The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Wonderful, honest and shocking
  • A Great Book for Civilisation
  • Detailed and well-written account
  • A Must Read
  • grat book, must read if u wanna learn about the middle east
 The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East
Robert Fisk
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400075173
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Book Description

A sweeping and dramatic history of the last half century of conflict in the Middle East from an award-winning journalist who has covered the region for over thirty years, The Great War for Civilisation unflinchingly chronicles the tragedy of the region from the Algerian Civil War to the Iranian Revolution; from the American hostage crisis in Beirut to the Iran-Iraq War; from the 1991 Gulf War to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. A book of searing drama as well as lucid, incisive analysis, The Great War for Civilisation is a work of major importance for today's world.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Wonderful, honest and shocking.......2007-10-07

The book "The great war for civilisation", by Robert Fisk, is wonderful, mostly for its vivid and honest telling of the history the author has lived in thr last 40 years.
Even not having finished its reading (it's a 1,100 pages book!), I can see the author does not leaves "stone on stone" (translated from a Portuguese sentence). He show how ignorant people of developed countries can be (to make a monument in Vincennes, indiana, USA, to USS Vincennes, which blowed up a civil plane, killing 290 people, is terrible!), and how dishonest governments like Reagan's and Thatcher's were. Please, divulge this book!

5 out of 5 stars A Great Book for Civilisation.......2007-10-06

It's hard to exaggerate when trying to accord sufficient praise for this great book. As a pure work of journalistic reportage it seems impossible to beat, let alone come near to its level of sincerity, humanity and scope. I don't know how Mr. Fisk was able to collate and make such sense of so much material, and survive the ordeal.
Whatever one's own proclivities may be in the world of politics and religion, I don't think anyone could quarrel with the author's many observations, which are so clearly animated by an overriding sense of outrage at the callous and sensless brutality which he has so often witnessed in person in the countries where he has been a reporter.
He tries his best to be impartial, and indeed it is virtually impossible to know where the truth lies in a world of spin and manipulation. However, he clearly shows a penchant for the Muslim argument in the Middle East, and certainly there must be a lot to be said in his favour, even if he is not always wholly convincing.
This, however, is but a quibble compared with the might and majesty of this splendid book, which I would recommend anyone who is in any way concerned with the Arab world to read, and learn from.

5 out of 5 stars Detailed and well-written account.......2007-10-03

Fisk's narrative pulls no punches, and does a superb job of recounting events ranging from the Iran-Iraq War to the Armenian genocide the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the Palestinian Israeli conflict to the current War in Iraq -- as well as many other events relevant to the contemporary Middle East (and U.S. foreign policy in the region).

I found the account to be depressing at times, but for those who are looking for a thought-provoking, and engaging narrative this is a great place to start. No easy answers, and plenty of information to digest. The best kind of reading.

5 out of 5 stars A Must Read.......2007-09-02

I read every word in this book. At first I was skeptical that it could all be true, but on completion I believe it is. I highly recommend this book to all.

It is an excellent way to learn just how big a mistake was made by the US and GB in trying to overthrow the goverment in Iraq and establish a puppet democracy.

5 out of 5 stars grat book, must read if u wanna learn about the middle east.......2007-08-29

here is a writer who lived in the middle east, who walked the streets and breathed the air, who talked to all the big heads and saw all the battles...he is not your typical expert who appear on CNN/Fox News... he has in-depth knowledge, i wish alan dershowitz can learn from him

read this and pitty the nation
State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • xenophobia or rational position?
  • A Good Book but lacking in the Proper Historical Perspective
  • Sad but True
  • Open This Book Only in Emergency. Now?
  • Clear and concise
 State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America
Patrick J. Buchanan
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312360037
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Book Description

Pat Buchanan is sounding the alarm. Since 9/11, more than four million illegal immigrants have crossed our borders, and there are more coming every day. Our leaders in Washington lack the political will to uphold the rule of law. The Melting Pot is broken beyond repair, and the future of our nation is at stake.
In this important book, Pat Buchanan reveals that, slowly but surely, the great American Southwest is being reconquered by Mexico. These lands---which many Mexicans believe are their birthright---are being detached ethnically, linguistically, and culturally from the United States by a deliberate policy of the Mexican regime. This is the “Aztlan Plot” for “La Reconquista,” the recapture of the lands lost by Mexico in the Texas War of Independence and Mexican-American War.
Comparing the immigrant invasion of America from across the Mexican border---and of Europe from across the Mediterranean---to the barbarian invasions that ended the Roman Empire, the author writes with passion and conviction that we have begun the final chapter of the Death of the West. Unless the invasion is halted now, Buchanan argues, by midcentury America will be a country unrecognizable to our parents, the Third World dystopia that Theodore Roosevelt warned against when he said we must never let America become a “polyglot boardinghouse” for the world.
President Bush’s failure to halt the invasion and secure America’s border, Buchanan writes, is a dereliction of constitutional duty that, in other times, would have called forth articles of impeachment. In the final chapter, “Last Chance,” he lays out a sweeping immigration reform and border security plan, which, he contends, if not pursued, means George W. Bush’s legacy will be to have lost for America a Southwest that was the legacy of Sam Houston, Andrew Jackson, and James K. Polk. With an estimated ten to fifteen million “illegals” already here and tens of millions more poised to pour across our borders, few books could be as timely---or important---as State of Emergency. It is essential reading for all Americans.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars xenophobia or rational position?.......2007-09-13

