History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805

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Pirate Coast
The Pirate Coast; Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret mission of 1805
"Nother excellent book by Mr. Zacks
The Pirate Coast (Book Review)
Great Telling of an Obscure Story

The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805
Richard Zacks
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1401300030

Book Description

A real-life thriller from acclaimed historian and author of The Pirate Hunter, Richard Zacks-the true story of the unheralded American who brought the Barbary Pirates to their knees n an attempt to stop the legendary Barbary Pirates of North Africa from hijacking American ships, William Eaton set out in 1805 on a secret mission to over-throw the government of Tripoli. The operation was sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson, but at the last moment he grew wary of 'intermeddling' in a foreign government, and Eaton set off without proper national support.

Customer Reviews:

Pirate Coast .......2007-09-21

I Just finished a book titled "The Pirate Coast" by Robert Zacks. A very interesting historical account of how a handful of Marines along with General William Eaton embarked on America's first overseas covert op. They traipsed across the Sahara in an endeavor to free American soldiers that were captured and enslaved by Barbary pirates- Moslems. It's an interesting chronicle of how Moslems enslaved Christians, Americans & Europeans dating as far back as the 1700's.

Even back then we were the only nation with the cajones to stand up to these despicable pirates. It was during a time when many nations were intimidated into paying "tribute' to these Moslem nations in order not to be enslaved/ or unlawfully seized from the waters.

It was during these troubling times when a US Navy vessel(USS Philadelphia) ran aground in the harbor of Tripoli-(now Libya) and was captured along with over 270 American soldiers. The Bey or Pasha of Tripoli - Yusef Karamanli was a ruthless thug that murdered his brother, de-throned his father, & exiled his next older brother, Hamet, while keeping Hamet's wife & children hostage in the castle; as an incentive for him not to return and stake claim to his rightful throne. Yusef enjoyed the notoriety of the first foreign ruler ever to declare war on the U.S.A.

I think you would enjoy it.

From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli....

The Pirate Coast; Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret mission of 1805.......2007-07-19

Courage, adventure, and political intrigue. Accurate historical account of early American foreign policy toward Muslim states. Many parallels to issues facing America today.

"Nother excellent book by Mr. Zacks.......2007-07-09

And "avoid a land war in asia" should be modified to include North Africa. medaling in the affairs of foreign governments has led us to no good outcomes for a very long time. Mr. Zacks makes is abundantly clear that the grounding of the ship Philadelphia was a minor problem compared with its premature abandonment. And that the secret mission of Pres. Thomas Jefferson and his agent Mr. Eaton led us to far more grief than if we had just arrived with the fleet and demanded an end of this open sea piracy.

A great read for all of those who love politics as theater and are interested in sea stories. Reads like a Patric O'Brien novel but has the full truth in it.

The Pirate Coast (Book Review).......2007-06-30

'Small Fonts'

My biggest issue w/ this book is that the font used is kinda tiny, about 8 or 9 pt. size. I noticed this when I started having headaches after reading it, which I didn't used to get when reading other books.

Comparing it to other Trade Paperback Books, the others normally use 10 pt., rather than the 8-9 pt. size used on this one.

Apparently, this is a rather long book, since even w/ the small font size, it is already almost 500 pages long. If they had used the normal 10 pt. font size, the book would've ballooned to 600-700 pages, adding to the costs & perhaps made the book unattractive.

The book could've likely used more careful editing, trimming it down to around 500 pages using the usual 10 pt. font size.

I sort of regretted buying this book, its kinda expensive, & am not sure if I will ever be able to finish it.

Great Telling of an Obscure Story.......2007-05-30

Richard Zacks' "Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805" is an engrossing tale of one of the first US overseas "covert" missions. While also telling the story of the First Barbary War, Zack concentrates on the energetic and ambitious William Eaton, whose audacious plan was to march over 500 miles across the North African desert to attack Tripoli (one of the Barbary States) from land.

