Amazon.com
Daniel Yergin's first prize-winning book, Shattered Peace, was a history of the Cold War. Afterwards the young academic star joined the energy project of the Harvard Business School and wrote the best-seller Energy Future. Following on from there,
The Prize, winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, is a comprehensive history of one of the commodities that powers the world--oil. Founded in the 19th century, the oil industry began producing kerosene for lamps and progressed to gasoline. Huge personal fortunes arose from it, and whole nations sprung out of the power politics of the oil wells. Yergin's fascinating account sweeps from early robber barons like John D. Rockefeller, to the oil crisis of the 1970s, through to the Gulf War.
Book Description
Pulitzer Prize Winner -- and Now an Epic PBS Series
The Prize recounts the panoramic history of oil -- and the struggle for wealth power that has always surrounded oil. This struggle has shaken the world economy, dictated the outcome of wars, and transformed the destiny of men and nations. The Prize is as much a history of the twentieth century as of the oil industry itself. The canvas of this history is enormous -- from the drilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great world wars to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm.
The cast extends from wildcatters and rogues to oil tycoons, and from Winston Churchill and Ibn Saud to George Bush and Saddam Hussein. The definitive work on the subject of oil and a major contribution to understanding our century, The Prize is a book of extraordinary breadth, riveting excitement -- and great importance.
Customer Reviews:
First to cover the topic, but still a facile book.......2007-09-17
Yergen gets kudos for being the first to cover this topic, but his account (perhaps because it's now outdated) is facile and pro-oil company. Every time the oil companies are thwarted he seems to blame straw men for it: tree huggers, the people that hounded poor misunderstood Tricky Dick Nixon, the Saudi sheiks (best friends of Bush, Cheney, et al). He never turns his gaze on the corruption of the oil companies themselves. We hit peak oil in the U.S. in the 1960s. The oil companies suppressed any attempts since then to find alternative fuels. Now we are up the creek, so to speak, with the Oil Men running the Show. Some "Prize". I'd say it's the booby prize. The best overview of our current fix is Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower.
The Age of Oil.......2007-07-04
We are living in the Age of oil.
World and human civilization have experienced different "ages" such as the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Gilded Age, and so on. The 20th and 21st Centuries are indeed, the "Oil Age." We are living in it. This book is one of the most informative and relevant books published in recent years, In my opinion. This work by Daniel Yergin was and still is prescient today, in 2007. "The Prize" tells the story of where we are today, and how we got here. It also latently foresees where we're going in the future. The book doesn't tell us - we just know. We're human. This book is so comprehensive and has so much information only a small portion of it can be noted. Below relates to WWII, and former Iranian leader Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh.
"The Prize" proceeds chronologically. And within the chapters there are numerous mini-subtitles for sub-chapters that connect the big picture. The bibliography and index are excellent and can be used to tie in different figures and historical occurrences. The 'history of oil' is actually the history of the world: humankind, business, innovations, globalization, war, and geo-political power-plays. The very survival of a nation-state is based upon oil.
"The Prize" begins with tiny puddles of black, sticky, goo, in Pennsylvania in the mid 1800s. Locals collected this goo and realized its many uses. In 1859 oil was struck. Almost immediately, the wealth and power amassed from possession and control of oil was realized. The initial trust acts in the U.S. are related to the oil industry, in which Barons quickly gained gargantuan amounts of wealth and political power.
Enter WWII:
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because of oil. Japanese conquests throughout South-East Asia and the Pacific were motivated not only by the quest for dominance but for securing oil and keeping their oil (fuel) supply lines open. Without supply lines of oil, the war machine would completely break down, as it later did (Chapter 8).
The Americans sacrificed a lot, but Japan in large part lost WWII because of its lack of fuel for planes, ships, and ground forces. Domestically, the Japanese economy collapsed because of its inability to import oil. The Kamikazes were brought into existence after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines, in 1944. Lack of oil meant lack of fighter plane fuel. Fuel supplies became so low they actually stopped training Japanese pilots at all. Pilots were ordered to "follow the leader" to the attack site because they didn't even have navigation training.
There was even an "Oil Czar" In the U.S. during World War II in PAW, the Petroleum Administration for War. The Oil Czar was Harold Ickes.
