History Books

I had low expectations for this book, but once I got into to it, it is a pretty good read. Clearly the start of a new series from him, with lots of possibilities in the future books.

A fun read for a light weekend.

If you are a David Weber fan you will love this book.
If you aren't a fan you will still love this book!
I have already ordered the next book.

This book reads a lot like heirs of empire, but I think it is a worth while read. i enjoyed it.

I literally devoured this book over a weekend. I thought the premise was unique enough to grab my attention and the characters really popped off the pages. That in particular is the reason I read Weber. Being a stand-alone, it's not quite as daunting to pick up "Reef" as it is one of the Honor Harrington or War God books and it is still a good example of Webers writing.

/Off Armageddon Reef/ contains a patchwork of previous themes in other books by David Weber. The Terran Federation comes from his /Starfire/ collaborations with Steve White, the alien menace that wipes out humanity and the one world which it misses is from his /Fifth Imperium/ (Dahak?), the method of FTL world spanning religion come from the /Honorverse/ and the artificial repressive religion also comes from /Starfire/.

The plot is this: Nimue Alban of the Terran Federation Navy makes less than a thousand years after she died against the Gbaba in a final stand to protect Earth. She's on Safehold, a planet that the TF's Operation Ark settled so that humanity can rise back up and destroy the Gbaba, however the colony's administrators created a false repressive religion in order to stagnate all thought and innovation. Nimue wakes up as a PICA, a cybernetic avatar that holds consciousness during the middle of the 9th Century of God. Nimue begins her quest to revive humanity's spirit from its shackles by aiding the Kingdom of Charis (after a quick sex change for her PICA due to women being of a lesser status on the feudal Safehold) as 'Merlin Athrawes', saving Crown Prince Cayleb from an assassination attempt by the ruler of neighboring Emerald, Nahrmahn. To disguise his truly superhuman powers, 'Merlin' is called a /seijin/ a kinda mystic warrior-monk. To help the rather innovative maritime Charis against Mother Church 'Merlin' introduces new innovations for ships and weapons allowing Charis which already controls the seas of Safehold (Charis is rather similar to the British Empire and China, economically since all of Safehold relies on it goods) to repel an attempt by the Church's corrupt puppet masters, the 'Group of Four' to destroy Charis.

People who haven't read any of the series mentioned above will probably see this book as very original, admittedly some of it is, like the PICA, which bothers me, if the Federation could make these, why didn't they make copies of their greatest admirals or scientists? Since Weber doesn't use the PICA except as a way for the heroine (another Weber staple) to be able to save Safehold from stagnation I choose to believe PICAs to be extremely hard to make. Despite the corrupt self-serving Church that the colony administrators set up and made themselves 'Archangels' /Off Armageddon Reef/ is not anti-religious or anti-Catholic even if the equivalent of the Protestants/Lutherans are the good guys unlike Eric Flint's /1632/. Several members of the laity (both 'good' and 'bad') speak of not the Church being corrupt, but the /men/ running it to be corrupt. The naval battles were a nice break after Weber's /Honor Harrington/ space operas. Another plus is that Nimue/Merlin isn't in love with Old Earth tacticians unlike many other of Weber's characters. There is one scene with that's kinda awkward funny involving 'Merlin' in a rugby (which on Safehold is nothing like Terran rugby, it's played in the water and the players are all naked) game, PICAs are literally fully functional and 'Merlin' still has Nimue's arousal by buff naked men, so 'he' has to keep the towel around 'his' waist until he can shut off the arousal feature.

For those just starting Weber, this will most likely seem very good, those have read all his other works will most likely feel a nagging sense of deja vu. Maybe I'm just a romantic, but I enjoy reading about civilization pulling itself back up from crushing defeat. Despite its faults /Off Armageddon Reef/ was enjoyable for me and I'm looking forward to reading /By Schism Rent Asunder/.

I've always loved Dawkins books, so when my son had this on his wish list at birthday time, even though I'd already spent all of my alloted birthday money (and more!), I had to add this one!
I'm glad I did. He's told me how much he enjoyed it, and that, afterall, is the whole point of a gift, giving something the receiver will enjoy.
Of course, now I want the book, but it will have to wait a while. I still have 5 birthdays and Christmas to buy for before there's unspoken for cash in my wallet!

In this astonishing display of biological knowledge, Richard Dawkins, with a cue from Chaucer, sees the progression of life forms as a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage that apparently will go on forever. And it will go on forever because life forms have no purpose of their own, their only purpose is to replicate. The book could be entitled: "The March of the Replicators". That is all he sees: a universe of replicators going nowhere.

Even his fellow human beings he sees merely as replicators. In the pilgrimage of life forms, there is no Canterbury, there is only unending replication.

The human mind and intellect, music, literature, the human family, art, science, education, the Symphonies of Mozart and Beethoven, the art of Rembrandt, Raphael and Michelangelo, everything we call civilization and culture, mathematics, the cosmos, the visible world around us, the Bible, great cathedrals, Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the United Kingdom, the Wisdom of Greece and the Religion of the Jews, as well as the Vatican, horseracing - an endless list - exist only so life forms can replicate themselves - and he expects us to take him seriously?

