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.

Breathing Spaces: Qigong, Psychiatry, and Healing in China

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Interesting Read

Breathing Spaces: Qigong, Psychiatry, and Healing in China
Nancy N. Chen
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0231128045

Book Description

The charismatic form of healing called qigong, based on meditative breathing exercises, has achieved enormous popularity in China during the last two decades. Qigong served a critical social organizational function, as practitioners formed new informal networks, sometimes on an international scale, at a time when China was shifting from state-subsidized medical care to for-profit market medicine. The emergence of new psychological states deemed to be deviant led the Chinese state to "medicalize" certain forms while championing scientific versions of qigong. By contrast, qigong continues to be promoted outside China as a traditional healing practice. Breathing Spaces brings to life the narratives of numerous practitioners, healers, psychiatric patients, doctors, and bureaucrats, revealing the varied and often dramatic ways they cope with market reform and social changes in China.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Read.......2006-10-23

This book is a good read for anyone interested in the cultural rise of qigong in China post 1920's as well as other cultural influences on the health care in China. This book is more of a report of events and research than of any type of teachings that other qigong books may offer. The book covers a wide variety of topics and attempts to answer some tough questions with regards to qigong and health care. A good read on Chinese culture.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

Strangers in the City: Reconfigurations of Space, Power, and Social Networks Within China's Floating Population

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Rural Migrants in Beijing

Strangers in the City: Reconfigurations of Space, Power, and Social Networks Within China's Floating Population
Li Zhang
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0804742065
Release Date: 2001-11-09

Book Description

With rapid commercialization, a booming urban economy, and the relaxation of state migration policies, over 100 million peasants, known as China’s “floating population,” have streamed into large cities seeking employment and a better life. This massive flow of rural migrants directly challenges Chinese socialist modes of state control.

This book traces the profound transformations of space, power relations, and social networks within a mobile population that has broken through the constraints of the government’s household registration system. The author explores this important social change through a detailed ethnographic account of the construction, destruction, and eventual reconstruction of the largest migrant community in Beijing. She focuses on the informal privatization of space and power in this community through analyzing the ways migrant leaders build their power base by controlling housing and market spaces and mobilizing social networks.

The author argues that to gain a deeper understanding of recent Chinese social and political transformations, one must examine not only to what extent state power still dominates everyday social life, but also how the aims and methods of late socialist governance change under new social and economic conditions. In revealing the complexities and uncertainties of the shifting power and social relations in post-Mao China, this book challenges the common notion that sees recent changes as an inevitable move toward liberal capitalism and democracy.

Customer Reviews:

Rural Migrants in Beijing.......2003-08-29

The economic reform that started in China in 1978 has brought about the creation of floating population, in which as many as 100 million people left their villages and streamed into cities where manufacturing factories and businesses were booming. In the cities, these rural migrants are considered strangers and outsiders. Since they are denied formal urban membership and substantive rights, they have to struggle hard for a living space. How did they deal with different powers in order to claim their space and have their own rights guarded and protected?

For those interested in knowing about the formation conditions and existence strategies of the floating population in China, Li Zhang's book is worth reading. This is an ethnographic study on a particular migrant enclave in Beijing, which is called Zhejiangcun and only five kilometers from China's political centre, Tiananmen Square. The largest migrant settlement in Beijing, Zhejiangcun is mainly made up by the petty entrepreneurs originating from Wenzhou, a municipal city in Zhejiang province. It took shape in the 1980s and had nearly 100,000 migrant workers in 1995. Making use of pre-accumulated small capital and extended kinship ties, the entrepreneurs run family-based businesses mainly in garment manufacturing and trade. The settlement appears startlingly different from those formed by migrant workers (mingong) who have nothing but their labor to sell and depend heavily on the urban labor market for work. As small manufacturers and traders with economic resources, the Wenzhou migrant entrepreneurs in Zhejiangcun have the edge over other migrant workers as they are more capable to create native-place-based enclaves, workable social connections, and higher business flexibility.

As reflected in the subtitle of the book, Li Zhang explores three key issues - space, power, and social networks. More specifically, she demonstrates how the Wenzhou migrants gained, lost, and rebuilt a space in Beijing by strengthening social networks with fellow natives and forging power relations with the local government officials.

