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.

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Archery at the Dark of the Moon
Norman Austin
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Reading the Odyssey

ASIN: 0520047907

Into the Mountains Dark: A WWII Odyssey from Harvard Crimson to Infantry Blue

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Realities of War: Naïve Machismo, Clear-Headed Fear, Heroism
A Detailed Autobiography of an Infantryman in WW 2
One to read!

Into the Mountains Dark: A WWII Odyssey from Harvard Crimson to Infantry Blue
Franklin L. Gurley
Manufacturer: The Aberjona Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0966638948

Book Description

The verified, uncensored diary of an American WWII infantryman, from enlistment in 1943 through his baptism of fire in the rugged Vosges Mountains of France in late 1944. This book is purely the candid, point-blank thoughts of an intelligent 18-year old infantry scout, and includes honest accounts and reflections on leadership, training, and comradeship, good and bad, inspirational and disappointing. Kept in violation of US Army policies which forbade the maintenance of personal journals in combat, what was once an operational security violation is now a brilliant vehicle for understanding the experiences of an American infantryman...the last time America defeated a world-class foe!

6" x 9" soft cover format; 255 pp.; seven highly-detailed, original maps and diagrams; 40 photos and illustrations; index.

Customer Reviews:

Realities of War: Naïve Machismo, Clear-Headed Fear, Heroism.......2004-04-28

"Into the Mountains Dark - A WWII Odyssey from Harvard Crimson to Infantry Blue" by Franklin L. Gurley is a wonderful memoir of an infantry grunt (lowly buck-Pvt) that paints one of the most realistic and unembellished pictures of war I have ever read. The story on its own is compelling but Gurley's ability to tell a story with literary style makes this book an extremely enjoyable read, one I found hard to put down. A rare combination of gifted writer and battle-aged dogface that experienced the facts described!

"Into the Mountains Dark" is not a one-man story steeped in combat history accumulated over periods of months or years (as contrasted to another Aberjona Press book, "Black Edelweiss" by Johann Voss - which is a great book in its own right), but rather a book chronicling a young mans transformation from a naïve Boston high school kid (and then Harvard freshman) to an aged 19-year old man shaggy in appearance but wise in the ways of life-and-death as taught him by the field of battle over little more than a month in the Vosges Mountains of Eastern France. The first third of the book details Gurley's experiences late in childhood through his time as an ASTPer (Army Specialized Training Program) and finally his call-up to active duty and training for deployment to the Continent. The remainder of the book is dedicated to Gurley's time from debarkation in late September '44 to the end of his unit's (1st Battalion, 399th Regiment, 100th Infantry Division) time in the Vosges Mountains, late November '44. Both parts of the book are fascinating and highly detailed. The latter trait is derived from the fact that this book, while compiled and published 60-odd years after the events, was taken nearly verbatim from Gurley's personal diaries and notes written at the time of the events discussed. We thus see the "action" - whether dealing with anti-Semitism within his ASTP group while at Ohio University, his trials and tribulations of earning the Expert Infantryman Badge at Ft. Bragg, or negotiating the near vertical climb up to "Bloody Knob" during the final stages of the battle for Hill 462.8 - not through the tainted-glass of time but from the perspective of someone living through the experience without either hindsight or particular foresight. In this regard "Into the Mountains Dark" is a truly unique reading experience with respect to most books about WWII.

How does the "writing from the moment of experience" play out? One clear example is the frantic picture Gurley paints of his emotions as he moves through the experiences. This is done only with the hindsight of days or weeks at most between the jotting of one passage to the next, and thus it is not sanitized to remove his initial naïve machismo as he trained for deployment and debarked to Europe or the real fear he felt once faced with the reality of combat. It's all here! Gurley's discussion of life on the "line" is one of the most clear and honest I have read (another good example, for different reasons, is "Foot Soldier" by Roscoe Blunt). For example, Gurley talks about his many foxholes dug over the month in the Vosges as if they were each a new vaulted-ceiling split-level condo in a posh Boston neighborhood. Only a man who has lived the experience of enemy shelling at the front lines can speak of a 5 ft deep water-saturated hole in the rock and mud with such passion. You can "see" all of the different permutations of his holes as the critical life sustaining shelter and home-away-from-home they were. An infantry dogface's life on the line is not a constant expenditure of ammunition, but rather periods of digging homes and wanting for food and water, to emotionally and physically draining periods of close order combat. Gurley neither adds or removes anything - you can experience a foot soldier's life as it was.

This is a fabulous book both for content and readability. I give it a hearty 5 stars!!! Highly recommended for novices and professionals alike.