He has even discovered new replicators: memes. He has a whole chapter on them in "The Selfish Gene". They are his version of the human mind and intellect, and there is one for religion, too, which he posits as an invader of the meme pool, or at least a mysterious intruder. And how does this religion meme replicate itself: by the spoken and written word, by art, music, literature, in other words, by culture. He apparently came upon this meme colony on the Starship Enterprise. It is his way of dismissing the rational foundation for the existence of God, and the human and rational structure of human civilization and culture.

He seems not to have reflected that if his meme pool is true, his evolutionary biology is only a meme, a fiction inserted into the human mind so that life can replicate itself ad infinitum.

"The Ancestor's Tale" is an astonishing collection of evolutionary and biological information, but it is a procession of life going nowhere, replicating itself - to what end? That is the question that emerges from Richard Dawkins evolutionary encyclopedia. Infinite replication is not something most people can get excited about. It is Reductio ad Absurdum, ad Absurdum, ad Absurdum.........

"The Ancestor's Tale," Richard Dawkins's engaging look into the reverse-chronology of evolution, is based upon Chaucer's "Cantebury Tales;" we get various chapters revolving around certain organisms (or, rather, the earliest common ancestor of the modern-day organism), most chapters featuring a "tale" that deals with some aspect of evolution.

"Tale" is not perfect, though it is helped out by the fact that Dawkins readily admits his book isn't perfect. If he's uncertain of who came first in his backward trek through time, he admits it. If there is something scientists are still unsure of, Dawkins doesn't throw an answer our way--he describes to us the problem, and how future scientists might unravel it. There are a few other flaws, however, inherent in his writing: he is often wordy (especially in the sections co-written with Yan Wong, some of which Dawkins even tells the casual reader to just skip), and his various invented phrases ("concestor" being the prominent one) become hard to follow. Then there is his needless political skewering; he goes off-topic frequently to talk about the (mainly American) political climate of today's world. He also makes his opinions about Creationists plain; he often goes out of his way to mock them, to the extent of deterring the reader (most of whom, we must assume, believe in evolution) from his points.

His snide remarks (and occasional wordiness) aside, Dawkins's "The Ancestor's Tale" is an enjoyable, thoroughly informative romp through evolution. It is an admitably-biased approach (evolution through a human perspective; it could just as easily have been told through that of an elephant, which even Dawkins admits would be interesting), but that is unavoidable; humans can only tell human stories. Taken as such, "The Ancestor's Tale" is a must-read for anyone with an interest in evolution, or scientific writing in general. It may be a bit more than the most casual reader can handle, but if you've done some general-science reading before (I'm not expert, believe me; hell, I'm an English major!), you are more than prepared. Strap yourselves in for a journey back to the beginning of life...you'll find quite a few surprises along the way, I guarantee you.

A lot has already been said about this book, and I just thought I would throw in my two cents!
This is a great book! This book is Dawkins' best book for the masses. If you're curious about how evolution actually works and exactly how we know evolution by natural selection works, this is a great introduction.
Dawkins has a clear and easy to read style of writing, and he keeps the pace brisk and entertaining!

A lot has been said about how Dawkins rants and how long the book is. First, Dawkins keeps his rants to a bare minimum, and most of them are funny asides in the footnotes, don't believe the hype!
Second, the length of the book: this book is over 600 pages long! But it's not long and rambling, considering the scope and breadth of what the author is trying to do here, this book is actually quite condensed and to the point. Dawkins manages to tell the story of human and primate evolution in about 100 pages, which is no mean feat. This chapter in itself could easily fill up volumes!

Given the episodic structure of this book, I could easily imagine it being adapted (pun intended) into a great Cosmos style TV series!

Great read for anyone interested in evolutionary biology - from an academic or a curiosity standpoint.

This coffee table book is one of my favorites. It doesn't go in depth into the subject matter but rather grazes over real-world examples with diagrams and simple explanations. Fun book to read, but not for the serious of study.

Want to be better or the best at what you do? This is the kind of book you use to fuel inspiration at a foundational level.

It was very fast to get the product and I experience a very good seller!

I bought this book primarily to see the studies of proportions in architecture. There are very few examples (really only 4 pages dedicated to that subject and 3 buildings analyzed) shown here. It does, however, give a myriad of ways to lay out different proportions using rectangles, circles, triangles, pentagons, etc. These, along with the examples of proportion in nature and on the human body were enough to spark my imagination as to how proportion can be used in design of buildings, but if you are looking for broad analysis of architectural proportions, look elsewhere. The examples that are given are mainly of poster design in the 1900s and Modern furniture design.

Kim Elam's book is not only a fascinating read, but beautifully designed as well, making it a perfect example of its subject. A must for all artists and designers.

