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.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

Hiroshima's Shadow (Writings on the Denial of History & the Smithsonian Controversy)

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A delightfully nutty perspective
Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides
Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides
The most comprehensive and balanced account to date.

Hiroshima's Shadow (Writings on the Denial of History & the Smithsonian Controversy)

Manufacturer: Pamphleteer's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0963058738

Customer Reviews:

A delightfully nutty perspective.......1998-11-20

I am reading this book, so I thought I'd check to see what others have said about it. As I expected, the reviews online come from cheerleaders of the revisionist camp. Personally, I find the book to be useful information from the leftist perspective. I keep thinking: yes, yes, all that is true enough, but from the information available to Truman in July 1945, did he have any alternative but to authorize the use of the bomb?

I'll post further thoughts on my website.

-- Dan Ford

Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides.......1998-08-24

Here is an extract from my review of 'Hiroshima's Shadows', that appeared in 'New Politics', no. 25 (Summer 1998):

'Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy' is an enormous, and aesthetically handsome work, bringing together nearly 50 essays between between 1945 and 1997 by scholars, military, political and religious leaders, independent intellectuals, and survivors of the atomic bombings. The book is unusual in that, though it has a strong editorial point of view, the editors unflinchingly present voices from all sides of the argument.

The contribors include Albert Camus, Dwight Macdonald, Lewis Mumford, Mary McCarthy, A.J. Muste, among others. Defenders of the bomb include Charles Krauthammer who says that we should "let the Japanese commemorate the catastrophe they brought on themselves" (rather than mourn the use of the bomb), and Paul Fussel, an English professor and ex-front line combatant, who raises the slogan, "thank god for the atomic bomb." An even wider range of ideological positions is represented on the side of the critics: Lifschultz and Bird have recovered an anti-bomb editorial from the paleo-right-wing 'Human Events' and placed it alongside the observations of Mahatma Gandhi and Norman Thomas. As the editors put it, "the usual distinctions of left and right on economic and social issues were not reliable guides which could accurately predict what people thought about Hiroshima."

A substantial section of the book contains memoirs of a few survivors. These memoirs underscore the enduring reality that it was civilians, not military objectives, who were then, and remain, the prime target of nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides.......1998-08-24

Here is an extract from my review of 'Hiroshima's Shadows', that appeared in 'New Politics', no. 25 (Summer 1998):

The most comprehensive and balanced account to date........1998-07-31

Hiroshima's Shadow is perhaps the most comprehensive and balanced collection of essays to date on the decision to use atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Book Description

Miyamoto Musashi, who lived in Japan in the fifteenth century, was a renowned samurai warrior. He has become a martial arts icon, known not just as an undefeated dueler, but also as a master of battlefield strategy. Kenji Tokitsu turns a critical eye on Musashi's life and writings, separating fact from fiction, and giving a clear picture of the man behind the myth. Musashi's best-known work, The Book of Five Rings , provides timeless insight into the nature of conflict. Tokitsu translates and provides extensive commentary on that popular work, as well as three other short texts on strategy that were written before it, and a longer, later work entitled "The Way to Be Followed Alone." Tokitsu is a thoughtful and informed guide, putting the historical and philosophical aspects of the text into context, and illuminating the etymological nuances of particular Japanese words and phrases. As a modern martial artist and a scholar, Tokitsu provides a view of Musashi's life and ideas that is accessible and relevant to today's readers and martial arts students.

Customer Reviews:

Japanese Warriors.......2007-07-29

Once I started reading 'Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings' I could not put it down and found myself reading until the next morning... This is a well written informative and detailed account of Miyamoto Musashi's life, his training, his teaching, his paintings and his writings. Various sources are cited and comparative analysis is rendered. We are given more than a glimpse into Musashi the warrior, the father, the artist and the man. I place this book on the top of the list of books regarding Miyamoto Musashi and his writing on Strategy as presented in Go Rin no Sho. It is a must for every military professional and devoted martial artists.