In the European Theater's Eastern Front Germany invaded Russia with Operation Barbarossa mostly to get the oil in the Caucuses (In addition to "lebensraum" and "untermensch" beliefs). In addition, a needed land-route to Iron Ore in Scandinavia via the Baltic SSR Republics was a factor. Hitler also began making synthetic oil because without enough of it Germany's war machine, domestic economy, and arms production were doomed. These synthetic oil factories were top targets in Allied bombing missions.
Oil and the Cold War World:
The Soviets dominated Eastern Europe and exerted its influence after WWII for 45 years because the Allies ran out of gasoline. When the British 3rd Army and U.S. 1st Army were advancing eastward toward Berlin chasing demoralized, retreating, and broken German troops in disarray. But because of the lack of gasoline for the Allied Armies, a million people ended up losing their lives and war was prolonged because the Germans were able to retreat and re-organize (page 388).
If someone says "it's not about the oil" today in 2007, tell them to read this book. Oil encompasses almost all things in our daily lives, whether we are are conscious of it, or not.
Oil, Military, and Economic Interests:
Democratically elected governments are overthrown by foreign governments because of oil. In 1953 Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was democratically elected in Iran. He was an anti-communist. He didn't like the 93% to 7% profit sharing split with a British Oil company operating inside Iran. He changed it to 50-50. The CIA sponsored a coup to overthrow him. Americans were repeatedly told by the U.S. media that Mossadegh was a communist and communist sympathizer, although factually untrue. The American public believed this propaganda, according to poll results. Gullible? Mossadegh was ousted and the Shah was placed in power. Democracy has never been supported in the Middle East and it isn't now by the U.S. government. Also see the Carter Doctrine of 1980.
Most of us as individual consumers literally need oil to function. Dependence upon oil is for the continuation of the nation-state, its military machines, and domestic economy. More critical today, is that nation-states need a *sufficient* supply of it.
This is a positive book. It's a history book.
We're in the heart of the "Oil Age."
Amaze.......2007-06-19
This book is the better form to say what means the oil in the world. The history is well clear end real. There are many important information and who is curious or needs to know the subject this is a perfect one.
It's interesting to know the past to forecast the future..........2007-06-14
I really appreciated Daniel YERGIN's book.
The history of oil is crucial to try to solve the huge demand for future oil. History tells us that oil is limitless in virgin deserts...
The Prize : The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power.......2007-06-12
Excellent, well chronicled book showing the inside of the oil world history. Amazon shipment was a slick execution which makes the book more valuable..This book is a must-have for oil and gas pros.
Book Description
The 2003 International Fuel Gas Code® (IFGC®) addresses the design and installation of fuel gas systems and gas-fired appliances through requirements that emphasize performance. This is a comprehensive, excellent reference for code officials, engineers, architects, inspectors, plans examiners, contractors and anyone who needs a better understanding of these regulations. Prescriptive- and performance-based approaches to design are emphasized. The 2003 edition is fully compatible with all the International Codes published by the International Code Council (ICC).
Book Description
From sources inside the Pentagon and the CIA, Bill Gertz tracks the path of terrorists and terrorism in the United States. He uncovers information that could have prevented 9/11.
Customer Reviews:
Reads like a novel - Well done........2007-09-10
From the opening to the very end, this author writes in a novel-like style that makes this book so very readable.
There is no doubt that the author lays 9/11 at the feet of Bill Clinton - and, a LOT of the blame belongs there. Even more than I thought before reading this.
I do think that much of it lies in the bureaucracy that the FBI, CIA, and military intelligence had to deal with. And will the views of some bureaucrats.
Gertz does a great job of drilling down into some of these organizations and peeling the scab off of some of the intelligence wounds. As I read it, I kept thinking this guy must have INCREDIBLE access to sources and/or his research is just impeccable.
Bottom line - very well written and an easy read. Thank you!
Government Bungling - Again!.......2005-12-24
Gertz begins by relating how, prior to 9/11, the CIA failed to help an Afghan leader trying to rally forces against the pro bin Laden Taliban. As a result, he was captured and executed.
Lack of Coordination: In '95, Philippine police investigating a fire and explosion learned the details of plans to blow up 11 airliners over the Pacific, as well as to fly a plane into CIA headquarters. The individual involved also admitted having attended several U.S. flight schools. This information was not combined with Phoenix FBI findings that a number of Middle-East men with a hatred of America - one had bin Laden photo on his wall. another made calls to a Palestinian terrorist, still another was asking about airport security, and they had a "fatwah" that commericial airplanes were legitimate targets. Nor was it combined with the Minneapolis' finding that Moussaoui was similarly trying to learn to fly large jets, nor a like finding in Oklahoma City. The CIA did track two 9/11 terrorists to the U.S. (who had taken U.S. flight training) - but failed to even notify the FBI. Worse yet, when Minneapolis FBI agents were frustrated in their efforts to have Moussaoui's computer searched (refused because "no crime had been committed") and tried to notify the CIA - they were reprimanded.
