Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali

Book Description

During the years after the September Revolution of 1868, Barcelona experienced tremendous industrial growth and emerged as the most politically and culturally progressive city in Spain. Barcelona and Modernity examines this remarkable seventy-one-year period, when Barcelona also reigned as one of the most dynamic centers of modernist art and architecture in Europe. Focusing on the Catalan Renaixença, Modernisme, Noucentisme, avant-garde movements of the early 20th century, and artistic reactions to the Spanish Civil War, essays by an extraordinary international team of scholars offer new insights into the work of such Catalan artists as Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí, among others, by setting them in context with the art of their teachers, colleagues, and rivals.

With approximately 350 works in a variety of media—painting, sculpture, photography, furniture, decorative arts, and architectural design—this intriguing book also explores how Catalan artists derived inspiration from local traditions while contributing their own innovations to international modernism. Broader in scope than any previous treatment of the subject, this book is sure to alter popular perceptions of Catalonia and become a fundamental text for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, but confused.......2007-04-28

The catalogue for an exhibition held at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2006 and at the Met in NY in 2007, this book is beautifully illustrated and very well written. It is a treasure trove of information on the history of Barcelona and enables the reader to discover some great and overlooked artists like the painters Ramon Casas (a sort of Spanish Manet) and Santiago Rusiñol, or the architect and designer Josep Puig i Cadafalch and many others, responsible for the intellectual growth of this city between 1868 (the September Revolution) and 1939 (the power seizure by Franco), which is the period the exhibition covers. Obviously, the most famous personalities are not forgotten (Picasso, Miro, Dali and Gaudi whose names appear on the front cover).

Now, the organization of the book is somewhat confusing. Divided into 9 chapters, from the Rebirth ("Renaixença")in the late 1860's to Modernism (seen through painting, sculpture, graphic arts, society, architecture and design)and "Noucentisme" (the classical renewal) up to the Avant-Gardes and the Civil War in the late 1930's, it follows a more or less chronological logic. However, the checklist of the artists, at the end of the book, is very confusing: it is very difficult to know the location of the paintings or works of art illustrated and you constantly have to refer to that list to have the dimensions of the works. Instead of a list by artists, I think a list by works displayed in the exhibition and illustrated in the book would have been more suitable.

On the whole, a scholarly publication, but a little difficult to follow.

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

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Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

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:

As a history, wonderful. As an exhibition catalog, worthless.
Historical but not enough photos
A tale of two Balenciagas
EXCELLENT FASHION REFERENCE
the master

Balenciaga Paris
Pamela Golbin , and Fabien Baron
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0500513155

Book Description

A sumptuous retrospective of one of the greatest houses in international fashion

Balenciaga Paris traces the designer's collections year by year, from 1937 to 2006, using photos, press cuttings, sketches, and other archival material. The book explores two main periods in depth: 1937-1968, when Cristobal Balenciaga made his name during Paris's golden age of fashion; and 1996-2006, charting the dramatic revival of the House of Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière, one of the most widely admired and celebrated new designers in contemporary fashion. He has co-directed the book's production with Pamela Golbin, curator at the Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris, who has compiled the text.

Described by Christian Dior as "the master of us all," Balenciaga's bold genius with cut, line, and fabric mark him out as one of the most daring and original designers in the world of haute couture. His virtuoso command of technique and imaginative exuberance recall his Spanish roots as well as assuring his place in the pantheon of twentieth-century style and elegance. 280 illustrations, 200 in color.

Customer Reviews:

As a history, wonderful. As an exhibition catalog, worthless........2007-09-02

As a history of Cristobal Balenciaga, the founder of the original Balenciaga house of haute couture, this volume is quite good in its informative and studied approach to the origins and success of M. Balenciaga. However, as an exhibition catalog it is, in a word, worthless. Nowhere in its 227 pages does it show any of the creations displayed in the Parisian exhibition. All associated with this publication should be ashamed for offering this as an exhibition catalog and should have paid heed to such genuine exhibition catalogs as The Philadelphia Museum of Art's 2003 Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli by Dilys Blum (at this juncture the absolute gold standard for Costume exhibition catalogs) or The Costume Institute's 1996 Christian Dior by Richard Martin and Harold Koda. Ms. Blum accomplishes what Balenciaga is unable to accomplish, the mix of history within the context of a present reality. By this I mean, she offers the reader a detailed, exciting read by supporting her text with specially commissioned photographic examples of the creations actually displayed at her museum during the exhibition. For me, such exhibitions are marvelous, as one is afforded to see just how certain creations have weathered the storm of time, something not afforded in the Balenciaga catalog.

