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.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

Songs of the Earth: A Timeless Collection of Native American Wisdom

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Stirring...

Songs of the Earth: A Timeless Collection of Native American Wisdom

Manufacturer: Courage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0762414987
Release Date: 2003-04-01

Book Description

This collection of Native American quotations, songs, and poems is paired in a handsome, high-quality art book with the classic works of Edward S. Curtis. Convinced he was witnessing an irreversible loss of their cultures, Curtis began traveling the West in the 1890 to photograph members of various tribes. His striking images are a perfect complement to profound observations from Lone Man, Chief Seattle, Mourning Dove, Geronimo, and other wise men and women of the Pawnee, Oglala Sioux, Paiute, Wabanaki Algonquin, and Ojibwa.

Customer Reviews:

Stirring..........2004-01-29

This book is full of stirring images & words & makes a touching addition to your library!

Cry for Luck: Sacred Song and Speech Among the Yurok, Hupa, and Karok Indians of Northwestern California

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Cry for Luck: Sacred Song and Speech Among the Yurok, Hupa, and Karok Indians of Northwestern California
Richard Keeling
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Standing Ground: Yurok Indian Spirituality, 1850-1990

ASIN: 0520075609

Book Description

The "sobbing" vocal quality in many traditional songs of northwestern California Indian tribes inspired the title of Richard Keeling's comprehensive study. Little has been known about the music of aboriginal Californians, and Cry for Luck will be welcomed by those who see the interpretation of music as a key to understanding other aspects of Native American religion and culture.
Among the Yurok, Hupa, and Karok peoples, medicine songs and spoken formulas were applied to a range of activities from hunting deer to curing an upset stomach or gaining power over an uninterested member of the opposite sex. Keeling inventories 216 specific forms of "medicine" and explains the cosmological beliefs on which they were founded. This music is a living tradition, and many of the public dances he describes are still performed today. Keeling's comparative, historical perspective shows how individual elements in the musical tradition can relate to the development of local cultures and the broader sphere of North American prehistory.

Mel Bay The Art of the Native American Flute

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Not for Beginning Players
Carlos Nakai flute book
A wonderful resource for any Native Americn Flute enthusiast
For Beginners or Advanced players
A very highly recommended performance guide

Mel Bay The Art of the Native American Flute
R. Carlos Nakai , James Demars , David P. McAllester , and Ken Light
Manufacturer: Mel Bay Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786628987

Customer Reviews:

Not for Beginning Players.......2006-06-21

For anyone interested in a generic understanding of the Native American FLute they may find it here. However for those who would like to learn to play and have no prior musical knowledge they will find it a discouraging study...difficult to understand without first mastering musical theory. The most valuable parts of "The Art of The Native American FLute" are the musical transcriptions of Carlos Nakai's songs written in flute tablature. They are though beneficial only for the advanced player that can read.

John Vames, Author,
"The Native American FLute: Understanding the Gift"

Carlos Nakai flute book.......2006-03-25

I thought Native American flute music was from the heart, this book teaches writen music and memorizing notes. it was disapointing to me because thats not what i want to do. But for someone you does its a very good book.

A wonderful resource for any Native Americn Flute enthusiast.......2005-02-17

"The Art of the Native American Flute" is both a comprehensive reference and a fun read. A reader with only passing familiarity with Native American flutes and music (read: has seen a photo or heard one played once) will easily be able to play the role of expert after reading this tome.

The book begins with information on the flute's historical and legendary origins. After this introduction, the reader is invited to look at a deconstructed flute and understand how all the parts fit together to form the whole. The authors discuss the flute's similarities and differences to such instruments as the pipe organ and the European recorder, and they also give a detailed analysis of how each flute's unique sound is produced.

The reader will go on to learn about care, cleaning and maintenance of the flute. Of course, the reader will also be shown how to properly play the flute (including topics such as altering tones and tablature-to-key relationships). After reading these sections, the reader can go on to practice any of a number of included songs.

