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.

Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart: A Novel (Walker, Alice)

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Reponse to Mamala
top three??
Very hard to get through
Way too new agey and pompous!
Open Your Mind to "Open Your Heart"

Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart: A Novel (Walker, Alice)
Alice Walker
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400061733
Release Date: 2004-04-20

Book Description

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple, Possessing the Secret of Joy, and The Temple of My Familiar now gives us a beautiful new novel that is at once a deeply moving personal story and a powerful spiritual journey.

In Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, Alice Walker has created a work that ranks among her ?nest achievements: the story of a woman’s spiritual adventure that becomes a passage through time, a quest for self, and a collision with love.

Kate has always been a wanderer. A well-published author, married many times, she has lived a life rich with explorations of the natural world and the human soul. Now, at fifty-seven, she leaves her lover, Yolo, to embark on a new excursion, one that begins on the Colorado River, proceeds through the past, and flows, inexorably, into the future. As Yolo begins his own parallel voyage, Kate encounters celibates and lovers, shamans and snakes, memories of family disaster and marital discord, and emerges at a place where nothing remains but love.

Told with the accessible style and deep feeling that are its author’s hallmarks, Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart is Alice Walker’s most surprising achievement.

Customer Reviews:

Reponse to Mamala.......2006-08-25

Honestly, I haven't read this particular Walker work, though I just ordered it. But I had to laugh -- and respond -- to Mamala's statement that Walker "insists on seeing everything through the lens of a person of color" and that while beautiful in The Color Purple (in which the primary antagonists and oppressors are black men, themselves, of course, deeply damaged by racism) it's somehow less warm and fuzzy in this work. How dare Alice Walker insist on writing through the eyes of a black person! How dare John Updike insist on writing always through the eyes of a suburban white American well-to-do man! (Even when trying, and failing miserably, to write about a teenaged Muslim). Mamala, your words are self-evident. Stick to Ann Coulter

top three??.......2006-01-17

Despite enjoying previous works by this author, I actually stayed awake last night contemplating whether this novel was in my top three worst novels of all time. Why? It is meandering, cliched, downright offensive in terms of stereotypes and the main characters Kate and Yolo generally bear no resemblance to real people. To compound the problem, the other characters who play supporting roles are hollow shells used merely to make didactic points about oppression and abuse. Being black is depicted in terms of such simplistic stereotypes as "being more tolerant than anyone else", being native American is "being in touch with the land" and being white has nothing positive to say for it at all.
For example, the author seems unaware that if Kate actually lived in Africa as I do, her sexuality would be enough to get her thrown into jail by virtually every African government of the day and would result in her being an outcast by local communities. That's the level of tolerance here in the Motherland.
My point ultimately is that this novel is ahistorical, ill-informed and in terms of simple entertainment value - particularly tedious if you have any interest in wit, irony, insightfulness or relevance. Don't waste your money.

Very hard to get through .......2005-09-13

I'm a fan of Alice Walker (read the Color Purple too many times to count) but this book was very hard to get through. If you are not familiar with the language that she uses it will take you a long time to get trough. I usually read a book in about three days, this one took me all on August.

Way too new agey and pompous!.......2005-08-09

I love Alice Walker's philosophies, but I really found myself loathing the protagonist of this book. Kate was very self-satisfied and arrogant, I thought. I definitely preferred her lover's story/journey to Kate's. The new age aspect to it was a turnoff and though I do embrace some 'new age' practices, I just thought it was too much. Also, the book meandered too much, going from character to character without cohesion. All in all, I found myself forced to get through this since I just couldn't stand Kate. I would not suggest this book to others.

Open Your Mind to "Open Your Heart".......2005-06-09

I frequently found myself remembering how I felt years back reading Walker's "Temple of My Familiar" -- a compelling plotline that encourages the reader to learn about new places and peoples while questioning his/her own beliefs. That being said, "Open Your Heart" may be more treasured by readers who have already opened up to broad spiritual concepts (ex. the feminine divine) as opposed to traditional formalized & Western religion. For those readers, I would also highly recommend "Dance of the Dissident Daughter" by Sue Monk Kidd. As for me, I got "Open Your Heart" from the library & plan to buy my own copy to re-read again & again as I predict I will get more from it each time. I don't see Walker attempting to promote any "philosophy" except a willingness to accept those who find God outside of church or temple walls.

Identity and Power in the Ancient Andes: Tiwanaku Cities through Time (Critical Perspectives in Identity, Memory & the Built Environment)

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Identity and Power in the Ancient Andes: Tiwanaku Cities through Time (Critical Perspectives in Identity, Memory & the Built Environment)
John Wayne Janusek
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415946344

Book Description

The Tiwanaku state was the political and cultural center of ancient Andean civilization for almost 700 years. Identity and Power is the result of ten years of research that has revealed significant new data. Janusek explores the origins, development, and collapse of this ancient state through the lenses of social identities--gender, ethnicity, occupation, for example--and power relations. He combines recent developments in social theory with the archaeological record to create a fascinating and theoretically informed exploration of the history of this important civilization.