Eaton's successful attack on the town of Derna was a key element in the peace made to conclude the war. However, upon his return to the United States, Eaton fell into political conflict with President Thomas Jefferson and was never compensated for much of his personal expenses from the expedition - and he eventually died a broken alcoholic.

"Pirate Coast" is not a full telling of the First Barbary War, but Zacks gives enough background that the reader can follow the big picture while also focusing on Eaton's courageous and daring mission. Zacks also brings the many historical characters to life, showing how their personalities impacted the war, the mission, and the aftermath. This is an excellent book for anyone interesting in US history, military history, or who wants to learn more about this forgotten war.

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Eye-opening but read with caution
a must read book
The Future of Outreach
A new model of missiology. Much of value for the modern church.
Radical Changes in Missions

Revolution In World Missions
K.p. Yohannan
Manufacturer: Gospel For Asia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1595890017

Book Description

Do you long to let go of selfcenteredness and be more eternally minded Do you desire to make a difference in the lost world but arenrsquo;t sure how to go about it Based on the testimony of thousands who have read Revolution in World Missions this gripping message can radically change your life.In this exciting and fastmoving narrative K.P. Yohannan shares how God brought him from his remote Indian village to become the founder of Gospel for Asia. Drawing from fascinating true stories and eyeopening statistics K.P. challenges Christians to examine and change their lifestyles in view of millions who have never heard the Gospel.

Customer Reviews:

Eye-opening but read with caution.......2007-08-22

I enjoyed reading about KPY's perspective on the Western church and the current native missionary movement in Asia. I agree wholeheartedly that we in the West desperately need to open our eyes and share our material blessings with the rest of the Body of Christ. In many ways, our wealth has been our spiritual downfall because we have kept so much of it for ourselves and have been blinded by it. It was also exciting to read about the adventures of faith that God took him through in his life.

On the other hand, I think that the book erroneously asserts that the Western church *primarily* has only financial gifts and prayer support to offer the 2/3 world. If we followed KPY's recommendation, I think that missions would suffer, not because we're so great, but that God has commanded every member of the Body to minister cross-culturally to the other members. Jesus said "Go to the ends of the earth," not just to the 2/3 church but to all believers. Just like we need the perspective and unique gifts of the church in India, for example, we likewise have gifts to share with them. Also, as for the argument that native missionaries are more effective and economical than foreign missionaries, that needs to be balanced with the fact that missions began with disciples going to other cultures and lands to share the gospel. Cross-cultural missions should not be excluded on the basis of economy, but on the contrary we need to obey our calling by inciting more Christians in the West to go and reach out to the unreached peoples.

GFA seems to be a great ministry for planting churches in Asia, and we should support such ministries enthusiastically and work in partnership with them...but don't be discouraged to not send Western missionaries abroad or go yourself.

a must read book.......2007-07-31

This is a must-read book as a Christian. In the middle of reading, this book threw me some moments to think subjects like, why do I live? why did God put me on earth in the first place? what does He want me to do here in earth? Well, answers came very clear to me. I am sure God has plan for me which I've been still looking forward to hear. Whatever He want me to do, all I could do is to try to find something that will please Him in every moment. And I also realized how horrible and sad for people who have never heard of Gospel before during their lifetime and died. I become more careful wih spending money and learn how to use it. Thank God. I believe You lead me into this georgous, attractive and fabulous Your plan. Thank God with all my heart!

The Future of Outreach.......2007-07-24

Basically, one of the best written books I've ever read about missions.

KP is very right. From now on, the gospel must be preached to people by people from within their own culture, instead of people who tink they know better.

A new model of missiology. Much of value for the modern church........2007-07-03

I read this volume shortly after taking a "Perspectives on World Missions" course, and found an enormous difference in approach between the two missiological models. "Perspectives" assumes, to a great degree, that westerners are the ones going to foreign fields, but acknowledges the increasing degree at which non-western churches are sending out missionaries to other non-western countries. South Korea is an excellent example of this. Yohannan, however, places a much greater emphasis on what he calls the "native evangelism" model.