The CIA attempted to prosecute Robert Baer (one of its top operatives) for supposedly trying to assassinate Sadam Hussein, per Iranian intelligence. It then claimed credit for stopping several Millenium attacks (actually accomplished via alert Custom's official), and for "thwarting" terrorist attacks after simply nabbing individuals entering with false documents. Also determined that a small boat attack against a U.S. warship was not possible, prior to the U.S.S. Cole bombing.
Lack of Capable Staff: In the early 1990s, the CIA had nobody in Iraq. Subsequent intelligence buildup involved adding staff attached to embassies who largely stayed inside and filed reports. Prior "housecleanings" had moved away from rewarding staff for recruiting spies, and instead focused on diversity, and avoiding recruitment of those with prior criminal or terrorist backgrounds. Clinton administration further weakened efforts by refocusing counter-intelligence on antii-abortion bombings - despite the FBI believing that Islamic terrorism was a much greater problem.
Sudan offered intelligence on bin Laden, and even to arrest him. Clinton administration did not follow-up, and the offer evaporated upon the erroneous bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant.
Former CIA Director Woolsey: Prior to 9/11, several times each year some crazy person would get into a cockpit, and the call would go out to strengthen the doors. NOTHING HAPPENED! (Was the ONE simple action that likely prevented 9/11.)
A little right biased.......2005-09-09
This was a informative book that outlined what Gertz thought was the reason Sept 11th happened. Though these were problems left over from countless decades of neglect to the intellgence community Gertz seems to protray this as the cause of failure. It is a combination af manyy things and to point your finger at one aspect of the pie is ludicris. The book does make a good point on how politics get in the way of policy. "It is what you do and not what you say, if your not part of the future than get out of the way." Stop pissing around and playing favorites and get the job done!
Excellent reminder of how 9.11 was a complete failure for .......2005-05-12
both the CIA and FBI. Mr. Gertz, the excellent correspondent for the excellent (meaning not anti-Bush/republican NY Times/Wash. Post/CNN/CBS/ABC,etc.) Washington Times does an excellent job in explaining how 9.11 could have been prevented. Examples include the lack of adequately trained translators, CIA apprehension in "penetrating" al-Qaeda, and the 1970 era of anti-CIA political machinatiions that decimated the US intelligence. Also, Mr. Gertz details the lack of attention paid to the intelligence community during eight years of Bill/Hillary/Madeline/fat Al Gore/Sandy stolen documents Berger/et al. Binny struck in 93, 95, 96, 98, and 2000 (and many aborted/thwarted attacks) and all we got from that administration was some cruise missiles and an exploded milk factory in Sudan (while cowardly running from Somalia). This all led to the tragedy of 9.11 (and now the madman Kim Jong-il.)
Mr. Gertz does offer many solutions to the problems with many quote from senior intelligence officials (thank you, James Woolsey).
Thank you for the great work Mr. Gertz.
"Breakdown" Wears Blinders.......2005-03-04
"Breakdown: How America's Intelligence Failures Led to September 11" by Bill Gertz provides an operational history of America's spy community.
While his credentials and writing ability are beyond reproach, Gertz fails miserably by simplistically concluding that politics ruined our intelligence gathering system. Without mentioning the bloody, destabilizing covert actions that compelled legislative intervention, Gertz blames congressional panels "packed with liberal Democrats who assumed that U. S. intelligence agencies posed a threat to American democracy and engaged in wide criminal activity."
To agree with Gertz, one must ignore scores of corporate-friendly coups supported by the CIA in the last half century. For a more complete examination of intelligence misdeeds, read "Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World" by Jonathan Kwitny.
By taking a partisan stance to draw a political conclusion, Gertz fails to put the blame where it belongs; on the hubris ridden, bureaucratic Boys Club that the intelligence service has become. Sycophancy and conformity cross party lines, and smother the creative thinkers in our nation's intelligence community.
