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

Book Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating:

Too many liberties taken with the intent of the text
Penn State Student Critique

Vitruvius: 'Ten Books on Architecture'
Vitruvius
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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On the Art of Building in Ten Books
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ASIN: 0521553644

Book Description

For the first time in more than half a century, Vitruvius' Ten Books on Architecture is being published in English. The only full treatise on architecture and its related arts to survive from classical antiquity, the Architecture libri decem (Ten Books on Architecture) is the single most important work of architectural history in the Western world, having shaped architecture and the image of the architect from the Renaissance to the present. Demonstrating the range of Vitruvius' style, this new edition includes examples from archaeological sites discovered since World War II and not previously published in English language translations. Rowland's new translation and Howe's critical commentary and illustrations provide a new image of Vitruvius, who emerges as an inventive and creative thinker, rather than the normative summarizer, as he was characterized in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Ingrid D. Rowland is an associate professor of Art History at the University of Chicago. Thomas Noble Howe is a professor in the Department of Art at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

Customer Reviews:

Too many liberties taken with the intent of the text.......2002-08-21

First off, I should note that I find this version of Vitruvius far more useful than many others, especially in the clearly noted diagrams, explanations of measurement units, and so forth. The editor and translators have done a good job of this aspect of Vitruvius Pollio's work.

However, the translators appear to have taken a few liberties with the text. First, since Vitruvius is a historical work as well as a canon of Classicism, an honest modern-day translation must relate not only to its period, but also to subsequent periods in order to be understood in terms of the nearer to present and Vitruvius' own time. The translators' choice of ridding the text of the translation "the Orders" for Vitruvius' original choice of "genus" is bad enough, but when you observe that this translation has been rendered as "type" instead, it has the potential of blending in with unintended references in the text to type as well as being confused with common modern/Modernist discursions into what type is. The translators should have indicated their theories about what they thought would be a correct interpretation of the Roman word "genus" at the beginning of their notes, not by making a deliberate decision to diverge from the customary content of the text.

Second, this translation appears to fail to take into account some aspects of military culture which have influenced the text. Vitruvius was a military man and although he adopted the linguistic style of Cicero in some respects (who has been accused of using two words in the place of one or even none), sometimes a distinction he makes, albeit slight, is worth noting, especially in the context of his role in the Roman military and in the context of subtle gradations of meaning being just as notable as subtle gradations in style and form.

Third, and most telling, the translators and editors have missed an opportunity to note something very useful in Vitruvius, and that is that although he understood the what of the Orders, he may not have understood the why of the Orders. In some cases, he goes to great lengths to wave hands over certain aspects of the Orders, even devolving into a Ciceronian overuse of words and dense prose, in order to pull a Wizard of Oz-like "pay no attention to the unknowns behind this concept". The translators note the fuzziness, but they don't begin to question the nature of it and as a result, they may inadvertently paint Vitruvius in a little bit better light than he may actually deserve.

Otherwise, it is a well-rendered translation, although for serious readers and researchers it should be balanced with at least one other translation, such as Morgan's translation.

Penn State Student Critique.......1999-11-26

As a Penn State first year architecture student I have been studying Vitruvius line by line. It is the most inspirational, thought provoking, and interesting book I have ever read. I even hold my own Vitruvian study sessions to review the material and relate all of Vitruvius's topics to the outside world not even related to architecture. If you are at all interested in architecture, construction, philosophy, or if you just want a different type of book to read I urge you to give this a try. It is truly a remarkable book that has revolutioned and standardized many architectural details.

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.

Average customer rating:

hard to follow
This is a good book, but Granger's translation is better.
Through the eyes of a Roman
A Roman Gentleman Metik who Created a Practical Masterwork
Roman Empire's Most Influencial Contribution to Architecture

The Ten Books on Architecture
Vitruvius
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criticism | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0486206459

Book Description

The most important book ever written on architecture. Early Roman aesthetics, technology, classical orders, site selection, all other aspects. Morgan translation.

Customer Reviews:

hard to follow.......2007-04-03

however, it is an ancient book... I used the dimensions and architectural scales to build my model of a greek temple. Very informative when it comes to that, cause not many books have to-scale drawings of the building.

