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.

How to Organize Your Scrapbook Workspace: Storage Solutions for Any Budget

Average customer rating:

Great Scrapbooking Book
Good starting point
Love this book!
Good pictures....
What are they talking about?! This book is fabulous!

How to Organize Your Scrapbook Workspace: Storage Solutions for Any Budget

Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Scrapbooking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1892127180

Book Description

An organized workspace makes scrapbooking quicker, easier and more enjoyable. Learn to make the most of the craft space you have available, whether it's a tiny corner or an entire room. Includes tips for planning and creating an efficient workspace, affordable storage solutions, great flea market scrapbook storage buys, options for cropping-on-the-go, ergonomically correct work solutions and ways to child-proof your scrapbooking area. Plus, advice from veteran scrapbookers that will help keep your workspace running like a well- oiled machine.

Customer Reviews:

Great Scrapbooking Book.......2007-07-08

This is a great book. Great information for organizing your scrapokking space and items.

Good starting point.......2006-07-06

This book has good ideas and helpful hints for all sizes of rooms and or Ideas you may want to add to any space.

Love this book!.......2006-03-09

This book has great ideas and suggestions for organizing scrapbook work areas. It has great pictures which really help to visualize how you want your area to function. It has money saving ideas for workspaces on a budget. It has many links to stores and websites to purchase products. They're not trying to sell you on one particular product - they suggest many types and different kinds of products for whatever your needs may be. Great book! It really helped me to get all my scrapbooking supplies organized! I'd definitely recommend it to all scrappers!

Good pictures...........2006-02-12

This book had wonderful pictures and great resources in it.... the thing I found most helpful was the manufacturers, it listed the products you could use and where to find them... other than that, there was nothing more in this book that you couldn't find on the internet at no cost.....

What are they talking about?! This book is fabulous!.......2006-01-14

I am an avid scrapbooker who has had both small spaces and now a large space to use for my craft. I felt that this book is a great source of information and ideas about storage, tools, and dream rooms! I couldn't wait to get this book and I was thrilled when I saw it! Just get this book! You won't be sorry!

Homeowner's Record Keeper: The Perfect Place to Keep Track of Home Repairs, Maintenance, Plans, and Dreams

Average customer rating:

great for "interior decorating"
Great Tool - Nice Design
Helps keep everything straight
You probably don't need this book.

Homeowner's Record Keeper: The Perfect Place to Keep Track of Home Repairs, Maintenance, Plans, and Dreams
Christina Henry de Tessan
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Blank Books | Journals | Accessories | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0811838285

Book Description

This workbook is an indispensable aid to the preservation and improvement of the investment that is your home. keep track of home records and maintenance schedules, prioritize repairs and improvements, and sketch out concepts and proposals for future projects. Appropriate for first-time buyers as well as seasoned homeowners, the Homeowner's Record Keeper will help you enjoy your home for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

great for "interior decorating".......2007-07-23

This is a nice product but it wasn't what I was hoping for in the end. I wanted/need something more like a 3-ring binder to hold samples, manuals, contracts, etc. This spiral bound book will hold small amounts of tiny paint chip samples and the like but there is not enough room in the pockets for much else. If you're looking for somewhere to record the ins and outs of your interior decorating escapades, this book is for you.

Great Tool - Nice Design.......2007-01-19

I bought this book as we are building our first house this year and I wanted somewhere to record all the information regarding contractors, colours, fixtures, fittings, etc as we went along with the building process. I have to say that this book is perfect for that!

There's plenty of spaces to go through room by room recording all the information so you can really keep track of what's going in to your home. I also like the fact that after the build is over, I have places to record maintenance work done, information about the utility companies in the area, etc so I can use it as an ongoing tool and not just an organiser while the house is being built. There is also a great section for future planning towards the back.

I think what I like most about this book though is the design. It's great to look at inside, using modern designs and colours, with a useful pocket inside for bits and pieces (can't remember if there is more than one but there might be). I looked at a lot of 'homeowner' type journals (I spent a really LONG time looking) and found that this one looked the best as well as being the most practical tool for my purposes.

All in all, I think this is a great buy either for those who are building or those already in established homes.