Amazon.com
"The first axiom for camp is... do not make yourself uncomfortable for want of things to which you are accustomed," advised The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook in 1890 to high-born Brits living in India, most of which England had by that point colonized through a succession of wars, or military "campaigns," throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. This impeccably curated, insightfully narrated, and richly illustrated volume proves that the homesick subjects of the Raj took such advice deeply to heart. It showcases nearly 200 years of furniture designed expressly to approximate all the refinement of a proper British household inside the canvas tents of ranking officers afar, but also to break down and fold up fast for easy, compact transport (hence campaign furniture's other appellation, "knock-down" furniture). Masterfully put together by independent curator Brawer, previously a researcher in the Indian and Southeast Asian departments of London's venerable Victoria and Albert Museum, this handsome volume succeeds on two levels: it amply highlights the stylistic elegance and technical ingenuity of this kind of furniture--a bureau that becomes a bed when its drawers are removed; a lady's bidet that folds into a leather case; or a dining table seating 20 that fits inside a 10-inch-deep box--while putting it (often quite wryly) in the historical context of an expatriate society that sought to re-create Britain wherever it went and had little or no interest in adapting to or learning about the customs or designs of the people it conquered (and essentially enslaved). Throughout, Brawer includes excerpts from a fascinating array of letters, journals, and other documents of the period, and an excellent pictorial directory of the furniture's craftsmen and manufacturers helps make this impressive tome invaluable for collectors, design historians, Anglophiles, and Merchant-Ivory set designers alike. --Timothy Murphy
Book Description
For Great Britain's gentlemen soldiers stationed in India, Africa, the South Seas, and North America, campaign furniture brought the comfort and civility of home to “life under canvas.” Collapsible and compact, made to be carried on the march and assembled on site, these folding chairs, desks, and cots—used by armies since ancient times—reached an aesthetic apex in 18th- and 19th-century England. To convey their social status, gentleman soldiers stationed abroad ordered entire suites of the ingeniously designed, elaborately styled, fold-up furnishings, and manufacturers such as Chippendale, Sheraton, and Hepplewhite furiously competed for commissions. In the first-ever book on the subject, Nicholas A. Brawer meticulously details this fascinating merger of commerce and craftsmanship.
Featuring more than 250 photographs organized by furniture type, the images include “before and after”series depicting items in packed and assembled states. A comprehensive directory of makers will prove invaluable to collectors, dealers, and military buffs.
Customer Reviews:
Lavish Coffee Table Book on British Campaign Furniture.......2002-04-07
This book is a must have for anyone interested in English antiques, social, military, or naval history. I have never seen another book on this subject and it is filled with very interesting "before" and "after" photographs of dozens and dozens of pieces of campaign furniture "assembled" and "disassembled." I imagine this book has been a great hit in London.
Oh that all books were as beautiful.................2002-02-20
This is an excellent review of British Campain Furniture.
Each piece is photographed in colour and/or Black & White, discussed and given brief measurements. The "disembled" photos are of great use to anyone who wishes to reconstruct any of the items from the book, as well as satisfying the just plain curious. Some of the gadgets are fantastic.
Unfortunately, like most books of this type, the author is limited by the pieces that he can access within a year or two. I know there were 'Campaign' folding rocking chairs, and I an certain that there are other examples of furniture, with other systems of assembly ( Louis Vouton made a folding-bed-in-a-trunk for the Brazza Expedition in Africa in the late 1800's which survives - there is a single picture in 'Treasure Chests').
I can only hope that the author will be encouraged to keep looking & photographing, and that we may see a second volume in years to come.
Sorry Amazon, you just don't have enough stars........
Great picture book.......2001-09-24
I just had to have this book. The subject matter was unusual and touched on the social aspects of camp life in the British Army.
The pictures are fabulous.
Review from The Arizona Republic, June 27, 2001.......2001-09-06
"If you were a British officer during the 18th or 19th century, your home had the look of a proper English residence, with desks, chairs, sofas, chests and fancy bedroom suites--even if you lived in a tent.
'The only real difference between fine household furniture and its campaign counterpart was that the latter could be quickly folded up, packed away in boxes, transported, and--without the use of nails, tacks or tools--reassembled...,' Nicholas A. Brawer writes in British Campaign Furniture.
How the furniture can be taken apart and stored is fascinating. One dining table and set of four padded chairs and a chaise lounge can be broken down into pieces that fit into two small crates.
There are pictures of the furnishings set up and stored. Often officers lived better overseas than at home. One cartoon depicts a British officer and his wife dining in their home overseas, with a half-dozen servants waiting on them, and then dining at home after retirement, with only one housekeeper.