Good Biography and Translated Works.......2007-02-17

This book opens with one of the best biographies I have read in a while. Since it concerns a historical figure about whom much is unknown, the author presents multiple viewpoints and conjectures prevalent in the current historical scholarship of Japan. Some readers have noted this and consider it annoying double-talk, but I found it useful to know the multiple opinions of the scholars. It lets me know Tokitsu is not simply saying "this is my opinion, and mine is the correct one."

The fact that Musashi's writings are all translated in the second part of the book is very nice. The selections are very readable in English, but don't lose their enigmatic and ambiguous nature. Of course, the major composition is the Gorin (no) Sho, or Book of Five Rings, while the other writings are mostly earlier sketches which reveal the evolution of Musashi's ideas up into the writing of the book. Also included is the list of life principles he wrote shortly before death, Dokkodo.

The third part of the book is a big section about principals of the martial arts and opinions of practitioners on Musashi's ideas. This section will not appeal to non-martial artists or non-enthusiasts. The ideas are mostly deeply rooted in Zen, or describe technicalities the non-enthusiast will find generally uninteresting. It has been said that this book is a very dry read, but I disagree. The life narrative of Musashi was quite entertaining, and his writings are as most writings of that type go, but it was this last section, focused on the practice of budo, that probably lead to that opinion of dryness. I found it interesting myself, being a practitioner of the arts. Don't take this description the wrong way, this section does not ruin the book by any means. It is worth reading for the first two parts no matter what. I'm simply saying that the third section only really appeals to practitioners and enthusiasts like myself.

This book is a must read for anyone who practices or simply likes martial arts. It is even good if you are simply a fan of biographies. The book is also very well bound, and will be quite durable.

Dry but very rewarding read.......2007-01-09

This book is a scholarly and somewhat dry read with many footnotes and alternatives explored. Persevere with it because this is a fascinating unravelling of facts and myths about Miyamoto Musashi's remarkable life and inspirational writings.

Note this book includes a translation of the book of five rings that reads very well indeed, a remarkable feat considering the nature of the Japanese original.

Great..........2006-08-25

This book has a great narrative point of view. It attempts to look at the man historically and without all the mythos surrounding him in Japanese Martial Arts history. Good read!

Excellent study for the 21st Century swordsman.......2006-08-14

Through historical accounts the author reconstructs Musashi's childhood and sixty individual duels to illustrate the development of Miyamoto's swordsmanship. Musashi's frictional relationship with his father, Munisai, revealed much about the intolerant perfectionism required for the attainment of Musashi's two-sworded way. For example, while his father was in the dojo cutting toothpicks with a katana, 13 year old Musashi leaned against a wooden beam and criticized his father's technique---mind you, Munisai was awarded Best Sword in Japan at the time. To prove a point, Musashi traveled to a strange town and killed an accomplished 26 year old Samurai.

Honen The Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings and Official Biography (Spiritual Masters: East and West)

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A condensed biography in English translation of a 1925 original publication

Honen The Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings and Official Biography (Spiritual Masters: East and West)
Joseph A. Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: World Wisdom
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1933316136

Book Description

Honen Shonin (1133-1212 A.D.) founded the largest Buddhist sect in Japan (Pure Land, or Shin). This edited biography contains an Introduction by renowned Buddhist scholar, Alfred Bloom.

Customer Reviews:

A condensed biography in English translation of a 1925 original publication.......2006-09-03

Joseph A. Fitzgerald edits Honen The Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings And Official Biography, a condensed biography in English translation of a 1925 original publication. Buddhist readers will relish the rare presentation of Honen's life and teachings, as well as the background history and Fitzgerald has done a fine job of synthesizing an original multi-volume scholarly presentation into a standard paperback even non-Buddhists will learn from.

Way of Acting the Theatre Writings of Tadashi Suzuki

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Simply Amazing

Way of Acting the Theatre Writings of Tadashi Suzuki
Tadashi Suzuki
Manufacturer: Theatre Communications Group
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0930452569

Customer Reviews:

Simply Amazing.......2000-05-05

This book explores the wonderful techniques of Tadashi Suzuki, who often works hand in hand with Anne Bogart. The book is a spiritual and magical take on acting, concentrating on the actor's body and mind rather than his/her lines and blocking. It is a refreshing and challenging technique that is beautifully and simply explained in this book. Complete with pictures of the artist himself, the book is a wonderful way to get your feet wet in the Suzuki/Bogart technique.