The book is well structured into a chronological order to show the formation and changes of the space in Zhejiangcun. Chapter 1 is a broader analysis of how the Chinese party system attempted to control and to manage the floating population that has grown in numbers in many cities. Li Zhang argues that the rural migrants, while their everyday practices were to some extent regulated by the government, they were able to create "alternative modes of social life and multifocal community life beyond a single, fixed geographic location." (p. 20).

In Chapter 2, Li Zhang traces how a distinctive historical commercial culture and petty capitalist economy nurtured Wenzhou migrant's present economic and spatial practices. She maps their migration routes and underscores the importance of family and native-place networks in the migration trajectories.

Chapters 3 and 4 explore how the privatization of space and power has been taking place concurrently in Zhejiangcun in the context of China's reform into market economy. More specifically, Chapter 3 shows how Wenzhou migrants appropriated land in local villages to create large residential with new social and political meanings. Chapter 3 demonstrates how the migrant leadership emerged and expanded their social and spatial bases of Zhejiangcun.

Once formed, Zhejiangcun evolved with its power structure changing in the space. As Li Zhang shows in Chapter 5, not merely the gender and domestic relations have changed, but the Wenzhou migrant households and production have also reorganized spatially. In the midst of these changes, the social order was damaged by increased crimes. Chapter 6 examines the different interpretations of the origin of crimes offered by the Wenzhou migrants and officials.

The social disorders led to the political conflicts between the upper-level governments and Wenzhou migrants and local residents. The authorities launched a number of cleanup campaigns in Zhejiangcun. Chapter 7 shows that the social conflicts actually involved many levels and the popular resistance during the campaign highlights the disparity, instability, different motivations and interest within the state.

The members of Zhejiangcun were able to challenge and manipulate land-use regulation through clientelist ties with local officials. Indeed, Zhejiangcun has survived the cleanup actions. Li Zhang shows in Chapter 8 that the Wenzhou migrants were able to make a return to Zhejiangcun by forming new commercial alliances with closed-down state factories and local government.

With this book, Li Zhang has tried to address a bigger question: how different components of the Chinese society position themselves in the midst of the rapid economic transformation and the subsequent restructuring of power relations. As indicated in the Conclusion, the point Li Zhang wants to make clear is to "resist the assumption that current societal transformations in China will necessarily lead to the demise of the socialist regime" (p. 208). Indeed Li Zhang has successfully shown that "indigenous petty capitalism coexists with state-owned enterprises and managed foreign capital, which together reshape the contours of Chinese society, one that is based on the interplay of market forces, traditional social relations, and state regulatory power." (p. 208).

Book Description

This ambitious study treats urbanization and urbanism all over the world, and from the earliest times to the present. Professor Southall, a pioneer in the study of African cities, discusses the urban centers of ancient, medieval and modern cities. Drawing on an historical and comparative perspective, he offers a fresh analysis of world urbanization in the contemporary period of globalization. Throughout the book, he emphasizes the enduring paradox of the city, which juxtaposes splendid cultural productions with the poverty and deprivation of the majority.

China's Space Program - From Conception to Manned Spaceflight (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

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Red dragon in orbit
impressive advances in an extended long march
The New Kid on the Space Block

China's Space Program - From Conception to Manned Spaceflight (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)
Brian Harvey
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1852335661

Book Description

In October 2003 Yang Liwei made history as the first Chinese citizen in space, orbiting the globe 14 times in the Shenzhou 5. The Chinese space program has sometimes been called the last of the secret space programs. Although it is far less secretive now than formerly, fascinating revelations are still being made. Brian Harvey examines the history of the Chinese space program, from it's earliest times to the historic breakthrough of manned flight.

Customer Reviews:

