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.

Average customer rating:

PAINTED WORLDS will paint your world a brighter shade! Awesome art!

Painted Worlds
Jim Warren
Manufacturer: Paper Tiger
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1843400472

Book Description

Sensual, spiritual, and evocative, Jim Warren’s art ranges from dreamy images of wild horses leaping to representations of fiery goddesses rising from exploding volcanoes. He not only illustrated book covers, but won a Grammy for Best Album Package for Bob Seger’s Against the Wind. “Many of his covers exhibit an impish humor that is most engaging. A painting of Hitchcock concealing a puckish yawn as birds fly out of his exploding skull is almost worth the price of the book.”—SFRA Review.

Customer Reviews:

PAINTED WORLDS will paint your world a brighter shade! Awesome art!.......2007-02-24

I bought this book for my granddaughter, Kristy Soza Ardizzone, who illustrated the cover for my Tween book, THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY. I knew this fantastic collection would inspire her to greater heights in her own artistic creativity.

Needless to say, she was moved and inspired by these masterful, unique paintings by renowned artist, Jim Warren.

I, also, am deeply impressed by the aesthetic quality of each and every one of these magnificent paintings, especially the way Warren creates waterfalls from the cascading hair of beautiful women, the awesome cloud formations, intriguing figures rising from and merging with ocean waves etc.

The cover is uttlerly fabulous, prompting me to buy this book. Yes, the cover drew me in, but the entire collection is just as rare. A fabulous collection that every artist should have.

A gorgeous book you will treasure for years to come!

SIDENOTE: You may have noticed that Amazon has made some changes to its website. If it looks the same to you right now, look out for a new format that will be rolling out gradually in the weeks to come. If you can see the changes, especially the review format, I'd like to know what you think. Please leave me a comment with your opinion.

"Love the new look" or "Hate the new look" comments are perfectly acceptable.

My e-mail address is at top of this review. Thank you for your time."

Average customer rating:

A Terribly Beautiful Fiction
Brutal and Brilliant.
A Hoax, but does that matter?
A Tour de Torture
Most Stunning Novel

The Painted Bird (Kosinski, Jerzy)
Jerzy Kosinski
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 080213422X

Amazon.com

Many writers have portrayed the cruelty people inflict upon each other in the name of war or ideology or garden-variety hate, but few books will surpass Kosinski's first novel, The Painted Bird, for the sheer creepiness in its savagery. The story follows an abandoned young boy who wanders alone through the frozen bogs and broken towns of Eastern Europe during and after World War II, trying to survive. His experiences and actions occur at and beyond the limits of what might be called humanity, but Kosinski never averts his eyes, nor allows us to.

Book Description

Originally published in 1965, The Painted Bird established Jerzy Kosinski as a major literary figure. Kosinski's story follows a dark-haired, olive-skinned boy, abandoned by his parents during World War II, as he wanders alone from one village to another, sometimes hounded and tortured, only rarely sheltered and cared for. Through the juxtaposition of adolescence and the most brutal of adult experiences, Kosinski sums up a Bosch-like world of harrowing excess where senseless violence and untempered hatred are the norm. Through sparse prose and vivid imagery, Kosinski's novel is a story of mythic proportion, even more relevant to today's society than it was upon its original publication.

Customer Reviews:

A Terribly Beautiful Fiction.......2007-09-03

Jerzy Kosinski's The Painted Bird is, as other reviewers have noted, an unrelenting meditation on violence as it is filtered through the strange, superstitious world of Eastern European Peasant society. Although the time frame deals specifically with the years between 1939-45, the setting seems ancient (as opposed to merely backward) and often mythic. Thus, what some see as an uninterrupted string of grotesque brutalities is, in actuality, a fictionalized world that posseses greater dimensions. The unnamed "hero" of the novel--a dark-haired adolescent boy who may be a Gyspy or a Jew--emerges as a young everyman trying to find his way in a world that does not accept or understand difference. In classic bildungsroman formula, his adventures not only place him in the way of physical danger; they enable him to formulate his slowly-evolving theories of God and existence.

Two of the main charges against the book (at least in the reviews here) are as follows: 1) The events did not really happen to the novelist and are a product of an imaginative--and perverse--mind; 2) The author sought help with style and organization from other people and then affixed his name alone to the title.

With regards to the first charge, Koskinski himself explains in the book's afterword (published 10 years after the first edition) that the events are invented. He explains quite clearly that he wished to create a novel. It was through the fictive experience that he felt he commuunicate the truths orf the holocaust more humanely. That aside, the events recorded are a synthesis of observation, study, and personal experience.