The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku

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the perfect book on haiku
Great Writing
This One's A Must Have
How Haiku SHOULD have been taught in school...
Haiku Handbook

The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku
William J. Higginson
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 4770014309

Book Description

The Haiku Handbook is the first book to give the reader everything needed to begin writing or teaching haiku. It presents haiku poets writing in English, Spanish, French, German, and five other languages on an equal footing with Japanese poets. Not only are the four great Japanese masters of
the haiku represented (Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki) but also several major Western authors not commonly known to have written haiku.

The book presents a concise history of the Japanese haiku, including the dynamic changes throughout the twentieth century as the haiku has been adapted to suburban and industrial settings. Full chapters are offered on form, the seasons in haiku, and haiku craft, plus background on the Japanese
poetic tradition, and the effect of translation on our understanding of haiku.

Other unique features are the lesson plans for both elementary and secondary school use; and lists of haiku publishers and magazines (in several languages). The Handbook concludes with a full reference section of haiku-related terms, bibliography, and a comprehensive season-word list to aid in
understanding and appreciating Japanese haiku.

Customer Reviews:

the perfect book on haiku.......2006-05-21

The perfect volume for fans and writers of haiku. Indispensable.

Great Writing.......2006-05-12

There are very few books on how to write in any idiom. This book explains the hows and whys of haiku. What it takes to get started and to continue to write. I have found this useful in my writing that is not associated with haiku or poetry. This book is a lot of fun to read, and is not stuffy and boring as text books are. It will serve all writers well.

This One's A Must Have.......2005-02-10

Blyth's Haiku Seasons books and Higginson's guide to reading and writing "haiku" in English are two of the necessary books to begin to understand what haiku is all about. I have a difficult time with the idea that a tiny poem written in any of the Romance languages--esp. English-- could be called a "haiku," even though the author might include season words and even the 5/7/5 syllable count. I would much rather call them epigrams, because they simply cannot give you the effect of a Japanese haiku. Anyone who argues otherwise is simply fooling themselves, and you. Given all of that, however, Blyth and Higginson are good books to have on the shelf. Blyth, I believe, is the better writer/translator and his sense of chronology and history is stronger. In addition he gives hundreds of translated gems to admire from Basho, Issa, Buson, and others. He also doesn't try to convince you that haiku can be written in English. Higginson is the warmer writer and his generosity to the reader is apparent from the beginning, so practioners will find him perhaps more useful than Blyth in a practical sense. I disagree with Higginson's history of English language "haiku"--there are some important people he simply leaves out, but he more than makes up for the omissions in other chapters. Both writers impart an enthusiasm for the subject to their readers. If you're building a haiku library and would like a great start, Blyth's four volume set and Higginson's Haiku Handbook are the way to go.

How Haiku SHOULD have been taught in school..........2004-09-11

This book really helped me as both a reader and writer of poetry. Through the author I was able to understand the real essence of Haiku; something that I seemed to have missed when I studied it in grade-school! This book not only shows where the form came from, but how it has evolved over time and through different cultures. For anyone who wants to understand the form for themselves, either to use it, teach it or just appreciate it, I highly recommend the book. (the sections on lesson planning are both interesting and helpful, whether or not you want to teach a class!)

Haiku Handbook.......2003-04-07

This is not for the passive haiku reader. It provides an in-depth history of haiku, samples of old masters and new. It teaches how to read, write, and teach... just like the cover says.

I'd always wondered why my haiku seemed so long and filled with so much extra words even though I followed the 5-7-5 and 5-7-5-7-7 syllable format. This wonderful guide covers this and many other assumptions that we English-speaking haiku enthusiasts have about traditional haiku.