The book wraps up with extensive lists of bibliographies, discographies and references, and even an essay on the authenticity of both the style of music and the instrument itself.

This book is indispensable for anyone who has the desire to learn more about Native American flutes. Get the book, get a flute, and begin to enjoy unique beauty of this wondrous instrument.

For Beginners or Advanced players.......2002-03-27

As a beginning NAF player, I found this book fascinating. I read it before I bought my first flute, and I found the information on various types of flutes, construction, care and history to be very helpful.

I've used this book as one of my main texts for teaching myself to play this wonderful instrument. I also found the presentation of the TAB system to be useful as I have branched out into writing music of my own.

A very highly recommended performance guide.......2001-03-19

With The Art Of The Native American Flute, Carlos Nakai draws upon his many years as an educator, performer, and student of the Native American flute to present the reader with a comprehensive and "user friendly" instruction manual for learning to play this core Native American musical instrument. Part one includes discussions on tunings, fingerings, performance technique, tablature, style, history, standard notation, traditional ornaments, and a section on the care and maintenance of the flute. Part Two includes sixteen transcriptions of songs from Naki's recordings. Part Three is an informative analysis of Naki's role in Native American culture as a recording artist and performer by the ethnomusicologist David P. McAllester. The Art Of The Native American Flute is a very highly recommended performance guide and insightful source on the Native American flute, as well as a concise review of the career and artistry of one of the most important ethnic artists in America today.

Stories in Stone: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans

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Stories in Stone: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans
Caroline Arnold
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395720923

Book Description

A book about the rock art found on the canyon walls of the Coso Range, about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The art is more than 3,000 years old and was made by Native Americans who lived and hunted in the area at the time.

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The History of East-Meets-West
Kate Wharton, Straight No Chaser (UK)
A history of the recent yet amazing infusion of East Indian classical music into western culture
Enhanced my knowledge and appreciation for Indian music and its many important influences
How the West Woke Up

The Dawn of Indian Music in the West
Peter Lavezzoli
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0826418155

Book Description

In 1955, Ali Akbar Khan issued an LP called Music of India: Morning and Evening Ragas, with spoken introductions by Western classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Until then, Indian classical music was terra incognita in the West. When the same album was reissued as a compact disc in 1995, under the title Then and Now, it was nominated for a Grammy. Between "then and now" has been the pervasive influence of Indian music and culture in the West. Most visibly, the wonders of the Indian musical world were spread by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison of the Beatles, but the music also had a profound effect on Mickey Hart and the Grateful Dead, John McLaughlin, Philip Glass, the Byrds, John Coltrane, and many others.

The Dawn of Indian Music in the West (with a Foreword by Ravi Shankar), finds musician and author Peter Lavezzoli sharing his uncommon ability to articulate the intimate nature of music while at the same time narrating a history. In his discussion on Indian music theory, he demystifies Eastern musical structures and terminology for Western readers, and explores the connection between the Indian and Western disciplines of musical training. Lavezzoli engages in thought-provoking conversation with a score of musicians including Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Philip Glass, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Zubin Mehta, Terry Riley, Bill Laswell, and John McLaughlin. These artists bring their own unique insights on the spiritual implications of Indian music to the discussion; and Lavezzoli's exploration of the relationships between Indian music and jazz, rock, and electronic music has few if any parallels.

"It is amazing to see the dedication and amount of hard work Peter Lavezzoli has gone through in creating this book. He has put hours, months, and years into meeting and interviewing so many musicians--Indians and Westerners as well." -- from the Foreword by Ravi Shankar.

Customer Reviews:

The History of East-Meets-West.......2007-04-06

Among the many thought-provoking quotes in Peter Lavezzoli's new book is this one from tabla player Tanmoy Bose. "If you talk to any music lover in the West, they know more about [Indian music] than Indians ... they have a thirst for it, and they are very critical in the West for that reason." At first, I was tempted to reply that these Western fans are so enthusiastic because they (we) are such a small minority. In India, interest in Indian classical music runs the gamut from devotion to mild interest. There is, for example, a sense of national pride that makes Indians feel they ought to like classical music even if they don't. In the West, you are either a devoted fan or completely ignorant on the subject, and it often seems to us that all the devoted fans are gathered in the Bay Area. However, Lavezzoli paints a significantly different picture, arguing quite convincingly that Indian music has deeply influenced both American and European music for over half a century.