What's the difference? It's actually rather huge. Rather than trying to train, equip and support western missionaries to do evangelism work in cultures that are dramatically different from their own (like an American family serving in the "10/40 window"), Yohannan advocates supporting local evangelists to minister to their own people. The native evangelist, he argues rather convincingly, has enormous advantages over a western missionary in terms of familiarity with the language and culture, and is far less expensive to support. Thus, more effective ministry can be done with far fewer resources.

It was on this model that Yohannan built "Gospel for Asia" ministries from the ground up. Once an itinerant Indian evangelist himself, he was afforded the opportunity to come to the United States as a young man. When he arrived, he was shocked at both the affluence of the western church, and the degree to which it used its enormous resources in a way that did little to advance the gospel. The book goes on to detail the birth and growth of his ministry.

The one place where he lost me was toward the end, where he argues, in effect, that with the rise of the native evangelist model, there is no longer a need, or at least a very minimal need, for westerners to go to the foreign field. I disagree with the proposition for this reason. While cultural natives may be best suited for evangelistic efforts in their own countries, westerners continue to have a valuable role to play in training and discipling the native evangelists. A good example is our church's partnership with a church in Albania, where we are trying to foster native evangelism, but the leaders of that body are begging for western believers to come train them in theology, biblical counseling, small group methodology, spiritual leadership development, etc. These things take time and relationship-building, and that takes a long term missionary. Thus, while the role of the western missionary may be changing, the need is not diminished.

In short, this book provides excellent insights into the growing native evangelism movement, and issues a challenge to the western to pour its resources into this highly effective model of ministry. However, the author should take caution against becoming so enamored with his own ministry that he rejects the legitimate, indeed necessary, role that the western churches must continue to fill in world evangelism.

Radical Changes in Missions.......2007-06-06

Revolution is a must read for every Christian, irregardless of their personal calling. Written almost autobiographically this story about K.P. Yohannan's path to creating Gospel for Asia and its unique ministry style is powerful enough to challenge every Christian into action.

Writing in a chapter called "The Need for Revolution" on pg 142 he says:

But before revolution can come we must recognize the need for one. We are like a lost man looking at a road map. Before we can choose the right road that takes us to our destination, we must determine where we went wrong, go back to that point and start over. So my cry to the Body of Christ is simple: Turn back to the true Gospel road. We need to preach again the whole counsel of God. Our priority must again be placed on calling men to repentance and snatching them from hell-fire.

Sharing from his personal stories of growing up poor in India and eventually making it to Dallas, TX by the grace of God and generosity of some private donors and feeling God's call to start a new revolution in the mission movement. This is an easy read using personal anecdotes and simple English there is a noticeable lack of theological and missions jargon.

Brother K.P. also challenges the Church and all Christians today to think about their priorities. He writes about churches with multi-million dollar construction projects while ministers in Asia are starving and meet in homes or in open-air settings. He also challenges the idea of spending $30 - 80,000 a year to have Western missionaries doing work that can be done more effectively and for a fraction of the cost by native missionaries. He does go on to say that some Western missionaries are needed for certain projects, but in regards to evangelism and spreading the Good News, native missionaries are the best.

A challenging but good read, its simple prose and story format makes it easy to follow along with.

Sacred War: Nationalism and Revolution In A Divided Vietnam

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Informative and easy to use
Fascinating account of the conflict from a new perspective

Sacred War: Nationalism and Revolution In A Divided Vietnam
William Duiker
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 007018030X

Book Description

This supplementary book provides a history of the Vietnam War from the perspective of North Vietnam. Professor Duiker is one of the English speaking world's foremost authorities on this period of Vietnamese history and is a former foreign service officer posted in Vietnam. Based on recent scholarship and evidence, this book includes Vietnamese documents and research available to very few scholars. Quotes are sprinkled throughout the book to show how the Vietnamese felt about the events that were taking place around them, and why they decided to behave the way they did. Written for the general reader, this lively account of "the other side" includes distinctive photographs and sources.