The River at the Center of the World, Revised: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time

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A Fascinating Collection of Historic Details Traveling Up a River
Following the Yangtze and learning about China -- one man's perspective.
Permit for Entry to China
Me like pictures!
Yes, terribly disappointing!

The River at the Center of the World, Revised: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time
Simon Winchester
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312423373

Amazon.com

British born author Simon Winchester lived in Hong Kong before setting off on a journey up the Chang Jiang or Yangtze River as it is most often referred to in the West. In The River at the Center of the World: A Journey Up the Yangtze and Back in Chinese Time, he chronicles his adventures across China along the 3,964-mile River. Employing nearly every mode of transportation--including boat, train, jeep and shoe leather--Winchester recalls his passionate exploration of the countryside, while providing important and engaging historical information. His recollections of the Chinese people are often less complimentary, as he exudes an air of disgust at the country's apparent disregard for pollution, its awkward modern architecture and decaying historical monuments.

Book Description

Rising in the mountains of the Tibetan border, the symbolic heart of China pierces 3,900 miles of rugged country before debouching into the oily swells of the East China Sea. Connecting China's heartland cities with the volatile coastal giant, Shanghai, it has also historically connected China to the outside world through its nearly one thousand miles of navigable waters. To travel those waters is to travel back in history, to sense the soul of China, and Simon Winchester takes us along with him as he encounters the essence of China-its history and politics, its geography and climate as well as engage in its culture, and its people in remote and almost inaccessible places. This is travel writing at its best: lively, informative, and thoroughly enchanting.

Customer Reviews:

A Fascinating Collection of Historic Details Traveling Up a River.......2007-08-03

I had never read Winchester before. On our recent trip down the Yangtze a fellow traveler was reading this book and recommended it. After reading it I would consider it a rich cultural experience through the history of this river.

Following the Yangtze and learning about China -- one man's perspective........2007-05-28

This travel essay from the author of "The Professor and the Madman" is subtitled, "A Journey Up the Yangtze and Back in Chinese Time". Here, the author uses all his journalistic and investigative skills to tell the story of his 1996 journey through China. He is an Englishman who has lived for many years in Hong Kong and had taken several trips to China at the time of the writing. His desire, however, was to explore areas where westerners were few and far between as well as learn more about this 3,900 mile river which runs through the entire land mass of China and begins in Tibet. As he is a trained geologist, he includes all the interesting details of the natural wonders of this river, as well as discussing the cultural history and introducing us to the varied ethnic groups who consider themselves Chinese.

Most of the area he explored is off-limits to foreigners because there is just too much red tape involved. But he planned his trip carefully, enrolled a Chinese companion and, starting in Shanghai, used whatever means available to take this journey. He was a passenger on several different kinds of boats and there were also some legs of the trip that included motor vehicles. The result is a lesson in history, geography and culture that is unique in its perspective.

The outside world connected through China through trade in its waterways and the history of this trade is fascinating. I learned about the tea industry and the opium wars and the agreements with the United Kingdom that changed the face of China forever. I also learned about the cultural revolution from a different prospective and started to understand the kind of man Mao was who was able to bring about a change from imperial rule to a communist country in just one generation. Mostly though, I learned about the environmental disasters that China is now bringing on itself, especially in the construction of the Three Gorges Dam project. As the book was written in 1996 I was curious about what was going on with this project my internet research found out it is scheduled for completion in 2009 and cost more than 25 billion dollars.

Simon Winchester is a fine writer. His descriptions made his journey come alive for me. There's a big map in the front of the book and a smaller map at the beginning of every chapter. The big map did not include every place name he talked about and so I had to look at the little maps. This made it a little confusing to follow but I was determined and so I had to put some effort into following these maps.

Armchair traveler that I am, I definitely recommend this book. I especially liked it because it piqued my interest in learning even more.

Permit for Entry to China .......2006-12-16

I agree with some of the previous reviews that it would have been an asset to the book to include more images of the trip (especially the Three Gorges Area), and to have more content on the people of the areas he visits. The book is still excellent. To cover every interest for a region like this would make it a three volume, 2,000 page edition. China is a rich subject and this is a one person of a billion view.

The author has done his work and achieved permits to travel the entire length of the River from the China Sea to Tibet. I am grateful to be able to read an account of a journey that is probably impossible for most of us. I read the book last summer and I still find myself thinking of it from the impression of the 21st. century city of Shanghai to the horrific history of the city of Nanking, the ledge walks above the Three River Gorges, and the remote, cold, snowy heights of the headwaters.