A Detailed Autobiography of an Infantryman in WW 2.......2003-02-15

Mr. Gurley's new book comes in a wave of books in this genre. What distinguishes his book is the obscure battle location - the Vosges mountains and the incredible amount of detail given within his platoon and company. The author must have kept a very complete diary to accomplish this feat. Also, the discussion of the ASTP program for training officers was new to me as well as the fact it was dissolved because of excessive casualties in the ETO. In retrospect, it seems a travesty that so many of America's best and brightest were shipped to the ETO as so much cannon fodder to serve in line companies in the infantry. This is a intensely personal account by the author and gives an in depth account of what it was like to serve in one of the late arriving divisions to the ETO - the 100th division. Description of training, transport, and eventual combat are excellent. The author seems quite proud of his service in the infantry - the real bloodletters in any war - as he quite deservedly should be. This is the story of real men, nonprofessional soldiers, in their journey through the hell of war and how they handled it (or didn't). These men are not glorified in this, but their story is the way it was, both the good and the bad. I would reccommend this book highly to someone wanting to gain insight into the day to day life of a combat infantryman in WW 2. This person could be your father or grandfather now and it would make you proud of the sacrifice they made for us and freedom.

One to read!.......2001-12-14

This book is not your typical WWII memoir! It has many unique facets that distinguish it from all other memoirs. The previous words may make it seem I am the paid publicist (I am not) - so let me explain my unadulterated praise.

First, the story is one seldom heard. The 100th Infantry division missed all the famous battles - so this is a new story for most of us. The story takes Gurley from training in the USA, through a boat ride to Marseilles, and finally a month of combat in France's Vosges mountains.

The descriptions of the events are more detailed and interesting that most accounts. The author is a writer by profession and that skill produces a well-penned account. In addition, he has written about his unit in the past, giving him a wealth of material from which to draw.

But there are a couple of additions which make this book remarkable. The first is that we get an overview of the "big picture". Most personal accounts only present, appropriately, the view from the rifleman. But in this book we are given overviews of why each battle was fought and the tactics used to win the battle. Thus, the accounts are woven into a larger, more understandable whole rather than the usual series of fights for anonymous towns or patches of woods. Finally, the author has a graphic in the book showing the names of all members in his platoon and where they belonged in the organization. I greatly appreciated being able to place a name into the overall unit. Usually, you can understand who the authors friends are, but can seldom understand how all the non-coms and many enlisted men peripheral to a story fit in.

Amazon.com

A former president of the Magnum photo agency, journalist Philip Jones Griffiths has covered Vietnam, Northern Ireland, war-torn parts of Africa, and other trouble spots. The author of a well-regarded 1971 book Vietnam Inc., here he collects many of his best pictures. Photojournalism as art is an uncomfortable format, especially when the photos are of war. Here, the ethical validity of the images looms as large as their visual impact. These photos reveal Griffiths' talent for spotting the incongruous in the midst of chaos. An image of a half-black Vietnamese schoolgirl sitting in a schoolroom is typical, identifying the long-lasting legacy of war.

Book Description

Dark Odyssey

Photographs and commentary by Philip Jones Griffiths
Biographical profile by Murray Sayle

Philip Jones Griffiths, one of this century's master photographers, is unparalleled at creating relentlessly perceptive images that encompass the beauty, the atrocities, the ceremonies, the moments of brutality and compassion that coalesce as history. Griffith's eagerly anticipated retrospective Dark Odyssey traces his forty-year journey through this chaotic world, from the wide horizon of his native Wales to the ravaged villages of war-torn Vietnam, in more than one hundred astounding black-and-white photographs.

In each of his pictures, Griffiths creates a complex diagram of meaning and emotion. The collision of culture and ideology is often the basis of the work--sometimes in a simple pairing of figures, sometimes in a dizzying throng of life: the arresting, straightforward gazes of a Vietnamese child and her war-disfigured mother; the dazed face of a woman lost among the multitude of graves at a cemetery in Hiroshima; the wicked glee of a boy about to hurl a boulder into a grand piano, outside under an ominously dark sky. Griffiths's photogarphs tackle love, death, frivolity, politics, violence . . . they comment--ironically and profoundly--on virtually every aspect of human life, offering a gripping and unforgettable view of both the devastations and the beauties of our era.

With an in-depth critical profile by renowned New Yorker writer Murry Sayle--who has known Griffiths for more than thirty years--Dark Odyssey also includes poignant narrative notes by the photographer himself. "I have traveled to over one hundred and forty countries trying to make sense of it all," Griffiths writes. "I have discovered that almost every belief we hold collapses under scrutiny--the 'truth' is often simply a tool that serves someone else's purpose." This skepticism and this sense of awe are palpable in every one of Griffiths's masterful photographs.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Photojounralism.......2005-03-27

Welshman Jones Griffiths is one of the world's foremost photojounralists, and it's hard to believe that this is first book in since his highly influential 1971 work "Vietnam, Inc." This collection opens with a six striking early portraits from Wales and England in the 1950s-60s. The most memorable is of a litlte boy about to smash a large rock on top of a pian aso left in a scrap heap. These represent his budding career taking shots in his spare time, and are remarkable for the amount of expression he is able to capture, whether it's on the faces of weary coal miners, wary schoolchildren, or waiting mourners.