Buchanan, makes an impassioned argument that the country is in a 'state of emergency' because of our neglegence in dealing with the immigration issue. However, many of the arguments seem to steam from a fear that America is losing its traditional anglo-identity, and not rational arguments that show why largre-scale immigration is such a great evil for this country. While he does makes some good points and back them up with some statistics, most of the time is just trying to scare people with anticdotal evidence. I conclude that Buchanan's book, while completely correct that we need to pay attention to the immigration issue and that there could be catastrophic effects for neglecting it, fails to ever show that a large mexican immigration is a bad thing just that there needs to be restrictions in place on who we let in and what we require of them.

4 out of 5 stars A Good Book but lacking in the Proper Historical Perspective .......2007-08-19

Texas, AZ, NM, CAL, Utah and most of the eastern US, areas the US now calls its own were neither paid for properly nor legally. They were stolen from their owners, both native american indians and latinos. Buchanan mentions that CAL for example only had 3,000 Mexicans in it when these lands were stolen from them. How many americans were there at the time????? Not very many. What he conveniently fails to mention are the lands which these 3,000 owned at the time, mnay of them were farmers who controlled huge areas of land in the most desireable climatic growing areas. The US government promised these people compensation for their lands if they permitted their lands to be squatted on by expansionist caucasian farmers, miners and cattlemen. But once the caucasian squatting started the deals were soon broken. The lands given to the american indians were even more laughable, typically dry, nearly waterless lands with little to no meaningful crop or cattle supporting abilities which the expansionist caucasians did not want to occupy anyway. Wow what a deal for them indeed.

This is what happens when the creation of "your" country is basically the result of an entirely "Illegal Caucasian Invasion" which is what the title of this book really should be. Unlike many other nations where new cultures immagrated in and assimililated themselves in a legal manner, the US as we know it today was essentially stolen at gunpoint from its occupants in a wholly illegal manner. Historical FACTOID! It's laughable how we whine about what is happening in the US but talk about how bad Hitler was in Germany. What exactly did Hitler do that was so bad? How about the fact he occupied lands at gunpoint, slaughtered millions of the inhabitants in those occupied lands, and committed all sorts of atrocities upon the native peoples of those lands he invaded. Sound like familiar story folks????? Well, it is, because that is EXACTLY how america was formed by primarily euro based caucasians in the past 200 years. Indians were slaughtered, their food sources wiped out, Latinos were slaughtered and those who were offered "deals" almost never ended up getting what they were promised by the US government. We took the most fertile lands available and left the desolate areas for indians and called them "reservations". Our cheap labor force in the caucasian controlled South for decades was Negro slave labor STOLEN from Africa. Now we whine about how a new wave of invaders isn't fair, pooh hoo hoo. This is called reaping what you have sowed. If you or Buchanan had bothered to study your history even a bit for the past millenium you would know that this is how all countries formed at gunpoint usually inevitably end up.

As for the laughable comment that Clinton and GW Bush caused the current immigration problem, better go study some more history. Good old Ron Reagan, the same guy who authorized selling chemical weapons to Saddam, the same guy who illegally sold weapons to Iran a sworn enemy of the US at the time, the same guy who deregulated the S&L's leading to the S&L crisis and a $1 trillion taxpayer funded bailout of the S&L crisis (through the RTC) is also the same EXACT fellow who promoted amnesty and opened the doors for the current wave of huge immigration into this nation. Bush SR also certainly played his part, and in fact up until this past November your Congress had been controlled by Republicans for the past 13 years, blame them too. And most of all do not fail to blame both US consumers and employers, many of them caucasians. Consumers who love the low prices they pay for various goods thanks to the dirt cheap illegal labor employed by so many of the companies you buy goods from and the employers themselves who knowingly employ much of this illegal cheap labor force to fatten their profits. Stop the illegal employment and you'll end the problem. But of course you'll also then pay higher prices for your produce, landscaping, construction, restaurant food bills, clothing, etc..

Blame the primarily caucasian employers employing this labor force and the primarily caucasian consumers willingly buying and benefitting from the prices of the products produced/sold by the employers of these illegals while simultaneously whining about it like crybabies. Anyone here shop at Walmart recently????????????? They have been found guilty of hundreds of illegal immigrant employment violations in the past decade. If you shop there even once a year you and your family yourselves are therefore overt supporters of illegal immigration by your own consumer actions. WM is just one of many examples.

5 out of 5 stars Sad but True.......2007-08-17

I hate to say it but I agree with everything Pat said. We can't even take care of whose here. No point in bringing in more problems.

