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.

The New Testament Code: The Cup of the Lord, the Damascus Covenant, and the Blood of Christ

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Landmark Work on Early Christianity
Eight years in the making and partly reads like a draft...
New Testament Code
An Excellent Sequel to James Brother of Jesus
The Definitive Work on the Implications of the Dead Sea Scrolls

The New Testament Code: The Cup of the Lord, the Damascus Covenant, and the Blood of Christ
Robert Eisenman
Manufacturer: Watkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1842931865

Book Description

It’s finally here – world-renowned scholar and best-selling author Robert Eisenman’s long-awaited sequel to James the Brother of Jesus. Is there an interconnecting code behind the New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls? 1,000 pages of new research shows that there is. There are many ‘Code’s and ‘Code’ Books – some imaginary, some products of wishful thinking, and some even fraudulent; but ‘the Code’ in Professor Eisenman’s new book The New Testament Code: The Cup of the Lord, the Damascus Covenant, and the Blood of Christ really exists.

In identifying the Scrolls as the literature of “the Messianic Movement in Palestine,” Robert Eisenman – who broke the monopoly over the Dead Sea Scrolls and was the first to identify “the James Ossuary” as a fraud – demonstrates the integral relationship of James the brother of Jesus to the Righteous Teacher of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ‘decoding’ many famous and beloved sayings in the Gospels, such as “Every Plant which My Heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted,” “Do not throw Holy Things to dogs,” “A man shall not be known by what goes into his mouth but, rather, by what comes out of it,” “Even the dogs eat the crumbs under the table,” and “These are the signs that the Lord did in Cana of Galilee.”

In doing so, he deciphers the way the picture of “Jesus” was put together in the Gospels, in the process clarifying the real history of Palestine in the First Century and, as a consequence, what can be known about the real “Jesus” of that time. At the same time he unravels the real code behind a pivotal New Testament allusion like “This is the Cup of the New Covenant in my Blood,” connecting it to “the New Covenant in the Land of Damascus” and “drinking the Cup of the Wrath of God” in the Dead Sea Scrolls; and uncovers the Truth about what really happened in Palestine at that time, not what the enemies of those making war against Rome wanted people to think happened.

Offering a thorough point-by-point analysis of James’ relationship to the Dead Sea Scrolls, he illumines such subjects as the “Pella Flight,” “the Wilderness Camps,” and Paul as “Herodian,” exposing Peter’s true historical role as “a prototypical Essene” who was used in the Gospels and the Book of Acts as a mouthpiece for aboriginal Anti-Semitism. In making these arguments and exposing these overwrites, a crucial new point that emerges is his identification of the Dead Sea Scrolls document known as the MMT as a ‘Jamesian’ Letter to the person the Early Church Fathers identify as “the Great King of the Peoples beyond the Euphrates.”

The crowning point of his arguments is his final exposition of the relationship of “the New Covenant in the Land of Damascus” of the Dead Sea Scrolls to “the Last Supper” in the Gospels and “the Cup” connected to both. Did Paul know the meaning of the famous Damascus Document (discovered in a Synagogue Repository in Old Cairo in 1897), “to set the Holy Things up according to their precise specifications” – or the reverse of it, as Peter was presented as discovering in the Books of Acts – “to make no distinctions between Holy and profane”? The final mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls as they relate to Peter, Paul, and James will be elucidated. Eisenman’s many readers will not be disappointed.

Customer Reviews:

Landmark Work on Early Christianity .......2007-08-21

Professor Eisenmen has produced a landmark work that will be referred to for decades to come. This book is for readers who are serious about understanding the first fifty years after the crucifixion and how traditional Christianity has avoided the message of the Dea Sea Scrolls (DSS). Only a professional and dedicated researcher like Profesor Eisenman could hold his readers by the hand and lead them through the maze of the traditional Christian spin of the past two thousand years. The traditional Christian movement will attack the evidence so artfully consolidated by Eisenmen. Their only other choice is to open their closed minds to the first century evidence provided by the Dea Sea Scrolls and many other collaborating first century records.

Eisenman meticulous presentation mirrors the complexity of the subject matter. In this regard, the significance of several sections of the book may remain partially unappreciated, unless the reader is well versed with the large diversity of early Christian records. The bottom line is that Eiseneman proves that Pauline Christianity as we know it today is largely a convoluted blend of the authentic teachings of the enlightened Jesus and the flawed beliefs of the historical figure know as the Apostle Paul. It will come as a shock to most readers that Eisenman proves that Paul was adversary of the inner circle of Jesus; an adversary who never met the living Jesus. Paul's version of Christianty is based primarily on his alleged psychic visions and was in opposition to the views of the real Apostles and the family of the enlightend Jesus. The underlying message of Eisenman is as follows: Who do you want to agree with, the inner circle of Master Jesus or some Greek named Paul, who never the enlightened Jesus?