Helps keep everything straight.......2005-08-17

This book is awesome for any busy homeowner. There are suggestions for keeping organized as you do all types of renovations--everything from from painting to dry wall to new appliances. I love having one single place to keep all our paint chips, swatches, etc. It's so much easier than a blank notebook because they have lines for everything you need to record.

You probably don't need this book........2004-07-17

I read about this book in a magazine and was eager to get it. Being a first time home buyer/owner, I really thought it would be a useful tool. When it arrived I was very disappointed. 1/3 of the book is devoted to dreams and plans for your house (I already have a notebook for that) and the rest is for writing down information about appliances, paint, repairs, etc. I returned the book and will be starting a notebook. A 3-ring binder will suffice for me. However, for an unorganized person this book might be great.

The Complete Home Improvement and Decorating Organizer, Revised Edition

Average customer rating:

Good Home Improvement Book
Good organizing tool for the home. Very professional looking
Organizational Heaven
Good book
Not as good as others

The Complete Home Improvement and Decorating Organizer, Revised Edition
Debra Koontz Traverso
Manufacturer: Upside Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

Do-It-Yourself | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 096639772X

Book Description

If you own a home, condo, townhouse, rental or vacation home, then you will love this book. As much journal as it is organizer, this time-saving book features entries and fill-in-the-blank space for all the notes you ought to keep about what you've done to your home, what you've bought, where everything is stored, what color paint you used, when repairs were done, and by whom, etc.

Features a chapter for every room and each section of the house, inside and out. It even offers space to record the details of your swimming pool, deck, landscaping, and more!

Use the book to record the details of what was done, how it was done, what was used, how much it cost, when it was done, and where it was from. Handy Preventive Maintenance Checklists and a section on "How Long Things Last" will serve as reminders to help you keep the various components of your home in top condition. In a special section on interior design you will find basic space-enhancing principles to make any home look superior.

Practical for every home owner, but unique enough to make the perfect gift for housewarmings, goodwill gestures, weekend visits with friends or relatives, Christmas, new employees moving into town, and friends moving out of town.

Customer Reviews:

Good Home Improvement Book.......2005-04-12

This book is really great. It has alot of space to write details about every room. It also includes appliance information for warranties. It gives you a checklist of items to look at before you move in your house, a monthly checklist and a six month checklist. It is good to write in the deminsions of rooms, windows, etc to take to the stores when you need to buy supplies. I love the spiral bound because it is so much easier to deal with. Excellent Book!

Good organizing tool for the home. Very professional looking.......2004-10-14

I just got this book as a gift and it's exactly what I was looking for. I think the negative reviews here are referring to the first edition which must have been three-ring and photocopied, I don't know why they show here.

Anyway, this revised edition is awesome: professionally designed and printed, and chock-fill of good stuff. And, it's spiral bound and lays flat, not three-ring bound. Files perfectly with my house paperwork. I think it will keep me organized in the new home

Organizational Heaven.......2004-10-01

I was so excited to finally have a way to keep all of my dimensions, colors, and pertinent information about our home in one place. Now when my husband calls and needs me to pick up a part for the sink, stove etc. I simply take the book and the sales rep does all the rest. No more double trips to get the right item. I also am amazed at how much easier this book makes decorating my home. It's great to be able to pull out the book to see if something will fit in a particular room.

Good book.......2004-09-30

Getting this book was a real pleasant surprise. I'm very disorganized and it's frustrating because I can't seem to stay on top of things. I was kind of skeptical when I ordered the book because too many books are hyped, but I really have found this one helpful. One immediate benefit is that i now have a way to keep track of changes I'm making to my kitchen. I now have a way to remember the precise paints and tiles I used. I also liked the worksheets for furniture, the garage and that kind of stuff. It never occurred to me that keeping track of this stuff would make my life a whole lot easier.

Not as good as others.......2003-06-22

Unable to decide between this and a few books similar to it, I purchased them all so I could compare them side by side. I must agree with one of the other reviews that the pages are just photocopies that are spiral bound together...very cheaply made. And the information to record in this book isn't as nice as in others (2 for example sold here also...Our House Journal: The Story of Our Home, which is good for sentimental things like photos, and Welcome Home: A Home Improvement and Decorating Organizer, which handles the facts and sample information). I definately would not recommend this book to others.