Following a laudatory introduction by New Yorker writer Murray Sayle, the bulk of the book is comprised of Jones Griffiths' international work, undertaken as a member (and president) of the presitgious Magnum photographers cooperative. His photography is informed by a strong sense of compassion and empathy for the victims of opression and war. The compositions are strong and many of the images are loaded with stark symbolism. From the very front of the book we get shots of a fat white missionary in knee high socks standing amidst natives in New Guinea, scantily clad European tourists lounging with drinks by a river in Gambia, a white Rhodesian golfer considering her shot with three black caddies and the African savannah in the background.

His series of ten photos from Northern Ireland in the early '70s is loaded with surreal and striking images: a soldier crouches behind a wall in a garden while a woman mows the lawn right behind him; another soldier is prone behind sandbags on a street while women push strollers past him; one of the best portraits in the book is of a grim-faced paratrooper reloads a CS gun. A middle section is scattered with a hodgepodge of images from around the world from the 60s to the early 90s. The book ends with forty images from Vietnam and Camodia, most of which are from his three years there during the war and also appear in Vietnam, Inc.

Defintely a must have for anyone interested in photojournalism.

A Disturbing and Haunting Masterpiece.......2001-12-13

Phillip Jones Griffiths is one of the greatest living photographers today. This is no small achievement, and can only be clearly understood examining his photographs.
Griffiths is probably best known for his book "Vietnam, Inc." (many of those photographs are included in this edition) but many of his greatest are contained in this superb volume, including some images of the weary, haunted faces of the children of Wales, his birthplace.
Being Welsh, and on the recieving end of British expansionism, Griffiths clearly sympathises (and rightly so) with the Vietnamise civilians (on the recieving end of French AND American expansionism)whose pleading expressions demonstrate clearly how much Americans were "helping" them evade the "evil grip of communism".
If I were to own ONE book of photographs, I would without hesitation choose this volume, for it's images are not only an important documentation of one of the darkest pieces of American history, but an amazing and invaluable work of art.

Adventures In Odyssey Fiction Series #9: Dark Passage

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Very Intense!

Adventures In Odyssey Fiction Series #9: Dark Passage
Paul McCusker
Manufacturer: Tommy Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1561794740

Book Description

"Run!" the reverend shouted. "Run for your lives!" In that split second, life for Matt Booker and his best friend, Jack Davis, turned into chaos. Boy, were they in a lot of trouble! It all started when they were plaing catch in the yard at Whit's End. Jack missed a pass and, while searching the woods for the ball, stumbled upon a trap door. If only Matt and Jack had obeyed the sign that warned, "Keep Out." But they didn't. And then they got carried away. Literally. Climbing aboard The Imagination Station, the two friends were propelled back to the days before the Civil War - not a good place to be if, like Matt, you're black. After interrupting a meeting with the Reverend Andres, who was helping slaves escape to freedom along the Underground Railroad, well…things just went from bad to worse! Matt was captured by slave hunters, leaving Jack and the revered to rescue him. But would they find him…and in time?

Customer Reviews:

Very Intense!.......2007-04-23

What's going to happen when best friends, Matt & Jack, find themselves in the year 1858? And how did they get there? Can Jack free Matt from the slave hunters? Can they escape before it's too late?

I really enjoyed this Odyssey. This is the first book in a set of 3 Time Twists. This book is a to-be-continued. A must read!

Across the Dark River: The Odyssey of the 56th N.C. Infantry in the American Civil War

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The Human Side of History
Excellent novel
A page-turner.
Award Winner
A CLASSIC STUDY OF THE CIVIL WAR-- MOVING, UNFORGETTABLE

Across the Dark River: The Odyssey of the 56th N.C. Infantry in the American Civil War
Clyde H. Ray
Manufacturer: Parkway Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1887905049

Book Description

The 56th N. C. Infantry was organized in the second year of the war. Composed of ten companies, it was mustered into the Confederate army in August, 1862. The regiment was raised in about twelve counties in North Carolina: Henderson, Rutherford, Wilkes, Pasquotank, Cumberland, Orange, Cleveland, Alexander, Iredell, Craven, Caswell, and Northampton. These counties extend from the mountains to the sea in North Carolina and the state as a whole was well represented. Its men came from every station of life.