Many, including the most respected members of Christian acedamia, will quickly dismiss the comprehensive case presented by Eisenman. This is unfortunate but expected given the brain washing that has been perpetrated by the traditional Christian movement for the past two thousand years. The foundation of the traditional Christian movement is largely based on the flawed Pauline perspective that dominates the New Testament. How can someone who never met the enlightened Jesus and who obtained the title of apostle only by self appointment, author 13 of the 27 documents that comprise the foundation of Christianity, New Testament? In addition, it is commonly accepted that Paul wrote his flawed epistles well before the balance of the other documents that comprise the New Testament. Thus, Paul's flawed perspective had a polluitng and conditioning effect on most of the documents within the New Testament. Paul was an expert at placing his primitive religious beleifs into the mouth of the enlightened Jesus. This erroneous practiced was unfortunately copied by most of the other authors of the New Testament.

Ever since the Catholic Church lost its control on the Christian movement, approximately 400 years ago, couragous researchers have searched for the authentic Jesus; the enlightend Jesus that is camoflaged by the primitive beleifs of Pauline Christianity. Professor Eisenman has not found all of the authentic teachings of the enlightened Jesus. However, he has proved via the DSS that the traditioanl Pauline based version of Christianity is a primitive hoax. Professor Eisenmen has shown the world that it is time to seperate the Pauline Christian foundation, along with the spin of the past two thousand years, from the authentic teachings of the enlightened Jesus. For this the entire Christian movement owes Professor Eisenman its gratitude and thanks.

The author of this review has been looking for the authentic Jesus, or more accurately called Joshua ben Joseph, for many years. As odd as this may sound, the enlightened Jesus was never called Jesus while He was alive. Jesus is Greek name used by Paul, who was a product of the primitive Greek culture. Everyone who knew the living Jesus called Him by His Judaic name, "Joshua". In any case, hundreds of books later its very disturbing to learn that the historical records are not consistent with the message of traditional Pauline Chriatinity. "All" of our Christian leaders have access to a considerable amount of information that proves that their Pauline version of Christianity is seriously flawed, and yet they continue to regurgitate tradtional Christian spin. This is very unfortunate and a dis-service to their Christian congregations. One day new Christian leaders will arrive and demonstrate the maturity and courage to emphasize what we know about Master Joshua, as opposed to the primitive teachings of Paul.

I would like to exprees my sincere thanks to Professor Eisenmam for his many books and years of research. He has endured decades of immature criticism and reidicule from the traditioanl Christian movement. It is time for our Christian leaders to open their minds, their hearts and their souls to the evidence contained within the Dead Sea Scrolls. In doing so they will recognize the mistakes of the past two thouusand years. This is the path to the authentic teachings of the enlightened Joshua ben Joseh.

Eight years in the making and partly reads like a draft..........2007-03-02

While the publisher may have thought the title a good way to cash in on a current buzz word, "The New Testament Code (NTC) is anything but an entertaining read. This is an exercise in "Form- und Redaktiongeschichte" - that is, a formal analysis of the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient texts, broken down into snippets and compared, in the search for interdependencies.

I've done my share of reading dry, scholarly works. I believe those addressed to a wider audience should stand on their own feet. Nonetheless I had to pull out Hans Jonas' "The Gnostic Religion," for the first time in 25 years to get a decent idea of that Hidden Adam terminology mentioned by Eisenman innumerable times in both his more recent books but always hardly doing more than stating, over and over, the existence of this "word form" (and idea) Hidden Adam in various ancient Near East sources. While reading Jonas' crystal clear description of what was this Adamite "Christology" (based on the surviving remnant stemming from John the Baptist), I was reminded of how distillation of facts into lucid wisdom should be mastered by every scholar before attempting to communicate outside the specialists' journals.

Now that the material is out - and for this important dirty work and for grasping much of the Big Picture Eisenman deserves full credit - could someone with some dramaturgical talent please sum up his previous work, "James, the brother of Jesus", and NTC in one handy and readable volume? My patience was a bit tested by "James" but NTC plunges headlong into pedantic word for word exegesis for pages on end. This is deep stuff for specialists, not for even an interested layman. Just as with "James" 300 pages could have told the same story to much, much better effect.

I also object to a certain shallowness while hunting down the literary "forms", that is, the individual words or phrases, needed by the author to connect one text with another and so prove the fabricated, unhistorical nature of the New Testament. There are spectacular hits but too often these are offset by unconvincing parallels, weakening the author's overall argument. A case in point, beginning with "James," is the form "standing." What sundry items the author has grouped under the theme "stand up!" Resurrection of the dead, a "standing" which denotes no more than "hanging out with other people," not to mention uses referring to standing up from one's sleeping quarters! Can one build a case from such a mixed bag?

Luckily, in a sufficient number of cases Eisenman does zoom out far enough to establish validity relative to context, thereby revealing significant and interesting patterns, for example when comparing the sequencing of several events described in the Talmud, and how they appear in the same order in one of the Gospels.

Arguing (correctly, I think) for a common provenance of all the Dead Sea scriptures, I found it telling that Eisenman, wishing to vindicate the men of Qumran for all the wrongs done them by Paul, the personified villain of this historical reconstruction (and Christianity at large), did not see it fit to include the Dead Sea horoscopes in his picture, how this movement eugenically ranked individuals in ways seemingly not so dissimilar from the Nazi view on race! Not only were the blind and maimed excluded (because of the presence of angels in the community), but against Eisenman's assertion that God put into Man the two spirits of Light and Darkness into "equal parts" (p. 860), the horoscopes (written in cipher since this was personal and sensitive materials) says something else. Some members were ranked very low, consisting as they did of mostly the satanic spirit, this poor inner condition also reflected in physical shortcomings! Remember Paul's being self-conscious about having some sort a physical handicap? This is eminently understandably in the light of the Essenes peculiar methods of admitting and grading new members.