Customer Reviews:

Informative and easy to use.......2007-02-14

I got this book for my history class and have found it to be very informative and gives more than one point of view on the events it covers. (the only thing I find distracting is that the binding broke down right away - this happened with many other students who got their books from various places). The index is handy and the abbreviations key is helpful.

Fascinating account of the conflict from a new perspective.......1998-12-05

You won't find the information you get in "Sacred War" in many other books. Whereas most Vietnam literature concentrates on American decision-making, this book reminds us that there was another side to the Vietnam War. A very detailed account of Vietminh and Viet Cong thinking and insightful as into why we didn't win the war.

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Revolution in World Missions
K.P. Yohannan
Manufacturer: Creation House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000L3UVQ4

Priest-Indian Conflict in Upper Peru: The Generation of Rebellion, 1750-1780

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Priest-Indian Conflict in Upper Peru: The Generation of Rebellion, 1750-1780
Nicholas A. Robins
Manufacturer: Syracuse University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Offers an unprecedented exploration of incendiary conditions that stoked The Great Rebellion of 1780-1782 in Upper Peru (present-day Bolivia).

The Great Rebellion claimed tens of thousands of lives and traumatized imperial psyches for decades. It was one of the most devastating political and human disasters in Latin American colonial history. Using extensive primary research, Nicholas A. Robins delves into the fractious relations between Indian communities and their clergy and the role that such tensions played as a major causal factor in the rebellion.

Powerful case histories offer rare insights into the daily exercise of power in colonial Andean villages. Compelling archival evidence provides a riveting portrait of clerical abuse in rural villages and reveals how Indian peoples challenged and resisted ruling powers with varying degrees of success.

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The Coming Revolution in World Missions
K. P. Yohannan
Manufacturer: Creation House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K0FRDK

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The Coming Revolution In World Missions: Final Thrust to Reach The 10/40 Window
K. P. Yohannan
Manufacturer: Creation House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QJGJOG

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A Thriller That Is True!

Bloody Good Yarn!

Adventure in Central Asia

How Does He Get Away With That?

Brit grit!

Mission to Tashkent
F. M. Bailey
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Hunted through Central Asia: On the Run from Lenin's Secret Police

Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire

Setting the East Ablaze: Lenins Dream of an Empire in Asia

A Ride to Khiva

On Horseback through Asia Minor

ASIN: 0192829785

Book Description

'one of the best books about secret intelligence work ever written' Peter Hopkirk. Colonel F. M. Bailey, whose extraordinary adventures are told here, was long accused by Moscow of being a British master-spy sent in 1918 to overthrow the Bolsheviks in Central Asia. As a result, he enjoyed many years after his death an almost legendary reputation there - that of half-hero, half-villain. In this remarkable book he tells of the perilous game of cat-and-mouse, lasting sixteen months, which he played with the Bolshevik secret police, the dreaded Cheka. At one point, using a false identity, he actually joined the ranks of the latter, who unsuspectingly sent him to Bokhara to arrest himself. Told with almost breathtaking understatement, Bailey's narrative - set in a region once more back in the headlines - reads like vintage Buchan.

Customer Reviews:

A Thriller That Is True!.......2007-03-25

This book reads as though it were one of John Buchan's more memorable thrillers -- except that it is true! COL F. M. Bailey, who would have made a great model for Buchan's hero, Sir Richard Hannay, was sent in the midst of the Russian Civil War to find out what was happening. Hairbreadth escapes, feats of daring-do, and remarkable coincidences all combine to make this book a fascinating read...and how may spies get hired to arrest themselves? This book is a must for anyone interested in 'The Great Game,' (which still goes on with newer players), the Silk Road (where the book is set), or Central Asia will find this a great read, and a first-class adventure yarn!