In the House of the Hangman: The Agonies of German Defeat, 1943-1949

Average customer rating:

In the House of the Hangman: The Agonies of German Defeat, 1943-1949
Jeffrey K. Olick
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0226626385

Book Description

The central question for both the victors and the vanquished of World War II was just how widely the stain of guilt would spread over Germany. Political leaders and intellectuals on both sides of the conflict debated whether support for National Socialism tainted Germany's entire population and thus discredited the nation's history and culture. The tremendous challenge that Allied officials and German thinkers faced as the war closed, then, was how to limn a postwar German identity that accounted for National Socialism without irrevocably damning the idea and character of Germany as a whole.

In the House of the Hangman chronicles this delicate process, exploring key debates about the Nazi past and German future during the later years of World War II and its aftermath. What did British and American leaders think had given rise to National Socialism, and how did these beliefs shape their intentions for occupation? What rhetorical and symbolic tools did Germans develop for handling the insidious legacy of Nazism? Considering these and other questions, Jeffrey K. Olick explores the processes of accommodation and rejection that Allied plans for a new German state inspired among the German intelligentsia. He also examines heated struggles over the value of Germany's institutional and political heritage. Along the way, he demonstrates how the moral and political vocabulary for coming to terms with National Socialism in Germany has been of enduring significance—as a crucible not only of German identity but also of contemporary thinking about memory and social justice more generally.

Given the current war in Iraq, the issues contested during Germany's abjection and reinvention—how to treat a defeated enemy, how to place episodes within wider historical trajectories, how to distinguish varieties of victimhood—are as urgent today as they were sixty years ago, and In the House of the Hangman offers readers an invaluable historical perspective on these critical questions.

Our House Journal: The Story of Our Home

Average customer rating:

Wonderful & Charming Home Journal/Scrapbook

Our House Journal: The Story of Our Home
S & Benjamin Darling
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

General | Journals | Accessories | Formats | Books

Blank Books | Journals | Accessories | Formats | Books

jp-unknown1 | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Journals | Book Accessories | Our Favorites | Gift Ideas

General | Journals | Our Favorites | Gift Ideas
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0811834220

Book Description

Document the first years of your new home in the Our House Journal. Fill it with favorite memories of crossing the threshold for the first time, applying the last brush of paint, and throwing the first party - as well as your dreams for the future. This keepsake journal makes a perfect housewarming gift.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful & Charming Home Journal/Scrapbook.......2004-07-15

We were very pleased when we received this book. It has a great "rustic" look and feel, with over 70 pages for pictures, receipts and other memorabilia, plus plenty of room to journal and write comments and funny stories. This combintation journal/scrapbook actually begins before you purchase your new home, with a chapter on searching for your home ("memories of different house we considered, from the strangest to the one that got away") to the inspection ("any surprises?"). My other favorite chapters are entitled, "First Moments" and "Shopping & Wish List". Lastly, this book provides chapters (one for each major room) for home improvement ideas, paint & fabric samples, with spaces for "before and after" photos. My husband was impressed with the book as well, and we decided to buy one as a housewarming gift for our friends. I'm not sure what other home journals look like, but I'm excited about using this book (and our new home!)

Memories of Beethoven: From the House of the Black-Robed Spaniards (Canto original series)

Average customer rating:

A wonderful little book!
REMEMBERING BEETHOVEN.

Memories of Beethoven: From the House of the Black-Robed Spaniards (Canto original series)
Gerhard von Breuning
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

German | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Entertainment | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

Nonfiction | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

All German Books | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0521484898

Book Description

These are the personal memories of an elderly man who, as a child was closely acquainted with Beethoven. Gerhard von Breuning, the son of one of Beethovenâ€™s oldest friends, was favorite of the ageing composer, who delighted in the boyâ€™s frequent visits. This first-hand account provides us with telling details about Beethovenâ€™s daily life, his personality, and his relationships with family and friends. It is as a clear-eyed witness of Beethovenâ€™s final illness that Breuning is particularly compelling, providing graphic reports on the atmostphere of the sick-room, the course of the medical treatment and Beethovenâ€™s death throes after he despaired both of his doctor and of his life and, muttering â€~Oh, that ass!â€™, turned his face to the wall. This is the first ever English translation of a fascinating document. The Beethoven scholar, Maynard Solomon, has provided many explanatory notes as well as a full and informative introduction. A permanent contribution to the Beethoven literature, this book provides a sensitive and unique insight into the life of the composer during his later years.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful little book!.......2007-06-04