Also, while I grasp the marketing reason behind this particular catalog, it should be pointed-out that Balenciaga, as it exists today, is no longer a house of haute couture, but a resurrected brand of ready-to-wear apparel. Anyone viewing the original creations of M. Balenciaga should be able to see at once, how ill-suited is Nicolas Ghesquière to be passed-off as the torch bearer of Cristobal Balenciaga. It's perfectly horrendous to view page after page of M. Balenciaga's exquisite creations to then be faced with the ugliness of M. Ghesquière's.

Historical but not enough photos.......2007-08-31

This book is good if you are interested in contemporary reviews of Balenciaga shows and information about the house and the designer. But it is not as well illustrated as I might have wished. For fashion retrospective books such as this, I want hundreds of clear color photos of garments! I am not as interested in reading about fashion as I am in looking at it. At the risk of sounding like a kid who can't read, this book has too much text and not enough pictures.

A tale of two Balenciagas.......2007-06-22

This gigantic book by Pamela Golbin (author of the excellent overview "Fashion Designers") really tells the story of two houses of Balenciaga - the original, helmed by the great Cristobal Balenciaga, and the modern-day couturier. I'm not a huge fan of the 2000's Balenciaga lines, so I won't say much about them here - though, in all truth, this book does cover modern-day Balenciaga quite thoroughly for anyone who's interested.

The real heart of the book for vintage-fashion mavens, however, is the first half of the book, detailing the work of the illustrious Senor Balenciaga. The gentleman was probably the finest designer of the "New Look" era after M. Dior himself, and worked for much longer than Dior did. He excelled particularly, in my own opinion, at lush, silken, flowing gowns, which are copiously - and beautifully - detailed here. It's all here; biographical information, design sketches, behind-the-scenes photographs, catwalk shots. If you've been having trouble finding Marie-Andree Jouve's huge (and very expensive) Balenciaga retrospective, this is a perfect way to satisfy your desires!

EXCELLENT FASHION REFERENCE.......2007-05-27

A beautiful history of the great Balenciaga. His work was wonderful.

A true artist and a fine gentlemen.

the master.......2007-05-20

My third book on Balenciaga and what a thrill it is. But if you love his work as much as me, you can never get enough. To my great relief more than half the book is on 'the master' and not the 'new guy'. Nothing nice to say about the new guy, so best not to say anything.....BUT the other....I'm a nut for fashion (lots of the great designers I like) but Balenciaga was inspired by Heaven, I think. I wish I could have been at one of his shows!

Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection

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Superb!
absolutely beautiful
Seminal Text on Balenciaga
Balenciaga and his legacy

Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection
Myra Walker
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300121539

Book Description

Born in 1895 in a remote fishing village in Spain, Cristóbal Balenciaga learned sewing and tailoring at his mother’s knee. By 1937, the talented and persistent young man had opened his own design salon in Paris, and in the years following World War II he emerged as a designer to be reckoned with in the world of haute couture. The House of Balenciaga grew to serve an international clientele from locations in Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona, and from 1937 to its closing in 1968 created some of the most outstanding and innovative examples of French and Spanish haute couture of the era.
This beautifully illustrated book presents nearly 70 Balenciaga creations for day and evening, along with 25 hats, from the extraordinary archives of the Texas Fashion Collection of the University of North Texas. The book also includes striking fashion photographs from Vogue magazine and Harper’s Bazaar by Richard Avedon and Louise Dahl-Wolfe. A series of essays explores many aspects of the designer’s work, among them his contributions to fashion history; connections with such other prominent designers as Hubert de Givenchy and Oscar de la Renta; important relationships with Neiman Marcus and fashion buyer Bert de Winter in Dallas; and his close friend and client Claudia Heard de Osborne.

Customer Reviews:

Superb!.......2007-09-02

M. Balenciaga was a master couturier so lacking today as one considers haute couture, especially, as the French houses of haute couture are virtually gone. At the time of M. Balenciaga's impact from the 1930s through 1968 when he closed his Parisian house, there were many more houses of haute couture. He, like Chanel, Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, Mainbocher, Jacques Fath, Schiaparelli, Vionnet, and Gres to name a few, flourished as women from around the globe turned to the tradition and process of the haute couture as the pinnacle of what it meant to being well-dressed. Out of this number, the creations of M. Balenciaga stand-out. There is that certain something about his work which commands and rivets the attention. Yes, unquestionably elegant, imbued with masterful design, quality, and exacting a nobility for the wearer which she may or may not have actually possessed, but still whenever I view his creations I think to myself "more". Unlike today where being anonymous seems to be the rule of what passes for style, M. Balenciaga assured a woman would never be forgotten. This volume pays homage to that certain something and begs the question "where are the contemporary talents?" At the moment, in Paris there are only in my view, Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and Valentino. These individuals know how to dress their haute couture clients (especially, those not wishing to dress perennially 18 years old) whereas the remaining haute couture houses present nothing but a media circus, for too long lead by that dreadful costumier posing as a couturier at Christian Dior. For the sheer pleasure of pondering something beautiful, I recommend this volume as well as Balenciaga by Marie-Andrée Jouve and Jacqueline Demornex published in 1991.

absolutely beautiful.......2007-04-30

gorgeous pics of gorgeous clothes. this guy is my fav. when it comes to couture and this book won't disappoint. well worth the money. yeah, Dior is great too but this guy really is the 'master'

Seminal Text on Balenciaga.......2007-01-19

My company produced the mannequins used to exhibit the couture in this fine text, so for me it was a delight, that bias aside, the forward by Givenchy is worth the cover price alone. The text my Myra Walker is insightful and the book is beautifully ilustrated. Seeing Balenciaga's illustrations along side his creations is a joy for any true fashionista. The book is a homage to Balenciaga's work, but not Balenciaga, who was a private and complicated gentleman, and who would like to remembered that way, for his work, not for himself.

Balenciaga and his legacy.......2007-01-17

This is a fabulous book! I love the images and history. I would recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for fashion history and photography.

The Impact of God: Soundings from St. John of The Cross (Hodder Christian Paperbacks)

Average customer rating:

the impact of god by iain matthew
Extremely profound, practical, and effective
Introduction to John of the Cross

The Impact of God: Soundings from St. John of The Cross (Hodder Christian Paperbacks)
Iain Matthew , and Jean Vanier
Manufacturer: Hodder Headline
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0340612576

Book Description

As a monk in 16th-century Spain, the life St. John of The Cross was one of suffering and imprisonment, but also of great joy. His poetry and prose tackle questions of faith with humility and wisdom, and this text examines John's spirituality, finding an echo of Christ throughout his life.

Customer Reviews:

the impact of god by iain matthew.......2006-03-29

i bought this book at a carmelite monastery's bookshop. it was recommended by one of the discalced friars. for anyone who wants to understand the message of st. john of the cross this is the book for you. it is beautifully written in a simple and logical way. you can refer to it daily as you incorporate st. john of the cross' message in your daily life

Extremely profound, practical, and effective.......2005-02-02

This is one of the best books I've ever read. The author includes verses from John of the Cross, then analyzes and synthesizes, extracting the heart of what John is saying. The book is not at all "heady", it is extremely useful for the spiritual life of anyone in high school-on-up. This is one of the only books I've ever read that clears the way for deep communion with God literally every time I pick it up. I've read chapters 5-8 over and over again... the author talks about blockages to our relationship with God, and how to overcome them in a practical yet powerful way. The author shows how far and how deep a relationship with God can go. Anyone who desires to make serious advances in their spiritual life needs to read this book.

Introduction to John of the Cross.......2004-06-01

This is a very readable book that places John of the Cross historically and as a mystic. I've read it three times and am now starting into his original works with some confidence. We'll see how it goes.

Average customer rating:

The Camino
Super Audio Cassette
Mind Journey
A Great Atlantean Memory
The Power of Past-Life Pilgrimage

The Camino : A Journey of the Spirit
Shirley MacLaine
Manufacturer: Atria
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ASIN: 0743400739
Release Date: 2001-04-03

Amazon.com

Known as the Camino, the Santiago de Compostela Camino is a famous pilgrimage that has been undertaken by people for centuries across northern Spain. It is said that this 500-mile path lies directly under the Milky Way and that it reflects the energy of the star systems above it. Facing her sixth decade of life on earth, writer and actor Shirley MacLaine decided to go on this trek. She wasn't sure why, she only knew that the Camino had been traveled for thousands of years by "saints, sinners, generals, misfits, kings and queens. It is done by the intent to find one's deepest spiritual meaning and resolutions regarding conflicts in Self."

