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

Book Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000

Average customer rating:

The grandest of grand strategy
Despotism the default state of human governance.
Starts Strong But Quickly Devolves Into Minutia
A series of wars punctuated by brief periods of peace
Difficult but enlightening

The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000
William McNeill
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226561585

Book Description

In this magnificent synthesis of military, technological, and social history, William H. McNeill explores a whole millennium of human upheaval and traces the path by which we have arrived at the frightening dilemmas that now confront us. McNeill moves with equal mastery from the crossbow—banned by the Church in 1139 as too lethal for Christians to use against one another—to the nuclear missile, from the sociological consequences of drill in the seventeenth century to the emergence of the military-industrial complex in the twentieth. His central argument is that a commercial transformation of world society in the eleventh century caused military activity to respond increasingly to market forces as well as to the commands of rulers. Only in our own time, suggests McNeill, are command economies replacing the market control of large-scale human effort. The Pursuit of Power does not solve the problems of the present, but its discoveries, hypotheses, and sheer breadth of learning do offer a perspective on our current fears and, as McNeill hopes, "a ground for wiser action."

"No summary can do justice to McNeill's intricate, encyclopedic treatment. . . . McNeill's erudition is stunning, as he moves easily from European to Chinese and Islamic cultures and from military and technological to socio-economic and political developments. The result is a grand synthesis of sweeping proportions and interdisciplinary character that tells us almost as much about the history of butter as the history of guns. . . . McNeill's larger accomplishment is to remind us that all humankind has a shared past and, particularly with regard to its choice of weapons and warfare, a shared stake in the future."—Stuart Rochester, Washington Post Book World

"Mr. McNeill's comprehensiveness and sensitivity do for the reader what Henry James said that Turgenev's conversation did for him: they suggest 'all sorts of valuable things.' This narrative of rationality applied to irrational purposes and of ingenuity cannibalizing itself is a work of clarity, which delineates mysteries. The greatest of them, to my mind, is why human beings have never learned to cherish their own species."—Naomi Bliven, The New Yorker

Customer Reviews:

The grandest of grand strategy.......2007-05-24

This is a sweeping history of the interplay between technology, society and war by one of the preeminent historians of our generation. Moreover, it is, in this reviewer's opinion, even more relevant today than it was when first published in 1982.

McNeill, quite naturally, observed the events of the past millennium through the lens of the Cold War and came to the conclusion that the current epoch was wholly unprecedented - weapons so powerful that they made their possessors weak because of their inability to flex any power - and that the global ideological confrontation would continue on as the defining feature of the twenty-first century. To the author's credit, he concludes the volume with these sage words: "But the study of [the] past may reduce the discrepancy between expectation and reality, if only by encouraging us to expect surprises - among them, a breakdown of the pattern of the future suggested in this conclusion."

The near future of 2007 does indeed look a lot different than anyone could have imagined in 1982 - but McNeill's themes are no less germane to the radically altered international environment that we currently find ourselves in. Two bear specific mention and consideration.

First, McNeill emphasizes the power of market forces and the incredibly stimulating effect the early markets of Western Europe had on technological development. By the time he wrote "Pursuit of Power," McNeill had come to see the return of command innovation where technological change is driven by the direction and investment of sprawling state bureaucracies, much as the feudal lords of Medieval Europe controlled military technology. But, if anything, the last quarter-century has witnessed the resurgence of market-driven innovation, mostly spurred on by the Internet and global communication networks, while the Cold War era military industrial complex has shriveled to a shell of its former self in the US and all but evaporated in the states of the former communist bloc. As huge chunks of humanity join the global market for goods and services - most notably China and India, but Brazil and other rapidly developing economies as well - one can and should expect robust growth and innovation around the world to flourish. The hallmark of such a system, as McNeill explains, is the rapid adoption and improvement of anything that works better than the existing model. Only now, rather than having the growth and innovation confined to Western Europe, it will become a much more (but not entirely) global phenomenon.