Twenty years from now on, Eisenman's exaggerated picture of the bad guy Paul and the good people at Qumran, thrilling and undoubtedly largely correct as it is, will have given way to a broadened picture which takes account of more materials than those key passages so badly overused by Eisenman for this first (and important) draft of the true story. Perhaps then we will better realize why Jesus DID socialize with drunkards and the physically less than perfect. Ultimately Eisenman's reconstruction may turn out to be a bit simplistic.

The writing style is uneven (sometimes flowing, sometimes totally stuck in an indigestible mess of textual references) and the aforementioned repetitiousness mind-numbing. One can clearly make out the stages in the creation of the book, the first 170 or so pages entirely dispensable if you've read "James." If anything, this recapitulation messes up some of the more eloquent passages and muddies some points of the first 1000 page tome. A study on Talmudic parallels to New Testament character Nicodemus follows, as does much but inconclusive talk on sundry dog symbolism. This is obvious filler to create a sequel as fat as the first volume, because in the foreword Eisenman makes clear he had about 500 pages prepared already back in 1998 and these we find beginning at page 551. This book was eight years in the making and large portions read like a draft. Where were the editors?

Perhaps if I had not belatedly read "James" only months before I would have given this four stars, but the story was pretty much told already in the prequel even though the detailed analysis of some Dead Sea Scrolls, central to the thesis, appear only in NTC. Truth is, what should have been the grand final (for those unacquainted with the previous volume), was given away beforehand, in a piecemeal fashion, in this book too. The final 200 pages were not worth the close reading ultra-compact text of this kind necessitates.

As one anonymous commentator of the Chinese Classic of Changes (I Ching) said in late antiquity:

"The words of a man who plans revolt are confused... excited men use many words. The words of men of good fortune are few."
(Ta Chuan, The Great Exposition, XII, 7, the Wilhem/Baynes translation)

New Testament Code.......2007-02-11

This book was a nice work of fiction, but it is by no means an accurate portrayal of early Judaism and Christianity. Any Jewish or Christian scholar understands this. But, Eisenmann, a scholar? Such an autobiography could make even greater fiction!

An Excellent Sequel to James Brother of Jesus.......2007-02-07

This book starts where James Brother of Jesus left off. Excellent analysis and documentation. The only flaw in this book is its analysis of Islam. This just shows that a scholar could excel in a particular field and be deficient in another. Dr. Eisenman is definitely an expert on Jewish Christian origins but not Islam

The Definitive Work on the Implications of the Dead Sea Scrolls.......2006-12-21

The New Testament Code is the continuation (conclusion?) of Robert Eisenman's thesis of the ambience of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The patience of Eisenman's adherents, who have long waited for the release of the present volume, will be rewarded with the extraordinary scholarship, research, interpretations, and perspicaciousness which continually characterize his endeavors. His thesis is at variance with the majority who are determined to construct their exegesis of the Scrolls in the Maccabean era-- beginning in the mid-2nd Century BC. That upon which these results are based is not in harmony with this time period. He explores assumptions that others have not pursued nor considered. The notion that the movement of those associated with the Scrolls was one of passivity, tranquility, and isolation is dismissed.

The Scrolls are representative of the theological mindset of the Messianic Movement that developed in Palestine before it became usurped and amalgamated into one that conveyed a Hellenistic god-tale and allegorical mythologizing under the name of Christianity. Eisenman identifies many who appear to have been the originators of the Gentile version of the Messianic Movement as having affiliation with the Herodians who were granted rule over Palestine by the Romans. There were four cities that bore the name Antioch which increased the potential for not only expanding the geographical sphere of the New Testament narrative, but by also increasing the number of individuals who might be involved in it. The faction of those who represented the Scrolls, as well as those responsible for the theology of the New Testament, were not only aware of one another, but were also in opposition. This is astutely documented from the scroll Peshers (commentaries) and texts in the New Testament.

Far too many writers and commentators of the Scrolls are simply content to analyze the content, and comment on the "uniqueness." The impression is that from the Palestinian Jewish matrix of ideas, phrases and terminologies that developed, they found their way into the New Testament. The dominant impression is that most of what was associated with Qumran developed in a geographical Petri dish, despite its close proximity to Jerusalem and other Palestinian locales. Eisenman presents a movement whose effects reached the regions from the Levant to southern Iraq. More importantly it was a movement that flourished contemporaneously with the events depicted in the New Testament--the 1st Century C.E. The "internal data" presented by Eisenman, as implements to assist in the dating of the Scrolls, is in opposition with the 2nd Century B.C. renderings of Carbon-14 tests and paleography. The accuracy of Eisenman's data brings into question the scientific impartiality involved. This internal data includes allusions to the New Covenant, pollution of the temple, the House of Judgment, the fallen tabernacle of David, doing according to the precise letter of the Law, the last generation, the righteous living by faith (salvation by faith), the delay of Parousia, the house of his exile, the Cup of Blood/Damascus, and references to fornication and niece marriage, soldiers venerating their standards and worshiping their weapons of war, and a scroll fragment that seems to contain the name of a High Priest who held his position 46-47 C.E. Eisenman also conveys various circumstances described in the Habakkuk Pesher as being consistent with events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. All of which revolve around the 1st Century.

