Average customer rating:
- A Life-Changing Read
- Finally! I understand organic chemistry
- Must read for anyone taking Organic Chemistry.
- Great-a late night keeper upper
|
World of Carbon
Isaac Asimov
Manufacturer: Macmillan Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos
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Asimov's Guide to the Bible: The Old and New Testaments (2Vols. in One)
ASIN: 0020913508 |
Customer Reviews:
A Life-Changing Read.......2007-03-22
This is the book that started it all for me. I went on to a fulfilling 30 year career in organic chemistry [eventually becoming the Chair of the Division of Organic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society]. If you are looking for a book to open the mind of a child or grandchild to an amazing and essential field of science, this is the one. The companion book "The World of Nitrogen" [also out of print] is also very engaging. Since Dr. Asimov passed on several years ago, I post my note of thanks here in hopes they have high-speed access in the Great Beyond.
Finally! I understand organic chemistry.......2002-10-25
What a great book! I failed organic chemistry because I was told to memorize things rather than understand them, and I couldn't do it. This book explains organic molecules in both an interesting and informative way. Everyday chemicals, from coal to caffeine, are described. I would recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to organic chemistry, but especially anyone who NEEDS to understand the fundamentals of both organic- and biochemistry.
Must read for anyone taking Organic Chemistry........1999-09-08
This book brings the world of organic chemistry alive. The study of SN2 reactions can sometimes get a little stale. This book gives your education a direction. Even though it is out of print this book is worth searching to find a copy. It should be required reading for anyone taking college level chemistry courses.
Great-a late night keeper upper.......1999-08-27
Although I haven't read this book since 1977, I remember it well. Its exciting, informative, and gets you thinking.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Average customer rating:
|
Total Productivity Maintenance: A Route to World-Class Performance
Peter Willmott , and
Dennis McCarthy
Manufacturer: Newnes
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Tpm in Process Industries (Step-By-Step Approach to TPM Implementation)
ASIN: 0750644478 |
Book Description
Total productive maintenance (TPM), a Japanese management protocol developed to alleviate production losses caused by machine breakdowns has moved on.
Through TPM, more companies accept the concept of Zero Breakdowns as achievable. From the foundation of zero breakdowns, world class plants are able to run for complete shifts without the need for intervention. TPM is still pushing back the boundaries of what was thought possible.
Driven by the proven principles of TPM, the book emphasises the need to build on existing good practices and to win commitment by delivering results.
The book provides a practical guide to delivering TPM benefits and is based on the authors' first hand experience of seeing TPM in Japan. It adapts these benefits to suit the strategic needs of companies across four continents.
"TPM A Route to World Class Performance" builds on Peter Willmott's earlier book, "TPM the Western Way", updating the scope of applications and tools. The TPM route map is updated to include the journey to zero breakdowns and beyond. It also provides a systematic structure to evolve from the classic Total Productive Maintenance towards Total Productive Manufacturing and deliver a Totally Productive Operation capable of world leading performance.
Average customer rating:
- The best book of it kind?
- Another great book by Lane
- Excellence in science writing
- Wonderful
- Oxygen - What a brilliant read
|
Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World (Popular Science)
Nick Lane
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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ASIN: 0198607830 |
Book Description
Oxygen has had extraordinary effects on life. Three hundred million years ago, in Carboniferous times, dragonflies grew as big as seagulls, with wingspans of nearly a metre. Researchers claim they could have flown only if the air had contained more oxygen than today - probably as much as 35 per cent. Giant spiders, tree-ferns, marine rock formations and fossil charcoals all tell the same story. High oxygen levels may also explain the global firestorm that contributed to the demise of the dinosaurs after the asteroid impact. The strange and profound effects that oxygen has had on the evolution of life pose a riddle, which this book sets out to answer. Oxygen is a toxic gas. Divers breathing pure oxygen at depth suffer from convulsions and lung injury. Fruit flies raised at twice normal atmospheric levels of oxygen live half as long as their siblings. Reactive forms of oxygen, known as free radicals, are thought to cause ageing in people. Yet if atmospheric oxygen reached 35 per cent in the Carboniferous, why did it promote exuberant growth, instead of rapid ageing and death? Oxygen takes the reader on an enthralling journey, as gripping as a thriller, as it unravels the unexpected ways in which oxygen spurred the evolution of life and death. The book explains far more than the size of ancient insects: it shows how oxygen underpins the origin of biological complexity, the birth of photosynthesis, the sudden evolution of animals, the need for two sexes, the accelerated ageing of cloned animals like Dolly the sheep, and the surprisingly long lives of bats and birds. Drawing on this grand evolutionary canvas, Oxygen offers fresh perspectives on our own lives and deaths, explaining modern killer diseases, why we age, and what we can do about it. Advancing revelatory new ideas, following chains of evidence, the book ranges through many disciplines, from environmental sciences to molecular medicine. The result is a captivating vision of contemporary science and a humane synthesis of our place in nature. This remarkable book will redefine the way we think about the world.