Second, McNeill sees improvements in transportation as the critical enabler to economic growth in Western Europe. At one point, he anticipates the rise of globalization and outsourcing in commenting on how the sudden growth of steam power threatened the wholesale destruction of British agriculture. Over the course of just a few years in the late 19th century, steam-powered ships became so fast and efficient that it was cheaper to import grain to London from the US, Argentina and even Australia than to raise it on local British farms. Thus, over the course of just a decade, a great number of English farmers were effectively "outsourced." We see the same phenomenon at work today, only it is the rapid efficiency in shipping information owing to cheap and reliable high-bandwidth Internet connections to India and other countries that make a number of American jobs suddenly cost ineffective and thus insecure.

In closing, this is a fantastic book and not just for military history buffs. It says as much about society, organizational methods, international economics, the process of innovation, and how technology shapes worldviews as it does about the impact of new weapons on war.

Despotism the default state of human governance........2006-02-05

Professor McNeill describes this 1982 book as a "footnote" to his famous 1963 The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, and as a companion to his even more famous 1976 Plagues and Peoples. The subject of "The Pursuit of Power" is warfare rather than disease, as in "Plagues and People", but Prof. McNeill's conceptual approach is the same. In fact, in the introduction to this book he describes armed force as "micro-parasitism" of the human race.

This is a densely-written and tremendously erudite book. It has 540 footnotes, all pertinent, in 387 pages. There are 21 very interesting illustrations, including a beautiful etching by Violet le Duc showing the use of the 16th century "trace italienne" in defensive siege warfare, Maurice of Orange's 1607 manual of arms for musketeers, and tank photographs from Heinz Guderian's "Panzer Leader". Every page is filled with interest for the general historian as well as the specialist in military affairs, but it is not light reading.

He elaborates on a few broad themes as drivers of historical change, echoing his previous work: Population growth, the development of markets, and the evolution of military technology. He states: "Indeed all humankind is still reeling from the impact of the democratic and industrial revolutions, triggered so unexpectedly in the last decade of the eighteenth century." He elaborates on these changes as they play out in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The last chapter, "The Arms Race and Command Economies since 1945" is by far the weakest. He is rather naive in his assessment of Stalin, and curiously equated the Soviet and Western systems under the rubric "command economy". He was myopic about the power of free market behavior in his own time and society, while being quite enthusiastic about it in medieval China.

This leads to a discordant "Conclusion", in which he describes the default political and economic state of the human race as being a despotic command economy. He believed that a "global sovereign power" was the only solution to the threat of nuclear war, the alternative being the "sudden and total annihilation of the human species." I think of the ideal state described by Socrates in Plato's "Republic" as he writes, "Political management, having monopolized the overt organization of armed force, resumed its primacy over human behavior. Self-interest and the pursuit of private profit through buying and selling sank towards the margins of daily life, operating within limits and according to rules laid down by the holders of political-military power. Human society, in short, returned to normal."

Like most who have envisioned a world government, he doesn't describe how such a power could possibly evolve, other than through brute force.

"Even Homer nods", and Prof. McNeill makes a couple of bloopers. He uses the term "hand gun" where most people would use the term "small arms". He attributes the bellicosity of Northern Europeans to their carnivorous eating habits, which required the shedding of much animal blood, and cites the Viking sagas for support, which I think is ridiculous. Plenty of non-Northern Europeans are carnivorous as well as bellicose, and there are plenty of bellicose peoples who eat little or no meat. But these are minor quibbles.

This book is important to everyone with an interest in history, especially the history of warfare. The future may hold some unpleasant surprises for the human species, perhaps including extinction through epidemic disease, nuclear war, or catastrophic climate change. The future is also, however, unknowable and may hold some surprises for us on the upside, despite Prof. McNeill's pessimistic vision.

Highly recommended.

Starts Strong But Quickly Devolves Into Minutia.......2003-12-05

...imho, mcneill's book starts strong, makes cogent points, but then quickly devolves into a morass of minutia...resulting in a tepid ending with no clearly stated thesis, and lukewarm impact all the way around...