At first, the regiment was assigned to a ceaseless round of guard duty at different garrison posts around the state. When they did hear the sound of enemy guns, they were always in a rear area, adding support to other units at the front.

But in 1863, the regiment at last saw action near Dover, North Carolina. The results were disastrous. In two battles just east of Kinston, the regiment was routed and it lost half of its men. It became a laughing stock among other units and its morale plummeted.

The 56th was gradually built back up to strength, but it was kept far to the rear for the rest of 1863, assigned the duty of rounding up conscripts and impressing supplies from the civilian population. The worse elements in its ranks came to the fore during this dark period and the regiment was relieved from this duty when it became evident that it was exceeding its orders. Governor Vance, in fact, threatened to call out the militia to expel them from the state!

But in 1864, things began to change. As the Confederacy weakened after Gettysburg and Vicksburg, it was no longer possible to keep unused manpower in the rear area. At the battle of Plymouth, North Carolina in April 1864, the 56th led a frontal assault on a heavily defended Union garrison and carried it -- one of the few victories the South could celebrate in 1864. Within two weeks, the regiment was on its way to Virginia.

The 56th was one of a few Confederate regiments that, in a three day and night battle, held Petersburg, Virginia against Grant's Army of the Potomac at bay until Lee could rush the Army of Northern Virginia to its assistance. The regiment played an important part in all the battles in the Richmond-Petersburg area until the end of the war. These included The Crater, Globe Tavern, Fort Stedman, Five Forks, and Sailor's Creek. And it was represented by a handful of men at Appomattox Court House.

During the last months of the war, the regiment was virtually annihilated in the final battles around Petersburg and Richmond. But in its final destruction, it found itself as a military unit -- its reason to be, as well as giving unexpectedly a final, more lasting message to modern America. And, as an added bonus, the novel describes these events that actually happened in realistic detail.

A major theme of the novel is the regiment s search for some kind of redemption or atonement. Ray shows that war brings out the worse, as well as the best in people. Atrocities were committed on both sides, but Ray demonstrates any wrong-doing is usually paid for in some way or another. He feels that the regiment, as with any military unit, was aware of right and wrong action and their the latter must be corrected in some way, at some time.

But even more, the final purpose of any action; the reason why such things as war and suffering must be experienced and endured, are questions that not only every soldier, but every citizen of the United States, then and since, have tried to answer. Why was all the devastation and loss of life in such a terrible event as the American Civil War necessary?

ACROSS THE DARK RIVER provides some interesting answers to these questions and does so in the words of participants themselves. Ray points out that "In a very real sense, the war is not over. Many of the issues that were first raised then have still not been settled. National unity, race relations, even the place women in professions -- every issue. we have now, they had then. Achieving equality is an on-going struggle."

The experience of Blacks in the war is also covered, not only in the Union Army, but also in the Confederate Army. Ray demonstrates sensitivity and pride in the contributions of Black Americans on both sides of the conflict. One of the novel's most reassuring qualities is the honest, but positive and conciliatory light in which race relations in both the Old South and modern America are addressed. The novel is a superb contribution to modern historical fiction. Characters are not only historical figures, but emerge in the book as flesh-and-blood human beings caught up in the drama of the moment, The action is not only realistic and graphic, but historically accurate as well. One reviewer stated that it is the most accurate writing on the war that he has encountered, adding it appears to have been written by a veteran of the war. Written in the present tense, the reader has the unique experience of knowing almost at first hand.

Ray uses the record of this unit to examine the personal experiences of historical characters in the war and the dominant issues that the war addressed and left for future generations to resolve. What I had tried to do Ray says, was to recreate a lost period of American history in the words and experiences of the men and women who lived it and to demonstrate that their experience still has relevance to the modern world. Almost every character actually existed; almost every incident in the novel actually occurred. In a very real sense, they tell the story. I was only the bearer of their ordeal.

Customer Reviews:

The Human Side of History.......2004-03-01

This book is a generous gift to anyone interested in not only the facts of the Civil War, but also how it was lived by those engaged in it. It depicts desperate battles that, though they may be listed as "skirmishes", were nothing less than horrific fights for survival for the participants. At the same time, it puts the reader in the trenches around Petersburg, fighting rain, sun, disease, mud, sharpshooters and monotony. This is not just good history, its a great read.

Excellent novel.......2004-02-02

Picked this one up through a friend, much better than Frazier's "Cold Mountain". Must-have for any Civil War buff.

A page-turner........2003-07-01

Great novel. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Civil war, American History.