This isn't a book for stuffy academics. It's readable and enjoyable, even if you're not a creative writing or english major. Foster's discussions of literature (mostly 20th century, but he runs the gamut), is lively, entertaining, and ultimately enlightening. I find myself reading and rereading the chapters again and again; each stands on its own as a discussion of a particular topic.

this is a little bit of insite into the world of books.
not all of us have lit degrees and are limited in our resources.
so this was a little gem for me.
I think its a handy little interesting tool for a dedicated reader.

Having learned more from T.C.Foster about reading literature than anyone,(How to Read Literature like a Professor), I find he does not disapoint in his approach to novels as he again points out key elements to look (or listen) for in a text. While some chapters are a little discursive, his urban-folksy skaz dispels any pedantic intimidation one might fear from such a work. Although his many allusions to classic novels may cause guilt for all the novels one should have read but havn't, this book is a must have for any aspiring serious reader.

"How to Read Novels Like a Professor" is the sequel to "How to Read Literature" by Dr. Thomas C. Foster. Foster is a professor at the University of Michigan-Flint. One can imagine being fortunate enough to sit in his classroom! If we as readers cannot be that fortunate we can relish his informed survey and suggestions on the joy of the novel.
The book begins with a short survey on the rise of the novel from Miguel de Cervantes immortal "Don Quixote" to the magical prose of J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter serial. We learn that in the heydey of the novel in the Victorian era the novels were published monthly or weekly. They were then printed in a three volume cheap edition before a more expensive single volume was published. The greats of the era such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, William Makepeace Thackery, the Bronte sisters and George Eliot all appeared in this printed format. Victorian novels were long, episodic and relied heavily on cliff hangers and colorful names to remind readers of who is who in the story.
Foster notes that on the very first page of a novel you can see how the author utilizes style, tone, mood, diction and point of view. Foster also introduces us to novelistic themes, mood and how the writer uses narrative to tell his/her story. He sometimes gets a bit too technical for the nonacademic reader though he does seek to explain what the terms mean.
We see how writers use symbols and express themselves through metaphors gained through their life's experiences. We see how important place and the historical situation are in novels. The novelist creates his/her own world be it Faulkner's county in Mississipi Joyce's Dublin; Hardy's Wessex or Dickens' nineteenth century London. Foster discusses characters and their motivations as drawn by the novelist.
Foster uses countless quotations from novels to show us how the artist crafts a novel. Unlike the Victorian age, today's novelist do not always end their books with all the character's fates clearly explained. Novels are now open-ended. Various narrative methods are being used in the postmoderistic world of modern novels. Stream of consciousness and different kinds of narrative are utilized by the modern writer.
Foster uses examples from world literature from Rushdie in India to the Caribbean and Latin America to make his points. His knowledge of African-American and Native American literature is vast. He is, also, an expert on the Western canon.
This short book is a popular approach to a fascinating subject. Anyone from high school teacher to student to book lovers will profit from this excellent resource. This book reminds us that as all readers are different so to is each person differently impacted by the words on the pages of the novel being read. Nevertheless, these reading tips from a master teacher are sure to enhance the reading experience. Well done and selling well on Amazon!

As a high school English teacher with two small children, I rarely get a chance to read a book for pleasure--let alone finish one. Amazingly, I read both of Foster's guides this summer. Each was a palatable presentation of issues surrounding literature in general and the novel in particular. He has a clear "voice" allowing me to imagine being back at a university lecture again--one of my favorite places to be! While other texts may seem more "scholaraly" (i.e. "dry"), Foster has a really accessible style for high school students, undergrads, and the interested public at large.

It's a good book, with a lot of collections of articles from history. But it'll be nicer if it has more of the author's own opinion

Anyone interested in history, academically or otherwise, should read Zinn's work since history is written by the winners, the best fighters, the most arrogant, sonmetimes, the most patient. It would be wise
for history teachers to present "the other side". I highly recommend his work.

This account of the history of the US is taken from the "little people's" point of view. Very eye opening.

History is sometimes written with the goal of documenting the attitudes or opinions of a particular class of people, such as the intellectuals, the politicians, the scientists, or the warriors. Each of these groups has made important contributions to human accomplishment, which should not be forgotten or discarded under the guise of some egalitarian or multicultural reading of history. But when the stories of these groups are documented in history, too often other voices are deafened, and these voices represent the vast majority of historical participants. It is not enough to view history through the eyes of intellectuals, politicians, or warriors. For an historical account to be meaningful, it must offer insight into the collaborations, opinions, belief structures, and longings of those who chose not to become famous, but instead chose to indulge themselves in the unique fascinations that each historical epoch possesses.

But because most humans throughout history did not record their experiences, the historian is left wanting for accurate appraisals of these experiences. Diaries, journals, and other personal writings can assist the historian in this regard, and there have been many uses of these throughout the historical literature. It is important to remember though that because of the paucity of these personal documents, one should not be too hasty in imputing the opinions of their authors to the entire population at the time. One cannot view them as representing the "voices of the people" without establishing this with (difficult) statistical analysis.

Sometimes however these documents were written more as a catharsis, as a way of expressing, in a strong and determined way, an idea, grievance, or opposition to the status quo. The opening quotation in the book by Frederick Douglass reinforces this view, for in that quotation Douglass essentially states that power must be challenged before it can be defeated (Douglass does not want to stop with mere words though, for in the same quotation he asserts the need for physical confrontation if necessary).