...again, imho, it may have been preferable to focus on key developments that changed the course of warfare - with resulting consequences to the victors and the vanquished - then to relate how industry developed as a consequence in a ghoulish sort of 'virtuous-type-spiral', and, finally, to prognosticate where all of this will lead in terms of the final contours of an ultimate 'industrial-war-machine,' with resulting impact internally, externally and environmentally...

A series of wars punctuated by brief periods of peace.......2001-02-25

McNeill shows how military conflict and the advances in technology have stimulated mankind to better itself within the flux of a constantly changing balance of power. "Of War and Men" by Robt O'Connell also addresses this time honored conflict with a focus on culture, weapons technology and warfare.

A good read and an important book for those interested in a longer look at history and how we got here.

Difficult but enlightening.......2000-04-12

A quick warning to anyone who takes up the chore of reading this book. It is quite difficult to get through without serious reflection and time. It is definitely an enlightening book on the course of the world (not just military history) and the last chapter is truly one for discussion.

The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece

Average customer rating:

Well written, fascinating
Battle as you've never experienced it before
Good Grand, if Overplayed Review of Classical Greek Battle
A crucial book
A disappointment

The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece
Hanson
Manufacturer: CALIFORNIA-PRINCETON FULLFILLMENT SERVICES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0520219112

Book Description

Second Edition <
The Greeks of the classical age invented not only the central idea of Western politics--that the power of state should be guided by a majority of its citizens--but also the central act of Western warfare, the decisive infantry battle. Instead of ambush, skirmish, maneuver, or combat between individual heroes, the Greeks of the fifth century b.c. devised a ferocious, brief, and destructive head-on clash between armed men of all ages. In this bold, original study, Victor Davis Hanson shows how this brutal enterprise was dedicated to the same outcome as consensual government--an unequivocal, instant resolution to dispute.

The Western Way of War draws from an extraordinary range of sources--Greek poetry, drama, and vase painting, as well as historical records--to describe what actually took place on the battlefield. It is the first study to explore the actual mechanics of classical Greek battle from the vantage point of the infantryman--the brutal spear-thrusting, the difficulty of fighting in heavy bronze armor which made it hard to see, hear and move, and the fear. Hanson also discusses the physical condition and age of the men, weaponry, wounds, and morale.

This compelling account of what happened on the killing fields of the ancient Greeks ultimately shows that their style of armament and battle was contrived to minimize time and life lost by making the battle experience as decisive and appalling as possible. Linking this new style of fighting to the rise of constitutional government, Hanson raises new issues and questions old assumptions about the history of war.

Customer Reviews:

Well written, fascinating.......2007-01-11

This study of Greek hoplite warfare explains the infantry practices of the remote past with great clarity and should interest anyone who enjoys studying warfare or history.

Battle as you've never experienced it before.......2007-01-10

By utilizing primary sources from first hand witnesses of ancient battle, Hanson paints a brilliant picture of what war in classical Greece was actually like. This book is a must-read for anyone fascinated by military history.

Good Grand, if Overplayed Review of Classical Greek Battle.......2006-11-27

Good 'ol Victor Davis Hanson is on the loose again. This time -- thankfully -- in his old stomping grounds of Ancient Greece. Again VDH has the truth serum of classical combat in strong measure. Make no doubt about it, Hanson knows what ancient combat was about -- let there be no other interpretations of this period: This is both the strength and the weakness of his book in my humble opinion: Hanson is making inferences about broad sweeps of history in a way a person would describe the chemical reaction of boric acid in water -- all very mathematical, and not allowing for the possibility of error, or little other interpretation.

Hanson starts where it all began, and where it all should begin -- with the grand master of the Iliad and Homer. Classical battle is defined and the classic stages of warfare, down to Hellenic Warfare are demonstrated. He even goes in detail enough during the dark ages between 1200 and 800 BC and asserts certain economic theories about the time to explain the nature of the civilisation. It is at times like these, when grand edifices are constructed on Hanson's private preferences that one gets the idea that something may be amiss. We know almost nothing about the economic time of the Greek Dark Ages -- I am little more than uneasy about how easily he asserts the truth of this age.