The previous reviewer did an excellent job in describing this book but I must give the book five stars. There is not much more I can add. The book is written in a delightful, honest, sensitive, and engrossing manner. What the previous reviewer wrote is true. Gerhard did come to address Beethoven in a familiar rather than a more formal manner. And Beethoven nicknamed the boy "Trouserbutton" as their close and loving relationship developed. Beethoven is shown as the man rather than the sometimes difficult genius we read about. What a gift Gerhard von Breuning has given us in recording his memories for later generations!
One thing I must comment on is how Beethoven is described to have faced impending death with grace and dignity. Beethoven had to have been in incredible pain during those last months. Not only did Beethoven suffer greatly from his disease but horrible bedsores were discovered when Beethoven's body was moved after his death. Yet it is recorded that he rarely complained.
I cannot imagine anyone not thoroughly enjoying this book. This is a book that I will keep in my personal library for a very long time.

REMEMBERING BEETHOVEN........1999-07-29

By its nature, what's most obvious can easily escape our attention, so it may be worth noting that Beethoven's era is beyond the recall of any living person. Theoretically, there might now be some living centenarian whose grandfather could have known him, or at least been in his presence and spoken with him - but this is conceptual, and though conjecture is fruitless it's still fascinating. We can't talk with Beethoven or his intimates, none of whom lived into the 20th century - but here one of them operatively speaks to us, if not literally then surely effectively.

Edited by Maynard Solomon and translated for the first time from the original German by him and Henry Mins, the book FROM THE HOUSE OF THE BLACK SPANIARD - REMEMBRANCES OF BEETHOVEN FROM MY YOUTH was authored by Dr. Gerhard von Breuning and first published in Vienna in 1874.

The title is fitting. As a 12-year-old, the author (whose father was a close friend of the composer) was privy to Beethoven's inner circle and played a small but important role in the composer's daily existence during the last year and a half of his life. He helped him in various ways by assisting with his correspondence, running special errands, helping him keep order in his dwelling, and doing what he could during Beethoven's last illness. The boy eventually developed for the composer a feeling approaching worship. Beethoven reciprocated this devotion by guiding some of the boy's musical education. When the young Gerhard eventually asked the older man's permission to address him with the familiar Du (rather than the formal Sie), the boy was overjoyed when Beethoven consented.

Dr. Solomon says in the book's introduction, "Like many children, Gerhard was a keen observer of small details..." This boy, who became a respected Viennese physician, evidently was the early 19th-century counterpart of today's "kid who doesn't miss a thing" (even pinpointing in his book such details as the exact location and number of windows of Beethoven's street-facing top floor apartment). His precision was fortunate and significant for posterity: it extended even to the minutest specifics about Beethoven's dwelling, personality and character, mood swings, daily conversations about his circumstances, personal preferences and other matters now irretrievably beyond our reach and forever lost. Often even the smallest details, about any subject, can be keys to opening large doors behind which are answers to some important questions. Beethoven's life was dramatic enough without the need for embellishment a-la-Hollywood, and von Breuning illuminates his subject from the real-world viewpoint.

His book takes its name from the building, the Schwarzspanierhaus (House of the Black Spaniard) - Beethoven's last residence, and where he died on Monday, March 26, 1827. In Vienna today, the site of the house (demolished ca.1904) is Schwarzspanierstrasse 15, marked with a memorial plaque and the characteristic red and white Austrian banner. In his day the address was 200 Alsergrund am Glacis. Because of its Beethoven connection the street was later renamed Schwarzspanierstrasse: the composer's swarthy complexion in his youth prompted some to call him The Black Spaniard - which in turn might have been what induced a few revisionist claims in our day that the composer was negro.

When Gerhard von Breuning died in 1892 he was the last survivor of those who had personally known Beethoven. Though his accounts were written late in life, he was there to witness the events of the composer's last years. This gives us not only a more immediate picture, but perhaps more importantly, bottom-line details which shed a bright light on what transpired more than a century and a half ago. This proximity gives special value to accounts like these.

