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 Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (P.S.)

Average customer rating:

Interesting, but cannot match its own hype
Surprisingly absorbing
Sensationalized Version of a Gripping History
Slow
THIS BOOK IS A MUST-READ

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (P.S.)
Simon Winchester
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060839783
Release Date: 2005-07-05

Amazon.com

When the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary put out a call during the late 19th century pleading for "men of letters" to provide help with their mammoth undertaking, hundreds of responses came forth. Some helpers, like Dr. W.C. Minor, provided literally thousands of entries to the editors. But Minor, an American expatriate in England and a Civil War veteran, was actually a certified lunatic who turned in his dictionary entries from the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Simon Winchester has produced a mesmerizing coda to the deeply troubled Minor's life, a life that in one sense began with the senseless murder of an innocent British brewery worker that the deluded Minor believed was an assassin sent by one of his numerous "enemies."

Winchester also paints a rich portrait of the OED's leading light, Professor James Murray, who spent more than 40 years of his life on a project he would not see completed in his lifetime. Winchester traces the origins of the drive to create a "Big Dictionary" down through Murray and far back into the past; the result is a fascinating compact history of the English language (albeit admittedly more interesting to linguistics enthusiasts than historians or true crime buffs). That Murray and Minor, whose lives took such wildly disparate turns yet were united in their fierce love of language, were able to view one another as peers and foster a warm friendship is just one of the delicately turned subplots of this compelling book. --Tjames Madison

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, 70 years in the making, was an intellectually heroic feat with a twist worthy of the greatest mystery fiction: one of its most valuable contributors was a criminally insane American physician, locked up in an English asylum for murder. British stage actor Simon Jones leads us through this uncommon meeting of minds (the other belonging to self-educated dictionary editor James Murray) at full gallop. Ultimately, it's hard to say which is more remarkable: the facts of this amazingly well-researched story, or the sound of author Simon Winchester's erudite prose. Jones's reading smoothly transports listeners to the 19th century, reminding us why so many brilliant people obsessively set out to catalogue the English language. This unabridged version contains an interview between Winchester and John Simpson, editor of the Oxford dictionary. (Running time: 6.5 hours, 6 cassettes) --Lou Schuler

Book Description

The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Download Description

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, but cannot match its own hype.......2007-09-10

I think that I could've really enjoyed this book on its own merits had the author not continued to insist throughout that the story was horrifying, amazing, shocking, thrilling, electrifying, and tragic by turns. Rarely can these "sensationalist histories" live up to their own hype. I found the book a fascinating look into the development of the OED with the bonus of the intriguing back story of one its most unusual volunteer contributors. Isn't that good enough? Why must everything be oversold? Note to the publisher: Next time undersell, over-deliver.

Surprisingly absorbing.......2007-08-28

Locked inside the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary is an astonishing, bizarre story poignantly told in The Professor and the Madman. Well written, this disturbing story flows easily, holding the reader's interest to the end, even through the definitions!

After reading this book I have also gained a new appreciation for the beloved dictionary.

Sensationalized Version of a Gripping History.......2007-08-13

The Professor and the Madman is the yellow journalism version of the history of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Sir James Murray, Dr. William Chester Minor, the treatment of the criminally insane during the Victorian period. I was particularly offended by the overly graphic details of Dr. Minor's self-mutilation (if you don't have a strong stomach, skip that section) and playing up of the fictionalized (and often repeated as fact) version of how Sir James and Dr. Minor first met. If the story weren't so interesting, I would encourage you to avoid the book.

Writing the first edition of the OED took 70 years and employed an unusual organizational method that has since become popular for monumental knowledge tasks -- relying on volunteers to do the bulk of the work of finding quotations that use each word in different ways over time. As someone who has always admired the OED, I enjoyed learning more about the process involved in its development. Unfortunately, that material is scattered throughout the book rather than concentrated where you can find it for a brief read through. The examples are good, however, if the material is needlessly diluted.

Thinking about that monumental effort will give you just the right foundation for appreciating how mental illness can affect parts of one's faculties while leaving others undisturbed, as the paranoid Dr. Minor employed his extensive free time in the Broadmoor Asylum for Criminally Insane and personal wealth to become of the most organized and helpful contributors to the OED.

Dr. Minor's story is the actual focus of the book. Unless you are quite interested in ironies, mental illness, and how the Victorians treated the criminally insane, you will probably find this book has more of Dr. Minor than you really care to know. It's a tragic story, but not one that I would have sought to read if the OED development process material hadn't been in the book. As background for that comment, you should know that I have a strong interest in criminal insanity and wrote my law school thesis on the subject. The book tells its story to make you feel the pain of being Dr. Minor quite well, but The Madman and the Professor won't advance your knowledge of mental illness or legal concepts of responsibility very much.