It is in this light that this book should be read. It is a collection of essays and letters that reveal attitudes that are not the typical ones that one would be exposed to in United States secondary schools. Those readers familiar with the author's earlier book on United States history will appreciate this book even more, but both can be read independently of each other. This is not a book that will please the elitist historian who discounts any view of history that does not magnify the contributions of intellectuals or military leaders over and above the "common" person. It is a book for those who are genuinely interested in the moods and aspirations of the people of a given time, if only from a limited vantage point. It will certainly upset the intellectual equilibrium of anyone who holds to a view of American history that has been sanitized by the educational establishment.

I am a high school history teacher and I use this in class. It has been extremely helpful especially combined with the free teacher's guide which you can find online. Each primary source is introduced with a brief background which provides some context.

This is a dandy book! The charismatic and fascinating persons featured have been the subject of much biographical treatment on a individual basis, but never woven into a timeline such as has been done by these authors ... a continuum which truly puts them into perspective. It shows what it was that made each of them worth knowing about, and illuminates their crucial roles in the drama that has devolved into a world scene that persists to this very day! A scene that seems relentless in determining the fates of so many on this planet no matter how fervently it may be wished that the destiny which seems to chain them to us might be disjoined, once and for all! Their successive stories make any fictional adventure pale to paltriness. What a job it was to do this ... to wrangle a monumental pile of researched elements into their proper sequences and cross-linkages with few, if any, errors! (Something I've considered doing with just a couple of these folks and found too daunting for my meager talent and store of patience, Wow!) Its extensive bibliography provides a rich resource to use as a basis for further inquiry and research in support of essays, articles, and yet additional insightful books similar to this and to such gems as "Milner's Kindergarten," "A Peace to End All Peace," and "Troublesome Young Men." Kudos to Meyer and Brysac!

Scholarly and well written without being boring or pedantic--absolutely fascinating insight into events unfolding in the Middle East today--amazing new facts no one seems to be aware of.

Although Meyer and Brysac don't tell why Americans learn so disastrously little from history, they've made some of the history itself wonderfully accessible. Now they do that for the modern history of the Middle East, whose "three universal faiths" extol "brotherhood and peace, compassion and humility" but whose "mortal disciples through the ages have engaged in reciprocal butchery. The very landscape of the Holy Land forms an outdoor museum of warfare." That's a sample of writing in this elegant, instructive book, the kind whose vividness thrusts readers through the otherwise baffling story of a region where the United States is again bogged down in confusion and loss, thanks to hubris grounded in ignorance.
What importance! How, forgive me, entertaining the authors make it! "Modern history" here means from roughly 1880, when the rapacious British invaded and occupied Egypt, largely to ensure control of the new Suez Canal. It ends with now, the last kingmaker - the predominantly greedy, short-sighted, full-of-themselves imperialists through whom Meyer and Brysac dramatically story-tell - being Paul Wolfowitz of very recent ill fame. I happened to have known two of the intruders: Kim Roosevelt and Miles Copeland, who bragged about their leading CIA roles in deposing Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq of Iran in 1953. Simplifying hard, the Land of the Free that has little compunction about using the dirtiest tricks while preaching democracy to the world has paid and will continue to pay hugely for that folly, whose current expressions draw heavily on the older ones.
However, Kingmakers doesn't simplify, nor pull punches either. Weary as everyone is of "this is a book every literate citizen should read," I find myself saying it to friends.

The legacy of British Imperialism in the middle east, is the zone of conflict that still persists in the region. This is a fantastic book which clearly explains the history of British meddling, and the consequences of their perfidy.

The ideas and experiences noted in this book are very intriguing. If I was not familiar with the author, I would not have read beyond the first chapter, but because I have studied his other works, I studied it in it's entirety. I never thought that I could ever view conscious altering substances in quite the way that I now do. Read with an open mind or after reading his other work so that you will go into this material with respect for the author.

While Graham Hancock again makes a pretty good case for his controversial theories, I found this book somewhat redundant and lacking the appeal of some of his other books that I have read. While I found the illustrations from ancient writings facinating, his drug induced explanations from his "visions" became a little tedious. I thought the book could have been a lot shorter, and had a hard time staying with it after about the first 300 pages or so.
Although Hancock's ideas on the origins of religion in the human animal may be interesting from the anthropological point of view, it seemed to me that he had said all he really had to say long before the book was over.

Hancock's basic thesis has been well described by other reviewers below. H. champions the popular Lewis-Williams hypothesis that cave art reflects shamanic rituals performed under trance conditions (often induced by hallucinogenics). This hypothesis he connects to his own experiences of having met "alien intelligences" in his own hallucinogenic journeys created by ibogain, ayahuasca and Psilocybe, in which GH encounters Egyptian gods, ancestors, transcendental snakes and weirdly sinister alien types with slit eyes. Hancock then combines these pieces of information into the suggestion that human evolution has been guided since time immemorial (actually, since about 30 000 BC) by discarnate intelligences living in "other dimensions".