Among the book's photographs are Beethoven's desk, the entrance hall and main door to the very apartment he occupied in the Schwarzspanierhaus, the building's exterior, an intriguiging floor plan of the actual dwelling, and Gerhard von Breuning himself in old age.

Perhaps the most compelling illustration is a superb photograph of Beethoven's life-mask, made by Franz Klein in 1812. It's compelling because it offers a literal glimpse into the past: Beethoven lived before the advent of photography, but this life mask represents him effectively as he looked at 42 and gives us the most accurate rendering we have of his physical features. Artists might disagree - but this illustration, by its very immediacy, seems to enlarge and strengthen the links in the chain that binds us to our own musical history.

Von Breuning's reports range from the humorous and fascinating - about Beethoven's fondness for puns and sarcasm - to the exasperating and even heartbreaking: Gerhard was devastated when as a young adult the numerous handwritten notes he had received from Beethoven were inadvertently discarded by a servant who thought they were trash.

This book is for those who want to know about Beethoven from someone who truly knew him. Historians compile and present an amalgam of data; author von Breuning via editor Solomon takes us into a courtroom and displays primary evidence unsullied by the traditional legendary gloss, the ghosts of myth, and the passage of more than 17 decades. Though no-one's memory is infallible, he still places before us, devoid of cosmetic veneer, the raw material from which we can experience our own reactions, form our own opinions, and draw our own conclusions.

The editor of this work has prepared a book that can be read and enjoyed by both reader and scholar. It's content is authentic, not synthetic - a treasury of material taken from a primary source: someone who literally knew Beethoven and who reports from this distinctive perspective. There are few if any substitutes for accounts like these, and a more superlative book of this type would be hard to imagine.

There's no other book quite like it so its singularity makes it quite special. About Beethoven there are countless tomes, perhaps more than about any other composer, but this book provides something rather unique, which adds to its value: a compendium of fascinating details that would be difficult, if not altogether impossible, to find in any other single volume. The book is, in a word, superb and for both the reader and researcher can be enjoyable, even fascinating and, perhaps more importantly, enlightening reading.

Book Description

The massacre of Algerian demonstrators by the Paris police on the night of 17 October 1961 is one of the most contested events in contemporary French history. This book provides a multi-layered investigation of the repression through a critical examination of newly opened archives, oral
sources, the press and contemporary political movements and debates. The roots of violence are traced back to counter-insurgency techniques developed by the French military in North Africa and introduced into Paris to crush the independence movement among Algerian migrant workers. The study shows
how and why this event was rapidly expunged from public visibility in France, but was kept alive by immigrant and militant minorities, to resurface in a dramatic form after the 1980s. Through this case-study the authors explore both the dynamics of state terror as well as the complex memorial
processes by which these events continue to inform and shape post-colonial society.

A Traitor to Memory (Random House Large Print)

Average customer rating:

To Read or Not to Read
Loved the story--disappointed & confused at ending
Good to the last drop
Very good
Still better than her American competition

A Traitor to Memory (Random House Large Print)
Elizabeth George
Manufacturer: Random House Large Print
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Literature & Fiction | Large Print | Formats | Books

Mystery & Thrillers | Large Print | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0375431136
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Amazon.com

Families can be monstrous and their secrets dangerous, as New Scotland Yard detectives Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers have discovered. The pair are puzzled that the Hampstead police need their help investigating the vehicular murder of a middle-aged divorcée, until they find evidence that one of their own superiors once knew the dead lady very well indeed. But the circumstances of Eugenie Davies's murder appear to center on her children: Gideon, a famous violinist now undergoing psychoanalysis for his sudden inability to play, and the long-dead Sonia, a disabled baby whose drowning death was shrouded in secrecy for her virtuoso brother's sake--at the insistence of their father, Richard--but also trumpeted in the press as the infamous "nanny murder" of its day. The nanny, Katja Wolff, has recently been released from prison, having never spoken of the night Sonia drowned. Lynley, Havers, and their colleague Winston Nkata know that whatever secret Katja Wolff has been hiding must be the cause of Eugenie Davies's death, but before they can find out what it is, another deliberate hit-and-run occurs in their own backyard.