Peter Lavezzoli's first book, "The King of All, Sir Duke," took a controversial approach to biography. He devoted relatively little space to Duke Ellington, the book's ostensible subject matter, and instead wrote about Ellington's influence on other prominent musicians (including Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, and George Clinton). His newest book, "The Dawn of Indian Music in the West: Bhairavi," follows a similar format, but it is not a story of one musician's impact on other musicians. It is the story of the influences of one entire musical culture on another, and the tracing of those influences from connection to connection is the perfect format. Lavezzoli's goal is to document every aspect of that impact with interviews and historical summaries. The result is a long and engrossing read, full of remarkable anecdotes and thoughtful discussions with some of the most important creative people in many different Indian and Western musical domains.

About a fifth of this book will probably produce a sense of déjà vu for regular readers of this magazine. There are detailed interviews with many local artists, including Cheb i Sabbah, Ali Akbar Khan, Zakir Hussain, Terry Riley, George Ruckert, and Mickey Hart. If you know little or nothing about these people and their music, you get all the introduction you need. But no matter how much you may think you know, Lavezzoli has new information for you. Those of us who live in the Bay Area know that there are lots of Americans and Europeans who have carefully studied Indian music. But Lavezzoli shows us who was first, where they did it, and how things developed from there.

The book is subtitled "Bhairavi" because the first significant musical contact between Indian and Western classical music was a recording of that raga in 1955 by Ali Akbar Khan. Bhairavi is also a morning raga traditionally played to close a concert that has gone on past midnight, so Lavezzoli also uses the word as an allusion to the "dawn" of Indian music. This recording was the first 33 rpm long-playing record of Indian classical music. Prior to this, the only recordings of Indian music were 78 rpm records, which had poor sound quality and lasted five minutes or less. This was also the first performance of Indian classical music in the West, except for an unrecorded concert at Columbia University by Inayat Khan. (It is a tribute to Lavezzoli's thoroughness that what little is known about that Columbia concert is in this book.) The Bhairavi recording included a verbal introduction by Yehudi Menuhin, who had discovered Indian music while touring India. Menuhin's endorsement helped to convince his colleagues that this music was a serious disciplined art form, not an exotic ethnic curiosity. Lavezzoli has some interesting parallels between the harsh pedagogic methods used by both Indian gurus and Western conservatories, which justified labeling both traditions as "classical."

There were, however, parallel influences occurring in rock and jazz, spearheaded by George Harrison and John Coltrane respectively, who were both great admirers of Ravi Shankar. Rock and jazz musicians were attracted not only by the complex use of rhythms and microtones, but also by the freedom to improvise, and by altered states of spiritual consciousness. These musicians usually associated altered states with drugs, creating a controversy that endures to this day. For most Westerners during the 1960s, Ravi Shankar's sitar was the soundtrack for drug experiences. This was a serious misunderstanding: Shankar did compose scores for psychedelic movies like Chappaqua, but he also insisted that his audiences not use drugs. Lavezzoli asks almost all of his interviewees about drugs, and discovers a spectrum of opinions that reveal another great contribution of Indian music to the West.

Western music had fragmented into two conflicting elements: the emotional drug-tinged intensity of improvised jazz and rock, and the tightly controlled intellectual discipline of European classical music. Because Indian music had never separated emotion and thought, it could show Westerners how to reunite them. It challenged rock musicians to acquire discipline, enabled jazz musicians to see their improvisation as a spiritual practice, and reminded European classical musicians that music is not just marks on paper, but is played by a musician, and heard with the ears. Sometimes Western musicians tried to capture the mood of Indian music with little awareness of technical details. Other times, they took Indian techniques and reworked them to create very different moods. But Lavezzoli shows us that all forms of Western music now have a healthier relationship to each other, and to the rest of the world because of the Indian influence. Perhaps in the new millennium, there may even be Westerners who will be great virtuosos of Indian music. Will this music then still be Indian, and will its players still be Westerners?