Make no mistake, this is not a politcal track such as "Carnage & Culture" or some of his other literature that have made him a doyen of the illogical political right in the US, this is serious scholarship. But it is certainly a lot different from the model of scholarship I was taught to worship and emulate -- one where a broad understanding of other ideas and competing theories and, and small measure of humility, yeild a wonderful read and superior wisdom. One could cite G.F. Cantor or M.I. Findley as good examples of the latter.

But Hanson has his truth and it will reign. So be it.

I learned a lot from his prose and his ability to find the locus of tactical change within the ancient Greek way of warfare make this a good read with the lot of worthy scholarship. He is particularly good on his shift from classic Greek warfare -- short depth in ranks, short stabbing spears and the panoply -- to the changes that lead to an almost baroque assembly or multiple serried ranks of 20 plus and unwieledy spears. The push of the pike was never more important, but the Greeks somehow lost the ability to engage locate and move against the evolving Roman tactics.

I do not think this book is as good as Lendon ("Ghosts and Soldiers") in its experimental thesis, but it is still a very good introductory read on the subject. Although I am highly critical of Hansen, he should thank me for his royalty cheques, since I do own most of his works, warts and all.

A crucial book.......2006-11-10

This book is a crucial source to understand the way in which Greeks engage in War. As a person interested in strategy and military history, I realize that this book complements my knowledge of the classical greek period.

A disappointment.......2006-10-06

Both Mr. Keegan and Mr. Hanson are accomplished authors with a gift for communicating their ideas. I have been a fan of Mr. Keegan's books for many years but not quite so fond of Mr. Hanson's theories. This theory on the superiority of western warfare and its roots, though perhaps an interesting theory to explore, is a great disappointment to me. It is indeed an important work that should be considered by the serious student but be sure to read some of the opposition and I think the problems with these theories will become quite evident. I would have expected different conclusions from others of Mr. Keegan's books but his great accomplishments in the field of military history force us to consider what he has to say and challenges us to study further.

Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West 450-900 (Warfare and History)

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The best scholarly treatment ever

Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West 450-900 (Warfare and History)
Guy Halsall
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415239400

Book Description

Warfare was an integral part of early medieval life. It had a character of its own and was neither a pale shadow of Roman military practice nor an insignificant precursor to the warfare of the central middle ages. This book recovers its distinctiveness, looking at warfare in a rounded context in the British Isles and Western Europe between the end of the Roman Empire and the break-up of the Carolingian Empire.
In this work, Guy Halsall relates warfare to many aspects of medieval life, economy, society and politics. He examines the raising and organization of early medieval armies and looks at the conduct of campaigns. The survey includes the equipment of warriors and the horrific experience of battle as well as an analysis of medieval fortifications and siege warfare.

Customer Reviews:

The best scholarly treatment ever.......2004-03-15

As a professional historian who has done a lot of work on the 5th and 6th centuries in western Europe, let me say that I am extremely impressed with this work.

This book is the best and most careful survey of the evidence that has ever been written. Because it is about the early Middle Ages, it spends a fair amount of time telling the reader what we don't know and can't know. If that will drive you crazy, save your money. However, it is the only honest approach, and as a result the positive statements and the interpretations offered are worth all that much more.

Small gripe: One paragraph on Offa's dike and other large earthworks of the period?

Small warning: No maritime history.

Those interested in the way the Vikings transformed early medieval warfare will be particularly interested.