This is a good book, but Granger's translation is better........2007-01-10

I really enjoyed reading this fascinating book. However, when I compared it to another translation (a two volume edition, translated by Granger) it seemed that it was missing some bits of information.

It was easier to read though, so if you are interested in a casual read, this is the book for you. For a research project, you should probably stick to Granger's books.

Through the eyes of a Roman.......2005-11-04

This is a wonderful look at the world and its building materials through the eyes of Roman. Great insights into Roman perceptions about how the world worked.

A Roman Gentleman Metik who Created a Practical Masterwork.......2000-03-13

I like Homer, Herodutus, Thukidydes, Plutarch, Takitus, Gibbon, Mommsen and many other ancients and their (relatively) modern interpreters.

But my latest read, recommended by Moses Finlay in "Ancient Econonomy", is Vitruvius.

And I like Vitruvius a lot. The only reason I gave him 4 stars rather than 5, is that he is not the greatest, in the sense of the above-mentioned.

Nevertheless, as far as knowledge and insight into ancient life go, at a level one removed from the "greats", Vitruvius is the greatest I've so far encountered.

Not only does one gain a feeling for life among the educated and capable strivers of the time immediately following the Ceasarian revolution, but also for the immense impact which Greek brilliance had upon the Romans.

One also learns much about aesthetic theory and is given interesting and practical lessons in building and architecture, from the beginning and development of dwellings, the general learning required of architects, the particular characteristics of different types of stone and wood, the design of cities, the three orders of temple architecture (Doric, Ionian and Corinthian), dwelling houses, the sounding vessels in theatres (dolby surround as already implemented long before Christ) and ingenious machines, including such inventions as the screw-pump of Archimedes (the Syracusan Greek inventor).

Vitruvius gives us the general principles of ancient aesthetic theory, the exact proportions of traditional architectural conventions and the geometric rules for determining the directions of the eight known winds.

Like all elegantly entertaining classical writers, he intermingles everything with relevant anecdotes from, and references to, the great Greek philosophers, fine artists and fine artisans of the past who were the exemplary authorities of his (and later) time.

As the title betrays, Vitruvius' work is divided into ten books, each of which contains an extemely relevant and interesting general introduction, followed by several chapters on theory and application, including very practical examples of the construction, proportions and generally applied mechanical principles relevant to the specific subject matter of the particular book.

This work is better, broader and more intelligently written than all of the books I've read on building which I've acquired at second-hand bookshops in England, and which were written anywhere from the end of the last century (1890-1900!) through the 1950s. No wonder that this fellow's work remained definitive through to the renaissance (not the Carolingian, but that of the 14th-15th centuries), a duration of 1,500 years!

I imagine that most modern day architects, adding a litte modern statics, materials and building code knowledge, and assuming enough practical building experience, could do worse than to rely otherwise on Vitruvius.

Basic raw materials and basic building skills have been around for a long, long time. Common sense and wisdom, too.

Furthermore, for the interested classicist, even though not specifically interested in architecture or building, this book gives a really immediate feeling for the gigantic influence not only of Greek thought but also of Greek applied artistic and technical skills (geometry comes to life!), aesthetics and craft work on the (Western) Roman world.

Again, I can only say, a refreshing, entertaining and informative read by a practical yet educated man of ancient times. Obviously a bestseller through the ages and, indeed, timeless in its relevance and actuality.

Highly recommended also for beginners in the study of the ancient Greek language, because of its many Greek quotes (in Greek letters, no less)!

Altogether a highly readable, informative, insightful and educational book with a rarely found mix (in ancient literature) of both the "higher" things and the eminently practical.

I feel privileged to be a privy party to this great inheritance of ancient learning. And I thank the Internet and Amazon for enabling those of us who are interested in learning to have access to this great library with its wonderful database, which makes everything not only easy to find but also to possess (and to own).

The humanist's dream! Your own infinite library. Cyber-Gutenberg!

Roman Empire's Most Influencial Contribution to Architecture.......1999-12-25

Vitruvius' contribution was not as Ciceronian literature, but as a hands-on, researched, handbook of practical architecture. The explanations are simple with not a wasted word for the aesthetic quality of the work.