Customer Reviews:
The best book of it kind?.......2007-08-06
This is the only really good book I've read about the evolution, history and chemistry of life. It's especially good when it is least philosophical. As when pondering over the likely order of ways to handle elemental oxygen - as it (or it's relatives peroxide or superoxide) most probably had to be handlet even before it was produced by plants. - And here are no tiresome stories about geologists having to travel around. It's on topic and well written.
Another great book by Lane.......2007-05-12
Although not quite as pulled together as "Power, Sex, Suicide", this is a wonderful account of modern biochemistry. There are fresh ideas on nearly every page and his writing is amazingly clear. I realized halfway through that there are very few diagrams in the text, yet I felt like I didn't need any; a rarity for any science book.
It may be a little tough going if you haven't had some chemistry/biology background, but it seems like it would be accessible to most readers with a undergrad science background.
Excellence in science writing.......2007-01-16
This is an outstanding book I recommend to anyone interested in undestanding how modern science is advancing its world view. The book connects seemingly disparate topics ranging from the origin of life, ageing and other day-to-day concerns with one another via the web of evolution. A relaxing yet illuminating read
Wonderful.......2006-12-25
I am an organic chemist, and as such have a deep and intimate knowledge of the subject. I can honestly say that this is one of the best written science books out there. Nick Lane is a wonderful writer for an academic. The book is well researched and engaging.
If you are interested in the evolution of life and the beginnings of our planet, you should read this book.
Oxygen - What a brilliant read.......2006-11-11
Having purchased this book in the hope of adding to my medical i was sure surprised when i finished the first chapter of the book. A truly capativating read, adding so much more detail to what i have learnt in university.
Average customer rating:
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Managing for World Class Safety
James Melville Stewart
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
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ASIN: 0471443867 |
Book Description
Despite the extensive literature on safety, few tools have been available to help managers quantitatively assess the level of safety management and the quality of the safety practices in organizations. In his consulting practice, Dr. Jim Stewart, a former executive at DuPont, developed such a method, crafting a safety survey centering on a comprehensive questionnaire for employees at all levels, that reveals the true level of corporate commitment to safety.
Managing for World Class Safety first describes the model of safety management that underpins the questionnaire and then demonstrates how this innovative procedure illuminates critical intangibles like management commitment, the enforcement of rules, worker involvement, and injury investigation.
The central part of this book is the description of research at the University of Toronto that applies the questionnaire in comprehensive research at five of the world’s safest companies and five with very poor safety. The questionnaire polled 700 people in the ten companies, "measuring" the level of more than twenty key elements such as:
- The workers’ perception of the priority given to safety
- The belief that all injuries can be prevented
- The extent to which line management takes responsibility/accountability for safety
- How well safety rules are followed and enforced
- The frequency and quality of safety meetings
- The level of recognition to reinforce safety excellence
- In every element, the contrast between the responses from the very safe companies and those from the companies with poor safety was dramatic, clearly depicting where the former succeed and the latter fail
By developing quantitative benchmark data, Stewart reasons that it will be easier to convince reluctant management to undertake the fundamental change necessary for a "step change" in their company performance. Managing for World Class Safety promises a revolutionary new approach to workplace safety improvement for corporate leaders, safety professionals, and regulators.
Average customer rating:
- Very good book for an Introductory Level
|
Chemistry in Focus: A Molecular View of Our World
Nivaldo J. Tro
Manufacturer: Brooks Cole
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Inquiry-based Laboratories for Liberal Arts Chemistry
ASIN: 0495017698 |
Book Description
The main goals of this text are to develop students' appreciation for the molecular world and stress the fundamental role it plays in our daily lives. It also strives to help students understand the major scientific, technological, and environmental issues affecting our society. To accomplish these goals, the author has made extensive efforts to clearly identify and explain connections between the molecular world and macroscopic world as well as between principles and applications. The Third Edition of CHEMISTRY IN FOCUS adds new pedagogy and technological resources, such as OWL for Liberal Arts, that further enhance learning and appreciation of the molecular world.