With regards to the second charge, plenty of authors (especially ones struggling, like Kosinski, to write in a foreign language) have sought the expertise of editors, etc...

Most of the animosity towards the book seems, in fact, misdirected rage towards the unrelenting violence in the book. The writing succeeds, however, because, as Anais Nin has astutely noted: "It surpasses most of the books in which experience of terror and physical cruelty are told because by the great beauty of its style, it lifts the entire epxerience to philosophic, mythological realms of knowledge."

Brutal and Brilliant........2007-08-18

I have just revisited this book, having read it first as a teenager and was astounded once again by its potency, both as a story, and as a terrifying inditement of human nature. In view of increasing world conflict in the post world war era, this book is more relevant than ever.

A Hoax, but does that matter?.......2007-04-30

From the "cut-rate Elie Wiesel", Kosinski's own description of himself. Does it matter that this is a hoax manufactured from whole cloth? Apparently not. Feeds existing prejudices and so is welcomed as a revelation. Here's to Mr. Holocaust, Jr., the Sr. title having been appropriated by that lachrymose pseudo-saint Mr. Weisel.

History is replete with examples of man's inhumanity to man. Claims of this book being "semi-autobiographical" have been shown to be entirely false. Kosinski is just another of the feeders-at-the-trough of the Holocaust Industry.

The truth is quite horrible enough. Why then the hoaxes like the book at hand and "Fragments"?

See The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, New Edition for a critical and honest evaluation of the duplicity embodied by this and similar books seeking to exploit for personal financial and political advantage. Those who think this book is within the bounds of decency may wish to seek out that now out-of-print other hoax "Fragments".

A Tour de Torture.......2007-03-29

I read Kosinski's masterpiece on the recommendation of someone who was reviewing Beah's "A Long Way Gone"--remarkable similarities between the two though one is fiction and the other memoir, one takes place in Europe WWII and the other a civil war in Sierra Leone. In this particular edition (1976), Kosinski added a fine afterward which is a must read. Though fiction, this work is fact-based. Also, though Kosinski never names the country of his setting, one can guess it must be Poland. Apparently, the Polish government recognized it also since they banned the book in that country, citing it as a serious insult to the humanity of the Polish peasant society. After reading the afterward and the story, I can only conclude if the shoe fits...

Still, there were a few things I thought to be unrealistic. Kosinski's ten-year-old protagonist is made to undergo some unspeakable tortures, tortures that would have reduced an ordinary kid to a psychological bowl of mush. Yet somehow this kid always pulls through, packing up his comet only at the last minute and heading into the Polish hinterland to rough it until he can hook up with his next tormentor. It got so bad that I began to look for parallels with Dante's Inferno. It seemed that each new torture was worse than the last, designed to atone for some imaginary sin that this innocent boy had committed. Dante borrowed from Greek mythology to formulate his keepers of hell--I wonder where Kosinski drafted his?

The damage to the boy only became apparent at war's end when he was placed in an orphanage. There he found himself in a community of similar victims his own age. The war was over, the peasants were safely locked outside the city, yet the cruelty went on, and on, and on. The gang-rape scene of the teacher was particularly poignant. Somehow the protagonist regained his humanity--at least I believe that was what Kosinski signaled his reader when the boy regained his faculty--though I never was sure how. Maybe his message was that immersed in evil a good child can be made to mimic evil--if for no other reason than survival--but when that need becomes obsolete, eventually his true nature will reemerge.

--Ejner Fulsang, author of "A Knavish Piece of Work" Aarhus Publishing 2006

Most Stunning Novel.......2007-03-16

Yana Djin was kind enough to recommend this to me, the most stunning novel I have read in recent memory. It gives an incredible first-person view of Nazi-occuppied Eastern Europe, and the then-liberation of the Red Army after this. It really explains why some people in this area, and Russia, see the Red Army as great liberators.

It also, and I almost hate to add this, gives great insight into the anti-Semitism that the "Borat" film satirized. I saw "Borat" right after I read this book, and I was like, "Geez, he must have read 'The Painted Bird'.

Painted Scrapbook Pages: Create One-of-a-Kind Pages with Simple Painting Techniques

Average customer rating:

Easy!
Great Inspiration and ideas
Simply Amazing!
Creative Colorful Book!
Awesome!