Red dragon in orbit.......2007-01-09

China is clearly one of the space players in this century. Her resources are ample, both regarding technical knowhow and intellectual power, there is an unfailing sense of the ultimate goal - manned presence outside the Earth, and the intermediate goals - using the space for earthly purposes, are well understood. The Chinese space programme dates from the fifties, when the US, to their ultimate regret, evicted one of the fine minds who, at that time, was busy pioneering American astronautics. Political unrest - to say the least - on and off threatened to derail the development of missile technology, launchers and satellite technology. The space leaders come through as steadfast in the turmoil of the times, and as the political leadership in China moved from revolutionary fervour onto controlled economic evolution, so the space programme has moved more steadily tovards orderly development. All this and more are presented in this book, which bears the Harvey hallmark of being well researched, lucidly expositioned and showing deep insight in the subject at hand. I read it as one reads a novel of suspence and mystery, it now occupies a honored place along my other reference litterature on space.
When, during the coming years, we await new Chinese exploits in space, we need the understanding put forth in this book on the Chinese approach to development. Harvey illustrates how, in face of adversities, the Chinese space leaders, like the proverbial turtle, contrive to move slowly but inexorably towards their goals, when the hares in and of the United States fritters away resources by jumping hither and yon. It may well be that the tortoise yet overtakes the hare, if not in a race to the surface of the Moon, then to the sands of Mars.

impressive advances in an extended long march.......2006-12-07

China is still a developing country. But it has the distinction of being only the third country to launch a human into space, after Russia and the US. Harvey tells of the arduous path that China took. There have been the driving forces of international prestige and the building of a credible nuclear deterrent. The latter has required the ability to launch missiles into space in a controlled manner.

Harvey has conducted impressive research into a subject still heavily shrouded in secrecy. He describes many successes made by the Chinese. But also failures. Though the reader should remember that Russia and America have had their share of disasters, including the loss of lives.

The text also shows that in recent years, the Chinese space program has increasingly turned to commercial applications. Notably satellite imaging of the earth and communications. This reflects China's massive growth, with the increased need for such tasks as better analysis of weather patterns for agriculture. Also, the space program has started to perform more scientific research. All of this is a good sign for the future, both for China and the rest of the world.

The New Kid on the Space Block.......2006-01-01

For those in the West with little overall knowlwdge of the Chinese space effort, this is the primer. The book provides a fun read through the preperations and efforts to launch the first Chinese human to space orbit. Brian Harvey provides very useful insight to those who are looking globally in the human quest for space access. The book provides hope that the third nation to launch humans to space will mature and take serious the rhetoric of building a space station, or better yet, a Chinese program to put humans on the Moon. Harvey's book would have been made better with utilization of color photos splashed about the book.

Chinese Space Policy (Space Power and Politics)

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A great, insightful book

Chinese Space Policy (Space Power and Politics)
Handberg/Li
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0415365821

Customer Reviews:

A great, insightful book.......2007-02-02

This book explicitly explores the evolutionary process of Chinese space policy. It is informative and insightful.

Spaces of Their Own: Women's Public Sphere in Transnational China (Public Worlds, Vol 4)

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Spaces of Their Own: Women's Public Sphere in Transnational China (Public Worlds, Vol 4)

Manufacturer: University of Minnesota Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 081663145X

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DEPRESSING
A compelling chronicle of the dark complexities of human character
futuristic/sci-fi novel portrays global energy crisis
Best Books of 2006 - Kirkus Reviews

A Grey Moon over China
Thomas A. Day
Manufacturer: Black Heron Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0930773780

Book Description

"A Grey Moon Over China" is the story of a disillusioned company of Army engineers languishing in the Pacific during the energy wars between the United States on one side, and Japan and California on the other. They steal the plans for an energy device that could end the wars and the world's slide into environmental disaster. Instead, they extort from the world the price of their own freedom from it all: the resurrection of an abandoned space colonization effort that will take them far from the dying planet. They flee blindly and with terrible losses, for the drones sent to scout the way have never returned, and they can delay no longer. Armed colonists follow, and with them, the wars. "A Grey Moon Over China" features characters that engage our sympathy and challenge our understanding of human drives and motivation. There is Eduardo Torres, once an orphaned beggar, now a man driven to destroy everything in his path in his desire to escape his past; Sergeant Polaski, a warrior without a soul; Tuyet Pham, a young woman who arrives from nowhere but seems to know Torres better than he knows himself, and is herself a merciless but charismatic warrior; Anne Miller, the secretive high priestess of manufactured intelligence who programmed the missing drones; and Madhu Patel, their beloved father figure and philosopher who makes the mistake of trying to stand in their way.

Customer Reviews:

DEPRESSING.......2007-05-07

I wish I could have given 3.5 stars...
I am an avid sci-fi and occasional fantasy reader and was looking forward to reading this book. I had seen reviews and also was excited about another Portland Oregon author.