Bloody Good Yarn! .......2005-06-20

The British really had it together. At the end of WWI with revolution all over Central Asia (and a lot of other parts of the world), the collapse of monarchies, and civil strife in most countries, Britain was in imperial overreach turbo mode... How to deal with all of these troubles simultaneously while retaining the Empire?

Bailey gives you an idea of the kind of person, military man, cool headed, well educated, politically astute, able to command men in battle, fair and just: a reflection of a mindset that battle and force are the last resorts to settle conflict. A few good men on the ground, grinding up their shoe leather, sending out reports and defining the risk, ensured that Britain got involved only when empire and country were threatened.

Men on the ground made this decision and Bailey is your classical "our man in Tashkent" -- the hero of Buchan novels (which sadly few read anymore). His story is one daring escape after the other, double crosses within doublecrosses, and the ubiquitous agent provocateur which could be anyone.....

Bailey's journey through Central Asia was to assess the status of roaming Central Power troops and bloodthirsty bolsheviks -- always wearing guns to intimidate, and always failing with our hero Bailey. Bailey is at a disadvantage because he does not often have an good idea what his govt. is doing and so he engages in light banter with Bolsheviks who ask him how he gets off on coming to the heart of Bolshevist Central Asian, Turkestan when British troops are fighting against the Bolsheviks in Archangel and Baku? Since Bailey realises that the Bolsheviks are often as scarce of data as he is, he injects doubt into the conversation? How does the Commissar know that these were actually British troops? This suffices not because the Bolsheviks buy any of it, but because they are too busy planting agents speying on him to learn his "true" purpose and whomsoever in the counterrevolutionary movement he may be dealing with.

Still this game can only be played so long and then it is time for Bailey to hide, and hide fast as the Bolsheviks want his head. In a number of disguises our hero goes through questioning while dressed as a local, passes the bolsheviks in a purloined Austrian uniform and, moving from safe-house to safe-house and knowing how to survive in the desert, he conducts espionage against the Bolsheviks and lives a life always just one half step ahead of the bolsheviks... sometimes they were literally yards away from him....

This true story by an incredibly self-effacing man has something of import for the modern world. I kept thinking that the situation at the end of the World War was at least as worse (or worse) than the present time in Central Asia and the Middle East. People in 1918 were worried Bolshevism would sweep the world order away as everywhere the objective facts seemed to support the inexorable rise of the Reds. But the British (more or less) kept their heads and deployed resources rather wisely. They built up whole generations of people schooled in the culture of the Empire. Say what you want about Imperialism in general, but the particular variant of British Colonialism engendered a respect for local languages and cultures, and a notion that there were firm limits on the extent of direct control by "boots on the ground" -- and if boots were not necessary, or simply too expensive then people like Col. Bailey were the men to monitor and look after British interests, by subterfuge and stealth -- they never had the luxury of overwhelming force.

His tale is moving, heart thumping in detail, while being understated -- this man wanted no praise.

As such I could not help thinking what went wrong and why the modern imperialists like the US lack even a single person of this ilk, and why their culture did everything possible to thwart the nuturing of such spies before 2001. The US emphasis today is upon brute and overwhelming force to shape the world its image -- it is inward looking. Bailey and his contemporary British officers realised that a good man highly educated in the local languages and cultures, aware of the world so to speak, in the right place could obviate the need for an armed expedition, look after national interests... and make for a ripping read.

There is much the US can learn from men such as Bailey.

Adventure in Central Asia.......2005-05-19

Central Asia, from the Caspian to western China, was the arena for "The Great Game", the nineteenth-century war of espionage and diplomacy between Russia and Britain. The Russians wanted domination of central Asia; the British wanted to protect India and expand their empire, by influence at least if not by conquest.

Bailey's story comes right at the very end of the Great Game. At the end of the first world war he was sent to Tashkent, in what is now Uzbekistan. The Bolsheviks were taking over Russia which had conquered this part of central Asia (called Russian Turkestan), but at that time, as Bailey says, "no one quite knew what a Bolshevik was or what were his aims and objects". The goal of Bailey's mission was to find out more about what was going on, and if possible persuade them into the war on the Allied side.