My haiku has improved by writing in 3-6-3 syllables. (This book does not recommend 3-6-3, but it works for me based on the context of info provided) Anyone shocked at something other than 5-7-5 should not read this. If you enjoy reading and writing haiku and you learn what this book teaches, you will feel like a haiku master.

Some of my best haiku was written as a direct inspiration of this book.

Average customer rating:

Good buy for beginners

As promised: Basics for beginners

Great for beginning students

Good beginning brush technique book. Beautiful examples.

Brush Writing: Calligraphy Techniques for Beginners
Ryokushu Kuiseko
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Asian | Regional | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Sacred Calligraphy of the East

ASIN: 0870118625

Book Description

For many a deep and lasting interest in Japanese culture, its people and its language, begins with a fascination for beautifully drawn characters produced by a master calligrapher. Compared with the squarish, regular representation of Chinese characters reproduced in books, newspapers, and
magazines by modern printing techniques, the appealing brush strokes of a handwritten Japanese scroll, letter, or menu is often considered a work of art, and associated with the aesthetic and mystical. Brush Writing is dedicated to such enthusiasts of Japanese calligraphy who have searched for a
basic and introductory guide in English to this traditional and challenging Eastern art.

Any learner of Japanese will almost certainly find this book an invaluable aid to writing kanji, a subject that is rarely dealt with. adequately in language textbooks, as well as providing fundamental clues to decipher handwritten Japanese. Through nearly fifty model characters, Brush Writing
teaches the basic techniques of writing almost any kanji. For each character, we have clearly shown the correct stroke order, major readings in romanized Japanese, and meanings in English. Advice on balance and other practical tips on writing kanji have also been included. Equally important to all
non-native learners of Japanese, this book explains the secret of writing attractive hiragana, the key, in fact, to ensuring that handwritten Japanese is clearly legible and leaving the impression that it was penned by an adult Japanese hand.

But it does not end there. Brush Writing is more than a kanji guide for students of the Japanese language. After working through the systematic instructions carefully explained in this volume, anyone, with an appreciation of the beauty and art of quality brush work, should find little difficulty in
creating fine calligraphy of their very own, even if the meanings of the shapes themselves remain a mystery. This volume begins with a comprehensive, but brief introduction to the history of Chinese and Japanese characters to satisfy the curiosity of the enthusiast. For novice calligraphers, not
only have we explained how to use the necessary materials and equipment, such as brushes, paper, and sumi ink, but we have also appended a list of stores selling calligraphic supplies throughout the United States.

For Japanese language students and aspiring calligraphers alike, Brush Writing is the perfect introduction to the art and technique of shodo, Japanese calligraphy.

Customer Reviews:

Good buy for beginners.......2005-11-10

Like the title promises, this is a good book for beginners. It has useful suggestions on how to begin and end the main strokes found in Shodo, as well as suggested kanji with how to write them and what they mean. I found it very helpful.

As promised: Basics for beginners.......2003-07-28

The title well describes the content. The focus is on the techniques with a short intro of the essential equipment. The reader is guided through a selection of some 50 characters with the emphasis on how to proceed stroke by stroke and how should the result look like.
This book is a good quick start but won't serve as a long-lasting reference. As soon as you find the art of shodou as the thing for you, you'll be looking for more in-depth and covering texts on the subject. Although somewhat narrow, all the content is useful - except a list of the equipment suppliers in the US.

Great for beginning students.......2000-05-02

This is a good book for beginning students learning to write Kanji and Hiragana. The large format makes it easy to see how to form the character correctly.

The instructions are excellent, showing you step-by-step, how to write each symbol in detail. Though cursive script is shown, it is smaller and detailed instructions for writing it are not given.

Each character's reading and meaning are shown as well. However, since less than 75 words are covered, it is not intended to teach you to read Japanese.

The book also covers materials, techniques, & a brief history of Asian calligraphy. There is a beautiful calligraphy appreciation section in the back. It shows some of the characters reflecting their meaning.