Nearly half the book is a portfolio of the furnishings and detailed descriptions of manufacturers and furniture makers."
Review from Quest Magazine, April 2001.......2001-08-31
"There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire. From Ceylon to the Americas, England ruled, bringing her lifestyle to Crown colonies around the globe.
Being stationed in India or Egypt, however, was no excuse to relax the standards of living to which British Army officers were accustomed. Living 'under canvas' did not mean roughing it. Instead, they brought their homes with them, packing cunningly constructed, portable furniture suitable for any elegant tented dinner.
Today, campaign furniture's elegance and simplicity have made it a must-have item for decorators and antique lovers. Nicholas Brawer's new book British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas (Abrams) provides a fascinating history and a guide to collapsible decor."
Book Description
A masterwork of history-restored to print and made available for the first time in trade paperback.In this massive, compellingly readable book, America's preeminent biographer/historian brings to life Europe's richest, most powerful family, a 400-year dynasty that developed the world's most technologically advanced weapons (from cannons to submarines to anti-aircraft guns); provided arms to generations of German leaders, including the Kaiser and Hitler; operated private concentration camps during the Nazi era; survived conviction at Nuremberg; and wielded enormous influence on the course of world events. William Manchester's account of the rise and fall of the Krupp dynasty is history as it should be written-alive with all its terrifying power.
Customer Reviews:
Krupp: the Epitome of the Military-Industrial Complex........2007-02-27
William Manchester's "The Arms of Krupp" is an epic look at the company, personalities, dynasty, and the nation that formed one of the world's most infamous armaments manufacturers.
From the earliest records of a Krupp in the late 16th century, the Krupp family profited off the suffering an misery of others when Arndt Krupp bought land in Essen for a bargain following an outbreak of bubonic plague. It was a pattern that played out again and again up to the Second World War; but the later tragedies the family profited off was human conflict rather than disease.
Throughout the narrative, the reader is introduced to a long list of eccentric and sometimes brutal 'Cannon Kings': from manure-loving Alfred whose genius launched die Firma into its infamous glory, the scandalous Fritz, the robotic Gustav, to the WWII-era slaveholder Alfried. At times, readers will envy the early Krupps for their dedication to die Firma, while in other instances the audience will be appalled by the Krupps' cold-blooded arms dealings that led to the deaths of so many of their own countrymen.
Manchester is keen on casting the house of Krupp as a symbol of modern Germany; as their trials and boons both seemed to coincide in recent history. Furthermore, "The Arms of Krupp" is an excellent source for insight on the pre-WWI arms race and the post-Versailles rearmament that other histories of the period overlook. Over all, it is a highly recommended book for anyone interested in the history of Germany and the barons of modern warfare.
Excellent book with annoying features.......2006-12-25
This book is excellent for all the reasons mentioned in the other reviews. What I found REALLY annoying was the author's use of German quotes. He provides quotes, in German, usually somewhat abbreviated as shown by the use of ellipses, and then provides the translation of the entire quote in English. Since most of his readers can't read German, and the entire quote is NOT in the German version, why include them? More frustrating are the German phrases that he quotes and doesn't translate, leaving us to guess at their meanings.
The Family That Armed Germany.......2006-10-16
William Manchester squeezes yet another masterpiece into just under a thousand pages (not counting index!) For four centuries one name was associated with the armaments that were utilized in four major wars, creating the richest family in Europe; Krupp. Each leader of the dynasty had peculiar quirks that Manchester delights over, some were involved in sex scandals, and another ran his day to the second with pure Prussian obsessive-compulsion. Krupp innovations included the steel cannon and railroad wheel; they designed the notorious 88mm of WW II, and the descendant of that gun, the 120mm hypervelocity cannon, may be seen on U.S. tanks to this day. The driving force behind the industrialization of the Ruhr, it would be legitimate to ask if Germany were responsible for the rise of Krupp, or Krupp responsible for the rise of Germany. Like so many others, Alfried Krupp fell under Hitler's spell, spurring him to run private concentration camps in order to produce more weapons. Intrafirm Krupp memoranda from this period begin to use terms such as Sklavenarbeiter (slave labor), Sklavenmarkt (the slave market), Sklavenhalter (the slave-holder, Alfried Krupps), and Judenmaterial (Jewish livestock.) The Nuremberg Trials follow, and Krupp walks away almost unscathed, to continue in business until the company foundered in the 1960s. German history and the Krupp lineage is inextricable, and there is no better writer to bring such a unique saga to life.