If you are not upset about a Brit-centrict view of the history of China and long for an impossible journey through lands beyond reach you will feel that this book is a very worthwhile read.

Me like pictures!.......2006-06-02

Maybe I should be a little embarrassed about this, but my first reaction is...why weren't there any pictures?

I know that travel writers often don't include pictures in with their accounts, and a lot of the time, that's okay. For example, Bill Bryson writes about journeying up the Appalachian Trail, and that atmosphere is familiar enough to me (and I would imagine many of his readers) that pictures of all the trees and mountains really are not necessary.

Winchester's account, however, is of travelling all the way from the mouth of the Yangtze River, near Shanghai, to its headwaters, just to the north of Tibet. You would think that this is a sufficiently unusual location that pictures might be appropriate. I'd venture a guess that 99.9x% of American readers have not ever been to the backwoods of China, so we, going in, wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to visualize what he talks about. A thousand words, like they say. (Probably more than that, in this case!) This omission is particularly annoying, in this case, because Winchester goes out of his way to note that he did, in fact, bring his Leica M6, a very expensive (almost $2000), high-quality camera that could, and no doubt did, take wonderful pictures of the awe-inspiring scenery that Winchester describes in words...and more words...and more words.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book a great deal. I really liked the basic idea of the book, and I was fascinated by his descriptions of the people and places in the more remote regions of China. The book does have sort of an unusual format, in that the farther Winchester travels up the river, the farther back in Chinese time he pulls history and historical anecdotes from. The history lessons are well-written, and it's obvious that Winchester knows his material very well. It's clear why he structured the book this way, although the historical digressions be disorienting (as in, "Wait...what were they doing again? Who is Mr. Tang?").

I do wish Winchester had included some of the mundane, day-to-day stuff, like random conversations he had with Lily, and the other unusual characters he meets along the way. I had very little feeling of what any of the people he met were really like; even Lily, who is with him for the entire journey, only speaks in the book when she has something important to say (usually a political rant). By the end of the story, I still had almost no feel for what she was actually like as a person, and this is even more true for the various minor characters he briefly introduces throughout the trip. As far as interactions with the locals go, this is a strictly-the-essentials book, meaning that unless there is some really good reason for including a snippet of dialogue or observation into the text, it won't be included. This lends the journey a kind of stripped-down air, which I think is not good in travel writing. Travel writing ought to have a sense of immediacy; immersing the reader in the journey important, and his omissions in that regard have reduced this immersion considerably, to the book's detriment, I think.

Also, I have to say, this book made me want to visit Tibet (or at least remote Qinghai), although, unless the situation has changed significantly since this book was written (1996), that probably remains an impossibility, since the Chinese government keeps the borders to Tibet locked with an iron fist.

Yes, terribly disappointing!.......2006-01-08

I agree totally with Yau in the previous review. Mr. Winchester is more interested in sharing the British (yawn) history of China, not giving us much else about the culture and beauty of the Yangtze and its people. I have been to China 2&1/2 wks and also taken a cruise (5 days) of the Yangtze and for him to make it all so boring is more than annoying, it is almost criminal. Perhaps his ego supersedes him. I would not buy this book, in fact I was uanble to even read more than a couple chapters, it was that boring and dry. The one by Mr. Hessler is an absolute winner. I read it once a year at least to refresh my amazing memories of China.

Sky Time in Gray's River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place

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An honest work.

Sky Time in Gray's River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place
Robert Michael Pyle
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 039582821X

Book Description

Much the way Donald Hall's Seasons at Eagle Pond captured New England, Sky Time in Gray"s River captures the essence of the Pacific Northwest by telling the story of Robert Pyle's life in rural Washington. One of the earliest communities established near the mouth of the Columbia River, the village of Gray's River is only tenuously connected to the world of the twenty-first century. Although Pyle is a lepidopterist and the Gray's River region is notable for its lack of butterflies, something about the place spoke to him three decades ago, and he has lived there, in the same house, ever since. This book brings Gray's River to life by compressing those thirty years into twelve chapters, following the lives of humans, animals, and plants month by month through the seasons. By demonstrating how the village has changed his life, Pyle illustrates how a special place can change anyone lucky enough to find it—and he highlights how much is being lost in a world of accelerating sameness, speed, and mobility. Above all, Sky Time shows that you don"t have to travel far to see something new everyday—if you know how to look.

Customer Reviews:

An honest work........2007-08-26

An imapssioned life, observing and enjoying all around him. A great read for those interested in people and nature, the interconnected web of a rural world. We can all learn something from this book. Thanks Bob!

Yosemite in Time: Ice Ages, Tree Clocks, Ghost Rivers

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Wonderful photos along with a brief history.
Yosemite Native Americans - History is always RE-written by those who won the war...and those who helped.