Book Description

For medieval strategy and tactics there is nothing better than this book. MILITARY HISTORY (US) La traduction integrale en anglais...est la consecration internationale, bien tardive, d'un grand classique du genre. MOYEN AGE Warfare is a major feature of the history of the middle ages, but its study has often been the province of amateurs; only recently have the technical details of warfare and its organisation been subject to proper scholarly investigation. Professor Verbruggen's major work, outstanding in its field, applies rigorous standards in analysing often very obscure surviving evidence, and reaches conclusions very different from earlier generations of military historians. He begins by analysing the sources for our knowledge of the military history of the period, assessing their reliability: some chroniclers exaggerate, others are careful observers or have access to official records. There follows an examination of the constituent parts of the medieval army, knights and footsoldiers, equipment and terms of service, behaviour on the field, and psychology, before the problematic question of medieval tactics is addressed through analysis of accounts of a series of major battles. Strategy is discussed in the context of these battles: whether to seek battle, fight a defensive war, or attempt a war of conquest.Originally published in Dutch in 1954, now translated and updated.J.F. VERBRUGGENis a distinguished Belgian military historian of wide experience. Prisoner of war, student, and a member of the resistance movement during the second world war, he subsequently obtained his Ph.D., with greatest distinction, for research into warfare in the middle ages, and remained in the army as a lecturer at the Royal Military School in Brussels until in 1956 he went to the Belgian Congo. He spent twenty years teaching in Africa, retiring as Professor of History, University of Congo, and University of Bujumbura (Burundi) in 1976.

Customer Reviews:

Leaves no subject untouched !.......2004-07-31

This book covers such a wide period of time and stretches across a great area of land and battlefields, that I was doubtful that a complete understanding of the period could emerge from this single work. I was very wrong. Although a bit hard to read at some points the writing is relevant, conclusive and leaves no "open-ended" ideas.
One thing missing though is a map of Europe with the place names of that time. besides this, a great work on medieval warfare. If you only plan to read a single book on the subject, this is the one !

Lots of Information, Tough Read.......2004-06-29

This book is a thorough study of the warfare of this age. It includes good information on the psychological state of the combatants and the development of different tactics throughout the time period. Much effort is spent dissecting the different uses of knights and foot troops with descriptions of battles as support. I read a lot of military history, but this book is a tough read. It is more like a reference work than anything else and the organzition within the chapters could be better. I recommend this only to the most ardent history buffs.

Best book on subject I've read.......2002-01-10

Granted, the scope of this work doesn't allow for much detail, but Verbruggen's explaination of events that revolutionized warfare are thorough and well-reasoned. Also, Verbruggen debunks the myth that warfare in this period was near total anarchy with little rhyme or reason. Make time for this one!

Superb book.......1998-03-17

This second edition of Verbruggen, with the footnotes restored, is the best single book on medieval warfare.

The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I

Average customer rating:

As great of an understanding of WWI as I've ran across

The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I
Mark Ethan Grotelueschen
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521864348

Book Description

Provides the most comprehensive examination of AEF (American Expeditionary Forces) combat doctrine and methods ever published. It shows how AEF combat units actually fought on the Western Front in World War I. It describes how four AEF divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 26th, and 77th) planned and conducted their battles, and how they adapted their doctrine, tactics, and other operational methods during the war. General John Pershing and other AEF leaders promulgated an inadequate pre-war doctrine, with only minor modification, as the official doctrine of the AEF. Many early American attacks suffered from these unrealistic ideas that retained too much faith in the infantry rifleman on the modern battlefield. However, many AEF divisions adjusted their doctrine and operational methods as they fought, preparing more comprehensive attack plans, employing flexible infantry formations and maximizing firepower to seize limited objectives.

Customer Reviews:

As great of an understanding of WWI as I've ran across.......2007-03-02

This kid Mark Grotelueschen is going places. If he is ever able to buck the academic textbook publishing market that charges $52.50 a pop...watch out world, his books will be read in the parlors of Europe; talked about at cocktail parties in Manhattan; widely, passionately, and furiously debated in the Gulag Archipelago to no end. Grotelueschen's writing is like an epidemic. He commits words to page and immediately several young minds are molded in academic classrooms across the nation. This here book, "The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I," is highly recommended reading in the hallowed halls of West Point, the Naval Academy, and probably amongst those poor young cadets stuck out at sea with the Coast Guard Academy. I'm sure the young punks at the Air Force Academy already have plenty to read on the all things Army that they may not run across Grotelueschen's (Grote one may say) book. But the writing is just so darn good...I suspect some history professor with a doctorate in Military History from Texas A&M is probably exposing the young AFA punk cadets to this brilliant piece of analytic historical illumination.