To prove this idea, GH goes fishing for corroboration: he finds it in tales of UFO abductees, who claim to have been taken onto alien spacecraft, hoisted with "implants" and forced to nurse alien-hybrid babies (i am not making this up). Then he is struck by the similarity of the fairy lore to UFO abduction tales... again, the idea is that these "alien" creatures have been with humankind from dawn of our consciousness and that they are responsible for its awakening -through trance states induced through dancing, sensory/physical deprivation or hallucinogenics. They may even have messed with our DNA where Hancock approvingly cites Narby's ideas about DNA as a "cosmic serpent".

Like most of Hancock's books, Supernatural is well-written, representing yet another display of a natural storyteller's talent for delaying hapless readers' gratification - all the while leading us along winding roads decorated with sightseeing trinkets represented by UFO abductees, DMT trippers, prehistoric caves, Francis Crick, therianthropes, spirits and San Bushmen from Southern Africa. The book is superbly illustrated with representations of cave art from Europe and Africa and has a great intro into the murky politics of prehistoric art scholarship. However, while pretending at practicing the art of investigative reporting and objective analysis, GH is anything but. This book is all about selective citation, where *only* case studies, theories and ideas that conform to GHs grand hypothesis are cited whereas opposing views literally don't exist, with the exception of those that are easily debunked (i.e., Lewis-Williams' detractors). In other words, this book is an entertaining read, nothing less... and nothing more.

Yet - if you do chance upon it, read it. You'll have a good time.

I enjoyed entertaining the hypothesis proposed in this book. The author does a very good job reporting research done by others that helps support his hypothesis, although the author tends to provide more "case examples" than is necessary in each sub-argument, making the book longer than necessary. However, the authors of the other work he quotes admit more testing/research is needed to help prove the "realness" of what is seen in their own and research subjects' ethnogenic experiences, and the author's own experiments with ethnogenic substances as reported in the book contain only some similarities to what he is arguing should be dominant staples in everyone's experiences with these substances, as his theory goes. Relatedly, I felt he did not perform enough attempts with each substance, or at least didn't report enough of them, for me to see that the few flashes of similarity he did experience support his main hypothesis. Similarly, I disliked how the book ended on an open-ended note where he had just consumed more substances as another "test," but that's it - book ends - no information about how that experience went.

Ultimately, more testing/research is needed; I hope there is, as there seems to be a strong case for this hypothesis...

Supernatural takes you on a classical Graham Hancock journey this time through the jungles and into the culture of the shamans. Hancock in this book combines historical research with experimentation of psychotropic hallucinogens such as ayawasca and DMT. The book focuses on phenomenological issues of consciousness and the evolution of constructive thought. The thesis of this book is essentially that the evolution of the human mind and thought from the ancient non-sophisticated cultures to our current super technologically advanced societies today, was facilitated by the virtue of conscious experimentation and experience with psychoactive plants which unlocked the secret wave lengths or channels of useful knowledge which exists in different wave lengths than the one`s we are commonly use to.

One of the issues Hancock focuses on is the historically accurate account given by Francis Crick that it was under the influence of LSD that he "saw" the double helix structure of DNA. Crick of course with Watson are the ones credited with elucidating the structure of DNA. Hancock also goes on to talk about his discovery that many cultures which use psychotropic plants prepared by shamans have a history of discovering very improbable and greatly hidden secrets. How he supports this assertion I do not know considering that the cultures today that continue to promote shamanic rituals are usually the most technologically backwards. Nonetheless, aside from simply the technological benefits that Hancock attributes to DMT and the like there are, he maintains spiritual benefits. He talks about how all of his life he suffered from migraines but after taking ayawasca several times his migraines are now gone. Here he seems to be crafting an interesting parallel to the hallucinogenic plants with modern interests in homeopathy and the like. Certainly the concept of nature plays a huge role in this book and it's message. One of the messages of the book is that human nature has become corrupted by the modern vices and pressures of a materialistically obsessed society and because of this corruption society has become ill. Hancock sees the shamanic culture and its rituals as part of the remedy for this ailment.

Hancock presents two theories for how shamanic rituals work on the conciseness. One is that when in "altered states of consciousness" one is actually connecting with another dimension of the universe or of being. In this dimension you can access secrets and valuable insights from actual living entitles on the other side. While a bit creepy and yet fascinating, I find this explanation hardly plausible. I know a few junkies (LSD users and such) and none claim to have "encounters with the ancient teacher of man kind," hence the subtitle of the book. The other theory however which I do find plausible, is that within our DNA, if say we were created by space aliens, as Crick supposed, or by God or an intelligent designer, as some suppose, then there could be already within our hardware, our DNA perhaps, messages and knowledge somehow imprinted into it waiting to be unlocked. This he speculates, within altered states of consciousness we can at times, "tap into" that valuable information source and reach different points of enlightenment. I cant say that this is actually the case or even a real possibility but I do find the idea worthy of being called "a theory" to some extent and it is to me very interesting. I would like to point out that when reading these kinds of books I take them as partially fictional and partially non-fiction. I don't consider this a scientific book of any merit but an exposé of a theory in the works. A little bit of paranormal pseudo-science mixed in with some real science and also a little novel like fictional account as well.