The Arms of Krupp.......2006-03-03
The ultimate story of the KanonenKonig. I highly recommend this book to anyone intersted in the industrial history of the Ruhr. The best work on the rise of Germany available.
war is good for business.......2005-12-29
This work is the cardinal profile of the rise of the `military-industrial complex' in 19-20C Germany. The Krupp legacy (family and firm) is skillfully traced in a lucid, comprehensive account equal to the finest modern history.
Without Krupp, Germany would never have been unified in 1871. Without war, Krupp would never have grown into the wealthiest concern in the world. Each served the other. And tens of millions died.
What price did Krupp pay for key instrumentality in aggressive war? Not much. Gustav (key Nazi donor, appointed `Leader of Industry' in 1933) was judged too infirm for trial in 1945. Alfried (who joined the SS in 1931) spent 3 years in jail (released to much applause in 1951). The firm self destructed 1967-8 (Arndt II, playboy degenerate, wasn't up to the task of renewing the symbiotic relationship).
Krupp armed regimes that killed civilians without remorse. It used slave labor to produce weapons, and operated camps that (given the regimen) supported extermination. All without apology.
Perhaps the most cynical salute to profit is Krupp's ultimate negotiation of a £40,000 settlement in 1926 for patent royalties from Vickers for 640,000 shells the Brits fired at Germans in WW1 (Gustav insisted 4,160,000 shells were fired -- killing 2,080,000 German soldiers -- and £260,000 was due). Thus Krupp, the preeminent German weapons firm, was paid for the death of German soldiers in a lost war.
Though I read it thirty years ago, this book remains important and memorable. Highly recommended.
Book Description
The 2003 International Building Code addresses the design and installation of building systems through requirements that emphasize performance. Fully compatible with all the International Codes, the 2003 edition provides up-to-date, comprehensive coverage that establishes minimum regulations for building systems using prescriptive- and performance-related provisions. Content is founded on broad-based principles that make possible the use of materials and building designs. Structural as well as fire- and life-safety provisions covering seismic, wind, accessibility, egress, occupancy, roofs, and more are included.
Customer Reviews:
international building code 2003 3 ring binder.......2007-03-16
book arrived on time in great condition, better than i expected. I was a little concerned about buying on line but this was worth it no dought!! great investment for my small business, Arctic Aloha Drafting, Thank you.
The IBC more than just another building code.......2006-03-22
The IBC is the long-time-coming consolidation of the three major building codes in the US and there is nothing "international" about it. Back in the 70's the 3 code organizations formed BOCA and put out a 1 & 2 family dwelling code. The 3 members them gradually made changes to the individual building codes that brought them into similar formats, then they combined them into one code in 2000, the IBC, and modified the dwelling code to be the IRC (Int. Residential Code)and changed the organization's name to the ICC, the Int. Code Council. There little to review about the content since it is either the law in your area or it is not. For comparisons to previous codes and other information try the ICC's website http://www.iccsafe.org/
A Strucural Engineer's Necessity.......2005-09-06
It is pretty difficult to review a specification that you must have.
49 states are now adopting this Code.......2003-09-07
Better learn this code. Local codes are being swept away by one standard. Here is Colorado each town had its own test, amendments and licensing system. California is the only state, having revamped its code 2 years ago, to keep its system.
I finish basements, often for homeowners who think they can do it. From Loveland, I can work any city without irate inspectors wondering why I don't know their specific requirements. Good book.
Product Description
`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.
Customer Reviews:
Check and see.......2007-06-21
I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.
Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22
Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.
Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05
We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:
a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;
b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;
c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.
Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:
It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.
- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.
- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.
Fomenko goes by the following axioms:
- Chronology is the basis of history;
- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;
- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;
- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;
- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;
- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.
Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?
The Russians:
Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.
The Westerners:
Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.
The Chinese:
Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.
The Arabs:
Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.
The Divinity:
Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.
According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.
St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."
Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09
After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.
However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:
- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.
I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.
The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.
It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?
Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.
Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30
If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?
Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.
Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..
Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.