I was attracted to this book in part due to my work in leading the 400 Year Project, seeking ways to make improvements in everyone's lives at 20 times the normal rate between 2015 and 2035. I came away impressed that just a few people can make a remarkable contribution to an all-but-impossible project. I will redouble my efforts to locate such people for the 400 Year Project.

Tackle the impossible to find out what you can really do!

Slow.......2007-07-11

I did like this book and would have given it 3.5 stars is I could. The history was interesting and easy to get through, even for a casual reader of histories such as myself. However, for some reason I felt like I was dragging myself through parts. I am unable to put my finger on it, but some parts were just really slow for me. I would recomend that you read this book if for no reason than it is full of interesting facts that may come in handy at a cocktail party. In all seriousness, I did like it but read it on vacation so you can cruise through the slow parts.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST-READ.......2007-03-18

IF YOU ARE SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN MENTAL ILLNESS AND NON-FICTION, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ. FROM THE OPENING LINES TO THE END OF THE BOOK, THIS TRUE STORY WILL HAVE YOU TURNING PAGES. THE TITLE IS SOMEWHAT MISLEADING BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY THINK "SO WHAT" ABOUT THE MAKING OF THE OXFORD DICTIONARY. BUT DO NOT LET THE TITLE FOOL YOU. THIS IS A FASCINATING STORY FROM THE 1800'S ABOUT PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA, BRILLIANT MINDS AND WRITING OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DICTIONARY OF ALL TIMES. THIS BOOK IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES

The Private World of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor

Average customer rating:

A kings story
Vapid, yes...though totally fascinating...
finally a sneak peek into their very private world
too much to pay for a couple with zero to offer

The Private World of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Hugo Vickers
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0789202263

Customer Reviews:

A kings story.......2002-12-08

I felt sorry for the duke, he must have been such a lonely man.....He never got any compliments from his father or his family. They all seemed so far away from each other. No wonder he fell in love with Wallis, she paid attention to him, this is what he needed, someone to treat him with respect and high regard, no wonder he abdicated....He wouldn't have to abdicate,but the P.M. at that time was a very vicious and ugly person who was JEALOUS of King Edward, he wouldn't even allow the king to speak to the other members on his own behalf...Queen Mum was also jealous and vicious, she did not like Wallis, because she was divorced and an american, she would not allow King George to communicate with the duke after he was exiled. The people all wanted King Edward to become King, they all loved him because of his charistma and his feelings for the common people.Edward and Diana were very much alike and treated VERY BADLY by their so called "royal families". Edward and Diana had more "guts" than all the royals together. King Edward would have been a "great" king, thanks to Queen Mum and her coldness toward Edward and Wallis caused him to live in an empty wrld. All the worl loves "lovers"and the Duke and Duchess were the lovers of the 20th century. How many people can have such a love????????I really loved this book and read it over and over.....

Vapid, yes...though totally fascinating..........2001-03-12

I can't help it. Even though I believe that the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor were probably two of the most self-serving people ever to exist on the face of the planet, I find them totally fascinating. And this book lets us into their domaine. Imagine a man so totally mesmerized by this woman, that not only did he leave her a fresh flower on her pillow every night of their married life, he slept surrounded by photos of her (separate bedrooms). There were 10,000 photos of them in his bathtub (covered with a mahogany top. He ONLY showered.) that were discovered after her death. That means for the duration of the time that they were married, they were photographed approximately 300 times a year. Every year. The photographs of the refurbished decor in the Paris house were fascinating. Too bad everything was sold after Dodi & Diana's death. This book is truly a window into a lifestyle that no longer exists.

finally a sneak peek into their very private world.......1999-09-08

I was very impressed with the photography and the information contained in this book. Wallis Simpson is amazing, she comes off as more chic and more royal than any of the royals. Fascinating inside look into that very glamorous era, and it's most powerful couple.

too much to pay for a couple with zero to offer.......1998-04-03

It is beyond me how any person with a functioning brain could ever find the Windsors more than the most over publicized, most tedious couple who ever inhabited the pages of People Magazine and its predecessors. What is even more alarming is that there are people willing to pay $67.50 for a book of pictures of the duke, the duchess and their collection of stuff. Pardon me for my rant, but I needed to do it. I don't think I've ever typed out my feeings on this subject before. I've ranted about this couple more than I wish to admit.. but, hell, we all have our quirks.

Average customer rating:

workhorse for literary alchemy
The Philosopher's Stone

A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery
Lyndy Abraham
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521000009

Book Description

This dictionary documents alchemical symbolism from the early centuries AD to the late-twentieth century, for use by historians of literary culture, philosophy, science and the visual arts, and readers interested in alchemy and hermeticism. Each entry includes a definition of the symbol, giving the literal (physical) and figurative (spiritual) meanings, an example of the symbol used in alchemical writing, and a quotation from a literary source. There are fifty visual images of graphic woodcuts, copperplate engravings and hand-painted emblems, some reproduced here for the first time.