Good beginning brush technique book. Beautiful examples........1999-12-07

This is a good beginning book for learning brush technique for Japanese calligraphy of the pictographs that are based on the Chinese characters. She goes through everything from basic setup and rubbing ink through a couple dozen characters, so if you already know stroke order and have some idea of the characters you want to do, this book focuses on how to make the brush strokes for plain 'block' characters work, with some hint as to the possibilities with script characters and more artistic forms. There is a single page for how to form the phonetic characters as well.

The sample characters are big, bold, and easy to learn from and have the easier posture of a native calligrapher, rather than the squared-off posture of most American renderings.

Book Description

In the tradition of Pico Iyer, a witty and revealing insider's journey through a modern Japan that outsiders seldom glimpse

In 1970, the world-famous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima plunged a knife into his belly and was decapitated using his own antique sword. In the decades since, people have asked endless far-ranging questions about this spectacular suicide.

Christopher Ross wondered, What on earth happened to Mishima's sword?

And so Ross sets off for Tokyo on a journey into the heart of the Mishima legend---the very heart of Japan. It was a country Ross knew well after nearly five years of living there--but nothing could have prepared him for this. While searching for the fabled sword, Ross encounters the rather startling range of those who knew Mishima...a world, or perhaps more accurately a demimonde, of craftsmen and critics, soldiers and swordsmen, boyfriends and biographers (even the man who taught Mishima hara-kiri). The trail Ross follows inspires a travelogue of the most eye-opening--and occasionally bizarre--sort, a window into the real Japan that is never seen by tourists and the occasion for digressions on, among other things, socks and the code of the samurai, nosebleeds and metallurgy... even how to dress for suicide.

Mishima's Sword is a dazzling read--the perfect book for all those intrigued by things Japanese, from gangsters to Genji, from manga to Mishima.

Customer Reviews:

Mostly just fascinating.......2007-06-27

I found this book by accident while waiting for someone, and I was enthralled by it. Ross uses the sensational circumstances of Mishima's very public and gruesome suicide to explore Japanese martial culture in general and tries to explain his own fascination with it along the way.
While he keeps tracking Mishima's life and death as a guide to his narrative, it becomes clearer and clearer that Mishima is conceivably of no importance outside his role as a popular author of nationalist appeal, and that his very theatrical life and death actually stand for very little. His careful reconstruction of himself and his image is not so uncommon, and in the end there is just another guy coming to terms with the very big chips on his shoulder, although he does so in a spectacular way.
But along this way Ross manages by description of his travels and interviews to highlight and clarify Japanese history and fascination with death in a highly insightful way.
Sometimes this book is just about Christopher Ross: For instance there is a whole section, where he describes feeling unwell and having to interrupt his stay in Japan to return to the UK. One can't help wondering if his editor slept through that part, since it seems to have very little to do with the rest of the story.
Fortunately these deviations are relatively brief, as is the whole book, and you have basically read past them before they really trouble you. The rest of the ride is wonderful for people who share Ross' fascination with the martial aspects of Japan.

Interesting history lesson mixed with a travel diary.......2007-01-02

Christopher Ross goes on a quest for the sword used to assist in the suicide of Yushio Mishima, one of Japan's most famous authors. Along the way, the reader is treated to a history of Japan, lessons on Kendo, and insight into Mishima himself, and icon (or iconoclast?) of Japanese literature. In essence, the quest for the physical sword takes secondary importance, behind Ross's quest to understand the man, the times, and the context of his suicide.

For those that read Twigger's Angry White Pajamas, this book is a more serious, and more culturally detailed view of the same genre. Perhaps the connection comes as Christopher Ross was the uber-guru that Twigger wrote about...

If there's one issue I have with the book, it's that the writer at times talks down to the reader. For example, most anyone reading this has experienced international travel - the audience is a cosmopolitan set. Explaining the details of an inflight entertainment system detracts from the overall story.

That said, the book is still concise and well written, and worthy of a read from any afficianado of Japan. It certainly earns a prominent place on my bookshelf!