Award Winner.......1997-11-13

Winner of 1997 Cader Cox Historical Fiction Award by the North Carolina Society of Historians

A CLASSIC STUDY OF THE CIVIL WAR-- MOVING, UNFORGETTABLE.......1997-09-19

This book will live. it is a work that transcends history or fiction. a book to treasure forever, it takes the reader into the American Civil War as no other has. I recommend it highly

Adventures in Odyssey Sticker Stuff: Stickers Include a Collection of Characters and Accessories. Assorted Fuzzy, Glow in the Dark, Gold Stamp and Sup (V. 2-
<3)

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Adventures in Odyssey Sticker Stuff: Stickers Include a Collection of Characters and Accessories. Assorted Fuzzy, Glow in the Dark, Gold Stamp and Sup (V. 2- <3)

Manufacturer: Revelations Inc
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Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 5901007050

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Incredible book a must read!
I couldn't put it down
This IS the next great space opera.
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Apocrypha of the Dark Crusade
D. L. Burt
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1412013941
Release Date: 2006-06-30

Book Description

Suppose you had to fight a war in a place you could not go. So you sent warriors protected in a specially made armor to do the fighting for you. For thousands of years you sent them. For thousands of years they fought and died in your name only to be resurrected and returned, again and again, ever engaged in eternal war, waged by immortal warriors.

Now suppose the device to grant them infinite life has been stolen by your enemy who now has the power to existence-erase your warriors forever.

A science fiction horror story set in the Sixth Millennium, the first book of the apocrypha trilogy is told in a tense Gothic style, immersed in Anglican and Norse myth and lore. Chronicling the quest of the lost Ark of Souls, Odyssey into Oblivion takes you into an alien civilization on the verge of redemption and resurrection-a culture very similar to our own, and every bit as terrifying.

What thing so vile, Good and Evil have joined forces against it?

You have plunged into a galaxy deep in war. Fought light years beyond the Dark Ages, the Empire of the Known Realm is heavily engaged in grim conflict against cunning enemies struggling for their own survival amidst the savage stars. The adventure before you and the Great Galactic Crusade that you are about to undertake, chronicles the Legends and Legions of two embattled empires and that of their allies in their race for everlasting salvation or eternal extinction. Racing across eternity, every infinite inch is measured in human lives. And for Mankind, time and souls are running out at the speed of light.

Spanning timeless dimensions and fathomless space, it is a war of attrition waged between the Apostates of the Apocalypse and the ancient Apostles of Armageddon. It is an Age of dark science and deep secrets. A time when the Legions of the Lord battled the Dominions of the Dark Forces raging throughout the astral heavens of Valhal and the Known Realm, where the stars have long ago descended into darkness. Yet to conquer the Cosmos completely means to triumph in the holy quest for the lost Codelax, the divine celestial instrument that is the creator of souls. For whomsoever possesses it, holds the fate of all else. For with its sacred powers, it is decided who is reborn into the physical world and whose soul is forever cast into the black void.

Miraculously, the Codelax's beacon, code named "Pale Vector," is traced to a lost world deep in a remote part of the Trident galaxy. Operation "Phantom Finder" commences as three Star*Ships are sent on a clandestine mission to the small planet christened KHT-21. There, astonishing discoveries are made. Discoveries that must be kept secret at all cost.

Beyond the Dark Crusade

How do you survive in a society in which logic and reason are viewed with great suspicion? In a time when science is despised and deemed the work of Satan? In a land where those who dare experiment are exiled and executed?

How do you live in a culture where science and religion oppose each other and will stop at nothing to gain influence over the minds of men? Where each vie for the very souls of men? In a place so distorted, the line between Good and Evil has disappeared between ordained destiny and ordered damnation?

Imagine the Dark Ages of Medieval Europe during the time of the Crusades and the exploits of the Knights Templars. Recall the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars from 1209 to 1229. In 1210, Pope Innocent III, unleashes "Orders of Fire and Sword" against those outside the Truth of the Church. When about to lay siege to the French city of Beziers, the Bishop was asked how the crusaders would be able to tell the good Catholics from the heretics, his reply was, in effect, "Neca eos omens. Deus suos agnoset" (Kill them all, God will know his own.) This is the origin of today's "Kill them all, Let God sort them out" phrase. And to this day, this edict is, at least doctrinally, enforced and is known as "Nulla salus extra eccesicm" (Outside the church, is no salvation.)

Now envision these Dark Ages light years beyond our own galaxy, in a far distant place where the Trident Empire is similar in structure and authority to the Roman Catholic Church of that time. Imagine the Knights Templars as its military crusaders (Recall their connection to the Holy Grail [Codelax]) and the Dark Archives as the Realm's spiritually guiding force (the Papacy.) Within the Archives, are zealot agents (part illuminati, part inquisitor) and disciples of the Dark Sciences (known as "Black Coats," who seek the "Truth" and holy relics of the Realm) as similar to the infamous Gestapo of the Third Reich. (Remember, Hitler was obsessed with holy relics and the occult and the Knights Templars were renowned for their almost supernaturally advanced architectural skills.)