Customer Reviews:

workhorse for literary alchemy.......2005-09-21

this book is fun, well written, and detailed. most useful for literary and artistic readings of alchemy, or "comparative religion" type studies, less so for detailed info on the protoscientific aspects (try Lawrence Principe). I'm using this book for a class on alchemy I'm teaching this semester. It's a good way to approach the rich terminology and symbolism, though it can get a bit repetetive as the same idea gets explained in different ways in different articles. Could have better footnotes and cross-referencing, but very useful for the casual reader or beginning student who is just becoming familiar with a confusing and difficult set of terms and images.

The Philosopher's Stone.......2000-04-25

This is a superb book for anyone interested in alchemy. For those interested in alchemy and its connections to literature-- it's even better. The articles are bursting with relevant information and insight into this often perplexing subject matter in an accessible, readable style. A "must have" for anyone interested in alchemy. The only thing I don't like is the price, which may prove prohibitive for some.

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

Average customer rating:

Excellent Resource
A fine reference book
Comprehensive, informative and awkward
Less than perfect
It really is

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691021236

Amazon.com

From abecedarius to zeugma, by way of cywydd, estribillo, Nibelungenstrophe, Tachtigers, and other poetic terms that sound like poetry, The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics is a gold mine for readers and writers of poetry alike. First published in 1965, this tome has evolved to reflect developments in critical thinking and an expanding knowledge of non-Western poetry (without, heaven forfend, being trendy: "a reference work," the editors explain, "must always distance itself from its time while it works to embrace that time"). For this third edition, the editors write, nearly every entry has been changed significantly, and 162 entries have been added. The preface claims coverage of every poetic tradition in the world, and one doesn't doubt it. There's enough material here to keep one browsing well past Yeats's "Second Coming." If that's not enough to quench your poetic thirst, fret not: a detailed bibliography concludes each entry.

Book Description

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics is a comprehensive reference work dealing with all aspects of its subject: history, types, movements, prosody, and critical terminology. Prepared by recognized authorities, its articles treat their topics in sufficient depth and with enough lucidity to satisfy the scholar and the general reader alike. Entries vary in length from relatively brief notices to substantial articles of about 20,000 words.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, published in 1965, established itself book as a standard in the field. Among the 215 contributors were Northrop Frye writing on allegory, Murray Krieger on belief in poetry, Philip Wheelwright on myth, John Hollander on music, and William Carlos Williams on free verse. In 1974, the Enlarged Edition increased the entries with dozens of new subjects, including rock lyric, computer poetry, and black poetry, to name just a few.

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics accounts for the extraordinary change and explosion of knowledge within literary and cultural studies since the 1970s. This edition, completely revised, preserves what was most valuable from previous editions, while subjecting each existing entry to revision. Over 90 percent of the entries have been extensively revised and most major ones entirely rewritten. Completely new entries number 162, including those by new contributors Camille Paglia, Barbara Herrnstein Smith, Elaine Showalter, Houston Baker, Andrew Ross, and many more. New entries include those on cultural criticism, discourse, feminist poetics, and Chicano poetry.

Improvements cover several areas: All the recent developments in theory that bear on poetry are included; bibliographies of secondary sources are ex-tended; cross-references among entries and through blind entries have been expanded for greater ease of use; and coverage of emergent and non-Western poetries is dramatically increased. Indeed, a hallmark of the encyclopedia is its world-wide orientation on the poetry of national and cultural groups.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Resource.......2007-07-11

At present I'm researching the way poets use structure as meaning in poetry. This excellent book not only explains the different poetic forms from poetic traditions from around the world, it also gives details of their history. The book is organised so information can be found quickly. The only drawback I found is the small font it uses.

A fine reference book.......2006-11-07

I have very little to add to the laudatory reviews. Some found the print too small, but for me it was not a problem - I am used to using reference works with smallish print.

I just got my copy and found a lot of fascinating information on the ode which I didn't know. From what I've read so far, the topical discussions are excellent, and there are ample biographical references for the major and some of the minor entries. All in all, it is a great resource for student, poet, poetry lover, and critic.

Comprehensive, informative and awkward .......2005-02-02

This is the most comprehensive and informative encylopedia of poetry and poetics that I know. It at times seems so comprehensive and detailed as to make understanding of its entries possible. It is in fact so overwhelming sometimes that it confuses by telling much more than I, at least, need or want to know. It seems to me in a way a very academic work, wonderful for critics but probably of very little use in inspiring to poetry. So much knowledge about poetry is not necessarily what poetry is.

Less than perfect.......2003-12-05

This book is comprehensive and probably essential for the study of poetry. But there are several serious problems. First, there is only a completely useless Table of Contents and no index. Yes, it is an encyclopedia and the entries are in alphabetical order but the subjects are very broad (Symbol, Twentieth-Century Poetics) making it necessary to scan several pages in several different subject areas without knowing if you have missed the poem or poet you are looking for. How will you know to look for comments on The Illiad under the heading of Simile or that the subject heading Intuition contains a discussion of the Neo-Platonists? Scanning pages for a specific piece of information is difficult because the print is tiny. The Preface and Acknowledgments are in big print and then they switch to very small print for the remainder of the book. You will need lots of time and a magnifying glass to take full advantage of this book.