Book Description
This extensively revised coursebook is designed to introduce law students (and many practitioners) to a broad range of real and hypothetical problems involving NAFTA, several newer free trade agreements, and the Southern Cone Common Market. After discussing GATT Article XXIV and the global v. regional trade agreement debate, the authors provide background material on the U.S. - Canada Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA and economic integration in the Western Hemisphere. Separate chapters provide in-depth coverage of trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property, dispute resolution and the "side" agreements on labor and on environment. Finally, the authors look beyond NAFTA to the process that ultimately led to "Trade Promotion Authority" and to the U.S. - Chile Free Trade Agreement, discuss the now-stalled FTAA negotiations; and introduce MERCOSUR.
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The Pacific in the 1990s
Janos Radvanyi
Manufacturer: University Press of America
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ASIN: 0819179000 |
Book Description
Contains a provocative, challenging analysis of the potential development of economic and strategic relations between the U.S., Japan, and China. The book focuses on an analysis of the potential economic relations between these three countries and how these relations will affect other countries, both economically and strategically. The relationship between the world's two greatest economic powers, the U.S. and Japan, and the world's most populated country, the PRC, will greatly influence the future of the political, economic, and security posture of the Pacific Basin area. Co-published with the Center for International Security and Strategic Studies.
Average customer rating:
- Not Free SF Reader
- Excellent Military Novel
- Captivating and believable!
- Robinson
- Fact-loose and substance free
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Hunter Killer
Patrick Robinson
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
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U.S.S. Seawolf
ASIN: 0060746890
Release Date: 2005-04-26 |
Download Description
"
Saudi Arabia, the world's leading producer of oil, is on the brink of revolution.
Inside the opulent palaces and lavish mansions, the royal family is ransacking the country's dwindling coffers while the desert kingdom seethes with unrest. Appalled at his family's extravagant lifestyle, Crown Prince Nasir vows to end the careless and destructive rule, and sets in motion a top-secret operation to destroy the Saudi oil industry and bankrupt the monarch. To do so, he must enlist the help of an ally, a naval power willing to help in return for a share of the wealth.
Nasir turns to France, with its fleet of lethal Hunter Killer submarines, capable of inflicting devastating damage on the massive oil installations along the shores of the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf. Objective: To shift the power structure of the world's oil giant.
Under the command of the mysterious and lethally effective Colonel Jacques Gamoudi -- nicknamed ""Le Chasseur,"" or ""The Hunter"" -- the ferocious battle for the desert kingdom begins. As the world's oil markets plunge into chaos, Admiral Arnold Morgan, former Security Adviser to the President, and Lieutenant Commander Jimmy Ramshawe are summoned to the White House, where they learn that Gamoudi has been joined by none other than Morgan's archenemy, Hamas General Ravi Rashood, in the battle for the capital city of Riyadh.
Now Le Chasseur becomes the hunted, by both French and American Special Forces -- one trying to assassinate and silence him forever, the other desperate to take him alive and to force a public confession of France's subversive actions.
"
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Another of Patrick Robinson's submarine technothrillers. Not as much submarine action in this one, as a fundamentalist Saudi prince and the French government join forces to blow up the Saudi oil supply and cause a revolution. Crusty old Admiral Morgan, retired, is still calling the shots, with his aussie offsider. A French Special Forces major is at the heart of the action, pursued by everyone. This is basically all plot, reading like a description of a military mission, for large parts.
Excellent Military Novel.......2007-08-18
Patrick Robinson hits a home run every time. I love the way he incorporates submarine tactics and Navy SEALs!
His newest book is as the co-author of the tragic events surrounding SEAL Team 10 in Afghanistan: Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Another recent novel that includes these events is The Y Factor: The Y Factor
Captivating and believable!.......2007-07-26
This is a fast paced book and I really couldn't put it down. I finished reading it in two days, and on the second day stayed up till four in the morning in order to finish it. Only The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown succeeded in keeping me up so late!
The following is the plot of this book so if you haven't read the book please STOP READING THIS NOW!
The story takes place in 2009, and is about the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Nasir, planning to overthrow his cousin, the king. (Note: all the kings of Saudi Arabia are brothers, and the crown has always passed from one brother to the next). Prince Nasir flies to France on a secret mission to meet with the French President. The Crown Prince explains to the President how the Saudi King and the rest of the royal family live a life of excess, spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year just to support their lavish lifestyle. In fact, it is the king who picks up their tap at casinos where they gamble millions of dollars. It is the king who pays for their lavish spending. The 10,000 or so princes never have to work, having the king to cover all their expenses. According to the author, more than 100 billion dollars has been spent so far just to cover the lavish lifestyle of the Royal family!