Typical of MacLaine, this is a personal story with enormous adventure, a smattering of flashbacks, and a hefty serving of cosmic revelations. Like a true pilgrim, MacLaine travels solo, willing to strip herself down to the backpacking essentials and find deeper meaning in all the bizarre, frightening, and coincidental events she encounters along the way. It is no small feat that this sixtysomething woman walked the grueling path in 30 days. Readers can expect vivid stories of stalking paparazzi, icy showers, bouts of hunger, lost paths, a worshipping young man, a deranged woman screaming in a roadside shelter, saintly truck drivers, a fellow pilgrim in a wheelchair, bouts of constipation and diarrhea, and a cosmic crescendo that will knock the socks of MacLaine's fans. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

It has been nearly three decades since Shirley MacLaine commenced her brave and public commitment to chronicling her personal quest for spiritual understanding. In testament to the endurance and vitality of her message, each of her eight legendary bestsellers -- from Don't Fall Off the Mountain to My Lucky Stars -- continues today to attract, dazzle, and transform countless new readers. Now Shirley is back -- with her most breathtakingly powerful and unique book yet.

This is the story of a journey. It is the eagerly anticipated and altogether startling culmination of Shirley MacLaine's extraordinary -- and ultimately rewarding -- road through life. The riveting odyssey began with a pair of anonymous handwritten letters imploring Shirley to make a difficult pilgrimage along the Santiago de Compostela Camino in Spain. Throughout history, countless illustrious pilgrims from all over Europe have taken up the trail. It is an ancient -- and allegedly enchanted -- pilgrimage. People from St. Francis of Assisi and Charlemagne to Ferdinand and Isabella to Dante and Chaucer have taken the journey, which comprises a nearly 500-mile trek across highways, mountains and valleys, cities and towns, and fields. Now it would be Shirley's turn.

For Shirley, the Camino was both an intense spiritual and physical challenge. A woman in her sixth decade completing such a grueling trip on foot in thirty days at twenty miles per day was nothing short of remarkable. But even more astounding was the route she took spiritually: back thousands of years, through past lives to the very origin of the universe. Immensely gifted with intelligence, curiosity, warmth, and a profound openness to people and places outside her own experience, Shirley MacLaine is truly an American treasure. And once again, she brings her inimitable qualities of mind and heart to her writing. Balancing and negotiating the revelations inspired by the mysterious energy of the Camino, she endured her exhausting journey to Compostela until it gradually gave way to a far more universal voyage: that of the soul. Through a range of astonishing and liberating visions and revelations, Shirley saw into the meaning of the cosmos, including the secrets of the ancient civilizations of Atlantis and Lemuria, insights into human genesis, the essence of gender and sexuality, and the true path to higher love.

With rich insight, humility, and her trademark grace, Shirley MacLaine gently leads us on a sacred adventure toward an inexpressibly transcendent climax. The Camino promises readers the journey of a thousand lifetimes.

Download Description

The bestselling author of "Dance While You Can" and "Out on a Limb" now presents a deeply moving account of her spiritual and physical trek across Spain's legendary Santiago de Compostela Camino, the alleged resting place of St. James the Apostle.

Customer Reviews:

The Camino.......2007-07-25

I love this book. Shirley Maclaine is an excellent writer. I have never read a book as quickly as I read this one and I am going to read it again. This is a phenomenal book and I highly recommend it.

Super Audio Cassette.......2007-02-21

I've checked out this audio book so much from the Library that I might as well have just bought it. Not only is the journey Maclaine takes exciting, but she gives important information regarding Twin Souls and Soul Mates as well as the origin of it all. Fascinating and I always hear something new when I play it.

Mind Journey.......2007-01-11

This is another of those books where someone attempts to share their spiritual experiences with those who have never had a spiritual experience. I admire Shirley and her desire to aid others on their spiritual paths, but to attempt to get across what one experiences in their mind through a physical endurance process has long been the norm in all religions. Fasting, hours upon hours of meditation, physical/emotional denial are not the only way to prepare the mind for spiritual advancement.
I would only recommend this book for reading by those whose spiritual level has been raised through their own efforts and would enjoy knowing there are "fellow travelers" out there.

A Great Atlantean Memory.......2006-12-12

A great book! In it, Shirley MacLaine describes her memories of Atlantis during the time when she was androgynous--had both sexes in one body. The extra-terrestrials who visited Atlantis helped her to separate into an individual male and female.

I wanted to call Shirley MacLaine up and tell her about my own memories of Atlantis, when I had been an extra-terrestrial from Arcturus who got caught here on earth. I wrote about my experiences in When We Were Gods.