It really is.......2003-03-06

one of the three books that any student or writer of poetry needs to own, besides a good dictionary. (The other two are Pound's "ABCs of Reading" and Shapiro's "Primer.") Answers questions & points you in the right direction for more. Once you open it, you'll wonder how you got by without it.

A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840: Third Edition (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis)

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A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840: Third Edition (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis)
Howard Colvin
Manufacturer: Paul Mellon Center BA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300060912

Book Description

This authoritative and now classic work of reference on the history of British architecture contains biographical information on some 2,000 architects who practiced in England, Scotland, and Wales from the time of Inigo Jones (1573-1650) to that of William Burn (1789-1870) and Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860). The third edition of what began in 1954 as A Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1600-1840, it now includes 150 new entries.

Who's Who in Victorian Britain: 1851-1901 (Who's Who in British History, 2)

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Who's Who in Victorian Britain: 1851-1901 (Who's Who in British History, 2)
Roger Ellis
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0811716406

Book Description

Many see the Victorian era as Britain's heyday. Certainly some of the nation's most exceptional citizens lived then, not least, of course, Queen Victoria herself. In all fields, pioneers were at work, among them Isbard Kingdom Brunel, Florence Nightingale, John Ruskin, William Morris, Sir Robert Peel, Sir John Stuart Mill, Michael Faraday, Edward Lear, and Charles Darwin.

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary

Average customer rating:

A Winchester Fan
Gift from afar
A Great Book and an Improvement Over His Prior on the OED,
An Accessible History
Made me want my own edition. I now am a proud possessor.

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
Simon Winchester
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198607024

Book Description

It was on New Year's morning, 1928, that an eruption of mad lexical glee from a battered old typewriter on a desk in Baltimore from the hands of Henry Louis Mencken sent news all across the USA of the long-awaited publication of the book that was to crown the English language undisputed monarch of the linguistic kingdom. From the Oxford-based project a total of 414,825 words, ten times as many as had hitherto been suspected of existing, had now been recognized and catalogued, the results of seventy years of Herculean effort by scholars, linguists, and thousands of ordinary and not-so-ordinary people. The Meaning of Everything is a readily accessible historical account of the making of the remarkable Oxford English Dictionary, leading up to the appointment of the first editor, James Murray, in 1879 through to its triumphant publication in 1928 and beyond. Brought to life by Simon Winchester's characteristic talent for story-telling, the achievement of making the dictionary is an unforgettable story, and is further enlivened by portraits of the myriad characters involved in its creation. From the context of early dictionaries and national projects of the Victorian Era, Simon Winchester leads his narrative through early attempts to create what was then expected to be a four-volume dictionary, the appointment of James Murray as editor, the unusual, never-before-attempted way in which the book was constructed, and the people and processes involved in the definition of thousands of words, to the triumphant publication of the dictionary and its adaptation to the age of technology. The profound impact the volumes had when they first appeared, the fame the dictionary has had in the eight decades since, and that it can be expected to have in years to come, receive full and fascinating treatment here at the pen of the best-selling author of The Surgeon of Crowthorne and The Map That Changed The World.

Customer Reviews:

A Winchester Fan.......2007-02-08

Having read Winchester's "The Professor and the Madman", I was primed to read this further account of the development of the Oxford English Dictionary, and I was not disappointed. The book is filled with sidebars about eccentric intellectuals, academic machinations, publishing intrigues and royal dinners, all wonderfully entertaining. The description of the Scriptorium is very interesting. I can also heartily recommend anything else Winchester writes. His book on Krakatoa was also excellent.

This book belongs in any books about books collection.

Gift from afar.......2006-09-19

I received this book from a former student who remembered that I had once aspired to be "the human OED". She correctly thought I would enjoy a book that tells the story of another book-crazy person who actually followed through on such an aspiration. I recommend this to anyone who does not break out in hivesbut rather a big grin, when they hear the word "etymology." Cheers!

A Great Book and an Improvement Over His Prior on the OED,.......2006-07-22

This book describes the story of the original Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and is not to be confused with the small conventional Oxford dictionary found at a modern bookstore. The original OED is a series of volumes that gives many quotes for each and every word to show how the word is used. Starting with the letter "A" it took a remarkable 70 years to complete the final volume that included the letter "Z". It was started from first concept in 1857 and went on until it was completed with the final tenth volume in 1928. It is thought that a modern version would be 40 volumes long. There are similar German and Swedish dictionaries that have taken over 100 years to complete and the Swedish version has yet to be completed.