Customer Reviews:
Very good book for an Introductory Level.......1999-05-12
It is a good book for people starting to learn about chemistry. It teaches the basic principles and more advanced effects on life, without going to much into detail, and therefore does not confuse the reader.
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World of Chemistry
Steven S. Zumdahl ,
Susan L. Zumdahl , and
Donald J. Decoste
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
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ASIN: 0618134964 |
Average customer rating:
- The Physics, Chemistry and History of Plutonium
- The Ninety-Fourth Element
- Why can't everybody write like Bernstein ?
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Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element
Jeremy Bernstein
Manufacturer: Joseph Henry Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0309102960 |
Customer Reviews:
The Physics, Chemistry and History of Plutonium.......2007-07-24
In this excellent book, the author pulls no punches in describing the science of plutonium. Starting with some relevant history, he zeroes in on this new element: its discovery, its nuclear properties and its unexpected physical and chemical ones. What makes this book particularly fascinating is the fact that the author has personally known many of the scientists involved. Consequently, the reader is treated to an intimate glimpse of what some of these people were like - something that one would be less likely to get in a standard history book. The writing style is friendly, authoritative, engaging and extremely clear - a trademark of this author. Because of the technical nature of much of its content this book would likely be most enjoyed by serious science buffs and those with a technical/scientific background.
The Ninety-Fourth Element.......2007-06-18
Jeremy Bernstein is a prolific writer on physics and physicists, and mountaineering. These interests coincide with my own. I like reading his essays and books because he knows how to tell a story. In this work, he covers the history of nuclear physics from the discovery of the periodic table through today. particularly as the events lead to the 94th element, plutonium. He tells the story of the people who developed the theory and practice of nuclear fission eventually resulting in the use of the mass-239 isotope of plutonium in nuclear weapons. If you think that science is without politics, you have to read this history.
I have worked with accelerators and reactors to transform elements from one into another, doing modern-day alchemy. I can give you a recipe for turning lead into gold. However, I never paid particular attention to the process of nuclear fission. Why are the isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 suited for nuclear fission? Now, following Bernstein's explanation, I understand why. Simply, the even numbed isotopes of these elements are more stable. They have a lower energy than the odd isotopes. The addition of a single neutron to the odd-mass isotopes lowers the total energy of the nucleus. The excess energy liberated in the process induces the nucleus to fission. Bernstein explains this in clear language as he does for all of the chemistry, atomic, and nuclear physics in the book.
Others have suggested that the real threat of nuclear proliferation lies in the use of highly-enriched uranium. Uranium bombs may be easier for the amateur to construct than plutonium bombs. Bernstein notes that you can buy a gram of uranium-235 from Oak Ridge for $57. For $2.4 million you could buy enough to make a bomb. Of course, Oak Ridge will not sell you that much. The author is concerned with the world-wide total of about 155 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium. That much plutonium can make a lot of nuclear weapons. There is very little good use that this stockpile can be put to. Some of it may be used to fuel nuclear reactors. However, the chemistry of plutonium is difficult and the economic feasibility of plutonium reactors is not clear. There is a National Academy of Sciences report that you can read on-line: Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium: Reactor-Related Options (1995). There is no easy solution to the problem of what do to with all this plutonium.
Why can't everybody write like Bernstein ?.......2007-05-23
We've all heard about plutonium - from its use in nuclear weapons to its use in generators for satellites. But what do we know about plutonium ? Surprisingly, almost nothing. This is where this book enters. It is written in a clear, simple way. It reads like a novel. Whenever a background explanation is necessary there are at most a couple of pages with the main concepts. Why can't everybody write like Bernstein ?
Average customer rating:
- Check and see
- Suprise! Suprise!
- Prescient St Augustine?
- Something of a disappointment
- Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
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ASIN: 2913621066 |
Product Description
`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.
Customer Reviews:
Check and see.......2007-06-21
I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.
Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22
Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.
Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05
We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:
a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;
b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;
c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.
Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:
It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.
- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.
- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.
Fomenko goes by the following axioms:
- Chronology is the basis of history;
- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;
- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;
- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;
- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;
- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.
Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?
The Russians:
Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.
The Westerners:
Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.
The Chinese:
Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.
The Arabs:
Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.
The Divinity:
Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.
According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.
St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."
Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09
After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.
However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:
- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.
I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.
The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.
It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?
Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.
Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30
If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?
Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.
Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..
Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.
Average customer rating:
- Napoleon's Buttons Review
- Excellent read for anyone!
- Just my opinion
- Practical Real-World Chemistry
- Organic chemistry made fascinating!
|
Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Penny Le Couteur , and
Jay Burreson
Manufacturer: Jeremy P Tarcher
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 1585423319
Release Date: 2004-05-24 |
Book Description
Napoleon's Buttons is the fascinating account of seventeen groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration, and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance-which, in turn, can result in great historical shifts.
With lively prose and an eye for colorful and unusual details, Le Couteur and Burreson offer a novel way to understand the shaping of civilization and the workings of our contemporary world.
Customer Reviews:
Napoleon's Buttons Review.......2006-09-28
While first scanning through Napleon's Buttons, I had expected a completely and utterly useless story that would have wasted my time. After finishing the introduction and a few chapters, however, I found myself more knowledgable. I learned numerous new things already with a few pages. Napoleon's Buttons has seventeen chapters that basically tell the story of seventeen different molecules and how they changed the world. These molecules range from birth control to glucose and spices to dyes. The book also proves how many of the things humans take for granted in modern society were things that were extremely rare years ago. Salt, for example, was something everyone wanted, but not everyone could afford. Today, people put salt on food everyday and throw bags of it on the ground when it snows outside. The book also showed how something as simple as tin buttons could alter the course of history. (You will learn about this in the introduction.) Overall, the book was alright. It was not fantastic, nor was it insanely boring. I learned a lot, and if you choose to read it, you will too. I do not recommend this to any one who is not an adult and has spare time (because it is lengthy). I am glad I took the time to read Napoleon's Buttons, however, because I did learn a lot about history and how humans take so many things for granted.
Excellent read for anyone!.......2006-06-02
What a great book! If you've ever been curious about how people came to discover, develop, and use some of the things we take for granted in our everyday lives, this book is fascinating! If you teach science, it is a must read - so many hooks to get students interested in science while seeing the chemistry connections! If you don't teach, you will still like it, and the authors wrote it on a level every adult can comprehend.
Just my opinion.......2006-05-19
but this best selling book didn't do it for me. I read the first two hundred pages and then put it down for good. It was just too monotonous. I believe that some people can find this book fascinating, but don't understand it myself. Reading this book, I just kept thinking, ok ok, pepper is great, but how many ways can its greatness be expressed? I kept thinking of Forest Gump's friend Bubba: shrimp sandwiches, shrimp Creole, shrimp kebabs, shrimp, shrimp, shrimp... Uhhrg.
Also, the story seemed to be missing from this book. I kept waiting for historical accounts of how these molecules were responsible for turning points in history. Instead, they all seem to have contributed to the evolution of society over eons. Except for the tin buttons on Napoleon's troops, which may or may not have contributed to his downfall (the evidence is flimsy,) the molecules all slowly entered into society and slowly changed the way we live.
Overall, there are better historical accounts of science and nature than this one.
Practical Real-World Chemistry.......2006-01-18
What a fabulous book! This book does a great job of showing how something as mundane(to many people) as chemical formulae can determine the outcome of civilizations. High marks for making chemistry relevant and interesting. At times, some connections seem a bit too speculative for my scientific taste, but overall a fine book. I have read it twice now. If you like this book, you'll probably like "Uncle Tungsten" by Oliver Sacks
Organic chemistry made fascinating!.......2005-10-18
This book is truly worth reading and keeping as a reference in your personal library. I stumbled on it at our local library only because it was next to the physics & math sections and what a stroke of luck that was! This is an extremely clear exposition of organic chemistry in a historical context. The writing is gripping and am not surprised that other reviewers couldn't put the book down. It is truly that good.
My personal favorite is the section dealing with olive oil chemistry where use is made of the simple molecular diagrams developed earlier in the book. They give very valuable insight throughout the book and in this section they help one visualize the physical behaviour of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids.
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