Vitruvius found what made the most ancient monuments such durable constructions. He found WHY they were built they way they were. For example, he explains in enough detail for the "then" architect to understand how to construct for best auditory sound enhancements using examples from Greek engineering and Roman building practices. (There is a detailed description on harmonics based on Pythagorean principles.) He also explains the true meaning of proportion developing constructs from the "golden mean" as seen in the various modes of ancient column design (as well as a description of "stasis" and other logical variants applied to columnal construction).

The book is often referenced in medieval documents explaining the training of medieval cathedral (especial gothic era) builders and the practical construction of these cathedrals that still stand and are useful today.

I highly recommend this book for any art history student or student of architecture at any level. It is a reminder that great thinking and analysis has no technical limitation.

The Ten Books of Architecture: The 1755 Leoni Edition
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A Classic with in a Classic font

The Ten Books of Architecture: The 1755 Leoni Edition
Leon Battista Alberti
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486252396

Book Description

Beautifully illustrated magnum opus of great Renaissance theorist who reintroduced the glories of ancient architecture and applied musical and mathematical principles to achieve perfection of proportion in architectural design. Reprinted from extremely rare British edition. 68 black-and-white plates.

Customer Reviews:

A Classic with in a Classic font.......2004-03-25

The author of this book is often cited as the ideal of a Renaissance man, an architect, writer, musician, painter and by some accounts an amazing athlete. This book is based upon the Leone edition, a 1755 English translation of Alberti's original work from the 1400's. Alberta has a very modern succinct style. The chapters include many subchapters to help organize the information. He covers all the aspects of architecture and construction from laying the foundations to the wood joinery in the rafters, to adding the classical facade. He reduces classical design to a series of rules, and proportions, most of which are still followed today when a classical facade is desired. Alberti wrote with one foot in the modern world and one foot in the Renaissance world. He still respects some of the superstitions of his time, but all in all it is a dry book? I would not recommend this book to anybody unless they have a strong desire to learn about classical or Renaissance architecture. The Leone edition also includes many very good plates of his drawings. These drawing are incredible for their time period and more informative than the majority of pictures in most modern architectural books. I became interested in this book because of the plates portraying the construction of construction crane, but the font ruined the book for me. The publisher kept to the original 1755 font style. I'm sure there is some value to this, but it cut the readability factor in half. What could have been an enjoyable book was reduced to slogging through paragraph by paragraph, so (lector caveat) reader bewares?

Vitruvius. The Ten Books on Architecture: Translated by Morris Hicky Morgan

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Vitruvius. The Ten Books on Architecture: Translated by Morris Hicky Morgan
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Manufacturer: Adamant Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1421270110
Release Date: 2005-11-30

Book Description

This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1914 edition by Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

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A must have Volume for any Architect or Town Planner.

On the Art of Building in Ten Books
Leon Battista Alberti
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 026251060X

Book Description

De Re Aedificatoria, by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), was the first modern treatise on the theory and practice of architecture. Its importance for the subsequent history of architecture is incalculable, yet this is the first English translation based on the original, exceptionally eloquent Latin text on which Alberti's reputation as a theorist is founded.

Customer Reviews:

A must have Volume for any Architect or Town Planner........1998-10-03

The Ten Books of Architecture by Alberti, is one of the finest texts for the education of an Architect or Town Planner. Alberti's ideas are studied at almost very Architecture Program in the world. The Ten Books of Architecture describe how to design successfully, and how to design towns that are safe. Alberti expands on the work of Vitruvius. I would recommend this book for anyone who has an intrest in design. The text is very simple to understand. After reading these books, one will have a much clearer understanding of design.

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Ten Books on Architecture
Vitruvius Pollio
Manufacturer: Digireads.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1420925059

Ten More Austrians: Emerging Architecture

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Ten More Austrians: Emerging Architecture
Otto Kapfinger , and Otto Kpfinger
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3211836403

Book Description

Eine Besonderheit der österreichischen Architekturszene ist die Dichte sehr individueller Haltungen in einem scheinbar überschaubaren geographischen Raum. Die Reihe "Kommende Architektur" dokumentiert diese Vielfalt mit ausgewählten Teams aus der jüngeren Generation und stellt sie in den Rahmen der aktuellen internationalen Diskussion. "10 More Austrians" bietet eine weitere Sicht auf eigenständige Bauten und Projekte aus den österreichischen Bundesländern Tirol, Vorarlberg, Graz, Salzburg und Wien.

Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture

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Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture

Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1417969571

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