Her story entranced me: her description of her experiences on El Camino, the path through the Pyrenees in the North of Spain starting at the Mediterranean and ending at the Atlantic Ocean, possibly where Atlantis once was located. Tradition has it that traveling this footpath can bring one in touch with their deepest spiritual roots and also help a person to resolve deep personal conflicts. She freely shares with us her own discoveries about herself and about humanity's beginnings on earth.

In addition, her descriptions of the way-stations along the route, the people she met along the way, and her own challenges because of her celebrity where she isn't even allowed the privacy to hide behind a rock to go to the bathroom are very entertaining.

Carole Chapman is the author of "When We Were Gods, which is the revised updated version of "The Golden Ones: From Atlantis to a New World," and "Blessed: A Quest for Atlantis in Egypt Leads to Apparitions of the Virgin Mary."

The Power of Past-Life Pilgrimage.......2006-08-02

In the Nineties, Shirley MacLaine traveled to Spain to walk the pilgrimage trail that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Along the way she experienced foot blisters, wild dogs, autograph hounds, paparazzi, and spiritual visions. These visions gave Ms. MacLaine glimpses of a past life as a Moorish girl during the time of Charlemagne. They also re-introduced her to an old friend and spiritual mentor, John the Scot, who took this opportunity to share some esoteric teachings.

The Camino is a striking and compelling story that demonstrates the spiritual power both of pilgrimage and of familiar, past-life locations. Much of the transforming energies of her arduous journey comes through these pages. The book left me feeling inspired and wanting to trek across northern Spain.

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Even better as a whole
Every Painting he did is here
Art of Dali
DALI at his best...........
dali in text and graphic

Dali (Mallard Fine Art Series)
Paul Moorhouse
Manufacturer: Thunder Bay Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792453263

Book Description

Almost half Dalí's illustrations in this book have rarely been seen

This publication presents the entire painted oeuvre of Salvador Dalí (1904-1989). After many years of research, Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret finally located all the paintings of this highly prolific artist. Many of the works had been inaccessible for years - in fact so many that almost half the illustrations in this book have rarely been seen.

Customer Reviews:

Even better as a whole.......2006-02-04

The value of this book is in its 1600+ image reproductions. A few of them are photos of Dali or the people and places that inspired him. A very few show existing artworks to which Dali's creations responded. The overwhelming majority, however, display Dali's own paintings or the sketches related to them.

And the mass of imagery is overwhelming. The book traces Dali's output from his early, formative periods onwards. Although Dali was productive in the 1920s, his familiar style emerged in the 1930s and simply expanded for the next half-century. The chronological organization of this book lets us see Dali's art and personality develop. Among other things, we see how his sketching evolved from pen drawings early in his career to loose oil sketches later. This also seemed to complete some kind of cycle, from the relative crudity of his early work, to the crystalline finish of his best-known years, back to imprecision again, but with all of his mature expressiveness.

By its attempt at completeness, this presents aspects of Dali that other authors often ignore. For example, Dali was profoundly influenced by Catholic Christianity. Although his personal beliefs may be difficult to fathom, he produced some of the most beautiful images of Christ ever created.

Descharne's commentary supports the images well, but it's hard to read. I don't mean that the text is badly written - quite the opposite, it is very helpful, especially in biographical notes that describe Dali's life at the time of each work. Instead, I mean that my thoughts can't stay on the words for long when the pictures take such command of my attention.

//wiredweird

Every Painting he did is here.......2005-08-01

Every painting he did is here. They list the paintings in chrnological order. Each painting is titled and they describe some of the paintings throughout the book. In the back tehy list the size of the painting and what it was painted on if you want to know that stuff. Overall there are 1648 paintings or images. This book is great.

Art of Dali.......2004-03-22

I liked the book. The mix of explanations of the painting and his life was very descriptive. I learned a lot about his friends and famliy. The book just reminds me that in every genius there's a lunatic.

DALI at his best..................2004-02-21

After collecting, selling and trading Dali art works for more than 30 years, Mr. Robert Descharnes, one of Dali's past secretaries, has outdone himself in this magnificent book. Without a doubt it will become a collectors classic and a must for any serious Dali admirer. Well worth its price in gold!!!!!

dali in text and graphic.......2003-07-28

a beautifully sized book that contained excellent text about the painter's life and superb reproductions of his work in the book

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.

The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook

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A Great Cultural guide
Camino Junkie
Great guide
Wonderful Book on the Cultural Background of the Camino
The best reference on the Camino de Santiago.