I didn't not like this book nearly as much as I though I would. I found it well written with characters that I could feel for. That being said...this book is so depressing. There isn't a stitch of joy to be found in its pages, with the possible exception of the baby near the end (don't want to be a spoiler). There is a little wonder to be found in the pages, but mostly sadness and bleak despair. I am okay with that if the book is satisfying, but this one wasn't for some reason. I almost put it down several times, because frankly I really wanted something 'happy' to happen. I am not a reader who expects fluff (I've read the Thomas Covenant Chronicles 3 times, talk about depressing). I just found this book bleak. Perhaps if there was a sequel, I was dying of curiosity re. Serenitas after all. I recommended this book to my husband and am curious to see if he shares my thoughts on this read.

A compelling chronicle of the dark complexities of human character.......2007-03-05

Winner of the Black Heron Press Award for Social Fiction, A Grey Moon Over China is a dark, apocalyptic tale of a future riven by human greed. In a world-spanning energy war that pits the United States on one side against Japan and California on the other, a disillusioned company of Army engineers steal the plans for an energy device that could end the war and instead extort the resurrection of an abandoned space colonization effort to take them away from the dying planet. But they cannot leave all their evils behind as easily as that; armed colonists pursue them, and the wars follow them to the crushing Black Planet where armies are trained, to impoverished farms , and do the heavily guarded portal leading to a nigh-legendary haven. Following its cast of deeply flawed protagonists - the man driven to escape his past by destroying everything connected to it, the woman whose love is so all-consuming it will surely lead to self-destruction, soulless and merciless warriors male and female, and a failed priest who must ultimately resurrect the last shred of his conscience, A Grey Moon Over China is a compelling chronicle of the dark complexities of human character as surely as it is a star-spanning adventure.

futuristic/sci-fi novel portrays global energy crisis.......2007-01-30

Winner of the publisher's 2006 award for social fiction, this science-fiction/futurist work deals with global conflict between major world powers over increasingly scarce energy sources. Japan and California battle the United States. In the complex plot, a group of disaffected persons who have stolen the plans for an energy device that would alleviate the energy crisis and end the conflict instead use it to extort from the warring powers a space flight to an abandoned space colony so they can be free of Earth. But the paradise they envisioned holds greater dangers for them. With a background in the technology and computer fields in the areas of artificial intelligence and software development, Day writes with a technical knowledge giving the narrative a sense of realism and plausibility while at the same time draws credible characters evincing recognizable motives and behavior. The layers of plotting and unexpected turns make for an engaging, dramatic tale.

Best Books of 2006 - Kirkus Reviews.......2007-01-03

30 Outstanding Titles that Deserve Your Attention!

Finalist in Science Fiction of the Best Books 2006 Awards
usabooknews.

"Uncompromising dramatization of the futility of violence... Inventive, disturbing, intriguingly populated and utterly fascinating: an altogether remarkable debut."

"Day's epic paints an engrossing high-tech-decaying-into-low-tech future, with lots of Machiavellian intrigue and a fascinating struggle by humans to understand their machines. Grade: A"

Average customer rating:

Observation From Reading Reviews
Silkworm Missiles
Interesting Biography about a Chinese Scientist
our country dropped the ball
shines a light on a murky time in history

Thread of the Silkworm
Iris Chang
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0465006787

Customer Reviews:

Observation From Reading Reviews.......2007-02-13

This is about the review that a guy named "S.Shueh" wrote below. As an example of ridiculous expressions, his sentence: "When someone who is not perfect speaks with authority at such young age...he is bound to place himself above others" is absolutely dumb. That's because no one is perfect, and anyone who speaks with authority regardless of age is always placing himself above others because that's the nature of speaking with authority, duh! If this guy believes that there exists someone who is perfect and can speak with authority without placing himself above others, then he would not be the first such fool speaking such nonsense.

Secondly, this S.Shueh guy also says that others have gone through "identical ordeals" as what Tsien went through. So this person doesn't realize that individual experiences are unique and the simple fact that no two persons can have identical experiences because experience is a subjective manifestation of seemingly external events. So it seems that the speaker is someone who grew up in a regimented family and society that cannot tolerate the uniqueness of individuals. Thus, his is only capable of rigid and naive thoughts. This is just my observation of a simpleton of a specific type that I have encountered many many times. So I felt the need to mention it here.