It is the Sixth Millennium in the Realm of the Trident Galaxy. Within the Empire, a secret society known as the Dark Archives has been created. With absolute authority, its agents set out to locate and retrieve the lost Ark of Souls. Having complete impunity, they begin to purge the Realm of what they consider the spiritually unclean.

Chosen as the Empire's name and symbol, the trident spear of Neptune signifies the Emperor, the Prince, and the Codelax, (the "Father, Son and holy Ghost," i.e., the Trinity). Its three prongs represent the three military strains of the human race. Its tips point out an ordered Universe; Heaven, Realm, and Man.

The Empire's nemesis, the Triskelion, takes its name from the trimvirate formed by the three Seraphim (highest order of angels) cast of out Valhal (Norse heaven). They hold that Cosmocrater, (Grand Creator of the Cosmos - material universe, physical world - Greek myth) made them, and as such, they are not subject to be ruled by the Emperor nor belong to his domain. (Some Christian texts proclaim that it was the Angels of God who created Man when ordered to "furnish the house of the Lord.")

The term Lord and Emperor is used interchangeably with GOD, as he is both ruler of Valhal and the Realm. GOD, in this context, is an anagram for Governor of Domain, and neither signifies nor suggests any One True God.

This stand alone novel contains a Preface, Prologue, Preamble, Epilogue, Codices and a nine page Lexicon. The Lexicon provides the origin and meaning of the names and terms used in the novel to give the reader a deeper understanding of their importance in the story. Though many cultures throughout history can be found on its pages, most are taken from Anglican, Greek, Roman and Norse myth and lore. You need not be a historian nor a mythology scholar to enjoy the adventure. Latin phrases and their translations are sparely included to represent the "ancient tongue of the Lord" and to create a certain sense of authentic scripture.

Author's Note

This novel is not for the faint of heart. It contains graphic, gruesome and grotesque depictions of violence. It is through such physical suffering that the spirit is forged and the soul purged of impunity. The more painful the experience, the more important the lesson. And the greatest lesson to learn in the conflict between Good and Evil is to discern between Good and Evil.

"From the hottest fires come the purist ashes"

In war, it is wise to know your enemy. But when the greatest threat lies beyond death, only those who truly know themselves shall be saved.

It is in the blackest abyss that the spirit shines brightest"

This book is very scary. Who would believe our history if it were told using aliens and monsters? Who could believe it? Who would want to believe such things actually occurred? Though set in another time and place, it could well be the story of our own savage saga written in science fiction form. Past, present, and future merge into events that will continue to repeat themselves, again and again, as Mankind descends into the Material Universe across the stars. It is in our nature. As the Neuro Tech Gilguy would say, "that is the way we are wired".

Dark Lord Seito admonishes Starla for questioning his motives by reminding her, "We both come from a race that killed the son of GOD. Do not judge me."

If you have ever wondered what would scare the hell out of Satan, this book is it.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible book a must read!.......2005-06-08

This is one of those books you cant out down. How many twist can you put in a book. Very Impressed D. L., I want to know when you are releasing your next book... Keep them coming

I couldn't put it down.......2005-05-13

I don't have a lot of time to spend reading these days, but with this book I made time. I just couldn't put it down. I picked it up literally every chance I had. In the morning, during breaks at work, and before I went to sleep. To say that the story line is good would be like saying that the pyramids of Egypt are "ok". It just draws you in and won't let go. I'm not going to spoil the ending for you, lets just say the Mr. Burt will blind side you on so many levels that you can't see any of them coming. This book will make your head spin and give you cause to wonder why other writers can't keep you entertained like Mr. Burt. But don't take my word for it. You have got to read this book.

J. W. Willey

This IS the next great space opera........2005-04-22

I've been reading fiction, science fiction and fantasy for as long as I can remember. I've read Asimov, Clark, Card, Anthony, Weber, Heinlein, Dick, King, Jordan, Martin, McCaffrey, Koontz, Tolkein, Gibson, Creighton...heck, I could go on for a few pages. Suffice it to say that there's not many stories or series by major writers that I haven't read, not to mention my dark secret: Star Wars and Star Trek expended universe novels.

Anyway, I say all that to say this: After all I've read, the characters I've grown to love, the stories I can't get enough of, the vast and richly detailed worlds I've seen in my dreams, the first book of the Dark Crusade series has blown them all away.

Burt draws you in with a mixture of gothic fantasy, mythology, and high tech weapons and armor. He details a dark and gritty universe where the forces of dark and light have been clashing for thousands of years, and the one great device lost at the beginning which can return all of the fallen warriors to life.