The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook
David M. Gitlitz , and Linda Kay Davidson
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312254164

Book Description

The road across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest was one of the three major Christian pilgrimage routes during the Middle Ages, leading pilgrims to the resting place of the Apostle St. James. Today, the system of trails and roads that made up the old pilgrimage route is the most popular long-distance trail in Europe, winding from the heights of the Pyrenees to the gently rolling fields and woods of Galicia. Hundreds of thousands of modern-day pilgrims, art lovers, historians, and adventurers retrace the road today, traveling through a stunningly varied landscape which contains some of the most extraordinary art and architecture in the western world. For any visitor, the Road to Santiago is a treasure trove of historical sites, rustic Spanish villages, churches and cathedrals, and religious art.To fully appreciate the riches of this unique route, look no further than The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago, a fascinating step-by-step guide to the cultural history of the Road for pilgrims, hikers, and armchair travelers alike. Organized geographically, the book covers aspects of the terrain, places of interest, history, artistic monuments, and each town and village's historical relationship to the pilgrimage.The authors have led five student treks along the Road, studying the art, architecture, and cultural sites of the pilgrimage road from southern France to Compostela. Their lectures, based on twenty-five years of pilgrimage scholarship and fieldwork, were the starting point for this handbook. AUTHORBIO:DAVID M. GITLITZ and LINDA KAY DAVIDSON, specialists in Hispanic studies at the University of Rhode Island, met on the Road on their first pilgrimage to Santiago in 1974. Davidson has written several scholarly works on the pilgrimage to Compostela with co-author Maryjane Dunn. Gitlitz is the author of various books on Hispanic and Sephardic culture, including the prize-winning Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews. Their first book written together, also from St. Martin's Press, was A Drizzle of Honey: The Lives and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews, for which they won the National Jewish Book Award and the award for Distinguished Scholarship form the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Cultural guide.......2007-01-14

My wife and walked part a portion of the Camino Frances (Leon to Santiago de Compostela) in May of 2004. In walking the Camino, I think one must consider several sources. One of these should be topographical and describe the lay of the land, one logistical and describe where you may find comfort, and one cultural. This book is the best that I know of in fulfilling that last category.

While some may find this a useful guide to carry, I agree with some of reviewers who suggest not taking this book on the road. [Hopefully the authors will never read this review... ] I did carry this book, but I ripped out the irrelevant portions of the journey before I began, and every night I ripped out the pages covering the day's journey so as to lighten the load. [ I should point out that I bought another copy when I got home, so as to make amends for the destruction of the book. ]

Even had I never walked I still think what I learned about Spain, the history and cultural of the regions covered by the Camino, and aspects of the architecture and other features covered in this book to be fascinating.

Camino Junkie.......2006-03-12

I walked the Camino in the Fall of 2004 and took this book along with a much thinner more practical guide book. I loved, loved, loved having this book! My thin, practical guidebook told me of the trail, and places to stay and eat. This guidebook brought the experience alive for me. Everynight before I went to sleep, I would read the passage about the day I had just walked, and then would read the passage about the next day's walk. I saw and experienced things I would have totally missed if I did not have this book. I would walk along and think of the millions of pilgrams that had walked this path for over 1000 years. In this books there are excerpts from journals of medieval pilgrams, which really made me feel the history of this pilgramage. I too worried about the weight of the book, but found that in the long run it was really worth the added pound in my backpack. I do recommend taking a more practical guidebook as well. I found the guidebook put out by the Confraternity of St. James to be great! If you are not one bit interested in the History and Folklore of the Camino, then skip this book. But if you are, this book is invaluable. I found that I was sharing it with other pilgrams all the time, who wanted more info on what we were experiencing.

Great guide.......2005-09-09

For anyone planning to walk The Way of St James pilgrimage across Norther Spain, this book provides fascinating local history. I read it after I walked, and wish I had done it the other way around.

Wonderful Book on the Cultural Background of the Camino.......2005-07-15

I did the Camino in 2003 using this book as a guide. In fact it was the only one I brought with me.

It's strengths are not in the trail directions it gives. There are much better guides for that. I suggest you consult one of the Camino web sites to find out the most current and recommended version of those. the operative word is current. The Camino does change from year to year, new alberges open, others disappear, the trail moves, street names change (Franco related ones are definitely on the outs), etc.

That said, this is a wonderful book for the historical background and descriptions of the countryside it provides. I read this book and I became fixated on doing the Camino. If you are going to do the Camino or are just interested in the Camino, read this book. If you know someone who is going to do the Camino, get them this book. It is the best book I've ever read in terms of Camino cultural information.