Silkworm Missiles.......2005-04-30

It is sad to note that Iris Chang has ended her life in a tragic self-inflicted bipolar conflict recently. This explains her unique writing style in several of her books. I am not a direct student or fan of Prof. Tsien. However, I am acquinted with surviving classmates and relatives of him. His early technical work has flaws in some classical work and did not get challenged or corrected. When someone who is not perfect speaks with authority at such young age he is likely to put himself above others as he has done. This is mentioned in the book several times by Iris during WW2 and later. He did so so in practical matters at MIT, or as a practicing railroad engineer in China. Had he returned to China after his studies in the US, he would be remembered as a scholar at most. As for his contribution with the red missile program it is hard to say what he was directly put in charge but people gave him credit for organizing a Russian trained team and obtained the necessary funding. Yes, he went through a lot during FBI investigation. One must not forget many scholars, ordinary citizens whether born in the US or Europe went through the identical ordeal. I find it is interesting that Chang mentioned Prof. Tsien was indirectly involved in the Great Leap forward resulting in 20 million deaths. Only someone controversial like him would chase birds and promote the destruction of a balanced eco-system in the name of Mao's wish (p238). All in all, Iris did a wonderful job talking and researching sources in a well done book.

Interesting Biography about a Chinese Scientist.......2004-12-17

Thread of the Silkworm was not quite what I expected in terms of a biography about Tsien Hsue-shen. It is a simple and attractive narrative that may have been targeted toward readers that like their reading without overstocked footnotes. It appears that Chang took her research from Tsien's surviving friends, colleagues, and Tsien himself. In addition, her style of writing is somewhat intimate and personal, and she appears to write in a way where she really put much effort in getting to know her subject. Througout the book she made Tsien looked like a hard-nosed and self-centered professor that could careless about his students. But at other times, there are passages in the book where his work overtook him. In addition, it appeared like Chang empathized with what Tsien was going through when he was forced to abandon his research and duties at CalTech.

Nevertheless, Chang does a good job at capturing the period in which Tsien studied, worked, and lived. She attempts to provide detail during World War II, and how Tsien contributed to US rocket technology. However, it appears disturbing of how his life took a turn during the Communist-feared 1950s, and how he became blacklisted and excluded from a society that welcomed his knowledge and participation in the world of science and technology. Indeed, he became a US citizen, but because of unfortunate circumstances at time when ideology knew no boundaries, his talents were transfered overseas.

Thread of the Silkworm was an easy read that will enhance your knowledge about immigration and what occurred during the 1950s. I recommend this book for those interested in biographies, a dab of science, and as Chinese/Asian-American history as well.

our country dropped the ball.......2004-10-29

I bought this book many years ago before Wen Ho Lee and James Yee and even though I found it difficult to read, I kept it as a reminder that being of Chinese origin adversely affects your comfort level and safety in this country. This book was very hard to read because the writing style was not the best for my style of reading so I didn't get her Nanking book which I know was also criticized for the writing style. If you didn't like the Nanking book, buy this book anyway because unlike the Nanking book, there aren't a lot of books about him out there and it's about a Chinese man who was not confused about what was happening. Regardless of whether he was right or wrong, smart or stupid, he was himself undiluted. I use the past tense but he's still alive though bedridden. He was on Chinese tv when China sent their first man into space. He watched a video of it and smiled.

shines a light on a murky time in history.......2001-06-17

I must admit a bias - HS Tsien is my grandfather's cousin. As such, this book is for me the family history that noone would tell me. For other readers, I would say that most history books concentrate on the rise of the USSR as a power, and then *poof!* there's China...how did that happen? Chang's book reveals how China's emergence on the world stage as a military power resulted from the US's own stupidity and xenophobia. My one real complaint about the book is that Chang's writing seems to drive the book to a climax at the point of Tsien's return to China, and then peeters out while she recounts China's race to the ICBM. This inconsistancy makes one feel that Chang herself had lost interest in the story, which is unfortunate. This story is fascinating enough (for anyone interested in history, not just me) to wish that the entire book had been treated with the care that Chang shows Tsien's US phase. Anyways, one leaves the story with feelings of respect and regret for what could have been. Please note that HS Tsien is still a bogeyman for the US intelligence community - he was mentioned, as Qian Xuesen, in the 1999 Cox report during the Los Alamos spy scandal. As far as I know, HS Tsien is still alive.

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