Bailey travelled to Kashgar (now in China) and then via Andijan (now in Kyrgyzstan) to Tashkent. Much of the book is about his stay in Tashkent and the deteriorating relationship with the Bolsheviks. As more information came in about the British fighting against the Bolsheviks elsewhere, and as Bolshevik central control improved, Bailey's position became more and more dangerous. He had a good local counter espionage network, and was able to get warning of impending arrests and take measures to neutralize the information against him, but ultimately it became clear he would have to leave secretly or be executed very soon.

After some time (and some adventures) hiding in a village nearby, he returned to Tashkent where he lived using a succession of false papers. When he realized from the limited news he had access to that there was no chance of the regime being overthrown by any of the civil wars or Allied offensives, he decided to head back to British territory. It turned out the Soviet counter-espionage group believed Bailey was in Bokhara, and had sent fifteen agents there to find him; all had been killed. Using his false papers, Bailey volunteered to be the sixteenth and in a move straight from a Bond novel was sent to Bokhara to try to locate himself.

In Bokhara the adventure was not over, as there was a long stretch of hostile desert to cross (what is now Turkmenistan). The group was fired on by bandits as they made the last dash to cross into Persia, then a friendly country.

The book is exciting, primarily because the events are completely believable yet often amazing. Bailey's no great prose stylist, but his writing is clear and straightforward. One oddity that will strike modern readers is that he frequently lists the local wildlife (including the Latin names) in terms of what he was able to shoot. However, after a couple of chapters, the true espionage story starts, and the book becomes absolutely gripping. One other note: Bailey refers to several photographs, but these are not in this paperback edition, which is the one I have.

Strongly recommended. If you're interested in the history of this time and place, you may also want to read Peter Hopkirk's "Setting The East Ablaze", which recounts Bailey's story in considerable detail and provides a great deal more background information and historical setting.

How Does He Get Away With That?.......2002-01-26

So much of what has happened in Persia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the last 150 years is due to what has been called "The Great Game." Russia has always been a superpower that lacked a salt-water seaport free of ice all year round. (The Black Sea doesn't count because Turkey controls access to it through the easily defensible Bosphorus and Dardanelles.) Consequently, it has always sought to destabilize South Asia in the hopes of being able to get a port on the Indian Ocean.

One of the highest ranking pieces in the Great Game was the British intelligent agent Lieut-Col Frederick M. Bailey, who wrote this fascinating book. So if you're a great intelligence agent, why is it so difficult to write a good book? Simple: A good intelligence agent keeps too much unsaid. Information is his stock in trade, so he is very sparing of all the interesting details.

Picture present-day Uzbekistan in the first year of the Bolshevik takeover (1918). No one in Europe had any idea of what to expect from the Bolsheviks. Would they become more moderate in time? Would the Muslim population accept them? Would the White Russians defeat them in battle and restore the Czar?

In the midst of all these swirling theories strode the skinny and extremely canny Colonel Bailey. He set himself up in Tashkent as the official representative of His Majesty's Government but immediately ran into roadblocks. Without informing Bailey, Britain had in the meantime engaged the Bolsheviks in battle near Murmansk and near the Caucasus. That quickly made Bailey persona non grata (which meant ripe for execution in those times).

But how does one arrest a wizard? Bailey immediately went underground and assumed the identity of a Romanian, Czech, Austrian, Albanian, or other POW, of which Tashkent had many from those WW 1 days. He rarely stayed in one place for more than a day or two, though he did manage to develop some loyal contacts, including the US consul Tredwell. For over a year, Bailey eluded capture. During the whole of that time, there was no effective contact with his government; and during most of that time, he was actively sought by the Cheka, or secret police.