This first book is the story of the rediscovery of that device and the Empire's struggle to liberate it from the clutches of the planet's inhabitants, the giant insectiod Vexthrax. Some of the descriptions of these battles and what the Vexthrax do to their prey actually gave me chills!

I don't want to give out any spoilers, but suffice it to say that you will not be disappionted if you pick up this book! I got one of the first copies off the press and I've already read it so many times it looks twenty years old, and can't wait for the next in the series!

Jes Hall
Information Services
University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Steve's Review.......2005-04-17

I've been reading fantasy and SF for a long time and I only keep a few books around to reread every so often. Mr. Burt's book is one of those that has joined that library which includes Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, David Drake's Hammer's Slammers, and Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. Mr. Burt has managed to combine some of the more intriguing aspects of each into a new story that is difficult to put down. The basic premise is an ancient war once raged across the known universe which culminated in the development of a great weapon. The first use of the weapon changed time and space, and threw the weapon into the void. Since that time, many have sought this weapon. As the reader, we get to view the discovery of this weapon by a group of individuals who each have thier own agenda. The politics and "cold war" existing between some of the spacefaring races sets the background for an intellectual battle of wills and an action packed war for survival of mankind. If you enjoyed the political maneuverings in Foundation or the battle of wills in Ender's Game or the chaos of war in Hammer's Slammers, this novel is for you. And be sure to put your name in your copy should you lend it out, because you may not get it back.

Randy's review.......2005-04-12

I don't read science fiction. I read this book because I was asked. WOW!!!!! This turned out to be the best book I have ever read. D.L. Burt is a pyrotechnic writer. His vivid descriptions keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I have read the book at least three times and can't wait for the next in the series.

Archery at the Dark of the Moon: Poetic Problems in Homer's Odyssey

Average customer rating:

brilliant insights, lame prose style
Ian Myles Slater on: On Intriguing Look at Odysseus

Archery at the Dark of the Moon: Poetic Problems in Homer's Odyssey
Norman Austin
Manufacturer: Univ of California Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

brilliant insights, lame prose style.......2006-03-11

on one page, for example, he uses "individual" several times. there are obviously many other words one could use, such as "man" or "person," but for some reason Austin prefers to be boring.

Ian Myles Slater on: On Intriguing Look at Odysseus.......2003-09-26

The bibliography of Homeric studies is almost inconceivably vast (there are acute comments by contemporaries of Socrates), and I can't claim to have read more than a small fraction of even the major works in English. However, I once made an effort to find, and read, the most famous and / or frequently cited works.

At about the same time this work first appeared, to generally excellent reviews, and I added it to my "must read" list as soon as it arrived in the UCLA library. Although I found that I disagreed with, for example, some of his views on the oral-formulaic theory of composition, the argument was well-expressed. I kept on reading. The previous reading of major critics turned out to be helpful in understanding Austin's book, which itself proved exceptionally illuminating for my next re-reading of Homer -- not always the case, unfortunately.

"Archery at the Dark of the Moon" is in part a close reading of the Odyssey, in part a sustained argument over theories of reading and interpretation. As I have suggested, it is probably not a good place for someone to start. For those with some background, in both Homeric issues and critical theory, it will be rewarding reading.

Don't ask me to sort out exactly how it changed my views of an already familiar text, not at this date. When I re-read Austin in paperback in the mid-1990s, I was surprised at how familiar it still seemed; I had assimilated that much. For me, that marks it as an extremely impressive book.

The first chapter, for example, despite my reservations, has some acute observations about the "fixed epithets" attached to Odysseus, and how their appearance is governed by more than metrical considerations. He shows that almost all of the sixty-odd uses of "polymetis" -- usually translated as something like "of many plans" -- appear when the hero is about to cajole, convince, or trick someone. He suggests that "thinking hard, he said" might be a better rendering. In any case, this hero is being described in ways more meaningful than his ships, which, as is well known, are "black" or "hollow" in accordance with the space to be filled in the line, not their appearance or cargo capacity.

On larger issues, too, such as the working of the story, Austin has much to say that is worth attention. I doubt that there will ever be a generally convincing explanation of the (rather bizarre) archery contest that forms the climax of the epic (and provides his title), but Austin is at least interesting as a critic of the story, without needing to propose unusual axe-shapes and odd modifications of the laws of physics to justify the text.

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating tale.......2003-08-11

Say what you will about the author, this is one story that practically tells itself. The entire Bokassa saga is so fundamentally bizarre, one needs to do little more than list the events in order to create a memorable story.