The "code" employed in the New Testament was disinformation, overwrite, and even name changes. It disqualified Jews from its eschatological allusions and enfranchised Gentile believers. Its "history" was sanitized and even distorted. The plethora of names that abound in the New Testament of individuals, incidents, and locations, are scrutinized with similar names and instances in the works of Josephus, the Talmud, and the early Christian Church writers to elicit the significance. The homophonic transfers of names from one language to another reveal that with which other Scroll writers have not dealt. Pentecost was of significance to the covenanters of the Scrolls as well as in the New Testament. The enigmatic personages of the Teacher of Righteousness, the Wicked Priest, and the Spouter of Lies are identified. The Cup of the Lord represents far more than Divine vengeance. Elements associated with the Teacher of Righteousness appear to have been absorbed into descriptions pertaining to Jesus. The paradigm for all traitors, Judas Iscariot, becomes less of a betrayer and one more identifiable with a faction within a movement.

There is a measure of redundancy which appears aimed more toward the reinforcement of the concepts and ideas involved as the reader can easily become overwhelmed by the multitude of imagery, metaphors and transformations that exist between the Scrolls and the New Testament. The relegation of footnotes to an online site is disconcerting to those who regularly examine the sources involved and additional commentary. It should be noted that any such criticism is to be born by the publisher. The paramount importance of this dissertation is that it presents evidence that the movement portrayed in the New Testament no longer was one that could claim the exclusive rights to originality, but had as its antecedent a Messianic faction that flourished at the same time period and in the same vicinity. The content of the Dead Sea Scrolls not only supported the precedent for a Christ, but it also anticipated many of the texts in which the historical Jesus existed, and it helped provide the theological matter from which the Messiah of the New Testament was developed. Evidence is presented of a New Testament that distorted history to vilify those who were the impetus for the Messianic movement in Palestine of First Century.

This is the definitive opus on the Dead Sea Scrolls and their affect on those from which Christianity originated. It is a departure from the "scholarly consensus," which has been more concerned with propriety than implication. The Scrolls were said to be the greatest historical discovery of the Twentieth Century. The New Testament Code is the personification of that declaration.

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damascus for serious people

Damascus
Gerard Degeorge
Manufacturer: Flammarion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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ASIN: 2080304569
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Book Description

With over 300 original photographs, as well as charts, architectural plans, and reproductions of engravings and ancient watercolors, Damascus provides a rich and thorough introduction to the architectural and archeological history of one of the world's great cities. Weaving together aspects of history, sociology, religion, and law, Degeorge presents a unique perspective on the sights and monuments, allowing the reader a global view and a tangible sense of the successive civilizations in order to understand their mysteries.

In the introduction, the natural history and geography of the region are explored— elements crucial for a deeper understanding of Damascus's place on the world map and its situation on the major commercial routes. Relations with the West (the Greek and Roman empires, the Crusades, and French Imperialism) are broadly addressed, both in the acts and deeds of the people, as well as the perspective of Western travelers, businessmen, and political figures. Degeorge also includes the impressions and observations of nearby residents of the Mahgreb, Syria, and other members of the Orient, departing from the uniquely ethnocentric point of view that often dominates studies of the region.

Customer Reviews:

damascus for serious people.......2006-11-15

Serious in depth review of Damascus ,Syria. Excellent pictuers for a price.The book is expensive but worth the money if you like hard cover.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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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 New Damascus Document: The Midrash On The Eschatological Torah Of The Dead Sea Scrolls: Reconstruction, Translation And Commentary (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah)

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The New Damascus Document: The Midrash On The Eschatological Torah Of The Dead Sea Scrolls: Reconstruction, Translation And Commentary (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah)
Ben Zion Wacholder
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004141081

Book Description

This volume examines twelve ancient and medieval manuscripts, ten from the caves at Qumran and the two so called Damascus Documents from the Cairo Geniza, presenting a new organization and understanding of these texts. The twelve manuscripts are in a composite form under the title Midrash haTorah haAcharon (MTA), the Midrash of the Eschatological Torah, a title which opens a new window into the understanding of the Jewish literary tradition during the period of the Second Temple, prior to the development of the Talmud and Christianity. Following the composite Hebrew text are a full translation, notes and commentary elucidating the MTA in light of the new evidence provided by these texts and retranslation.

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Terrible just terrible.
A Bolo Book by the letter of the law, not the spirit
What to do, what to do?
cute cover, serious book
Back to the Laumer style

The Road to Damascus (The Bolo Series)
John Ringo , and Linda Evans
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0743499166

Book Description

When a ruthless political regime seizes power on a world struggling to recover from alien invasion, a former war hero finds herself leading a desperate band of freedom fighters. Kafari Khrustinova, who fought Deng infantry from farmhouses and barns, finds herself struggling to free her homeworld from an unholy political alliance, headed by the charismatic and ambitious Vittori Santorini, which has seduced her young daughter with its propaganda and subverted the planet's Bolo, using the war machine to crush all political opposition. To free her homeworld, Kafari must somehow cripple or kill the Bolo she once called friend. Unit SOL-0045, "Sonny," is a Mark XX Bolo, self-aware and intelligent. When Sonny's human commander is forced off-world, Sonny tries to navigate his way through ambiguous moral and legal issues, sinking into deep confusion and electronic misery. He eventually faces a dark night of the soul, with no guarantee that he will understand-let alone make-the right decision. And caught in the middle of this volatile battlefield is Yalena Khrustinova, Kafari's young daughter. Will she open her eyes in time to save herself-and millions of innocents-or will Santorini's relentless brainwashing campaign continue to blind her while the tyrant engineers the ultimate destruction of a helpless and enslaved population?