The present book was written in approximately 2003, and is a bit similar but a vast improvement over the earlier book "The Professor and The Madman" also written by Simon Winchester but published in 1998 - my opinion. So Winchester now has two books on the subject of the writing of Oxford English Dictionary. But this newer book is much better than the older book. The two books approach the OED with different emphasis.

The first book 'Professor and the Madman' is somewhat like the author getting into the saga of the OED and suddenly making a left turn up the winding and unpredictable path of the life of Dr. William Minor, a mental patient that helped work on the dictionary from his cell. The rest of the OED story falls by the wayside.

Here we return to the OED story and all of its colorful characters. The first book was written in approximately 1998. The span of time has given Simon Winchester the opportunity to present a better package of ideas and it all shows. The present book gives a very detailed and balanced description. He presents some information on the English language and more information on the earlier dictionaries. He continues the story right up to the current computerized dictionary. It is a lot better that the earlier book - that reads like a novel - but is limited in scope to mainly Dr. Minor and James Murray.

One of the prime movers of that book (the OED) was a Scotsman James Murray who started at the beginning in 1878. Prior to that date, nothing of practical value was done between 1857 and 1878. He was in essence the first editor (technically the third), and he edited the dictionary up to approximately the volume ending with the letter T - the degree of the progress of the dictionary at his death in 1915. The cast of characters also included Henry Bradley who became a co-editor, Frederick Furnivall an early and very disorganized editor before Murray, and other English luminaries such as Benjamin Jowett of Balliol College. Even Churchill, Queen Victoria, and J.R.R. Tolkien have small roles.

I bought both books by Winchester but in retrospect would have skipped the first book and just bought the newer book. The newer book has one chapter on Dr. Minor and Fitzedward Hall and other people that sent in quotations by mail - which for me is enough.

I would only give the book 4 stars. The reason is that at the end of the book ' which is short just over 250 pages, one has the feeling that large chunks of the story are missing and a proper OED story would be a 500 to 1000 page book. The book seems rushed and starts to skip things towards the end. This seems to be confirmed by the other book about Dr. Minor (the Madman) that by itself is also 250 pages.

An Accessible History.......2006-06-20

Lovers of history and interesting words will adore this book, and even the most casual reader will find it easy to read. I read The Meaning of Everything over the course of three days while on vacation, and although it isn't what I would call "beach reading" it was light and fun.

Winchester seems to have a good sense of when to move on to a new idea, which is part of what makes this so painless to read. There's no belaboring any points.

Also, there's an abundance of interesting side information in the book. For example, J.R.R. Tolkien was once a contributor to the OED, and Winchester discusses his contributions.

A must-have for the budding English major, certainly.

Made me want my own edition. I now am a proud possessor........2006-06-10

After reading this book, I have a great respect for the work that went into this magnificent undertaking, and the men who did it. The book reads like a novel, and I bought Winchester's other book The Madman and the Professor. But my grandest book is the Compact Edition of the Oxford Dictionary. It takes a certain type to like this story. It requires an inquiring mind.

Average customer rating:

Not the edition you're looking for
Know what you are getting...
Decent translation, but "compiled"
This a reveiw of a person who has never read the book.

Irish Myths and Legends
Lady Gregory
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0762404515

Customer Reviews:

Not the edition you're looking for.......2005-10-12

This edition offers only a small selection of Lady Gregory's _Gods and Fighting Men_, plus the book itself is about 2" by 4". In other words, this book is really a souvenir--not a text to be read. You probably want to get the full text of _Gods and Fighting Men_ instead.

Know what you are getting..........2002-05-01

In case your one of the 96% who never really looks at the "size" of a book when you order it, make sure you do for this one. It's only a pocket version of Lady Gregory's book, and, although the website does not tell you so, this is an ABRIGDED version.

Just know what you're getting.

Decent translation, but "compiled".......2000-01-31

I have read this book and find that the first part is fairly accurate when I compare it with other translations of the stories about Finn and the Fianna. However, I read the notes section for the stories about Cuchulain and noticed that Lady Gregory states that she compiled these stories, while the book jacket states she translated them. Unfortunately she has used several different sources for one of my favorite tales (Deirdre and Naoise) and it makes me wonder how accurate her version of this tale is. She has some elements in the ending that I have found attributed to later versions of the tale (she uses the later version of Deirdre stabbing herself instead of her dashing her head on the rocks), but the fact that she admits in her notes to editing and compiling the tales as she sees fit makes me wonder what else she edited because she didn't like. Personally, I am searching for a translation that is more accurate when it comes to Irish tales, because I feel that the original meaning becomes muddled when tales are edited to match a person's taste.

This a reveiw of a person who has never read the book........1999-04-12

Even though I've never read Irish Myths and Legends, I can assure you I would like it. I'm always interested in the mythology of my heratige. There might be some of My personal favorites; Cuchculain, Finn McCoul, and The Voyage of Bran. That's why I, Jacob Behnke, a ten year older from Hastings, Minnesota, highly recomend Irish Myths and Legends.

Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary

Average customer rating:

Defining Lexicography: Dr. Johnson and His Achievement
Defining the World
Illuminating and Entertaining
A tale of a great Dictionary and its maker
A feast of a book

Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary
Henry Hitchings
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374113025
Release Date: 2005-09-29

Book Description

By the early eighteenth century, France and Italy had impressive lexicons, but there was no authoritative dictionary of English. Sensing the deficit, and impelled by a mixture of national pride and commercial expedience, the prodigious polymath Samuel Johnson embraced the task, turning over the garret of his London home to the creation of his own giant dictionary.

Johnson imagined that he could complete the job in three years. But the complexity of English meant that his estimate was wildly inadequate. Only after he had expended nearly a decade of his prime on the task did the dictionary finally appear - magisterial yet quirky, dogmatic but generous of spirit, and steeped in the richness of English literature. It would come to be seen as the most important British cultural monument of the eighteenth century, and its influence fanned out across Europe and throughout Britain's colonies - including, crucially, America.

Brilliantly entertaining and enlightening, Defining the World is the story of Johnson's heroic endeavor, 250 years after the first publication of the Dictionary. In alphabetically sequenced chapters, Henry Hitchings describes Johnson's adventure - his ambition and vision, his moments of despair, the mistakes he made along the way, and his ultimate triumph.

Customer Reviews:

Defining Lexicography: Dr. Johnson and His Achievement.......2007-01-06

This is an extraordinary book itself--part biography, part intellectual history, part cultural history, part criticism and part paean. I suppose it must be all these things to convey to the reader the extraordinary magnitude of Johnson's achievement as well as the extraordinary nature of Samuel Johnson, the eighteenth century polymath who 250 years ago created, single-handedly, the first great dictionary of the English language and in so doing produced a work of lasting greatness while at the same time laying down the standards by which lexicography is practiced even today.

Hitchings 35 chapters all begin with a word and a definition from Johnson's Dictionary. (Some letters are represented more than once, others not at all.) Thus we have chapters with titles like "Adventurous," "Amulet," "English," Lexicographer," "Patron," and "Philology." Johnson's definition of the word lexicographer is worth quoting. It reveals not only the self-deprecating man but also his emphasis on etymology. To Johnson, a lexicographer is "a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original and detailing the signification of words."

Johnson began work on the Dictionary in 1747, commissioned by a coalition of printers and booksellers. When he began, he confidently estimated that he could complete the work in three years. (In fact, it took him eight years.) He was to be paid 1,500 guineas (¤1,575), in installments, about ¤150,000 in today's money. The task dragged out because Johnson soon realized "the moral importance of the work and the philosophical difficulties of rationalizing language."

Johnson's innovation as a lexicographer was to infer meanings from actual use. Thus he read great swaths of English literature, searching for and recording examples of how writers actually used words. For the most part, lexicographers still follow Johnson's methods, though now they include spoken as well as written examples. By the time he had done, Johnson had approximately 110,000 quotations to illustrate 42,773 entries. (He used only half the quotations he collected.) Previous dictionary writers had simply taken their word lists from other works. Johnson did look at previous attempts and then abandoned that approach in favor of his perusal of English writers.

Early on, Johnson sought the patronage of the Earl of Chesterfield, a wealthy young aristocrat with a known interest in the arts. In an age before large publishing houses, contracts, copyrights and royalties, patronage--that is, financial support--was about the only way a writer could make a go of it. In the event, the Earl was of little or no help. Nonetheless, as the dictionary neared publication, Chesterfield let it be known that he would like the Dictionary to be dedicated to him. Johnson's reaction is famous. In a letter to the Earl, Johnson asserted that "[t]he notice which you have been pleased to take of my Labours, had it been early, had been kind; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent and cannot enjoy it, till I am solitary and cannot impart it, till I am known and do not want it."

Homer nods and even Johnson makes mistakes. His definitions are sometimes inaccurate or more complex than the thing defined. He defines "pastern" as the knee of a horse. It is not. His famous definition of "net"--anything with interstitial vacuities--is unnecessarily difficult. He also includes a number of unusual words, words which are today unknown and were unusual even in his own day. Examples include `amatorcultist,' a `little insignificant lover'; `bellygod,' `one who makes a god of his belly'; `deosculation', the `act of kissing'; `mouth-friend', `one who professes friendship without intending it' (one can see reason for reviving this word); `mouth-honor', `civility outwardly expressed without sincerity' (this one, too); `potvaliant', a person `heated with courage by strong drink'; `schiomachy', `battle with a shadow'; `shapesmith', `one who undertakes to improve the form of the body'; `vaticide', a `murderer of poets' (who would do such a thing); and `goldfinder,' a word used, humorously, by those who empty toilets. Still, despite its defects, Johnson's Dictionary was the standard for a century. The poet Robert Browning felt it necessary to read the thing through as a means of preparing himself for his career as a poet. And many other writers felt the same sort of respect for Johnson's work.