Yosemite in Time: Ice Ages, Tree Clocks, Ghost Rivers
Mark Klett , Rebecca Solnit , and Byron G. Wolfe
Manufacturer: Trinity University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1595340165

Book Description

Yosemite is a world-famous destination that has attracted celebrated photographers such as Eadweard Muybridge, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams, along with environmental organizations, rock climbers, and tourists. Yosemite in Time puts this park in a new light with re-photographs of some of the most enduring images taken at Yosemite, and three essays by noted cultural critic Rebecca Solnit. The photographs and essays reconsider the iconic status of Yosemite in America's conception of wilderness, examining how the place was appropriated by its early Euro-American visitors and showing how our conceptions of landscape have altered and how land has changed — or not — over time. Arresting and incisive, Yosemite in Time is an intimate reconsideration of a park that millions of people hold dear.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful photos along with a brief history........2006-09-06

Having read many books on Yosemite, I always find a new take on the material to be refreshing. And while there are other books which use rephotography (taking a new photo in the exact same location as an old photo), the photos in this book are nonetheless spectacular. There are several tri-fold pullouts which are pieced together panoramic views incorporating both new and old photos. The book isn't all photos, as there are quite a few pages of text, telling the story of how the book came to be and about the history of yosemite's photographers.

Yosemite Native Americans - History is always RE-written by those who won the war...and those who helped........2006-07-19

I liked the idea of re-doing Eadweard Muybridge photos. I was amazed at how the photos were re-done. To see how they looked years later was very interesting. Sadly, History is always written by those who won the war...or those who helped with that war. In the book it states that the Miwoks were the original Native Americans of Yosemite Valley. That is really not correct. The Miwoks were the ones who were the guides and helpers of James Savage. Chief Bautista of the Miwoks and James Savage were actaully allies. Other groups that later became Miwoks helped James Savage scout out the Yosemites and guide them to the hidden camps of the Yosemites, who were in fact Mono Paiutes.

That is a sad chapter of the TRUE history of Yosemite. That now the Miwoks are claiming to be the original Indians of Yosemite when they were the ones who assisted James Savage and the Mariposa Battalion.

That is the truth and you can read that in Lafayette H. Bunnell's book "Discovery of the Yosemites". Bunnell was the only man to meet Chief Tenaya.

Read that book first, but get an unabridged first print or older print of that book.

Hurricane Season: A Coach, His Team, and Their Triumph in the Time of Katrina

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THE EMOTIONAL SIDE OF THE STORY
A Season to Remember!
Very good book
Reviewed by Barb Radmore

Hurricane Season: A Coach, His Team, and Their Triumph in the Time of Katrina
Neal Thompson
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416540709

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"There's always a point in the season when you're faced with a challenge

and you see what you're capable of. And you grow up."

-- J.T. Curtis, head coach, John Curtis Christian School Patriots

On Saturday, August 27, 2005, the John Curtis Patriots met for a

grueling practice in the late summer New Orleans sun, the air a visible

fog of humidity. They had pulled off a 19-0 shutout in their pre-season

game the night before, but it was a game full of dumb mistakes. Head

coach J.T. Curtis was determined to drill those mistakes out of them

before their highly anticipated next game, which sportswriters had

dubbed "the Battle of the Bayou" against a big team coming in all the

way from Utah. As fate played out, that afternoon was the last time the

Patriots would see one another for weeks; some teammates they'd never

see again. Hurricane Katrina was about to tear their lives apart.

The Patriots are a most unlikely football dynasty. There is a small,

nondescript, family-run school, the buildings constructed by hand by the

school's founding patriarch, John Curtis Sr. In this era of high school

football as big business with 20,000 seat stadiums, John Curtis has no

stadium of its own. The team plays an old-school offense, and Coach

Curtis insists on a no-cut policy, giving every kid who wants to play a

chance. As of 2005, they'd won nineteen state championships in Curtis's

thirty-five years of coaching, making him the second most winning high

school coach ever. Curtis has honed to a fine art the skill of teaching

players how to transcend their natural talents. No screamer, he strives

to teach kids about playing with purpose, the power of respect, dignity,

poise, patience, trust in teamwork, and the payoff of perseverance,

showing them how to be winners not only on the gridiron, but in life,

and making boys into men. Hurricane Katrina would put those lessons to

the test of a lifetime.

Hurricane Season is the story of a great coach, his team, his family,

and their school -- and a remarkable fight back from shocking tragedy. It

is a story of football and faith, and of the transformative power of a

team that rises above adversity, and above its own abilities, to come

together again and prove what they're made of. It is the gripping story

of how, as one player put it, "football became my place of peace."