Sure, this book may have started as a dissertation, but it doesn't seem like it. I picked it up and read it in one night, it was so good. As far as addictive and engaging reading, it reminded me of Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air," in that regard. Many people may not know that our current expeditionary force model of overseas deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq harken back to World War I where the American war machine mobilized late in the game and of course took credit for the victory. It seems semi-arrogant yes, but when history is the hand of the victors, that's the spin. Grote doesn't spin though. His writing is straight-shooting honest to goodness Chicago boy, Alaskan tainted, Loose Hawg bred, baseball pitching bueno. Yes it's that good my friends.

OK...so the price is steep but think folks what else you could be spending your $52.50 bones on? A watch that won't tell time as long as you will be deriving historical wisdom from Grote's book. $52.50 worth of groceries for your family of 6...I don't think so. Declare a fast for your family, bring home Grote's book, sit it on the dinner table, and loudly declare, "Family...we will be subsisting on historical knowledge from now on." Your wife may look at you like you are slightly looney but hey...in the end they will all be smarter for it. Get this book. This Grotelueschen kid is one of the best writers this side of Shelby Foote. This is actually his second book and almost the equal to his pinnacle work on WWI artillery. Rumor has it his next book is going to be on the life stories behind professional baseball players that took a hiatus from their profession to fight in WWII. I can't wait to read that book. Look for it Amazon friends. --MMW

The Situationist International: An Introduction

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the best thing out there

The Situationist International: An Introduction
Simon Ford
Manufacturer: Black Dog
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Western | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1904772056

Customer Reviews:

the best thing out there.......2006-01-29

This book is the best resource up to now on the history of the Situationist movement. I have read just about everything published on this subject, even in French, and this book stands head and shoulders above the rest. The text explains things clearly and without the usual mythologizing. Which doesn't stop it from being quite favorable to the Situationists. And the accompanying pictures, many in color, are by far the best selection of situationist art or anti-art available in print. Included for example are Guy Debord's most famous collages and psychogeographic maps, color reproductions of works by Asger Jorn, examples of the underrepresented German faction of the Situationist movement, a sample from Ralph Rumney's "Psychogeographic Venice", and many good-quality photos of the various contributors to the movement - with (sadly a key point) accurate captions.

Average customer rating:

The Best Single Volume on the Subject
The evolution of tactical systems and combat arms...
Impressive
Impressive synthesis
Brilliant summary of the development in tactics and strategy

The Art of War in Western World
Archer Jones
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0252069668

Book Description

The magnum opus of one of America's most respected military historians, The Art of War in the Western World has earned its place as the standard work on how the three major operational components of war--tactics, logistics, and strategy--have evolved and changed over time. This monumental work encompasses 2,500 years of military history, from infantry combat in ancient Greece through the dissolution of the Roman Empire to the Thirty Years' War and from the Napoleonic campaigns through World War II, which Jones sees as the culmination of modern warfare, to the Israeli-Egyptian War of 1973.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Single Volume on the Subject.......2007-09-29

Simply stated, this is the best single volume treatment of the subject. Although the book is long, it does not drag because of Jones' clear narrative style and effective organization. I first read this work in fifth grade and have returned to it several times during the past decade and a half. Every time I read it I enjoy it and learn something fun or insightful.
I give this work my highest recommendation and would rank this as one of the 25 best books I have ever read!

The evolution of tactical systems and combat arms..........2003-01-07

When hollywood shapes most everyones view of history this outstanding work cuts through the lies, mis-representations and myths to present a lucid, readable and facinating look at how evolution of superior tactical systems and combat arms overthrew the status quo through the ages and caused empires to fall.
From such technical innovations such as the stirrup and compound bow came the irresistable Hun and Mongol archers and the Mounted Knight. Tactical innovations such as the Roman Legion's Cohort became the battalion of today.

A simple example can illustrate the relevancy of the author's work. He traces the rise and fall of Heavy Infantry as the supreme combat arm of the battle field. Infantry in the form of the Phallanx and Legion were displaced by Heavy Cavalry, only to regain dominance as battalions armed with pikes and then bayonet tipped muskets. Armored vehicles, the new Heavy Cavalry once again gained accendancy, but today we see the infantry once more rising to the fore armed with light weight automatic and antitank weapons.