Average customer rating:

A lovely read
Great Reading
A must read for those interested in Japan
Another Lonely Planet Journeys gem
For good & bad, read this book

Lost Japan
Alex Kerr
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0864423705

Book Description

Drawing on the author's personal experiences of life in Japan over a period of 30 years, Lost Japan takes the reader on a backstage tour of the country's cultural icons. The book explores different facets of Alex Kerr's cultural involvement: friendships with Kabuki actors, buying and selling art, studying calligraphy, exploring rarely visited temples and shrines. The author's experiences underscore the fact that Japan is heading towards environmental and cultural ruin.

About the Author
Alex Kerr is an American who lives in Japan. He holds degrees in Japanese Studies from Yale University and Chinese Studies from Oxford University, and is a passionate and knowledgeable collector of East Asian art. He writes and lectures in Japanese, and is associated with the Oomoto Foundation, a Shinto organisation devoted to the practice and teaching of traditional Japanese arts.

Customer Reviews:

A lovely read.......2007-09-24

Most of the reviews of this book either support or criticize Kerr's point of view regarding the topics he covers. It seems to me Kerr does an admirable job of conveying what are obviously his own experiences living for a very long time in Japan. It seems neither reactionary, elitist, nor condemning. As a writer, I loved the book for its writing.

Kerr has a talent for phrasing, metaphor, and humor that makes the reading a delightful breeze. Clearly his Japanese publisher felt it was a subject that would appeal to Nihonjin. I have recommended it to a couple of Japanese friends myself.

Even if you're not especially interested in Japanese culture, many of the essays in this little book are great fun to read.

Great Reading.......2007-09-03

If you have any interest at all in Japan, this is a must read book. This is very well written, interesting to the point that I could not put it down, and a great book to read about this man and his explotis throughout his adult life living in Japan. I always loan this book to my friends with an interest in Japan, and give it as a gift to others.

A must read for those interested in Japan.......2005-04-10

Three years ago, Alex Kerr finally left the Japan he had called home for some 30 years prior to that. For a look at why, there is no better place to start than his seminal work on the willful and casual destruction of Japanese culture.

Originally written in Japanese, Kerr's work documents the loss of what drew him to Japan in the first place: its spectacular traditional arts. Divided into chapters on Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, legendary American businessman Trammell Crow, Kabuki, Kerr's own art collecting and calligraphy. Lost Japan is a must-read for anyone interested in modern and pre-modern Japan.

Another Lonely Planet Journeys gem.......2004-12-08

I've had really good luck with several Lonely Planets Journeys published books--their editors have done a great job of finding stories by exceptional writers that would not find a voice elsewhere. Lost Japan is really the perfect title for this book as although I've never been there, I became nostalgic at the centuries old culture that Japan began losing so exponentially after WWII. He happened to be there at the right time to capture a cultural crisis and found himself in the odd position of valuing things that the "modern" Japanese were discarding. It's a brilliant observation about a foreign culture and the added interest is his own lifestyle of a bohemian sort. He would often just move into abandoned houses in villages where he did not know a soul. His story of both the remaining rural culture and a modern culture (in the 80s) that did not understand basic real estate business rules having never seen their own real estate ever devalue is fascinating.

For good & bad, read this book.......2004-09-21

Embarking on a life in Japan, I picked up this book for the rich cover art if anything else. On turning the pages I found myself being taken by Alex Kerr on a very personal journey through a world lived by him yet rarely seen by foreigners to Japan; From Kabuki, to Calligraphy, to tea ceremony, Mr. Kerr's idealism in aesthetics is evenly balanced by a sharp cynicism for the greed & corruption of modern Japan that is slowly eating away at this once colourfully overflowing world. However it wasn't the cynicism but the beauty that I found my self retracing. Alex has a wonderful way of transporting the readers mind into the same sense of appreciation he himself obviously has for the culture that makes Japan so unique. Without turning his experiences into religious epiphanies, he describes with great earthiness the true ideals of tea ceremony & ikebana & how stifling ritual itself may be destroying such `rituals'. Reading this book has given me more cultural insight into this country, both good & bad, than a whole year living in this socially impenetrable society. For good & bad, it's a must read for anyone who loves the beauty of Japan, or simply beauty alone.

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