Customer Reviews:

Terrible just terrible........2006-09-29

I kept hoping for the Deng or Malconinas or Klingons or someone to blast this loser planet out of existence. The `good guy' oppressed minority is a group called Grangers. With the smoke still billowing after an attack - after paying lip service to how terrible war is they quickly gets down to serious matters - insuring their profit margins are kept healthy. Inspiring selfless patriots all.

The evil aliens races are more clever than the human's. Rather than waste bombs bombing the humans back into the Stone Age, all they have to do is keep clear. See the government than comes to power is determined to drive themselves back into the Stone Age. They don't need any outside help, thank you very much.

The Bolo holds out the longest, but even it turns hopelessly silly. When under attack it observes that the explosion ripped "my port-side threads to confetti." A precision killing machine thinks that to itself? Sadly I'm not kidding. However I'm happy to report that my copy of this stink-bomb shared the same fate as SOL-0045 port-side threads.

A Bolo Book by the letter of the law, not the spirit.......2006-09-20

The worst -Bolo- book ever, that being said, I will say it was a well written book. Mr. Ringo and Ms. Evans (not surprising for the latter) had all of the facts, the specifications, the tech and even political situation composed well. Their Mark of Bolo was well chosen, for a higher Mark would definitely not had done what 'Sonny' did. Why then do I say the worse Bolo book written ever? Because beyond all of what a Bolo can and cannot do technically speaking, one thing author after author has maintained is how heroic, honorable, and noble the Bolos are. A sane Bolo does not commit atrocities. Yes, during Operation Ragnarok they shot at civilians, mothers, children, etc., but even in that story, the Bolo admitted they were insane. Here the authors had the Bolo run over unarmed civilians in a non-combat situation. Bolos have crashed their own systems before doing something they knew was wrong. I admit, I approach the Bolo series because they are heroic AIs, not for the military scifi so much, so that colors my view. If this had just been about an intelligent tank in a changing political situation, I would have given this book four or five stars. It really was an engaging book. It had to be to keep me reading once I felt betrayed by the authors. A wonderful work of revolutionary war, and detailed the fall of a benigh government to a totalitarian one. The political messages were loud and clear. Though I wonder what other messages the authors were sending when they killed off two characters -just- when they realized they realized the truth. The running over of the two teenage girls by the Bolo I think sends the wrong message for a book that was stuffed full of hit-over-the-head political messages. It added to one character's resolve certainly, and the horror of the situation, but unnecessary and counter to even the cover art (and later on in the story), with the Bolo stopping when a child stood in its way. Ringo fans should enjoy this book if this is how he writes normally. I was surprised to find Linda Evans part of this, as I love her earlier works with Bolos (her Bolos didn't commit atrocities). While I might pick up another Ringo book, I will not if he's writing another Bolo book. For Bolo fans, you may just wish to avoid this book, its a shame its part of the Bolo canon, a travesty to Bolo books that came before it, but thankfully not the last Bolo book.

What to do, what to do?.......2006-04-23

SOL-0045, a Bolo Mark XX, was loaned out by the Concordiat to the planet of Jefferson to help defend against any attacks by the Deng as a three sided war rages across millions of light years of space between the Dinochrome Brigade and the advancing Melkonians and the losing Deng. After helping defeat a Deng invasion SOL finds himself under the control of a brutal, power hungry, government that plans to use him to crush all who get in their way. And as the legal government he HAS to obey.
Or does he? As the civil war grows, the Bolo has to find a way to escape the trap, the trap of duty and ethics. After all, Bolos were programmed to obey humans but they were also built to protect humans.
At 757 pages, this book is a tad longer than it needed to be and has just a tad too much in the way of politics. Also the Bolo felt a tad too human.

cute cover, serious book.......2006-01-01

This was a good collaboration for John Ringo and Linda Evans. It flowed smoothly and successfully. I felt really stupid when I finally "got" the title of the book - at the 4/5ths point of the book. The Bolo is totally cool and the people were interesting.

Back to the Laumer style.......2005-09-14

This edition of the Bolo series really took me back to the original Laumer Bolo books in that a new type of threat is addressed by a humble Bolo with (of course) the best of intentions yet self-acknowledged outdated ability. This book is written to generate some of the *feelings* of the original books that have sadly been sacrificed for intriguing strategies, tactics, and plot development in recent releases.
While not the greatest book in the series, it certainly has its share of new concepts and addresses human socio-political issues parallel to Heinlein's Starship Troopers (the book, not the movie). It's my favorite Bolo book in recent years, partly because we are again exposed to the Bolo's thought processes and personal struggles, which often make for half the importance of a Bolo story.