Such was Johnson's authority that no one felt the need to replace his Dictionary until 1857, when it was more than 100 years old. In that year, Hitchings writes, "London's august Philological Society decided that a new English dictionary was needed." Work on that dictionary, which was to become the Oxford English Dictionary, began on 12 May 1860. Completed with an army of assistants, the work on OED continued for 68 years. James Murray, the principal lexicographer, "worked with Johnson's Dictionary open on the table beside him in his Scriptorium. . . . In the end the OED reproduced around 1,700 of Johnson's definitions, marking them simply `J'. His layout and method of definition were also followed."

Even though the American Noah Webster despised Johnson, his reach extended across the Atlantic in his own day and touches us even now in the twenty-first century. According to Hitchings, American legal scholars, particularly constitutional scholars, consult Johnson's Dictionary to understand the meanings of words current at the time of the founding of our Republic. Hitchings cites the February 2000 case of Campbell v. Clinton. This action was brought by seventeen members of the US Congress, who argued that in authorizing approximately 4,500 air strikes in Yugoslavia, President Bill Clinton was declaring war, and, constitutionally, only Congress could make such declarations. The meanings of both `declare' and `war' were called into question, and the courts decided to "consult the dictionary which would have been the standard authority at the time when the Constitution was drawn up in 1787. That standard authority was of course Johnson."

Though it is now more than 250 years old, the great work continues to influence the affairs of men. Hitchings has written a spellbinding account of both the man and the work.

Defining the World.......2006-11-09

If you're a lexplorer like me, if on the way to looking up "occurrence" for the seventy-third time to see if it's two c's or two r's (both) and an "e" or and "a" (an e) and get sidetracked first by osmometry, and then of course osmotic, then you are going to love this book. Did you know that as late as 2000, American jurists were consulting the Dictionary to try to figure out what the founders meant by the word "declare," as in "declaration of war?" Divided into chapters headed with definitions from the Dictionary in alphabetical order, written with affection, respect and not a little glee, this book is going to make you want to go out and do like Robert Browning did, read the Dictionary from cover to cover in preparation for a life of writing poetry.

Did you know that a turtle is a word "used among sailors and gluttons for a tortoise?"

Illuminating and Entertaining.......2006-08-15

When Americans say dictionary they usually mean Webster. In Great Britain, the Oxford English Dictionary would more likely come to mind.

A few may realize that for more than a century the term meant Johnson to our ancestors.

For most, dictionary is like the 10 Commandments--writ in stone, accepted without question and its origin rarely considered.

So, for many it may be hard to realize there was no such authoritative reference before Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was published on April 15, 1755. There were earlier attempts that bogged down in the complexity of the task and it took Johnson eight years (five more than he anticipated) to complete the project.

Hitchings gives us an entertaining and impressive glimpse into Johnson's world, his enterprise and its impact on history. The chapters are arranged alphabetically like words in a dictionary and are replete with humor, insight and intelligence.

Johnson's seminal work was supplanted by the OED but its legacy to that work will be more apparent now to readers of this book. Though he admired the man, Hitchings tells us Webster loathed Johnson's dictionary and strove to separate his own work from English language authority.

A tale of a great Dictionary and its maker.......2006-07-23

This is an extremely well- written and pleasurable book. It tells the story of the making of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. Each of its chapters is presented as a dictionary entry beginning with the word 'Adventurous' and concluding with 'Zootomy'. The entry by entry device does not disturb the narrative flow of the book. Hitchings tells the story chronologically and provides excellent background biographical material. He gives a picture of Johnson's early years which in some sense complements and completes the picture given by Boswell in the English language's most well-known biography.
The picture Hitchings makes of Johnson is of an enormously vibrant figure , a man of tremendous energy who while condemning himself all the time for his 'sloth' was doing the work of many men at once. Hitchings in telling this story gives a very vivid picture of London life, especially London low- life in the late eighteenth century. His recounting of the friendship of Johnson with the poet Savage, about whom Johnson wrote his most interesting 'life as a poet' gives a sense of the tremendous disorder , dirt and yet attractiveness of that world.
Johnson despite his lonely dedication to his scholarship was an enormously sociable person, and this book is peopled with dozens of remarkable characters among them the actor Garrick, and the Dictionary's as it were patron, Lord Chesterfield.
The creating of the Dictionary was a tremendous labor. Johnson originally thought it would take three years but it took ten. The achievement was great, and as Hitchings makes clear it was not an etymological one alone. The 'Dictionary' is as Hitchings sees us a work of thought and of morals, and above all a work of Literature.
Hitchings traces the various aspects of the works creation, and reception, its importance to English Literature and Language.
This is an outstanding and highly recommended work, written with the intelligence and perception which a close association with Johnson's work would seem to almost necessarily bring.