The suspects are many: Wolff; Eugenie's most recent suitor; her ne'er-do-well brother; Gideon's longtime mentor, who kept in contact with Eugenie in the years after she abandoned her husband and son; and a gentleman of many monikers who boarded with the family at the time of the drowning. Even Richard Davies, the dead woman's ex-husband, is under suspicion. But it's violinist Gideon Davies's quest into his family's past, undertaken to save his career, that sets the book's events in motion. His own telling of the story runs parallel to the author's own voice but is time-shifted. Along with the details of the police investigation, this paints a disturbing picture of what happens when the truth is obscured and a child's normal instincts sublimated.

A Traitor to Memory is massive, and it's hard not to spot a few flaws in a plot so complex. The dual narratives force abnormally slow reading, the motive for one murder and two near-murders is inexplicably glossed over, and many doughty Lynley/Havers fans will still wonder by the end what exactly happened in Sonia's bathroom. Yet Elizabeth George orchestrates the family-secrets theme like a maestro, and at least one of the second-chair players--such as Katja Wolff's beautiful, scarred lover Yasmine Edwards--may be a rising star in the series. George's fans will no doubt find this 11th entry in the series worthy of a standing ovation. --Barrie Trinkle

Book Description

Elizabeth George "reigns as the queen of the mystery genre." raves Entertainment Weekly, which named her most recent novel, In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner, on of the 10 best books of 1999. The author who has enthralled millions with masterworks of dazzling novels of literary suspense returns with her most astonishing work yet.

"Ms. George proves that the classiest of crime writers are true novelists," proclaimed the New York Times, and each of her previous ten novels has been an instant international bestseller. Now, with A TRAITOR TO MEMORY, George returns to the themes which have made her a master of the genre she has made distinctly her own—the classic detective story that is also a richly rewarding tapestry of passion, loyalty, and betrayal. She is a writer like no other, and her novels mark a magnificent literary achievement.

"To listen is to be, but to play is to live..." So, believes Gideon Davies, 28-year-old musical wunderkind, a virtuoso violinist whose talents are internationally celebrated. When Gideon finds himself center-stage, unable to play, his tortured search for his music—and for the truth behind the appalling event that shaped his life—will lead him to the very heart of love's darkest manifestations.

Customer Reviews:

To Read or Not to Read.......2007-06-15

Ms. George has always had a tendency to "drop the ball" when it comes to the denouement of her mystery. This book is no exception. If there is anything I cannot stand, it is a "padded" book, a book that makes one wonder if Ms. George is being paid "by the word!"
Wading through the convoluted plot of A Traitor to Memory is like reading War and Peace backward!
I would not recommend this book to my "worst enemy!"

Loved the story--disappointed & confused at ending.......2007-05-14

This review may give away too much of the plot if you haven't read it yet. A Traitor to Memory was such an absorbing novel that I didn't mind the 1000+ pages--more to look forward to! But I was also puzzled by some of the character twists. For example, Gideon seems to be a somewhat mature person with redeeming qualities in that he continues to probe for the truth about the original murder. He is seeking help not just to resume his playing but to really figure out what is going on (a sign of some insight and maturity). And this, despite his lifetime of living in his father's world of deceit and dominated by a single pursuit. But in the end, Gideon reverts back to the maturity level of that spoiled child when he reacts to Libby's surprise. And Libby herself seems to do a complete reversal of her character with her destructive choice at the end. I really wish more loose ends were tied up at the end. What happened with Malcomb? Was Jill's pregnancy normal? What happened between Katya and Gideon? And Raphael's role seemed to promise more than was ultimately delivered. What about his son? Was there ever any real hope for a relationship between Gideon and Libby? It seemed like the book ended in the middle of a chapter. I'm hoping that subsequent novels will clear up some of these questions. I'm still a huge fan of George, and have the rest of her novels stacked next to my bed waiting for their turn.

Good to the last drop.......2007-04-18

I've found very few novels of this length to be enjoyable from beginning to end. James Clavell's Shogun and Whirlwind, come to mind, as does George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords. Most mystery thrillers that run over 400 pages become repetitious and tedious, and I find myself skimming rapidly to the end.

Elizabeth George's A Traitor to Memory is one of those rare novels whose story justifies its length. This book grabbed me from the first page and held my interest until the very end. I did not find it slow or dull at any time. I stopped watching TV for the few days I read it.