The author helps the layman understand how and why military forces and tactics have changed through 2000 years of history. In so doing he gives us insight into why they look the way they do today, and what forces drive the changes that we see taking place: the push towards lighter and more mobile infantry forces.

Just as technical innovations drove the Phallanx from the battlefield in Roman times and massed regiments from the battlefields in the early 1900's, it is driving change today.
Light air mobile infantry and armor, and special operations forces are being shaped by technology.

This impressive work deserves the widest audience and a place on the bookself of layman and historian alike.

Impressive.......2002-07-07

Archer Jones attempts to cover over 2000 years on the history of warfare in the West. And what a fantastic effort he gives. In what may be the best general military history ever written he gives a panoramic sweep of the art of warfare through the centuries. From Jone's coverage of Philip of Macedon's phalanxes to Moshe Doyan's IDF this is an impressive work.

Jones covers it in an excellent and clear writing style. He shows that the development of warfare was both evolutionary and revolutionary. Different weapons systems in the offense or defense give rise to counter systems and so on. Weapons change but successful strategies, operations and tactics still maintain essential "philosophies".

Encyclopedic in its breadth, The Art or War in the Western World is enjoyable reading for those with a serious interest in military history.

Impressive synthesis.......2002-03-26

Reading this book you will not become an expert on the art of war of precise historical periods. Nor will you become an outstanding theorist on the art of war itself. But you will have a more complete and detailed understanding of what characterizes the successive eras of warfare and how the art of war changed and evolved in the western world. More than that only, you will understand the succession of factors and the dynamics that determined warfare in the western world. This author uses many notions, concepts and analysis created by other writers before him, which gives a very thourough insight on that subject. If only I knew that a few years ago, I would have bought this book as the beginning of my personal study of warfare. I am not a native english speaking person, but yes, even myself, I noticed that his language is sometimes far from literary norms. Since it is a very "technical" book, simplicity in sentence construction is actually a positive point in this work... which remains very clear even though the subject is a pretty complex one.

Brilliant summary of the development in tactics and strategy.......1999-11-19

Using a very simple and easily understandable matrix to show the co-relations between the different weapons systems, Archer Jones has written a chronological summary of the development in strategy and tactics from early history until today. This uncomplicated model, pared with a wide use of known, historical examples, helps the understanding of the subject, and keeps the reader locked to the stress-less during seven hundred pages. I couldn't put away the book until I finished it. Then I waited a week until I read it for the second time. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the subjects of strategy and tactics as well as to people generally interested in history.

Bohemian Paris: Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and the Birth of Modern Art

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It's Franck...
VIVID WORD PICTURES OF A SIGNIFICANT ERA

Bohemian Paris: Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and the Birth of Modern Art
Dan Franck
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0802139973

Book Description

A legendary capital of the arts, Paris hosted some of the most legendary developments in world culture -- particularly at the beginning of the twentieth century, with the flowering of fauvism, cubism, dadaism, and surrealism. In Bohemian Paris, Dan Franck leads us on a vivid and magical tour of the Paris of 1900-1930, a hotbed of artistic creation where we encounter Apollinaire, Modigliani, Cocteau, Matisse, Picasso, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald, working, loving, and struggling to stay afloat. 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations are featured.

Customer Reviews:

It's Franck..........2003-04-08

What a subject! What a terrible book!

At first I thought it was a bad translation. But no, the French version is just as disjointed, poorly edited and nearly unreadable as the English version.

just two examples from among the many:
1: Franck recounts an auction, noting that Picasso kept his silence throughout the auction. We later learn that Picasso wasn't there... so, did he keep quiet? or did he stay away?

2: We get a detailed account of Arthur Cravan's boxing exhibition with Jack Johnson, after which, Mr. Frank notes: "Jack Johnson never stepped into the ring again." Of course, he meant Cravan, but that"s not what he said. In fact, the entire book is like that.