Kate Wharton, Straight No Chaser (UK).......2006-10-07

This historical study is full of detailed information about a disparate collection of the most inventive musicians of the 20th century, all drawn together by the thread of a fascination with India. The book gives equal attention to legends like John Coltrane, and more marginal avant-garde figures like Don Cherry, John Mayer (of Indo-Jazz Fusions), and John Handy. It also refers to rock stars like David Crosby, and contemporary classical composers like Philip Glass. Each musician's biography is woven into the text, so the entire book (nearly 500 pages) gives you an intense impression of the deep spirituality of this generation of musicians.

Peter Lavezzoli is a very astute critic of the key albums of this movement, and I learned a lot from his detailed discussion of Duke Ellington's "Far East Suite," Coltrane's "India," and Don Cherry's "Mu." When reading this book, you really feel you are being guided by someone with a highly developed intuitive feel for integrity and truth in music, as he himself is a musician who is concerned, as he admits, with "the connection between musical and spiritual expression."

In this book, historical narratives are interspersed with interviews with the leading musicians in Western and Indian music, such as Terry Riley and Shujaat Khan. These interviews are not your average magazine interviews, however, as the central concern of Lavezzoli is always wisdom, and his questions are always subtle and searching. If you glanced at this book, you might be put off by the way the text is crammed on the page, the lack of margins and smallness of type making it seem somehow a hurried book or not carefully thought out, but do not be deceived by bad design--this book is a true labour of love. It will inspire all musicians to take their work on to the next level, and it will inspire all record collectors to rush out and get hold of Alice Coltrane's "World Galaxy."

A history of the recent yet amazing infusion of East Indian classical music into western culture.......2006-07-04

Musician and author Peter Lavezzoli presents The Dawn Of Indian Music In The West: Bhairavi, a history of the recent yet amazing infusion of East Indian classical music into western culture. Though Indian music was largely unheard of until 1955, when Ali Akbar Khan issues an LP called "Music of India: Morning and Evening Ragas", its appeal steadily gained ground, to the extent that Indian and Western disciplines began to borrow concepts from one another to aid in composition and training. When "Music of India" was re-released as a compact disc in 1995, it won a Grammy. The Dawn of Indian Music in the West follows the influence and impact of Indian classical music in extensive detail, meticulously researched and presented especially for intermediate to advanced music scholars and theorists. Highly recommended especially for college library and music reference shelves.

Enhanced my knowledge and appreciation for Indian music and its many important influences.......2006-07-03

This is a fantastic book for many reasons; Peter Lavezzoli has done an amazing amount of research, delivering a lovingly written treasure trove of well-rounded details that will interest music enthusiasts from many different schools and tastes. Fascinating connections are drawn from the histories and influences of Indian music on rock, jazz, western classical and more. Included are vivid chapters on the pivotal history of Allauddin Khan, teacher of Ravi Shankar and the father and teacher of Ali Akbar Khan; Yehudi Menuhin's discovery and presentation of Indian music to western audiences (he is pictured with Ravi Shankar on the cover); the fabulous chapter on George Harrison; and a powerful section on John Coltrane, to name just a few personal favorites, with numerous connections to Ravi Shankar, who is widely referenced and featured (in too great a depth to summarize in a brief review).

A good portion of the book features the musicians and associates themselves having their say through remarkable interviews with Ali Akbar Khan, Mary Johnson Khan, Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Jim Keltner, Terry Riley, Cheb i Sabbah, Zubin Mehta, Anoushka Shankar, Ravi Shankar, Tanmoy Bose, John McLaughlin, Bill Laswell, Shujaat Khan, George Ruckert, Shubhendra Rao, Suskia Rao-de Haas, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, and Philip Glass. The author asks good questions and gets rich answers, making for a highly enjoyable reading experience.