The people of Saudi Arabia are on the brink of a revolution. Should this happen, the economies of the world will be affected since Saudi Arabia and its oil industry will fall in shambles and chaos. The Saudi Crown Prince proposed to the French President to destroy the oil fields, and thus cutting the source of income to the Saudi Royal Family. When the king becomes unable to spend on his family, entourage, and army, they would have no reason to support him! Money makes one popular and liked; the lack of money makes one unpopular and shunned.
Crown Prince Nasir promised France the contract to rebuild the oil industry as well as all military contracts which would amount in the billions of dollars. He also promised the President that he would stop spending on the royal family: they would have to get jobs to support themselves! Money will be invested on his people!
The French President agreed on the plan, seeing the benefit to France. He was eager to displace the Americans as the Saudi's chief ally. "The hell with America", the French President thought. France comes first. Of course, the plan would have to be carried out in secret, and it was imperative that the world should never suspect France of having played a role in overthrowing the King of Saudi Arabia. The whole affair should appear as a sole Arab job!
The French end up destroying the main oil fields in Saudi Arabia by firing missiles at them from two of their submarines. Arab troops trained by France and with the support of French Special Forces Col. Jacques Gamoudi (aka Le Chasseur or the Hunter), and with the help of a notorious Hamas terrorist, Ravi Rashood (an ex-SAS), storm the king's palace in the capital city, Riyadh. They kill the king, and hours later the Crown Prince appears on TV, proclaiming himself as the new king of Saudi Arabia. The plan worked as planned, or has it?
The French President decides to kill Col. Jacques Gamoudi in order to keep the whole affair a secret. That was a big mistake! He fails, and soon Gamoudi appears in front of the United Nations to reveal the evil plan of France. France is shunned by the whole world, and Saudi Arabia ends up having the US as its partner after all!
This story is very believable and not too farfetched. Qatar, a Gulf state on the border of Saudi Arabia, had its ruler exiled by his son, who later was also exiled by his own son!
During King Fahad's reign of Saudi Arabia, there were many rumors circulating on the internet that his son, Abdul-Aziz, had plans to overthrow the government and claim the thrown. Fact or fiction?
This is a captivating book that will leave you with many questions in the sort of "what if.......?" It also shows how politics really works. In the world of politics, your friends today are your enemies tomorrow, and vice-versa. Politics is also about one's own career and the accumulation of power. War is waged for the acquisition of state contracts, and we see this today in Iraq.
Will this book be as captivating to all readers?
Many readers who will not associate with the book or whose life is not part of the Middle East might just see this book as another original non-fiction thriller. However, readers with interest in Saudi Arabia and its surrounding region will associate themselves with the book and will keep asking themselves the same questions, "what if..." and "is this the way it will happen?"
Two things are for sure: Firstly, should the plot in the story happen, it will mean not only regional chaos but world chaos as well (look at Iraq. Was it better under Saddam, or now?); secondly, history repeats itself, and it seems we have no hand in it. God help us all!
Read this book and enjoy it. Hopefully it will remain as fiction!
Robinson.......2007-04-04
Another good book by a submarine-adventure author I enjoy. Amazon provides a good way to find early books by authors one enjoys. Books are consistently in the condition advertised and are shipped promptly.
Fact-loose and substance free.......2007-03-14
To me this book seemed fanciful, poorly researched, and poorly written. In contrast to Tom Clancy at his best, this contains few of the technical details that bring military or special forces operations to life. For example, whereas Clancy spent multiple pages describing in carefully-researched detail the series of events that took place within a single second in order to convey the awe of a nuclear explosion, this book deals with the catastrophic destruction of major oil installations with one or two sentences of vague, dull prose.
Characters, whether the US President, the French President, the "commander in chief of Hamas," or a former french legionnaire, all speak with the same odd mix of British and American slang. As a fairly close follower of national security issues I found the plot totally absurd.
The book may nonetheless appeal to the undemanding reader in search of a few hours of mindless escapist pleasure.
Books:
- The Reality of War: A Memoir of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)
- The Rise of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)
- The Road to Disunion: Volume I: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854 (Road to Disunion Vol. 1)
- The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research
- The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book
- The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
- To Be a U.S. Army Green Beret (To Be A)
- Tombstone Courage: A Joanna Brady Mystery
- U.S. Army Heraldic Crests: A Complete Illustrated History of Authorized Distinctive Unit Insignia
- Ulysses S. Grant : Memoirs and Selected Letters : Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant / Selected Letters, 1839-1865 (Library of America)
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