I should point out that this was the first book of George's that I've read, so I was unfamiliar with the series characters. In this story, George changes the pace: Lynley and Havers are role players, almost relegated to the sidelines of the story, which focuses on a complex family mystery.

So far I've gone back to read three earlier volumes in the series, and I still like this one the best. It's the most multi-layered and absorbing, more like the work of Ruth Rendell at her best than a conventional British detective novel. The love quadrangle between Lynley, St. James, Lady Helen and Deborah does not interest me as much as the new characters developed here.

And the ending is perfect.

There are some minor details that aren't completely clear, but this novel is more about family secrets than about "who-dunnit." I'm continuing to read the earlier books, but I'm still waiting for the series to get up to this level.

If you're a longtime series fan, you may be disappointed in this one, as there's not much about Lynley and Havers. But for me, it was one of the most memorable reads of the last two years, and made me an enthusiastic Elizabeth George fan.

Very good .......2007-02-23

I always enjoy this author's Inspector Lynley stories. Complex characters and very good mysteries.

Still better than her American competition.......2006-11-19

Well, I finished the 1000+ pages in my edition, so there were things worth hanging in for. It's hard to read Elizabeth George without being grateful that I'm not reading Grafton or Cornwell. Her sophistication in describing the worlds of her characters and their idiosyncratic humanity always adds depth to the plot's unfolding. However I was glad when a new chapter began and it WASN'T a therapy session (maybe because I'm a psychologist). Hard to believe that a bit of editing wouldn't have been an improvement. Nevertheless this effort by Elizabeth George is still way better than most of her competition.

Merle Haggard's My House of Memories : For the Record

Average customer rating:

Somewhat entertaining, somewhat annoying
Good... but still waiting for a definitive bio
Entertaining
Still love the music
Entertaining and revealing story

Merle Haggard's My House of Memories : For the Record
Merle Haggard , and Tom Carter
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0060193085
Release Date: 1999-09-22

Amazon.com

Somewhere in the middle of this blunt autobiography, Merle Haggard talks about the "art called country music" and describes it astutely as "emotion set to rhythm." "A song was an excuse," he writes, "to sing some of the sentimental things." Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that when Haggard attempts the unsung word he's oddly terse, dry, and emotionless--despite his roaring successes and multiple misfortunes. Haggard is nothing if not frank, although his candid storytelling often becomes sensationalistic. For example, his five-year coke orgy during the late '70s and early '80s warrants the opening chapter of an otherwise chronological tale. The death of his father when Haggard was 9 is clearly the defining moment of his life, yet we have to get past his wet T-shirt phase before we hear about it.

Haggard spends well more than half the book recounting his early-life travails--revolving-door stays in institutions, halls, reform schools, jails, and prisons of every sort. His misspent-youth stories are enthralling in a certain way, but he seems to tell them from the perspective of either a child who doesn't understand what's happening or an elder who has the benefit of experience--never from the perspective of a man going through these horrors at the time. He even writes on a number of occasions that he looks at his younger self as a completely different person, which may explain why his accounts often lack emotional depth. He recalls (often crudely) his numerous fights, drunken escapades, sexual conquests (stories about wanting to "get into her pants"), and many other sordid details (must we hear the story about his steel player farting during a show?) to the point that what gets short shrift, unfortunately, is his brilliant music. In a way, though, a memoir like this makes perfect sense because Haggard has never pulled any punches. And while the book doesn't offer many of his own insights, it certainly presents a clear picture of his remarkable life, which allows readers to draw their own conclusions about his personality and his music. Perhaps we should be thankful Haggard saves his emotions for his songs--they always make for thrilling listening. --Marc Greilsamer

Book Description

Country music's award-winning and best-selling recording artist, Merle Haggard, brings us his long-awaited new autobiography, Merle Haggard's My House of Memories--a riveting account of Haggard's extremely turbulent and successful life. Picking up where his 1982 autobiography, Sing Me Back Home, left off, Haggard recounts his earliest childhood memories, revealing previously untold stories about his birth and troubled upbringing in a converted railroad boxcar. He recalls the innocence of the 1950s, when a boy could safely ride the rails with hobos and share their transient camps. He talks about his father's death when Merle was nine and how his childish disobedience soon erupted into full-blown delinquency.

