would have to avoid. It contains simple comman sense about life and how it differs from what kids would often see on TV, movies, or any other media they would encounter. It doesn't tell you what belief system is best, just what life is most apt to hand you on any given day.
It is easy reading and not very beefy, so even non-readers would benefit. They could use it as a reference book for a specific situation.
Great Birthday or Graduation or Holiday gift and reasonable priced, too.
A Good Start.......2006-06-12
I bought Maria's book "What's Heaven" for my Granddaughter when her Grandmother (my mother) died 6 years ago. Now my Granddaughter will graduate from high school next year and Maria has followed her to college, with her last 2 books. Next I will buy my Granddaughter the Marlo Thomas books. As a Grandmother I believe it does take a Village. My Granddaughter will take 2 real good role models with her to college and now we have to set her free.
Worth the Read, but Not the Money.......2006-01-05
Maria did have some excellent points. The majority of the book is just an autobiography, though, and I skimmed through those parts. My advice would be to stop by the book store and look at the table of contents and then the very end where she gives a list of some other things she wishes she knew, because they explain themselves. A lot of her things I already knew, and she points out that she's not trying to help us avoid those things, just let us know we're not alone. If the great, talented Maria could get through life, then we can too! That was sarcasm.
A quick pick-me-up........2005-11-07
After seeing and admiring the interaction between Maria Shriver and her mother on the Oprah Winfrey show a few months ago, I decided I wanted to read her newest book, "And One More Thing Before You Go." My library didn't have it but they did have this one and so I decided to take it home.
What I appreciated most about this book were the tidbits of wisdom about humility, and the ways we should appreciate ourselves and not allow others to beat us down. I like how Shriver says that humility is about having a realistic self-image-- not beating ourselves up for not being good enough and not settling for mediocrity. I liked Shriver's advice that we are not superwomen (or supermen) and we can not be excellent in every area so we should decide what areas are most important to us and make realistic goals to strive for. It inspired me to think about what areas of my life I'd like to improve in and what areas can wait until a different phase in life.
Books:
- 1635: Cannon Law (Ring of Fire)
- Act of Treason (Mitch Rapp Novels)
- Adoption Literature for Children and Young Adults: An Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographies and Indexes in Sociology)
- Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 5)
- Among the Enemy (Shadow Children)
- Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed (Left Behind No. 5)
- Big Box of Boynton: Barnyard Dance! Pajama Time! Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!
- Black Order: A Novel (Sigma Force Novels)
- Boundaries
- Broken Angels
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- A Farther Shore: Ireland's Long Road to Peace
- The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
- Mortal Remains: A Medical Thriller
- Patent Searching: Tools & Techniques
- Landscape as Spirit: Creating a Contemplative Garden
- Principles of Polymerization
- Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions
- Old master drawings from the collection of John and Alice Steiner
- Homology: The Hierarchical Basis of Comparative Biology
- Israel Business Law Handbook
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1421: The Year China Discovered America
Team of Rivals
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