The Lives of Shadows: An Illustrated Novel

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Wonderfully Inventive
Inspired but not accomplished
Beautiful & Ethereal Novel
A beautiful story on beautiful pages.
A subtle ghost story

The Lives of Shadows: An Illustrated Novel
Barbara Hodgson
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0811839265

Book Description

In the spring of 1914, a restless young man leaves England for a tour of the exotic east. A bit of Egypt, a glimpse of Syria, a nod to Constantinople -- that's all that was supposed to happen. Instead, Julian Beaufort becomes mesmerized. Wandering in idle admiration through the labyrinthine streets of Damascus, he stumbles upon Bait Katib, a house that takes possession of his heart. It is elegant; it is ancient; and it is, after a bit of negotiation with the owner, his. He has every intention of staying there for the rest of his life. But the world doesn't relinquish its hold so easily. Two bloody wars -- one in Europe and one in Syria -- leave Julian wounded and the city of Damascus in ruins. He returns from battle to find his precious house still standing, but no longer entirely his. It seems someone else may be occupying the shadows of Bait Katib. A mystery, a love story, and a journey to a sepia-toned past, Barbara Hodgson's new illustrated novel will haunt and delight her many devoted readers and tempt legions more to take a guided journey into another world.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully Inventive.......2006-07-11

I have read several of Ms. Hodgson's books in the past and each one is a gem in its own right. The Lives of Shadows catches your interest on page one and keeps you entertained all the way through.

Weaving mysterious hints with photos and drawings, the story tells of a house in Syria which holds a special place in two people's hearts. Julian, the young man fell in love with the house on a journey he made as a college student. The owner actually offers the house to him and Julian readily accepts. However, life intervenes and he must return home to England to fight in the war. The memory of the house is kept alive for many years, but one thing leads to another before he can return to claim the house promised to him.

Asilah is the daughter of the former owner. Unfortunately, the war has taken her life, but not her love for her home. She still wanders the rooms, waiting for something.

When Julian returns to the house, their two lives touch lightly in unusual ways. Asilah will put items in different places or her movements will create a slight breeze, giving Julain pause for thought. When Julian is around, the house takes on different aspects for Asilah that are not apparent otherwise. Each tells their own story of the house where they find comfort.

Best of all, the ending is superb!

Inspired but not accomplished.......2006-02-26

Very interesting work indeed, and certainly inspired by the Author's personal ghosts, but not entirely accomplished. It could have been a literary achievement, but it would have probably needed more time to grow, as the House, with more care given, more pages and tortuos dreams. The graphics are an original contribution but should have been used with spare. Just a small part of the pictures published would have been enough and should have been chosen with superior delicate attention and put at the proper place, which is not always the case.
ALL THIS DOES NOT MEAN I DID NOT LIKE THE BOOK: it is a very entertaining and compelling story, very close to ancient occult ideas about space and time. And the Author is someone I would like to meet to convince her to write a new, definitive version which I would be very glad to print.

Beautiful & Ethereal Novel.......2004-12-16

I was immediately impressed by the quality of this book--the thick paper, beautiful illustrations, and wonderful articles & pictures from the era in which the story is set. This is a beautifully told tale about a young man who finds his spiritual home in the Middle East and about his life there until the relatives of the family that sold it to him decide to fight to get it back. There is an element of mystery, romance and in the background is the fear that he will be ejected from the home that has become an extension of his own mind. I couldn't put it down!

A beautiful story on beautiful pages........2004-11-18

Tonight I finished reading this gem and was immensely saddened that it had to end, albeit predictably as another reviewer noted. Still, what a lush, nuanced story, complemented with rich visual elements, providing a backdrop of artifact that actually serves the story rather than detracts from it. Though she can't really be compared to Nick Bantock, though they are both artists who can write well, Ms. Hodgson's latest seems to firmly ally itself with the genre most notably cultivated by the "Griffin and Sabine" series: visually pleasing epistolary with a twist of the fantastic. A most welcome diversion indeed.

A subtle ghost story .......2004-08-09

This was my first attempt at reading one of Hodgson's books. I've seen her other books and picked them up several times but have never taken the plunge. I did this time and was extremely pleased. I suppose it was the combination of subject matter -- a house that inspires loyalty and love -- along with the intriguing illustrations that prompted me to read this book. The story is interesting and well done. Julian is well-drawn. He doesn't want to admit his shell shock and unwillingness to confront the world after his war experience but does so indirectly through his focus on the house. All of the characters are interesting and the slow revelation of "ghosthood" is interesting and subtle. Hodgson's emphasis is not on the ghastly but on the bittersweet aspects of ghost stories. I recommend this book to all who like a different kind of ghost story and enjoy a solid writing style.

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Family Secrets
Awesome discovery
Great book!
A story of hope, faith, and trust
A book worth sharing

Divas of Damascus Road
Michelle Stimpson
Manufacturer: Walk Worthy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446577464

Book Description

If it werent for the wedding of her favorite aunt Gloria, Diane would never have returned to Dentonville, Texas. Shes been gone for nearly 30 years, but time cant erase the terrible pain of her childhood. Blamed by a drug-addicted, schizophrenic mother and carrying the guilt for her baby sisters death, Diane is an adult with a shattered spirit who often seeks comfort in the beds of men she barely knows. But she isnt the only woman in her family running from the past. Her younger cousins, Yolanda and Regina, whom she thinks of as her sisters, bear related emotional scars. As the three women brace themselves for an emotional reunion, its clear there are no easy resolutions. Dianes mother, Joyce Ann, has slipped even deeper into her mental disorder and cant understand why she cant find her way back to God. But Diane does. The eldest and most stable of the three Divas of Damascus Road, she is hiding the most life-altering secret of all.