A feast of a book.......2006-07-12

This book gets off to rather a slow start. The first 45 pages - about a sixth of the book - tell us of Johnson's life before he started work on the Dictionary. True, it links some of the events of Johnson's life to definitions he will give in his Dictionary; but such links are relatively few: the biographical element and the not unfamiliar social history of 18th century London predominate. That is pleasant enough, but one is impatient for the story of the Dictionary to begin. But when it does start, the book becomes really interesting and indeed fascinating.

Initially Johnson hoped to `stabilise' the English language, to exclude `low terms' from it, and, through many of the elevating passages he chose to illustrate the use of a word, to promote education, religion or morality. Later, however, he felt the responsibility to record how English was actually being used in his time - that being the view which predominates among modern lexicographers. If he has to include words of which he really disapproves, he notes that they are `cant'. But he happily included some robust slang expressions of his time and certain vigorous words of abuse. He was suitably idiosyncratic in deciding which words are cant (bamboozle, nervous, the drink stout, flirtation), which are `low' (ignoramus, simpleton) and which are not. He also had a great dislike for words recently imported from France, though he includes them: bourgeois, unique, champagne, cutlet, trait, ruse, finesse. He would of course have known what a huge range of French words came into the English language with the Norman Conquest; but for him any word, of whatever origin, that had been used by the Elizabethans had a respectable pedigree.

Johnson's methodology is interesting. He began with underlining a word in passages from his vast reading; that word would then be written on a slip of paper, together with the passage or passages in which it had figured; and the slips were then arranged in alphabetical order. Hitchings writes that `fundamentally Johnson was less interested in language than in its use by writers'. Johnson noted the etymological origin of words, but was more interested in how they had then developed therefrom through usage. He quoted lavishly from the Bible (4,617 times) and from some 500 authors, ranging from the famous to some who are today almost completely unknown - but refused to quote from writers such as Hobbes or Bolingbroke whom he thought too wicked. His quotations give one an insight into his own tastes and that of his contemporaries. As a result the Dictionary becomes what Hitchings calls `a giant commonplace book'.

In chapters on Johnson's melancholia and introspection we are give quotations which are reflections on such experiences. Others were chosen to illustrate the frustrations of marriage - Johnson's own marriage having been a very difficult one.

In the course of the book Hitchings quotes nearly 500 of the Dictionary's 42,733 definitions. Some of these are exceedingly polysyllabic and Latinate, rightly characterized by Hitchings as a `sesquipedalian avalanche'; in others, like his references to Scots, to Whigs or to Catholicism and Presbyterianism, he avowedly and robustly airs his prejudices, as he does in his laudatory quotation following the word `royalist'. He regards suicide as `a horrid crime'; he shows his contempt for foxhunters; his prejudice against alcohol is given expression in his definition of distillers. And there are many words now, alas, lost and not to be found in my Collins Dictionary (though they are in the great Oxford English Dictionary). Hitchings provides a feast of them throughout the book; here are just a few: abbey-lubber, giglet, extispicious, pickthank and pricklouse, jobbernowl and dandyprat, fopdoodle and witworm. Johnson also listed the delightful-sounding trolmydames because he had found it in Shakespeare, but confessed that `of this word I know not the meaning'. (The OED does not list it; but Webster's 1913 Dictionary does know it: the source seems to be a trou-madame, meaning a pigeonhole, and trolmydame is the name of `the game of nineholes'.)

Hitchings draws out very well how the Dictionary entries relate to the customs and fashions of his time, to its science and its entertainments.

The last forty pages of the book mainly tell the later history of the Dictionary and of its later editions. Although the Dictionary did have some violent critics, it quickly became a classic. In 1773 a fourth edition appeared, with significant changes made by Johnson himself. The Dictionary's definitions even figured in 20th century legal cases about the American Constitution, with lawyers claiming that the 1787 wording of the Constitution would have carried the meanings ascribed to them by the then standard authority of the Dictionary.

Although the 42,733 definitions in the first edition were but a small part of the 250,000 to 300,000 words in the English language at that time, Johnson's achievement was immense. He was after all the sole compiler of the Dictionary, compared with the 40 members of the French Academy who had toiled for 55 years to produce theirs. Johnson had hoped to complete the work in three years. In the end it took him nine, from 1746 to the first edition in 1755. And he had laboured without much help from the Earl of Chesterfield, to whom Johnson had submitted the original plan in hope of the Earl's patronage. By the time the Dictionary was about to be published, Johnson had made a name for himself with other writings, and the Earl now belatedly posed as Johnson's patron. Hitchings tells well the story of that famous put-down of the Earl by Johnson which was also a watershed in the history of patronage.

One feels like cheering. I have always had a liking for Johnson's quirky and forthright character. The Dictionary shares these qualities, and what I have learnt from this admirable, charming and scholarly book has further reinforced my affection for him.

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