The best reference on the Camino de Santiago........2004-06-17

I bought this book in 2003 before embarking upon the Camino Frances. It turned out to be a marvelous multi-faceted reference. Due to weight considerations, I left it at home, instead of schlepping it 800 KM across Spain. Then, outside of Burgo de Ranero, I see THIS BOOK, waiting for me on a roadside bench. "That's my book!", I exclaim. Needless to say, it traveled with me the rest of the way to Santiago. Regardless of weight. If there's only one book you get about the culture, history and architecture of the Camino, this should be it. Buy this book!

The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists

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Trying to Understand the First Great Paintings
From a child's discovery

The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists
Gregory Curtis
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

In his new book, Gregory Curtis introduces us to the spectacular cave paintings of France and Spain—to the men and women who rediscovered them, to the varied theories about their origins, to their remarkable beauty and their continuing fascination.

He takes us with him on his own journey of discovery, making us see the astonishing sophistication and power of the paintings, telling us what is known about their creators, the Cro-Magnon people who settled the area some 40,000 years ago.

Beginning in 1879 with Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, who found the astonishing paintings on the ceiling of a cave at Altamira, Curtis takes us among the scholars of prehistory, the archaeologists, the art historians who devoted their lives to studying and writing about the paintings. Among them: the famous Abbé Henri Breuil, who lay on his back in damp caves lit only by a lantern held patiently aloft by his faithful—and silent—female assistant, to produce the exquisite tracings that are the most reproduced renderings of the art; Max Raphael, the art historian who first understood that the animals on the walls were not single portraits but part of larger compositions; the beautiful Annette Lamming-Emperaire, resistance fighter turned archaeologist, whose doctoral thesis was so important that all theory since has flowed from her work; Jean Clottes and others still working as new caves and information come to light.

In his own search for the caves’ meaning, Curtis takes us through the major theories—that the art was part of fertility or hunting rituals, or used for religious or shamanistic purposes, or was clan mythology—examining the ways in which ethnography, archaeology, and religion have influenced the thinking about the cave paintings over time.

The Cave Painters is rich in detail, personalities, and history—and permeated with the mystery at the core of this art created so many thousands of years ago by human beings who had developed, perhaps for the first time, both the ability for abstract thought and a profound and beautiful way to express it.

Customer Reviews:

Trying to Understand the First Great Paintings.......2006-12-23

They are among the most familiar paintings in the world, and they are also among the oldest. Within caves that are still being discovered in France and Spain are paintings and engravings on the rocks, some of them 30,000 years old. There are some 350 such caves, a vast amount of art that is simultaneously evocative of an older time and also immediate in its appeal. After touring one of the most famous such caves, Lascaux, Picasso himself was humbled, and said, "We have learned nothing in twelve thousand years." One of the things we have learned, however, is that the paintings are far older than that, and we have learned such facts because of improvements in basic research. In _The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists_ (Knopf), Gregory Curtis has given an overview of much else we know about these strange and beautiful works, and also how much people have speculated about them. There is so much we cannot know about the people who made them that the cave paintings are sort of like a Rorschach test for each era that views them.

One thing that experts in prehistory and art novices alike agree on is that the paintings are impressive and beautiful. Most people are familiar with the animals depicted in the paintings, and overwhelmingly, animals are the subjects the painters favored. It is interesting what they do not show, and it is impossible to say why they didn't think parts of their world should not be commemorated on the walls. They show no stars nor sun nor moon, for instance, but we know that prehistoric people watched the sky closely. They show no landscapes, and the animals float untethered by trees, bushes, or flowers. The inexplicable concentration on bison and cows, as well as animals that are long gone from the area like lions and hyenas, is so puzzling that although there have been many explanations for the subject matter of the works, there is still no grand theory of what the paintings mean. The most recent interpretation has been that the paintings were done by tribal shamans who were reproducing their visions from some sort of magical trance state. A critic declared the interpretation "shamaniacery" and huffed, "If we believe that the Paleolithic art in the caves is based on the trance, we should pack our bags and go home." That sort of backbiting is typical in interpretation controversies.

We are, however, getting better about seeing the paintings and doing fundamental interpretation, even if we don't get the big picture. It is amazing that André Leroi-Gourhan, a giant of post-war French archaeology, used punch cards to code the figures as to type, proximity to other figures, location, and so on, in order to find patterns for the work. (He was also the first to insist that if a site had to be dug up, it made little sense to dig shafts downward rather than to skim successive broad layers all the way down.) He came up with a now minor hypothesis that the figures showed a religious system of male and female animal figures and abstract signs, but his punch cards were a step into how the research is done today. Nowadays, artists take clear plastic into the cave and use one to reproduce just the red sections, one for just the black, one for the rock colors, and so on; these can be manipulated in a program like Photoshop, and the results allow thoughtful speculation about how many artists worked on a figure, which strokes were made first, and so on. That's just the most recent way to look at these fabulous works. We are bound to get better at seeing them, since we have been trying for only 200 years, and Curtis's admiring book makes it clear that for good reasons, we are never going to stop trying.