Painted Scrapbook Pages: Create One-of-a-Kind Pages with Simple Painting Techniques
Melynda Van Zee
Manufacturer: Lark Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1579907741

Book Description

Every scrapbook is a personal treasury, filled with our most cherished photographs and keepsakes. Don’t those special memories deserve distinctive, individualized background displays? Of course they do! With these creative ideas, it’s simple to produce one-of-a-kind background papers. Experiment with almost 40 techniques, from faux finishing (sponging, marbling, crackling) to brushing, stamping, and lettering. Make impressions of a child’s hand on paper for an adorable handprint border. Produce a stunning tone-on-tone effect by scraping drops of paint across the paper’s surface with an ordinary credit card. Photos of the finished pages showcase the variety of looks each technique can yield.

Customer Reviews:

Easy!.......2007-07-20

I have to admit that I'm kind of embarrassed that I didn't think of some of these ideas myself. They're so simple! But they're very effective. There are lots of ideas in here for producing some interesting backgrounds for your scrapbook pages or other art projects.

Great Inspiration and ideas.......2007-05-10

I just ordered this book and already I have found things I want to try and create. This book is a FANTASTIC addition to my scrapbooking library. I feel from the step by step instructions I can create my own pages and have fun making my own paper. This book shows me that I can take basic items from home and my scrapbook supplies and make my own special paper to enhance the story for my photos. I also think it will help me try new things that I was always afraid to try. MY 8 year old daughter is excited to try these techniques as well. I think this book is not only for scrapbookers but for all papercrafters and artists.

Simply Amazing!.......2007-04-13

This book has changed the way I view my scrapbook pages and layouts. Melynda uses ordinary household items (who would have thought to use bubble wrap?) to make extraordinary designs that will make your scrapbook stand out from the crowd. No longer content to choose paper from the local store, I've been challenged to design my own so that my scrapbook is truly unique to me. The pictures are beautiful and the instructions are clear. They are easy enough for even the most novice of scrapbookers to follow along with to create their own works of art! I recommend this book to the scrapbook artist who wants to move to the next level.

Creative Colorful Book!.......2007-04-13

Painted Scrapbook Pages is an attractive, interesting, and
helpful book. Any scrapbooker, from the novice to the expert,
can use these helpful hints to add creativity to their personal
scrapbooks. The book includes clear pictures, a list of
materials and tools, which are easily accessible, and step
by step procedures. Each technique also includes pictures of finished
layouts for ideas on how the technique can be used in a
scrapbook. I purchased a second copy for my high school
library for the art students and scrapbook enthusiasts.

Awesome!.......2007-04-12

This book was very interesting and it gave me lots of ideas that I can use in my own scrapbook...plus the layouts and pictures were very well put together!

German Camouflaged Helmets Of The Second World War: Painted And Textured Camouflage

Average customer rating:

German Camouflaged Helmets Of The Second World War: Painted And Textured Camouflage
Branislav Radovic
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Uniforms | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0764321056

Product Description

This two volume set (companions to the author's previous books on World War II German helmets) is packed with nearly 1000 full-color photographs of more than 180 helmets and covers, all shown at full page size and many in detail. The helmets shown are some of the most wonderful and exotic camouflage helmets to be seen in private and public collections. The various sections are divided into: Paint and Texture with each section having its own period photograph reference section - most never before published. The author brings to the reader and collector, for the first time, a clear, detailed look at the many and varied styles of camouflage the World War II German soldier applied to what was his most personal piece of equipment. German Camouflaged Helmets of the Second World War. Volume 1: Painted and Textured Camouflage.

Milking the Painted Cow: The Creative Power of Mind and the Shape of Reality in Light of the Buddhist Tradition (Buddhism in the West)

Average customer rating:

Sound guidance for building a healthy foundation

Milking the Painted Cow: The Creative Power of Mind and the Shape of Reality in Light of the Buddhist Tradition (Buddhism in the West)
Tarthang Tulku
Manufacturer: Dharma Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Tibetan | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0898003687

Customer Reviews:

Sound guidance for building a healthy foundation .......2005-06-04

Soundly grounded in Buddhist tradition and cognoscente of the Western world view, Milking The Painted Cow: The Creative Power Of Mind And The Shape Of Reality In Light Of The Buddhist Tradition by the visionary Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku draws upon years of dynamic interaction with western students to detail the traps and pitfalls faced by Westerners as they approach Buddhist teachings and offers sound guidance for building a healthy foundation for a satisfying and productive spiritual life according to Buddhist tenets. A welcome addition to the growing library of Buddhist literature for western readers, Milking The Painted Cow is strongly recommended reading which is as informed and informative as it is inspired and inspiring.