Customer Reviews:

THE EMOTIONAL SIDE OF THE STORY.......2007-10-01

Hurricane season is an excellent complement to Douglas Brinkley's " The Great Deluge." While Brinkley provides an excellent analytical and scholarly account of Hurricane Katrina that should set the standard for many years; Hurricane Season captures the powerful emotional dimensions. Though grounded in the story of a high school football team, it transcends normal sportswriting by speaking to the bigger panorama of life, suffering, loss, and inspiring tales of recovery and fortitude.
With so many aspirations and dreams hanging in the balance, the J.T. Curtis School and football team regroup after enduring catastrophe and devastation and become a beacon of hope and solace for many of the victims.
Replete with an abundance of anecdotes and personal accounts, Thompson weaves their stories into a gripping narrative that will find appeal among readers of all genres. This is a stirring and fast paced treatment of those perilous days that is both wrenching and redeeming.

A Season to Remember!.......2007-08-30

Lest we forgot the terrible tragedy that hurricane Katrina wrought, the two years of its aftermath magnifies still, the will to prevail. This is evident as thousands attempt to put their lives back together. Against all odds despite the hand of fate dealing a devastating blow to status quo, a group of courageous kids purposed not to allow angst to color the proverbial agony of defeat. Their story is typically told in author Neal Thompson's poignant book, HURRICANE SEASON. What a remarkable tale told amid the idea of overcoming the sheer force of a natural disaster. The author captures a truly extraordinary picture of boys and men doing what needs to be done with a sense of purpose that give new meaning to hope. This is the story of coach J.T. Curtis and a team that wouldn't quit when most would have simply thrown in the towel. John Curtis Christian School -- the Patriots, were a team of destiny that won you over once you read how they managed to allow rays of hope to illuminate sunshine on cloudy days eradicating the pervasive feeling of sadness...Let me tell you how they did it!

They did it with moxie, determination and an unbelievable test of faith. The book is a story that tugs at your heart and compels you to want to read it hoping for an ending that is akin to a `happily ever after' effect. Neal Thompson wrote with a clear mission to bring clarity to a group of kids that had reason to play with reckless abandon. The book is based on a majority of interviews conducted with Coach J.T., faculty members, students of John Curtis, many of the 2005 school year Patriots and their families, et al. The amazing thing about the book, the storm, and aftermath is the fact that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita gave us a chance to witness their fury on television with countless newspaper stories, and survivor accounts in magazines and online blogs...but the sheer affect it had on the people who suffered, the places they destroyed, and the things that will forever be associated with them, nothing can top this outstanding book for significant meaning in a reflective way.

The backdrop has a legendary football coach, albeit winning and charismatic looking at a rebuilding year in 2005. Despite losing his star quarterback to a rival school with a better chance at winning and the philosophy of team discipline, nothing could stop his drive for perfection - accept a lady on a mission! Katrina struck with impunity forcing players to abandon the city along with the multitude that called New Orleans home. However, John Curtis School survived with limited damage, allowing it to become one of the first schools to reopen. The book does a credible job of telling in graphic detail how Coach Curtis struggled to find games to resume the new season. His players battered and mentally beaten, were amazingly anxious to try to return to a sense of normality, and a ring of hope for their futures. All of this was based on a coaches' determination to spur his team to greater heights restoring self-esteem. I loved this book, especially the fact that it gives a good account of a proud school with an intrinsic view at Hurricane Katrina and how it affected the community-at-large. The author gave you a sense of concern for the families, how the government fumbled, and in the end, how a team scored the winning touchdown!

Sports fan or not, I have no doubt that Neal Thompson told a story worth reading, replete with facts, figures, and detail that takes nothing away from its 308 pages. This is a `feel good' story where it merits a chance for all readers to experience chaos written in a way to dispel notions of despair, yet give credence to overcoming odds for the thrill of victory. Thank you Neal Thompson for this book. I have no problems rating it 5 stars out of 5, and will encourage others to buy it where books are sold.

Very good book.......2007-08-23

If you enjoyed "Friday Night Lights" you will like this book, but it is about much more than just football. You can't imagine what these kids went through during and after Katrina, but this book tells the story very well. These kids came back home with their families to rebuild and in the process showed dedication to their city and school. This is easily one of the best stories to come out of Katrina. I hope this book can reach a wider audience, like FNL, because this is easily the best football/life books to come out since FNL hit the shelves.

If you have any interest at all in high school football, Katrina, or New Orleans then you will not be disappointed.

Reviewed by Barb Radmore.......2007-08-01

The effects of Hurricane Katrina have been reported over and over, on TV, in newspapers, magazines and blogs. With modern technology many of us got to watch it live, bearing down in all its terror, from the comfort of our safe, intact homes. It would seem that we knew all there was to know, knew the effects of the storm on people, places and things. But none of the coverage, none of the follow up reports on the storm and its aftermath can top the book Hurricane Season for sheer impact, both on knowledge and emotions.