Throughout the book Hancock gives is interpretations of various ancient artwork and the like tying it all in with shamanic rituals. All in all the book was very entertaining but I wouldn't bother going out and experimenting with drugs. Just because one mad scientist claims that one LSD trip helped him to visualize the structure of DNA, it is not a worthy inference in my opinion to go out and use such drugs in hopes of a similar experience especially considering their dangerous track records.


Also one of the interesting facts and perhaps real original researched facts that was brought up in the book was the discovery of a particular plant that the ancient Egyptians used that had psychoactive properties. I find this of worthy note and very interesting in how it may have played a roll in their cultural manifestations, especially in the artwork that we see though out their great structures as in Abydos.

My greatest problem with the book was not its extreme theories about human development and the evolution of consciousness but the fact that the book drags on. Hancock just keeps traveling and looking at more and more ancient cave art and some of the examples are boring at best. He continues to use more and more DMT and extrapolate more and more possible insights about mans experiences with the ancient teachers of mankind which he affirms exist in other dimensions. The focus towards the end of the book was too much on the drugs and the ancient art work and not enough on the meaning and possible science of the experiences he is dealing with.

I say 4 stars because its far better than the usually drivel. I am a pretty liberal grader so it could have earned 5 but it needed to be more scientific for me to give it a full score.

I read this book because someone suggested my family might have been related to Beryl Markham, which is not the case, but...
What a woman - this is a true account of one of the first bush pilots in Africa, Beryl Markham, who was the first pilot to fly westward across the Atlantic from England. Although there is some dispute whether she actually wrote this autobiographical account (some say that her paramour, who edited the book, actually wrote it - she never confirmed or denied it), the stories are true and fascinating, encouraging the reader to learn more about her. The writing style is wonderful and interesting - no wonder Hemingway loved it. You wouldn't know this book was first published so many years ago.

I agree with Hemingway that this is a piece of high literature that reads like fiction and spreads itself before the reader like a well-produced film. It drove me to learn more about the author and her life.

Absolutely captivating personal account of times and places long gone. As a fan of "Heat of the Sun," this book was a treasure.

As a child growing up with her father in Africa, Beryl Markham faced down lions and wild boar. As an adult she trained race horses before learning to fly airplanes and becoming a bush pilot. Eventually she became the first pilot, female or male, to fly west with the night and cross the Atlantic ocean solo from Europe to North America. Markham brings the African bush to life with stories of boar hunts and elephant hunts. Of horse races and airplane flights over desert terrain. She lived a courageous life in a time when girls were only supposed to wear dresses and play with dolls and flying airplanes was a man's job. Highly inspirational to read!

There's so much to talk about in mother-daughter book clubs or any book club. How was Markham's life different from so many of the girls in her time? How would her life have been different if her mother was also in Africa raising her?

This book is beautifully written; I've read it three times and each reading I glean more and more from it. I highly recommend it for anyone in high school or older.

This forgotten volume is a beautifully written memoir of Markum's time in Africa in the early 1900s. The writing (some have questioned whether husband Raoul Schumacher was actually the author, or at least collaborator) is vividly descriptive and reads like lyric poetry. Hemingway wrote to a friend that "...she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer.....She can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers."
Consider this passage from an eloquent retelling of a safari hunt that left one man dead when a fatally wounded lion turned on its hunters as they snapped photographs: "Cremation is a smooth word that seeks to conceal the indelicate reality of a human body being baked in fire.....In mid-afternoon on the African veldt under a harsh and revealing sun, it is at best a euphemism. Still, since men cherish the paradox requiring that to insure immortality they must preserve what is most mortal about them, wood was gathered and a fire was built." The whole account, in just four pages, captures the tragedy of it all--animal and human.
Beryl Markum, the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west, was a contemporary (and perhaps romantic rival) of Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen) author of the memoir Out of Africa.
I highly recommend the audio read by the late Kate Fleming (audio pseudonym: Anna Fields, one of the best audio readers ever and greatly missed).

I have seen the movie over and over and love it each time. It was great to read the actual events that happen and note what Hollywood produced. If you liked the movie the book is a must!

Generally the type of book you'd read as a school assignment. Very period - in 50's, I think. Sad story of life as the child of a single mom who marries someone she thinks would be adequate father, even though she knew he wouldn't be a good husband. Not so! Somewhat happy ending....recommend reading if you love to read well-written stories, but definately a downer!

The memoir is intriguing. Any male who reads this can, at some point, relate to the follies, plunders, and disappointments Wolff encounters during his adolescence. It is explicit and candid making for an interesting read.