This is a book I can spend hours re-reading. I've learned enormous amounts about a wide variety of music forms within each chapter. Readers with virtually any level of music interest will find something of value here. A real stunner! Highly recommended.

How the West Woke Up.......2006-06-12

Peter Lavezzoli's "The Dawn of Indian Music in the West: Bhairavi" is a superbly written, astonishingly comprehensive, and deeply important book. Not only is it a must-read for anyone interested in how classical Indian musical forms were embraced by Western audiences -- laying the groundwork for the proliferation of so-called world beat and other fusions -- but it's also essential reading for anyone interested in how Western musical forms like jazz and rock and roll evolved into the complex, elegant, and risk-taking journeys of discovery that they are now, in the post-Byrds and post-Beatles age.

This book is crammed with fascinating anecdotes about and probing interviews of the musicians whose own creativity was transformed by their exposure to Indian music, and the result is a book that provides one of the deepest examinations of the global revolution in music over the past four decades. The careers of pop stars like the Byrds' Roger McGuinn and David Crosby are shown in a new light; the breathtaking evolutions of John Coltrane and the Beatles are analyzed in ways that are completely fresh; and such nearly forgotten geniuses and innovators as Collin Walcott and Nadia Boulanger are finally given their due.

I had done quite a bit of reading in these areas before stumbling across Lavezzoli's book in a bookstore, but every time I pick up this book, I learn something new about music I've loved for years, from Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" to Walcott's "Cloud Dance" to Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Lavezzoli's prose style is top-drawer -- conversational and obviously passionate about its subject, yet also highly learned and insightfully critical -- which makes the book a real pleasure to read.

One of the finest books of the year, and one of the best music books I've read in a decade.

Hindustani Music: A Tradition in Transition (New Vistas in Indian Performing Arts)

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Hindustani Music: A Tradition in Transition (New Vistas in Indian Performing Arts)
Deepak Rja
Manufacturer: DK Printworld
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 8124603200

Product Description

Broad survey of North Indian classical music since 1947. by a leading wrtist and commentator. goes into effects of technology, economics,, new training, then changes in form, ideom and format, with a large section on ragas. Also sections on instruments, variations. This will be an important reference work

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Imagining Native America in Music
Michael V Pisani
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300108931

Book Description

This book offers a comprehensive look at musical representations of native America from the pre colonial past through the American West and up to the present. The discussion covers a wide range of topics, from the ballets of Lully in the court of Louis XIV to popular ballads of the nineteenth century; from eighteenth-century British-American theater to the musical theater of Irving Berlin; from chamber music by Dvoˆrák to film music for Apaches in Hollywood Westerns.

Michael Pisani demonstrates how European colonists and their descendants were fascinated by the idea of race and ethnicity in music, and he examines how music contributed to the complex process of cultural mediation. Pisani reveals how certain themes and metaphors changed over the centuries and shows how much of this “Indian music,” which was and continues to be largely imagined, alternately idealized and vilified the peoples of native America.

Ancient Echoes: The Anasazi Book of Chants

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Don't waste your time, energy or money ...
Can I vote 0 stars?
On this book not being about "anything ancient".
Very resourceful book........
Ancient Echoes is not about anything ancient

Ancient Echoes: The Anasazi Book of Chants
Mary Summer Rain
Manufacturer: Hampton Roads Publishing Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1878901877

Customer Reviews:

Don't waste your time, energy or money ..........2007-08-14

I have to admit, I was a fan of Mary Summer Rain's earlier books, and I have this book in my collection (purchased many years ago). As I read each "ceremony," I wasn't into all these "star vehicles," "crystal use," etc. It is easy for MSR to say these chants were from one branch of the Anasazi -- that way she cannot receive as much criticism from the Pueblo Indians.

As far as who knows what kind of ceremonies were done back then, there is such as thing as oral history. We did not write down our history, but told them verbally, which is why stories, legends and HISTORY, continue to live until this day. The Yonega has rewritten much of Native American history, but it is now our turn to tell the truth.