Hurricane Season is the story of one football team in the Parish of New Orleans. The team, The Patriots, is from a private Christian school that prides itself on its diverse student population, its core Christian values and its football team. Coach JT Curtis has one of the best win records in the country. His players have gone on to play for top college teams, a few are even playing for the NFL. In 2005 he was looking at a rebuilding year. The quarterback they expected to lead the team has left to join a rival school, one that will allow him more chances to gain the valuable stats that colleges seek. Coach Curtis believes in team effort, not individual star making. His team, due to his no cut policy, numbers over 100 each year. In a school of only 650 students, that is a very large percentage of the student population. His players train all summer, work to stay in shape, to be physically and mentally prepared for the fall football season. Coach believes in practice too- not the common 2 practices a day of most schools but three a day, a relentless, high powered training plan. But after all the preparations the season is brought to a sudden halt by Katrina. For football coaches' wives everywhere, the scene where the town is evacuating and the coaches' spouses are calling, actually interrupting their usual after practice meeting to try to convince the men to come home and pack, will ring very true. For the coaches and players nothing, short of Hurricane Katrina, would interfere with football.

But Katrina does interfere, sending players fleeing to other parts of the country, taking away their homes, their parents' jobs and all stability. John Curtis School survives with limited damage, allowing it to become one of the first schools to reopen. The Curtis family, the extended family of the original school founder John Curtis, works to locate and convince as many students as possible to return to the area. Coach Curtis struggles to locate other teams willing and able to resume the football season. His players begin to return, exhausted, scared and confused but anxious to try to return to a sense of normality, a sense of hope for their futures, based on the foundation of the football team they love.

The book begins and ends with football. It will appeal to any football fan, player, coach or sports fanatic. But this book goes far beyond the field. It interweaves the story of the John Curtis School, its history and its football, with an insider's look at Katrina and its aftermath. Using the individual players of the team and the storm's effects on them and their families Thompson is able to broaden the scope of the book to include an in depth look at the handling of the storm by individuals, agencies and the government. The middle section of the book is a clearly written account of the plight of those that suffered the loss of everything, the impact on families, jobs and futures. It is a devastating chronicle of not only nature's worst but of mankind at its best and worst.

Hurricane Season is a journalistic view of one team, its players and the effects of the worst storm in American history. It is a tale of football, its impact on the youth who play America's favorite sport. It is a tale of one school and its efforts to create the best possible school that produces well rounded men and women. It is the tale of a government that is not able to handle the storm or its aftermath. But most of all, it is a tale of people- from the players who never give up, their families that survive the unthinkable and a school of parents, teachers and coaches that care.

Neal Thompson has written a book that will resonate will all readers. His ability to tell the facts, clearly and vividly, on all levels of his account is exceptional. He tells all his true tales with clarity of knowledge, facts and figures, data and details. But it is the emotion that comes through the portrayal of the various aspects that makes this book outstanding. It is nonfiction at its most effective; it pushes the reader into involvement, caring and action. It is impossible to read this book and not respond on some level- perhaps some extra understanding or support for local sports programs, a volunteer relief effort (it is still needed) or at the very least an awareness of the America around us.. It celebrates our resiliency as it mourns our failures. Thompson managed this extraordinary writing feat of non fiction with heart, soul and flesh, examining the entire body of one individual event in our modern history.

Reviewer's Personal Note:
I must say that I HATE football. I live in small rural town in New England that lives, breathes and idolizes our State Champion high school football team. I never quite understood it. This book certainly does explain it on many levels. If I loved this book as much as I did, any sports fan will really be impressed. But it should go way beyond sports fans for readers. I am rarely not able to put a book down (I would never do anything but read othewise) but this book had me glued to the end. I highly recommend it for all readers.

From The Two Rivers: The Eye of the World, Book 1 (Wheel of Time (Starscape))

Average customer rating:

Adults and Kids!
From The Two Rivers
A book to get lost in 2 jmeascsKeinnon
A. D. Tarbox, Freelance Reviewer for Midwest Book Review
manageable size

From The Two Rivers: The Eye of the World, Book 1 (Wheel of Time (Starscape))
Robert Jordan
Manufacturer: Starscape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0765341840

Book Description

An American Library Association 'Best Books for Young Adults'A VOYA 'Best Books for Young Adults'For Rand al'Thor and his pals, life in the sleepy village of Emond's Field has been pretty dull. Until the appearance on festival night of Moiraine, a mysterious woman who claims to be an Aes Sdeai-a magician who can wield the One Power. Soon after, the village is attacked by Trollocs-a savage tribe of half-men half-beasts. Rand's father is nearly killed. But for Rand, the news gets worse. It was not the village the Trollocs were after, Moiraine tells him. It was you, Rand. Rand and his friends are forced to flee. But his escape will bring him face to face with the Dark One...the most powerful force of evil in the universe.