The escape from Tashkent was ingenious and dramatic. Bailey got himself hired as a Bolshevik agent under an assumed identity and assigned to Bokhara, which was not yet under Bolshevik control at that time. There, he reached into his inexhaustible supply of money and bought horses, men and influence to allow him to escape south to Meshed in Persia, where there was a British presence.

I wish I knew at every point how the magician pulled a particular rabbit out of his hat, but I'll just have to take that as a given. Today, Bailey is regarded by the British as one of their greatest spies. In Central Asia, he is regarded as an arch-villain who threatened the development of Communism in Central Asia.

MISSION TO TASHKENT is not an easy read, but it is absolutely vital in understanding the forces, many of which still operate in this pivotal area of the globe.

Brit grit!.......2001-09-04

As another reviewer remarks, English prose style is not the colonel's strong suit. If ever a book called for the firm hand of a skilled editor, this is such a book. It abounds with inconsequential asides ("I met him years later in Korea"), terse sentences and a wealth of exclamation marks. Nevertheless, this does give the reader an idea of the author's authentic voice and persona - that of an end of empire action man.

The exploits of Colonel Bailey show that the kind of military man that we read of in Rider Haggard and John Buchan's novels really did exist. He would not have been out of place joining an Indiana Jones expedition. He really was an Edwardian action man writ large - bold, resourceful, uncomplaining and considerate of those endangered by his presence.

He is almost a caricature of the quintessentially British officer muddling through to triumph. He comes across as a talented amateur jack-of-all-trades - no James Bond he! He was a fair linguist but, as luck would have it, only had a smattering or no knowledge of the languages of the nationals he pretended to be: Serbs, Austrians, Romanians etc.

He certainly comes across as fearless. On one occasion he nonchalently reads a copy of The Times that he has "borrowed" from a Bolshevik officer in the room next door who had been sent to hunt for him. English sang froid is much in evidence as he casually mentions the executions of numerous people with whom he had been in close association. This guy had more lives than a dozen cats.

The book very much brings alive the chaos and casual brutality of the early days of the Bolshevik revolution in Turkestan. Somehow Bailey slips through it all, constantly striving to get intelligence out to Britain. Miraculously he never seems to want for money - we never do learn where it came from or where he kept it.

Bailey was a first class eccentric officer - as evidence of this I offer the fact that, whilst detailing his adventures in a world gone mad, he thinks it sufficiently important and interesting to his readers to catalog the various species of butterfly that he captured and preserved on his travels. He even presents us with a complete list of those taken between the Pamirs, Kashgar and on the road to Russian Turkestan complete with Latin names, and the place, altitude and date they were collected.

Book Description

In the second of a proposed three-volume study, John and Jean Comaroff continue their exploration of colonial evangelism and modernity in South Africa. Moving beyond the opening moments of the encounter between the British Nonconformist missions and the Southern Tswana peoples, Of Revelation and Revolution, Volume II, explores the complex transactions—both epic and ordinary—among the various dramatis personae along this colonial frontier.

The Comaroffs trace many of the major themes of twentieth-century South African history back to these formative encounters. The relationship between the British evangelists and the Southern Tswana engendered complex exchanges of goods, signs, and cultural markers that shaped not only African existence but also bourgeois modernity "back home" in England. We see, in this volume, how the colonial attempt to "civilize" Africa set in motion a dialectical process that refashioned the everyday lives of all those drawn into its purview, creating hybrid cultural forms and potent global forces which persist in the postcolonial age.

This fascinating study shows how the initiatives of the colonial missions collided with local traditions, giving rise to new cultural practices, new patterns of production and consumption, new senses of style and beauty, and new forms of class distinction and ethnicity. As noted by reviewers of the first volume, the Comaroffs have succeeded in providing a model for the study of colonial encounters. By insisting on its dialectical nature, they demonstrate that colonialism can no longer be seen as a one-sided relationship between the conquering and the conquered. It is, rather, a complex system of reciprocal determinations, one whose legacy is very much with us today.

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