Customer Reviews:

Family Secrets.......2007-07-19

I enjoyed Divas of Damascus Road, because it touches upon things we all have in our families...deep, dark secrets. The story reminds us that those deep, dark secrets eventually come to light, and our love ones inevitably get hurt.

Awesome discovery.......2007-07-16

The author has shared from within her own heart. This book allows you to become a part of the trials as if you were there. What an awesome journey!

Great book!.......2007-06-26

This book is great! You will not want to put it down. "3" of my friends have read the book since I bought it in May and many will be getting the book.

Many thanks to the author for her spiritual insight and for her allowing the Lord to use her through literature.

A story of hope, faith, and trust.......2007-02-10

Sisters Yolanda and Regina have always been close to their cousin Dianne. Early in their childhood, she came to live with them when her own mother turned away from her. Years later, Dianne has fled to Dentonville, with no intentions of ever returning to the small town she grew up in. She uses men and the moment to soothe the pains from the past, even while knowing it's only temporary. Yolanda and Regina have their own set of issues. Yolanda believes that everything must be in its perfect order. She's so used to her routine that even contemplating having a man in her life makes her nervous. Regina was always the fat kid and after losing all the weight and living in the world of the pretty people (if only in her mind), she has married and had her first child. Unable to shake the weight gained during her pregnancy, she takes drastic measures to lose it. Even after coming face to face with her illness; not even her husband's love can get through to her. Sadly, she's the only one who sees herself as overweight.

Michelle Stimpson has planted powerful seeds of knowledge throughout the pages of DIVAS OF DAMASCUS ROAD. It is a story of hope, faith, and trust. Each of the main characters are searching for something, whether it's the love of a parent or loving ones self; yet they all must learn to fall back on their teachings and acknowledgement of God's power in their lives. I applaud Stimpson for sharing God's message through her writings and teaching that we can all be healed of our afflictions, even those we inflict upon ourselves.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

A book worth sharing.......2007-02-01

I loved this book. Each of the women had their own issues, and I think there's something all of us can take away from each one of them. This is my first time reading anything by this author. But it definitely won't be my last. I love Christian fiction books and this book is among my favorites!

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25 pages missing from the book I purchased!
A metaphor for Palestine
Taking a stand for freedom
Unanswerable questions
Excellent Reading

A Beggar at Damascus Gate
Yasmine Zahran
Manufacturer: Post Apollo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0942996240

Book Description

Cold and alone in an ancient Palestinian village, a travelling archeologist finds the threads of a narrative that will direct his life for the coming decade. Its characters are a Palestinian woman, an English man, each deeply committed to the conflicting demands of love and national loyalties. As the narrator slowly pieces together the fate of the two unfortunate lovers, he also uncovers a tale of treachery, duplicity, and passion that highlights the contemporary plight of the enormous numbers of displaced Palestinians. Their final resolution surprises them both and reveals a depth to their commmitments that neither had previously realized.

Customer Reviews:

25 pages missing from the book I purchased!.......2006-11-24

It was a great book until I had to begin filling in the story line by myself! 25 pages were missing from the book, even though I paid full price for it..very disappointing to begin the story only to find that there are blank pages.

A metaphor for Palestine.......2006-04-15

This is a book of love and loss, of what is and what might have been. An archaeologist finds a personal journal in the closet of a small hotel in Jordan that describes the love affair between a Palestinian woman and an English man. Through the journal entries, the archaeologist tries to piece together their life. His curiosity leads to further inquiries in which he ultimately learns of the complex relationship and tragic destiny of the two lovers. Throughout the narrative, the suffering of the Palestinian people weighs heavily overhead. This is an outstanding book that is, at one level, a tragic love story between two people from different worlds. At another level, however, this narrative describes, in personal and intimate terms, what the Nakba did to the collective psyche of generations of Palestinians. This is a moving and beautiful novel, and I highly recommend it.

Taking a stand for freedom.......2003-12-09

A Beggar at Damascus Gate is a compilation of journal entries between a Palestinian woman and her British husband. The fact that they are husband and wife is problematic because of the colonization of Palestine by England. We are privy to these writings through the eyes of an archeologist who uncovers them in his hotel room in Petra. He is at first hesitant about reading them because he realizes that the correspondence is a look into the hearts and souls of two people who cannot prevent his intrusion. He overcomes this reluctance and decides to read the journals first because of his curiosity and finally because he wants to publish them.
The journals track the lives of the couple over many years and are filled with their private thoughts, implications of murder, conspiracy, spying, and revolutionary activities. Since the archeologist decided what entries to publish, it was hard for me to establish a connection with the couple. It was also evident that the archeologist was fascinated by Ryya, the wife, which at first created a bias for me against her husband. The archeologist also tries to mold Ryya into the traditional role of a woman, but he realizes that she does not fit this mold and is forced to give the reader a picture of the true woman.
There is nothing traditional about the lives of the couple and they spend more time apart than together. They travel together and separately throughout their time together and the mission that each is committed to performing is suspected by the other, even though they have no concrete evidence of this fact.
To view this novel as merely a love story is to miss the underlying symbolism of the fight for freedom and against oppression by one country over another. Ryya has one true love left in her life, and that is her homeland of Palestine. It was a place of peacefulness, sacredness, and happiness that she is no longer able to enjoy because of her revolutionary stance against the occupation of Palestine by Israel. Alex doesn't understand her feelings about her version of what her homeland is and means to her. His annoyance comes from the fact that he cannot empathize with her because he has never been on the receiving end of oppression.
The archeologist spends ten years of his life searching for the couple and comes to believe that he will never find them. The significance of the title is revealed at the end of the novel. This novel was well worth the time because it is also a mystery. We have to put the clues together to realize the full impact of the novel.