I agree with previous reviews -- MSR is a new-ager who has snowballed many people throughout the years. This is why she has shifted to writing fiction (wait -- she's been doing that for years)!

I never had regarded her as Native American, she doesn't really know -- she claims to a nation (Shoshone) but I wonder if they readily accept her.

Stay away from her writings, unless you don't mind reading fiction. AS for me, if I like the book, I go back and read it from time to time. I still have the book, but I haven't read it in over 10 years.

Can I vote 0 stars?.......2005-08-31

I have to echo Joseph's review and warn people to stay away from this book as well as any other books by Mary Summer Rain. The author has taken claims to a heritage that she knows nothing about. This book sells romanticized "spirituality" and is a fictional collection of Anasazi beliefs and chants, and should not be considered a true account.

On this book not being about "anything ancient"........2004-03-05

I am writing for two reasons: One, simply to say that this is a beautiful book about what I feel deep in my heart is quite historically accurate.

Two, in reference to one long review that attacks this book as being pretty much a lie. The reviewer should have paid more attention to the book's repeated mention of these chants and customs being associated with a particular Anasazi CLAN, not the entirety of the Anasazi people over centuries. Does the reviewer believe that he/she, or any pueblo for that matter, knows what went on with every CLAN of people back then?

It doesn't really matter. You are either positively affected by this book or you are not. If you have the slightest ability to read with an open heart and mind -- which should, by the way, help you see more clearly -- you will probably get what Mary Summer Rain is trying to say with the book: plain and simple truth. She does this abundantly in all of her other books, and I count her work, including Ancient Echoes, as among the most enlightening literature I have ever found.

Very resourceful book...............2000-04-05

This book,the many chants ect. are beutiful!If nothing else,they are very calming,soothing and interesting.I felt as if I was taken back in time,to a place very far away.To a wonderful place with extradinary people.Mary summer rain has the remarkable ability to captivate her readers with profound wisdom bought forth in a simple,easy to understand manner.Like so many of her other books ,this is a book you will read over and over.I highly recommend it.

Ancient Echoes is not about anything ancient.......2000-03-08

Claiming to contain the wisdom of the Anasazi, Ancient Echoes, is a disappointment. There is nothing ancient in the ideas expressed. Indeed, most of the ideas expressed are New Age ideas with no connection to the Anasazis, who were the ancestors of today's Pueblos. I found this book insulting to anyone who cares about the heritage of the Pueblos or bout prejudices European-Americans maintain against Native Americans. The Pueblos hold that they are the descendents of the Anasazi and that the "Ancient Ones" never vanished. Scholars have long recognized the same. The National Park Service that maintains Anasazi archaeological sites at places like Mesa Verde, has also long recognized the link between Anasazis and contemporary Pueblos. Yet, this book ignores this knowledge in favor of the author's whim. Mary Summer Rain claims to have received the chants and prayers of the Anasazi through "spirit memory recall." However, the information this technique brought her does not square with the information Pueblos themselves give or with the information archaeologists can verify. Her chants bear no relation to Pueblo religious practice and her description of Anasazi society contradicts what is known for certain about the Anasazi. The "Anasazi" ceremonies suggested, like the Phoenix Dance, have never been known among the Pueblos. Indeed the very suggestion that this dance was held "twice a year" (p. 125) goes against Puebloan practice (see Alfonso Ortiz, The Tewa World, 1969). Similarly, there is absolutely no evidence that the Anasazi were enamoured with crystals, (pp. 98, 134, 144) that women were "welcomed into the Hunter Society" (p. 22) or that they traveled about in Star Vehicles (pp.118, 188). This book should be classified as fiction, or as a treatise on New Age thought. In no way should this book be taking as a serious portrayal of Anasazi life. Indeed, it perpetuates many stereotypes Europeans have long held regarding Native Americans disregarding the appeals of Native American scholars that non-Indians stop using Indians to legitimize their own beliefs.

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