In a thrilling narrative, he takes us on several high speed getaways from the California law and straight inside the state's homes for the criminally delinquent. On his nineteenth birthday, we follow him inside San Quentin and read a chilling account about a cellmate who begs Merle to join him in an escape that ultimately ends with the man's death. Haggard also recalls his befriending of Caryl Chessman, the notorious 1950s serial rapist, and the time they shared before Chessman's execution.

Having lived a life marked by violence, gambling, and drugs, Merle shares the lessons he learned and how he continues to pay for decades of reckless living. He discloses that after earning more than a hundred million dollars, he's virtually broke. Merle reflects on how he felt at that bittersweet hour seven years ago, as he stood at his wife's bedside during the delivery of their son--and was served bankruptcy papers. And he recalls his family's move into a house so decayed that cattle literally roamed inside. He still lives there, amid improvements, today.

Haggard relives the painful memory of the death of his mother, who a year earlier, unbeknownst to him, had written her life story in longhand. He reveals his astonishment at learning of her 1906 covered-wagon journey at age four, from Arkansas to Oklahoma, and of how she had to live underground in an earthen dugout. Merle had never known of his mother's life in the Southwest and the fears and hardships she faced.

As one of the industry's most respected artists, Merle Haggard still makes music for music's sake and does it with the enthusiasm of an apprentice. He plays several hours a day, every day, on and off the stage and speaks of the emotional salvation the eight notes of the music scale afford him.

My House of Memories captures the triumph of the human spirit through the power of persistence, through the power of love he finally discovered during his fifth marriage, and through the unsurpassed the joy of reentering fatherhood at age fifty-four. It is an exciting and moving account of the tumultuous life of a songwriter, singer, guitarist, and arranger whose words have earned him international renown as the poet of the common man.

Customer Reviews:

Somewhat entertaining, somewhat annoying.......2007-03-17

Merle Haggard admits in the preface that prose is not his strong suit; based on this book, the same can be said of professional writer Tom Carter. Yet leaving grammar and flow aside, this book tells some interesting and occasionally funny stories about one of the greatest singers and writers of country songs, and is worth reading for any fan.

The "annoying" part is of course subjective, but here is an example where Hag explains in two short paragraphs his decision to home school his children:

"Some folks contend that I'll be shielding my kids from the real world with home schooling. Nonsense. My kids have all their adult lives for the real world. They'll prepare for it in a controlled world--a world controlled by love.
"And Theresa and I love to see their personalities unfold without the influence of other youngsters. My kids have their own identities, not some other child's. The fall of 1999 will mark Ben's entry into first grade, Jenessa's into fourth."

You be the judge.

Good... but still waiting for a definitive bio.......2006-04-01

If you're a fan, of course you have to read this. It's great fun. But you'll be highly aware throughout that there's a crying need for a really thorough and thoughtful Haggard biography, and that maybe Hag is not the greatest analyist of his own life, at least in book form.

One book you may be interested in is "Rednecks & Bluenecks: The Politics of Country Music," published just a few months ago. There is an extensive interview with Haggard in there about his political beliefs and attitudes, which have of course tended to seem all over the map over the years. He gets off some real zingers. The last chapter is all about Haggard and Cash, trying to figure both of their conflicted personas out. The book also gets into the Dixie Chicks vs. Toby Keith, the development of outlaw country and alt-country, the history of anti-protester protest songs (like "Fightin' Side of Me"), and so on, with interviews with most of today's top country stars and a few key old-timers.

Entertaining.......2005-01-26

If you are a fan of Merle Haggard, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

Still love the music.......2002-08-29

This is possibly the worst book Ive ever read. The book is done in seventh grade grammer about a not too bright person. It has very little to say about anything other than His rambling thru life from one scrape to another due to inmaturity and bad judgement. Merle mentions He was taken advantage of by Managers, friends, record producers, etc; Well......... I think He was taken for another ride by the author of this book! But.... still love the music !

Entertaining and revealing story.......2002-06-13

I enjoyed reading this book about a singer whose music I've always loved. Tom Carter did a good job with the chatty style, and I liked Merle's humor and honesty and humility. I highly recommend the book.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books