Unanswerable questions.......2003-12-08

I really enjoyed Yasmin Zahran's novel, A Beggar at Damascus Gate. I had trouble, however, in categorizing it. One could call it a mystery novel, a romance novel, a spy novel, or a historical piece, and be right on each account. It effectively combined all of those elements to create an intriguing, tense, and sobering portrait of a love affair that wasn't what it appeared to be. In fact, little is really as it appears in this novel. Zahran's characters live in a world of duplicity and betrayal.
The story takes shape in Petra, Jordan. A man named Foster, is holed up in an empty inn during the off season. Bored and cold, he stumbles upon a dusty canvas bag hidden in a closet. The bag contains letters, journals, and poetry that belonged to two lovers. Foster is fascinated by the papers and takes them. As he pores over the papers, he learns that the two lovers are named Rayya and Alex. Rayya is a Palestinian poet, beautiful and extroverted. Alex is a quiet Englishman, pale and sickly. I found them to be an odd couple that love brought together.
As Foster digs deeper into their lives, we see a relationship that goes from playful ribbing about each other's heritage to suspicion and accusations. We know Rayya is dedicated to the cause of Palestine. But how does Alex really feel? And is he really the man he portrays?
I found myself stepping into Foster's shoes. I wanted to know where these two lovers were. Were they still together? Were they still alive? I looked for clues in the story as well as in the journal entries of both characters. I got the impression that as the lovers learned more about each other, they became embroiled in something that was far bigger than both of them.
As Foster tracks the whereabouts of Alex and Rayya, he too realizes that there are much bigger forces at work. Walking down the wrong alley or asking the wrong question can awaken unseen dangers. The author effectively raises the tension level as comes to a seeming dead end. And when he finally does learn the `truth' about Alex and Rayya, it is anticlimactic, as life often is. The author avoids the usual clichés. Good doesn't always triumph over evil. The hero doesn't always get the girl in the end. No, I found that Zahran uses a more realistic approach. Life is an ongoing struggle with no absolute winners or losers.

Excellent Reading.......2003-08-09

Having received my copy of this novel as a free promotional copy, I did not expect much in terms of quality. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I began reading this intriguing novel, and could not put it down until I finished it in a single night! This is spy/love story, enclosed in the historical setting of Palestine in the immediate aftermath of the 1967 war. A beautifully poetic text weaves what turns out to be a highly suspenseful and symbolic novel. Even for people like me who thought they "knew it all" about Palestine, this novel brings with it fresh perspectives that deserve an ear. I was terribly sad when this novel was over. It evoked a lot of memories.

If you like this book you would definitely enjoy "Memory of the Flesh," by Ahlam Mustaghanmi.

Average customer rating:

A book for all ages

A wonderful book

Going to the Middle East?

Going to the Middle East?

a cpativating book

Damascus Nights
Rafik Schami
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0374134464

Book Description

It is 1959, Damascus. The most famous storyteller in Damascus, Salim, the coachman, has mysteriously lost his voice. For seven nights, his seven old friends gather to break the spell with their seven different, unique stories -- some personal, some modern, some borrowed from the past. Against the backdrop of shifting Middle Eastern politics, Schami's eight characters, lost to the Arabian nights, weave in and out of tales of wizards and princesses, of New York skyscrapers and America. With spellbinding power, Schami imparts a luscious vision of storytelling as food for thought and salve for the soul, as the glue which holds our lives together.

Customer Reviews:

A book for all ages.......2002-05-09

Damascus nights is indeed written like a delightful story based on the ancient 1001 nights. There are however some dark under-currents and echoes of other important pieces of literature. Do you not hear the echoes of other horsemen, of the darkness of the Apocalypse in the distance? Like Gullivers Travels this book can be read on so many levels. Enjoy it!

A wonderful book.......2001-04-14

I loved this book. It kept me engaged from start to end - it was so delightful. This is for all ages.

Going to the Middle East?.......2000-07-21

My husband and I read this book while touring Syria. It was the perfect accompanyment. It casts a humorous, gentle, but not uncritical eye on the culture of this region, and--though not a political novel--places its story against the background of the coups and counter-coups leading up to the Assad regime. Highly recommended!

Going to the Middle East?.......2000-07-21

a cpativating book.......1998-07-26

I received this book as a gift from a german friend living in the Us. She had recieved it as a gift (The german edition) from her sister living in Germany. I have since given several copies of it as gifts. A great story good for children of all ages 4-94 y/o

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