From a child's discovery.......2006-11-22

Although the earliest recognised Palaeolithic cave art was found in northern Spain, it is France where the greatest attention has been given to these enigmatic images. Gregory Curtis has visited many of the caves, and the impression he's taken away from those stygian galleries is expressively imparted in this book. Retaining a sense of wonder over time is one sign of a good science writer. Add to that sense a desire to explain both his feelings and the science struggling to understand how and why those graphics came to be and you have the makings of a fine book. Curtis is both expressive and informative in his presentation.

Curtis lines out the history of the Altamira find in northern Spain and the subsequent discoveries in France carefully and clearly. He has a nice feeling for the people who discovered Lascaux, Chauvet and the many other sites. Ancient caves being what they are, hidden by rockfalls, shrubbery or forests, children play a significant role in these accounts. Altamira, he reminds us, was entered by a father and daughter, but the parent sought artefacts on the floor, while the daughter was inquisitive enough to glance at the ceiling: "Look, Papa! Oxen!". Her "Papa", Sr de Sautuola, would prove the first of many to be embroiled in lengthy disputes over his daughter's discovery.

Disputes are the norm in archaeology, and those surrounding cave art may be among the most acrimonious. Altamira's cave paintings were first considered modern fakes and the exchanges grew so heated that de Sautuola was worn to death by the struggle. As more examples of hidden art came into view, a figure rose in France who was beset by problems of his own. The Abbe Henri Breuil, whose long career in the field would lead to him being dubbed "The Pope of Prehistory", established many standard practices for how to deal with the paintings and engravings on rocks and cave walls. He's now known for conceiving the idea that the paintings were a form of "hunting magic". Later scholars, chiefly for lack of visible evidence have dismissed that idea. Few of the painted animals are wounded.
The objections to Breuil's concept led archaeologists to turn away from "interpreting" cave art, and attention was given instead to classifying the images. Any number of assessments of image type, positioning and other relationships were developed. Curtis relates the efforts of a man little heard of today, Max Rafferty, who conceived a "structural" thesis into which cave images might be fit. "Structuralism" led to some bizarre arrangement ideas, but it boosted interest in the minds of those making the paintings. If the painters went to such pains to arrange the images, Curtis asks, what was their motive in doing so? What did the arrangements mean to the artists? Is it possible to derive what impelled them at all?

The author is careful throughout the book to show that evidence for motive behind the paintings is impossible to determine. However, he uses the career of cave painting investigator Jean Clottes to explain how far science has come since the discovery of Altamira in 1879. Clottes, collaborating with South African archaeologist David Lewis Williams, a specialist in San rock art, co-authored a work proposing shamans were the instigators or actual artists of the cave images. As Curtis notes, the theory generated a storm of controversy. For one thing, "interpretation" had fallen into disrepute. For another, the idea of "art" as the product of drug or exertion-inspired imagery seemed to "demean" the art in some fashion. Curtis is hesitant about accepting the thesis, but notes that it has the virtue of relying on recent studies of consciousness. He withholds his blanket approval, but recognises it both for the scientific underpinning and Clottes' reputation as a careful scholar. Such a figure wouldn't take up such a concept without good reason.

There's a final element in Curtis' explanations and history - the enigmatic scratchings and engravings scattered about the caves' walls. The one element lacking in all the serious conjectures and disputes about the cave paintings is humour. Even the earliest humans with enough mental capacity to conceive and execute the cave images must have had idle moments and off-beat thoughts. Some of that, he proposes, have found form in some of the less serious imagery on the rocks. More significantly, he concludes, is that the images reflect a stable social order. Whether that society was forming the basis for later, strongly hierarchical societies we developed will likely never be known. The evidence, however, does point to communities holding values and standards. Clearly, the cultures creating the paintings endured. The stretches of millennia and distances across which the themes and particular animals were repeated are testimony to that persistence. Was cave art, as a portrayal of the relationship of the human and spiritual worlds the forerunner of today's religion-based societies? Maria de Sautuola's upward glance began a new chapter in the history book of humanity. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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