Bokassa's coronation in 1976 was truly one of the strangest events to ever come out of a continent plagued by strangeness. Brian Titley describes the awkward climax of Bokassa's career in excellent detail, cataloguing the thousands of pounds of champagne and food that was shipped in from the finest caterers in France, the elaborate robes and jewelry that were handcrafted for the event, and the meager guest list, with the Prime Minister of tiny Mauritius being the only guest of any significance.

The whole thing is truly one of the most fascinating stories I have read in a long time. With so much literature written about China, America, the USSR et al, it can sometimes be a refreshing break to read about a tiny nation's isolated history.

Interesting topic, average writing.......2001-11-06

I have always been interested in the Central African Republic, and since I don't speak French, it is hard to find material on it-so I was very pleased to find a book like this. The Bokassa saga, shows that truth can be stranger than fiction. After all, if the average American turned on the television special featuring a country called the 'Central African Republic', where the ruler converts at will, stages a coronation in the style of Napoleon, and has a harem of wives from throughout the world-chosen at will, they would dismiss it as a fiction.
Yet it was not, Bokassa and many other tyrants were supported by nations seeking to play their role in the Cold War.
It reminds me of Heart of Darkness, which took place in what is now, CAR's neighbor, Congo, formerly Zaire. While, I admire Titley's attempt to try be factual and trace the story in terms of politics and recorded intrigues. But there is little oral testimony, or information on the local culture and sociology.
This is a shame, because I think this story, or could been on par with chronicles such as Killing Fields, and this lacks the side of the victim. Also, Titley never address the brutalities, frankly, any nonacademic who is reading this wants to be titilated by the accusations of cannabalism and torture-and this issues are not addressed at all-neither dismissed or denied, or resolved. Also, the AUTHOR has access to Bokassa's autobiogaphy [of which all but 2 copies still exist] and it is rarely mentioned. All in all, it is not easy to have written this book, the topic carries the day, but I can't help feeling that this has the taste of an incomplete academic lecture series, that could have used an editor and some pungency.

Splendid Book!.......2001-01-04

This is a most interesting book about one of Africa's most extravagant leaders. Brian Titley does not write with particular elegance or wit, but his account of Bokassa's life seems well documented, even-handed and is thoroughly readeable. The details on the coronation ceremonies or the emperor's love life alone are worth the reading. A five star book on a five star general.

Killer or clown?.......2000-08-22

Brian Titley's account of the life of Jean Bedel Bokassa, self-proclaimed Emperor of the Central African Republic, is an unsettling one.

On the one hand, the personal detail that the author builds up on his subject can paint a fascinating and sometimes engaging picture of the Emperor.

After all, Bokassa was the dictator whose behavior was said to cause embarrassment even to other African despots. A caricature figure, who had warned senior government colleagues on different occasions that he was "properly annoyed" and was thinking of "going for a coup d'etat", he rose to power from an impoverished rural background.

As Emperor, however, he was the giver of envelopes of diamonds to visiting dignitaries; the collector and wearer of a huge collection of period-piece French military uniforms and the unrepentant womanizer who accumulated wives from countries as far distant as Romania and Vietnam.

With his subject never too far from the ridiculous, Titley dredges up some fantastic narrative. Even the photographs tell a story - an image on an early page of the book pictures Bokassa together with his favourite young son on the day of the imperial coronation. Africa's Napoleon, resplendent in a velvet robe, is desperately seeking a regal pose. His son, then aged about six, sits sulkily beside his father, his tasseled white sailor suit topped off with a captain's cap at least three sizes too big for him. He looks like he has rushed straight to the ceremony from an audition for the Jackson Five.

On the other hand - and this is the problem for the reader - much of this colour surrounding Bokassa turns out to be dark and foreboding. Although his alleged taste for human flesh has never been fully proven (nor his preference for the throwing of those that displeased him into his swimming pool of crocodiles) his regime was responsible for the torture and death of hundreds of his countrymen. He personally caved in the skulls of some of them with his favourite walking cane.

Can you enjoy a man's more attractive idiosyncracies when his darker ones include participation in the torture of schoolchildren? Titley does try, in an excellent concluding chapter, to put Bokassa into a political context. He killed fewer people than Dictator X. He stole and extorted less money than Dictator Y. He was aided, encouraged and manipulated by the French throughout his period in power. He lived the closing years of his life in (for him) relative poverty and isolation, deserted by his wives and children. He even chose to return from exile to his native country and face state trial.

More opportunities for the reader to adopt an ambivalent attitude to Africa's Napoleon? Probably not. Bokassa's expressions of remorse seem to have been limited to his sense of personal misfortune. And if we are to be asked to judge him less harshly only against a backdrop of more dangerous and more evil men, then we must ask ourselves if Bokassa may, after all, be deserving of the company that he keeps

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