Customer Reviews:

Adults and Kids!.......2007-10-06

My 15 yr old son and I just finished this book. The book itself is a little slow through spots, but overall, is wonderful! The story starts out in a small farm area with the goings on of small farm area life but before very long, we learn of ominous stories and tales that seem unimaginable to many of the townsfolk. Before long, the kids we have gotten to know find themselves deeply rooted in those very tales that had earlier seemed so unimaginable and are all in a great deal of danger. Worse yet, some of the people they have feared much of their lives are the very people they are having to turn to for help. They aren't quite sure who to trust. This is a magnificent tale that will have you reading late into the night just so you can find out what happens next. If it were not for the few slow moments in the book, this would be perfect. If you liked Eragon, you will like this one too.

From The Two Rivers.......2007-10-01

At first i thought it was an addition to the new book. I started WoT when I was 12, I don't see why a normal (ok, very smart) person couldn't read the normal books... Who would trade pictures and big font for the real story, not an edited addition! If you are 10 years old or younger you should read this book though, the normal books are sortov advanced and you may not understand everything.

A book to get lost in 2 jmeascsKeinnon.......2006-12-29

From the Two Rivers is a GREAT book. In this book Robert Jordan uses descriptive words and realistic speech. You may think the beginning is dry, but it gets BETTER!!!

Many people think splitting up The Eye of the World into two books(From the Two Rivers and To the Blight) is a money-making scheme. But trust me, I never would have dreamed of tackling an 800 paged book, like the Eye of the World.

P.s If you don't like lots of detail, I'd advise you to go search for a different author. Try my 2 favorite authors, Gerald Morris(Arthurian tales) or Tamora Pierce(Fantasy,magic)

A. D. Tarbox, Freelance Reviewer for Midwest Book Review.......2005-11-02

I decided to read this book after my eleven-year-old son told me he liked it. This book is for adults too. Jordan is a wonderful writer and he has created a very believable fantasy world. The adventure, drama, and characters are fascinating. My personal favorite was the warder in the story. Jordan could not put him in the plot enough for me. In fantasy the world has to be believable and Jordan achieved this. I thoroughly enjoyed the several evenings I spent reading about the Two Rivers, its people, and all the unusual places Rand al Thor and his comrades went. The villians were also interesting and added enough conflict to keep me reading more. Jordan has written several books in this series which will undoubtedly please those that get a chance to read this book. And don't skip the Earlier Ravens chapter or the Prologue Dragonmount chapters on pages xi and xxxv. Many readers do, opting to begin reading at chapter one. In this book those chapters include some of the book's best and most powerful writing. Don't skip over those chapters. They are very good.
A. D. Tarbox, author of ALREADY ASLEEP (fall 2006)

manageable size.......2005-08-18

So... I got this book because I was out of Diana Wynne Jones books to read and it was beside her books on the shelf. I'd heard that this series was great but didn't want to carry around the huge hardcovers that you see at the library.

I enjoyed the book. It took a few chapters for me to be won over but by the end, I cared about the characters and their fates. I *really* appreciated the glossary. The book became much more comprehensible for me after I discovered it. I also appreciated not having to lug a huge book around!

Book Description

The sequel to Thomas Wolfe's remarkable first novel, Look Homeward, Angel, Of Time and the River is one of the great classics of American literature. The book chronicles the maturing of Wolfe's autobiographical character, Eugene Gant, in his desperate search for fulfillment, making his way from small-town North Carolina to the wider world of Harvard University, New York City, and Europe. In a massive, ambitious, and boldly passionate novel, Wolfe examines the passing of time and the nature of the creative process, as Gant slowly but ecstatically embraces the urban life, recognizing it as a necessary ordeal for the birth of his creative genius as a writer.

The work of an exceptionally expressive writer of fertile imagination and startling emotional intensity, Of Time and the River illuminates universal truths about art and life, city and country, past and present. It is a novel that is majestic and enduring. As P. M. Jack observed in The New York Times, "It is a triumphant demonstration that Thomas Wolfe has the stamina to produce a magnificent epic of American life."

This edition, published in celebration of Wolfe's centennial anniversary, contains a new introduction by Pat Conroy.

Customer Reviews:

Of Time and the River.......2006-01-23

Reading the prequel, Look Homeward, Angel, evokes in the reader (if the reader was ever a boy) crystalline images of their youth. This presumes that one grew up in the 50's and 60's before small cities, such as Asheville, moved to the suburbs. I found Of Time and the River, to lack the imagery that I found so appealing in Look Homeward. Perhaps it is that I do not feel the distance from my 20's that I feel from being 11 or 12. Still, I commend the book.

Brilliant Writting - Just a little long at points.......2005-11-01

There is no doubt that Mr. Wolfe was a brilliant writer. More than once I found myself saying "Yes, I know exactly how you feel!" I suspect I am not alone in this regard. The biggest drawback, and the reason I only assign four starts, is the sensation that I am mining for greatness. What do I mean?