I'm about 2/3rds through this, and I find it entirely absorbing. Wolff's writing talent is not in using fancy words or complex forms...just one sentence after another of perfectly pitched prose that feels entirely true and believable. He gains the reader's trust and empathy early on and never loses them, even though, in my case, I wasn't much interested in the details of his somewhat sordid and pathetic early years. I keep asking myself this holds my attention, while most memoirs by people I have a lot more in common with don't. (Not to sound like a snob, but guns, dogs, smoking, drinking, etc. have never been my thing.) I think the reason is that his writing seems entirely transparent, plus you care about him. postscript: I've finished it now and towards the end I was increasingly pained by how f**ked up a person Wolff is--or was. It's troubling and yet the writing is still transparent. You might say he gives us a God's eye view: if there is a force that knows everything and can look at all our failings, faults and mistakes with simultaneous compassion and dispassion, then I think such a Being would write up Wolff's early life in the way he himself wrote it. You get a feeling that there is no self-judging or constrictions and nothing to hide: just the truth, the all too human truth.

A great true story (almost) about Mr.Wolffs childhood. Robert DeNiro did an excellent job as the step-Father in this movie. This is typical of a Father figure who has no self esteem and picks at every little thing that goes wrong. It is never his fault always someone else. Toby has a tough time with growing up without a father and being carted around the country by his Mother who has no roots to tie on to. I see a lot of teenage problems in this movie that are played out and done extremely well. Take the time to watch this movie, you will not be sorry.

An excellent way to give a great view of the history behind modern society and where we are headed if we don't change course. The book is a review and summation of 13 books that formulates the reasoning behind many government and government created organizations and their role in controlling our existence. This is a book that I will be recommending to all my friends and family for their sake and the sake of their children.

Some years ago I began doubting the offical line on Pearl Harbor. How were the Japanese able to "sneak" an entire fleet of twenty three large ships, including six aircraft carriers, across the Pacific Ocean without anyone noticing it? Other seemingly unrelated questions arose: Where did Hitler get the money to build his war machine? Where's the blast crater underneath the LEM? A lot of things we used to accept as gospel back in school just didn't add up in the end. Conspiracy theory fills in a lot of the gaps and it's an ugly picture that develops.

How the World Really Works is a great starting book for rookies who are just beginning to study conspiracy theory. But it's a valuable tool for old hands as well. In short, the theory holds that a conspiratorial, power mad ruling elite, and their political puppets, decide things; not "we the people". Much of what happens in the so-called democracies contradict what (most) voters want, and the explanations served up by the mass media are often ridiculous. Alan Jones takes on some of the weird stuff we see going on and tells what's really at stake.

HTWRW is actually a summation of twelve conspiracy books by various authors; each taking on a different facet of the elite's secret agenda: a polyhedron with many angles - all of them connected.

Want to know the real reason we're in Iraq? "A Century of War" will help you understand. Interested in learning why America and Americans can't get out of debt? "The Creature From Jekyll Island" tells you why. Do you wonder why things like "the environment" and "The War on Terrorism" suddenly become national mantras? "Report from Iron Mountain" lays it out. Is the CIA really running drugs? "The Politics of Heroin" and "Dope Inc." reveal some very interesting things.

I found HTWRW to be a fast and fascinating read. I've been into books on conspiracy theory for several years, but there was a lot of stuff in it that took me by surprise. Still, there are a few gripes: Jones makes a sketchy connection between prohibition and the rise of the dope industry. His explanation of the idea behind "waste" as described in "Report From Iron Mountain" is somewhat unclear. And trying to follow the many twists in "Politics of Heroin" and "Dope Inc." made those chapters tough to read.

Also, though he's generally a good writer, some of Jones' prose gets rather tangled. He understands what he means but the reader may have to re-read something several times to understand it. Overall though, it's a great book, and very helpful.

My favorite chapters: "A Century of War", "Tragedy and Hope", "The Creature from Jekyll Island" and "The Politics of Heroin". After reading HTWRW I bought some of the books summarized in it, and I'll be getting some of the others.

I have done alot of reading in the area of inquiry covered by this book. It is basically a synopsis of a number of books written by others, some of which, like "The Creature from Jekyll Island", I have read. Really Jones has done a public service writing this book and none of it is copyrighted. He wants you to copy it and disseminate it! You should at least read it, objectively, and then I think you will not be the same person anymore. If, however, you want to remain the same person you are now (assuming you know nothing about these issues) then don't bother with it. There is a massive on-going conspiracy to take away your liberty, this is fact. And the groups in on this conspiracy want to make sure that you ignore all "conspiracy theories". Like any conspirators, they like to remain unknown behind the scenes. But this is not a conspiracy theory, it is a conspiracy fact. And alot of things will make alot more sense to you in current events after you digest this book.

The 'Introduction' explains this book as a shortcut to the essential knowledge needed to fight for democracy and freedom. Its 12 chapters are the author's reviews of a dozen books that present facts and views censored from the daily corporate press. Today's problems are interconnected in ways that will surprise you.