The Red and the Black: Approaches to Greek Painted Pottery

Average customer rating:

The Red and the Black: Studies in Greek Pottery

The Red and the Black: Approaches to Greek Painted Pottery
Brian A Sparkes
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Ancient & Classical | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Ceramics | Other Media | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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

Pottery & Ceramics | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Home & Garden Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Home & Garden | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0415126614

Book Description

In providing an intriguing account of the production of pottery in ancient Greece, The Red and the Black explains how this pottery can be understood with more concern for function than for aesthetics. From their form, the location when found, their decoration and their uses, much can be learned from these artefacts about who used them. Brian Sparkes offers detailed analysis of the subject matter of figured scenes also discusses the history of the study and collection of this pottery, from the Renaissance right up the appeal of these objects in the markets of today.

Sparkes' clear and entertaining explanations go beyond the bounds of traditional connoisseurship, taking a contemporary approach to the issues involved. In doing so, he has succeeded in producing a

Customer Reviews:

The Red and the Black: Studies in Greek Pottery.......2006-11-04

This is a charming book. It is written in a fun, almost conversational style. It treats the history of how Greek pottery has been studied and viewed by Western scholarship. It contains anecdotes and stories that make the reader feel more connected with the art than do the usual dry, art-historical, descriptive books. Thank goodness it does not read like somebody's dissertation for a change. The author has a sense of humor and delightful candor about the subject, and the reader will still learn a good quantity of useful art historical information without the usual suffering of tedium so often encountered in books on this subject.

Average customer rating:

The Painted Bird

Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

PB No. 77176. Approx. 4 1/8" x 7".

Painted Labyrinth: The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels

Average customer rating:

Beautiful photos
A real gem

Painted Labyrinth: The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels
Michelle P. Brown
Manufacturer: British Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Medieval | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books

Books | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Catalogs | Catalogs & Directories | Reference | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0712348115

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful photos.......2007-03-20

An interesting history of the art of hand printing books. Fantastic pictures.

A real gem.......2004-10-27

In a mere 48 pages, author Michelle Brown, currator of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library, has put together a wonderful expose of the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the beautiful illuminated productions to come out of the Irish monastic/scholarly traditions of the so-called Dark Ages. One can wonder how an age that could produce such exquisite books as the Lindisfarne Gospel could ever be called 'dark'.

The Lindisfarne Gospel is a piece of art, and a piece of history. It is a significant milestone in the history of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon development. Brown's book has illuminations of a more modern sort on every page, pictures and graphics, illustrating the beauty, grandeur, and history of this great work. The Lindisfarne Gospels helped to define Christianity for the local culture, connecting it with the larger world of Christendom.

The Lindisfarne Gospels' artistry lies not only in the beautiful pages, but in great attention to detail throughout. The colours and pages, the hinges and covers, the stitching and construction all testify to an unparalleled care for craftsmanship. The influences of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon imagery is clearly seen in the illuminations and construction, which in turn influenced the further development of those traditions. The calligraphy was influenced by Roman, Greek and Germanic lettering, blending things together in an astonishingly complementary way.

This book would be a gem for the pictures alone; with the brief, insightful text by Michelle Brown, the book becomes a real gift to the reader.

Average customer rating:

THE PAINTED BIRD

Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0553124609

Product Description

Originally published in 1965, in hardcover, by Houghton Mifflin, this is the definitive, revised edition of the author's novel. Now regarded as a late-modern classic, it has been completely revised by the author, who has also added an introduction. Jerzy Kosinski was not at all happy with the first edition (1965), which was heavily cut and bowdlerized. This edition restores whole sections that did not appear in the previous one and also incorporates changes the author subsequently made. This is a graphically violent and deeply affecting novel of human brutality as seen through the eyes of a young orphan during the Holocaust. It is a powerful tale of a young Polish boy trapped during German occupation in World War II, and the brutalities that traumatize his childhood as he wanders alone from one village to another. This is a savage, unrelenting book, running the gamut from innocence to wanton barbarism, with whistle stops at everything in between. It is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving books written in the 20th century. One of the canonical titles of the century's literature, and Kosinski's finest, unsurpassable and magisterial achievement, this is the author's highly praised third novel, the first published under his own name. His first two were under the pen name of Joseph Novak, The Future is Ours Comrade & No Third Path.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books