There were some long stretches throughout the book that I found tedious. My advice is to plough ahead for I assure you the sections that speak to the reader are that good. Wolfe's death at a young age was loss for us all.

Dense but Entertaining.......2003-12-23

I kept waiting for Wolfe to share with us what would make Eugene the writer he was waiting to be - where would he find the courage to not only fail (or fail again) but to believe in himself and know that he could write after reading the thousands of books he gorged himself on.

And then as the book winds down, it happens, he falls in love. And in a few paragraphs, we learn that the momentual problems of the past were wiped away. He finds his courage and the book ends abruptly. Perhaps a little more editing earlier would have led Wolfe to write more about this episode.

I enjoyed the novel though not as much as the prequel.

of time and the river.......2002-12-09

It was early 1980 when I first read "Look Homeward.." for a University of Colorado course. The professor who seemed to be a hundred years old to me at the time instructed me to read my critical report to the entire class. After smugly concluding Wolfe was lacking in many areas the professor graded my paper an "A"...then she patted my young shoulders and told me that one day I'd be old enough to understand Wolfe. She was right and my criticicm was dead wrong. Wolfes' wordiness is his beauty. The scene in "Of Time And The River" where his father dies is as beautiful and compelling as anything I've read. I think the book is unique and those who are critical of it may need to read it again -when they are a little older.

A failling-off from Look Homeward Angel.......2001-09-04

Those who enjoyed Look Homeward Angel will find this novel somewhat disappointing. Continuing Eugene Gant's story with his trip to Harvard, and life in New York, the book lacks the vivid characters of the earlier novel. While the book contains some wonderful, Whitman-like passages, the only real character is Eugene Gant; everyone else seems to exist only to show how brillant Gant (Wolfe) is. Moreover, some of the book seems to border on anti-semitism. Nevertheless, anyone interested in Wolfe will want to read this book.

The Struggle for Tennessee: Tupelo to Stones River (Civil War)

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The Union fights to control Central Tennessee in 1862

The Struggle for Tennessee: Tupelo to Stones River (Civil War)
James Street , and Time-Life Books
Manufacturer: Time-Life Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0809447606

Customer Reviews:

The Union fights to control Central Tennessee in 1862.......2002-11-18

"The Struggle for Tennessee: Tupelo to Stones River" is the second of the volumes in the Time-Life Civil War series dealing with the Western Theater of the war after the Battle of Shiloh. Obviously this part of the war has never received the attention of the Eastern Theater where Lee's Army of Northern Virginia dueled the Army of the Potomac, so there is something intrinsically interesting about finding out more about what was happening out West. James Street, Jr. presents his subject as a war of maneuvers in and around Tennessee. After the capture of Corinth, Mississippi in May 1862, a portion of Major General Don Carlos Buell's Union army was dispatched towards Chattanooga, the critical railroad center that was the gateway to Georgia. However, Confederate armies under Generals Kirby Smith and Braxton Bragg moved from Eastern Tennessee into Kentucky to threatened Louisville and Cincinnati. After a drawn battle at Perryville, Kentucky on October 8, Major General William Rosencrans succeeded Buell and that December left Nashville to fight Bragg's reorganized Army of Tennessee near Murfreesboro, on the banks of Stone River.

Street divides these events into five chapters: (1) Heyday for Raiders focuses on the guerrilla tactics of both sides, including James J. Andrews stealing the Western & Atlantic Railroad locomotive named the "General," and the raids of John Hunt Morgan. (2) Stumbling Towards Perryville covers the Confederates campaign to retake Kentucky, or at least stop the Federals from moving deeper into Tennessee, climaxing with the Battle of Perryville where both sides claimed victory. (3) Clash at Doctor's Creek has Rosencrans' bringing a new spirit to the Army of the Cumberland preparing them for the key battle in the campaign. (4) The Fight for "Hell's Half Acre" tells the details of the first half of Battle of Stones River outside Murfreesboro on December 31, where the Confederates turned the Union flank in on itself like a jackknife. (5) Across Stones River and Back completes the battle as the successful attack of the Confederates on the left Union flank succeeded in driving the Federals behind the river, where massed artillery fire staggered the Rebels and set the stage for a successful Union counterattack. With this victory, the Union forces could plan their move on Chattanooga.

"The Struggle for Tennessee" is illustrated with the historic photographs, etchings and color sketches that have always been one of the richest parts of the Time-Life series. I appreciate the detail that Street is able to give to the Battle of Stones River, because by devoting two chapters to it he is able to elevate its significance in the Civil War in a way I have never appreciated before. The story of the Western Theater picks up in two volumes, one devoted to Grant's Vicksburg Campaign in "War on the Mississippi" and the other picking right up on this volume with "The Fight for Chattanooga."

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