Chapter 1 explains how the wars over the past century were for the control of oil. American and British oil companies control their governments and eliminate any competition. Third world nations are exploited through "foreign aid". Any country that tries to develop nuclear power is punished, as that will lower the price of oil. Chapter 2 discusses the restricted book that documents the secret "international Anglophile network" that controls much of the world's history. The Rhodes Scholarships are part of this, and other organizations are named. It explains why millionaires subsidize "left-wing" movements (p.30). Tax-exempt foundations were created to pursue a hidden agenda (p.31). Read the secret 'seven points' to understand 1930s Europe. Did the bankers of England and Germany put Hitler into power (p.42)? Chapter 3 tells how banking dynasties have replaced dynastic monarchies. These banking families control the political and economic life of the world (p.45). The super-rich want to take over the world (p.49)! They control the educational systems (p.53). Who gets the oil and natural gas concessions after a revolution (p.57)? Chapter 4 explains how tax-exempt foundations are used to control the government and people of America to benefit the super-rich. One method is to control the teaching of history (p.63). Do they give funds to organizations for covert activities (p.70)?

Chapter 5 examines the Federal Reserve Bank and its history. It names the real person who inspired the "Daddy Warbucks" character in a comic strip (p.89). Its purpose was to attack smaller banks and corporations that finance their growth from profits (p.89)! The public pays more to enrich the banking cartel (p.93). Pages 107-111 tell how the Carnegie Foundation brought America into WW I. Who benefitted (p.118)? Chapter 6 discusses George Orwell's "1984", a satire on England and the world of 1948. England is under fascist rule (called "English Socialism") where telephones monitor everybody's lives. [Like today's cellphones?] It is a dark world without hope. [Yes, Orwell said "television" to avoid prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.] Chapter 7 discusses "The Report from Iron Mountain" which fictionalizes reality and projects its logical conclusions. Advertising, education, and the broadcast media controls the thinking of most people. [The chemical found in birth control pills is in most of the fresh water supplies to a limited amount.]

Chapter 8 asks if Environmentalism is just a power grab to control the wealth of the world (p.150). Is "global warming" a newer version of these fears (p.155)? Page 161 explains how this scam would work to benefit the banks of the rich. Populations in the Third World are oppressed to create wealth for their oppressors (pp.162-163). There is a warning against independent agencies and their administrative law (p.169). Chapter 9 tells about the lucrative business in drugs, such as opium and cocaine. US Intelligence agencies helped the drug trade (p.177). This was called "fighting Communism" (p.180)! CIA supported forces increased opium production in Burma (p.189). The war in Afghanistan supported opium production (p.201), cocaine in Nicaragua (p.202). Chapter 10 discussed the assassination of JFK as the conspiracy between intelligence agencies and organized crime to safeguard the lucrative trade in drugs, and related issues. The policy changes after JFK's death are listed on page 237. Chapter 11 uses a report, not a published book to tell about the many prestigious banks that are used for financing the world trade in drugs. Chapter 12 has the author's review of his own book. It seems to want to repeal the New Deal. This seems very fantastic and idealistic. To the extent its been done the result has been another depression today. The 'Epilogue' by Taylor Caldwell seems to be more fiction than history.

Alan B. Jones in this book in simple terms explains how the elite operate with their upper class puppets that they buy,sell,and deal with as is profitable for their criminal acts.

Jones uses 12 books to support is contention of what elite have done,and do.

I will in very simple terms state a fraction of what Jones has wrote in these books.

The FED is unconstitutional It produces paper money which through inflation becomes worthless.It is a private bank.They convert your valued money into assets which increase in value.Read my other reviews for details.It is my opinion among others that the FED is the major problem in how the U.S. is in decline.It is stated that international bankers run the world with their corporation puppets,and other super rich.They contrive to make war,and play all sides against each other.The purpose is to keep the populace in check, make profit,and retain power.The education system has been degraded to keep the people stupid,and they have been successful.They want one world.This way they can control forever, they think?.A king is best form of rule,not democracy,and an informed public.This is their constant fear.This is the elite conspiracy.One world,one culture,open borders,Free Trade,no rules except theirs.

Now going back to the Fed.Look at expressions on officials faces as result of crash in the housing market,and general economy which will be world wide.Some of the upper classes now realize that they will be in poverty,so even through they help create the criminal system now want it changed.The FED says it will regulate itself.What a joke.Like Israel it keep talking,and taking,with no change.I will repeat the FEDERAL RESERVE
IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL,YET IT EXIST.

Immigration is used to exploit nations by reducing value of individual,
and producing profit on volume.In others words the entire system is corrupt,it is a game that is fixed.You know about excessive profit of corporations,and business general.You know about lawless government with a president that should not be.He exist because the government,and the corporation are corrupt.This includes individuals.This is the international conspiracy of elite,world control,you without rights,without hope,outsource everything to China,India,and others,so that America can be destroyed,and then they can reorganize the world economy as elite like it,all power to them.They will say we want to make the world better,but look, over population,slavery,war,exploitation of all means,who profits from this hell,you know who?

Are the above statements in fact true.Is the intent to undermine America?Did the FED and its others in the business get caught.Does America have to go down,for China and the others to take over making America third world?Would this be more profitable and safe for them.

Walter E. Haas reviews and comments.Save America.