An author, by the way, is responsible for reading own proofs, so the faults of editing are the faults of the author.....

As I said the topic is fantatic, and when I could sift through the author's drivel, I found it interesting, though he probably provides more information about Solomon and Max Jacob than I would like and not enough about some of Picasso's mistresses, which I think would have been interesting...

Ah, Franck est francais... what else can i say??

VIVID WORD PICTURES OF A SIGNIFICANT ERA.......2002-02-18

Part fiction, part art history, Bohemian Paris is a fascinating read. How can it be otherwise when the pages are inhabited by such colorful figures as Picasso. Modigliani, Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein?

Franck, the author of 15 books, escorts readers on a wide-screen tour of magical Paris during a period of 30 years, 1900 - 1930. That was a time of new birth in the world of artistic creation when painters, sculptors, writers, and versifiers struggled to covey revolutionary ideas and images. Some of these creators were feted at opulent, devil-may care galas while others worked in the direst poverty.

Learned and repressed poet Guillaume Apollinaire hovered on the periphery of this circle; Jean Cocteau might trip a friend to advance himself but how brilliant he was! Amedeo Modigliani gave to others when he had naught for himself; Gertrude Stein presided over her unparalleled salons.

And from these minds and from that time sprang cubism, Fauvism, dadaism and surrealism. Paris, both public and private, sizzled with creativity.

With Bohemian Paris author Franck has painted vivid word pictures of that significant era and collected numerous vignettes about the private lives of those who dramatically influenced art as we now know it.

Book Description

During the 1930s, American artists such as Ben Shahn developed a mode of representation generally known as Social Realism. This term is given broad new meaning in the anthology brought together by Alejandro Anreus, Diana L. Linden, and Jonathan Weinberg. They and their collaborators argue that artists of the Depression era believed that their art became "realistic" by engaging the great economic and political issues of society. Through fresh investigation of the visual culture of the 1930s--painting, sculpture, photography, and the graphic arts--the anthology illuminates the struggle for social justice that led artists to embrace leftist ideologies and fashion an art aimed at revealing the harsh realities of contemporary life.

In sharp contrast to earlier studies, The Social and the Real contends that the radical, "realistic" art of the Americas during the 1930s was shaped as much by hemispheric exchange as by emulation of the European avant-garde. Alan Trachtenberg, Mary K. Coffey, and the book's other essayists consider Canadian art alongside art from the United States, the Caribbean, and as far south as Argentina. Some of the artists they discuss, like Philip Evergood or Dorthea Lange, are well known; others--the Argentinean Antonio Berni or the Canadian Parakeva Clark--deserve wider recognition. Situating such artists within the context of Pan-American exchange transforms the structure of the art-historical field. It also produces major new insights. The rise of Social Realism, for instance, is traced back not to the United States in the 1930s, but instead to the Mexico of the early 1920s.

The Social and the Real makes an assessment of Social Realism that is comprehensive as well as groundbreaking. The opening essays deal with "reality and authenticity" in representation of "the nation." Subsequent essays consider portrayals of manhood, labor, lynching, and people pushed to the margins of society because of religious or ethnic identity. The volume concludes with a pair of essays--one on artists' links with Communism, the other on the portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's physical infirmity-- that carry the discussion of Social Realism into the postwar period.

The Social and the Real is the first anthology to deal with the painting, sculpture, graphic arts, and photography of the 1930s in a hemispheric context. We take as axiomatic Cuban poet, journalist, and political theorist José Martí's (1853-95) definition of "America" as a hemispheric, multiracial, and multiethnic entity in which the United States is one nation among many. Although many of the individual essays have a relatively narrow focus, as an aggregate they begin the process of forging a Pan-American perspective on the art of the period, encouraging the reader to compare and contrast the experiences of artists across national boundaries and reconsider familiar narratives. Thinking about art and politics in a hemispheric context expands the very chronology of social realism. Whereas scholars in the United States locate the origins of the movement with the economic crash of 1929 and conclude it with the advent of World War II, the story really begins in Mexico in the early 1920s and continues during the 1940s and 1950s throughout the hemisphere.

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