3 out of 5 stars Open This Book Only in Emergency. Now?.......2007-08-06

Mr. Buchanan, as ever, comes through with an easy to-understand slant on current affairs, this time making the case for curbing the numbers of immigrants entering our nation in a major way. He's a good writer, yes; but he too often gets bogged down in short chronologies of historical events that occurred well prior to his topic. This does make for some dry, colorless reading here and there. From the Austro-Hungarian Empire to 1918 Czechoslovakia to French Enlightenment and on, in many cases, the reader is left asking "What does this have to do with the subject at hand"?

Several of the chapters are bursting at the seams with percentages, numerical comparisons, quantities, poll results...in paragraph after paragraph of analysis of populations, voting results, immigration details, dollar figures. Great pages for the researcher, but he really doesn't footnote much of the number crunching; so often one wonders: "Pat, where'd all this numbing number-information come from, anyway?"

All in all, author Buchanan makes some compelling points about the impending "take-over" of USA Southwest by Mexican immigrants [by "invasion without a shot"], quite sanctioned by the Mexican government. He discusses big-city sanctuaries for illegals, quotas, assimilation, low-pay jobs and languages...and takes to task the allegiance of Mexicans as they proclaim for themselves: "Mexican-American, but Mexican first." He points out (many times) that we can expect the "loss of our country [Southwest and all, by "2050"] as we know it," unless we make prompt national adjustments.

He proclaims "things will change" for us in a major way, but Buchanan doesn't tell us how different things actually will be. He doesn't even make small guesses as to what to expect [by 2050, his repeatedly target year]. How will new "MexiAmerica" will look and feel? Excepting his recurrent assertion that whites will be in a definite minority, he doesn't say much more about the year 2050. --But who knows, Pat. It could all be for the better!

Too, the author doesn't say much (if anything) about the current influx of Muslims into the country.... We might guess he's simply left that to Mark Styne and his work on the subject. --But we should ask: why isn't it part of this book? Isn't the fast migration of Islam also a concern of "The [total] Emergency" that we face...or is Buchanan's whole concept being slightly exaggerated after all? Finally, The author notes we have but "one more chance" to return to sanity and security...and offers many salable directions for us to take to save ourselves...including building a long, fat border; reevaluation of "anchor baby" laws; and, he says, "no amnesty."

I'm not sure Pat Buchanan's made his case here; even so, he's come up with another interesting read. Yet "State of Emergency" does have the texture of Mark Styne's "Alone America" and Buchanan's previous work, "Death of the West." It's the same Pat Buchanan here with an old focus--and a bit of new information plus some absorbing looks at how Mexicans see the USA. Three stars for a relevant re-hash of many things we pretty much know about...amid vacant history lessons we pretty much don't much care about.

4 out of 5 stars Clear and concise.......2007-07-13

Pat Buchanan presents the problem of illegal immigration and possible
terrorist threat in a logical way. There are no scare tactics, just
"how it really is" and "how it could be". I am not a raving conservative,
and am in fact on the more liberal side, but everything he said makes
sense. I gave it 4 stars because he throws in the occassional "slam"
toward the Democrats but for the most part he concentrates on the
problem that affects us all.
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Calculations are only as good as your numbers
  • Pants on fire?
  • Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
  • Very Interesting
  • History as Science Fiction
 History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars 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.

5 out of 5 stars 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.

5 out of 5 stars 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.

5 out of 5 stars 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.

4 out of 5 stars 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.
American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • In answer to conservative pseudointellectuals...
  • This is one of the most important books that you will ever read in your entire life
  • Simplisitc and sensationalistic
  • Crimes of Aggression and Occupation Revealed
  • THE SINGLE FINEST AND MOST ESSENTIAL BOOK OF THE AGE
American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World
David E. Stannard
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:
  1. A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present
  2. American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History Since 1492 (Civilization of the American Indian Series) American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History Since 1492 (Civilization of the American Indian Series)
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  5. Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact

ASIN: 0195085574

Book Description

For four hundred years--from the first Spanish assaults against the Arawak people of Hispaniola in the 1490s to the U.S. Army's massacre of Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee in the 1890s--the indigenous inhabitants of North and South America endured an unending firestorm of violence. During that time the native population of the Western Hemisphere declined by as many as 100 million people. Indeed, as historian David E. Stannard argues in this stunning new book, the European and white American destruction of the native peoples of the Americas was the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world. Stannard begins with a portrait of the enormous richness and diversity of life in the Americas prior to Columbus's fateful voyage in 1492. He then follows the path of genocide from the Indies to Mexico and Central and South America, then north to Florida, Virginia, and New England, and finally out across the Great Plains and Southwest to California and the North Pacific Coast. Stannard reveals that wherever Europeans or white Americans went, the native people were caught between imported plagues and barbarous atrocities, typically resulting in the annihilation of 95 percent of their populations. What kind of people, he asks, do such horrendous things to others? His highly provocative answer: Christians. Digging deeply into ancient European and Christian attitudes toward sex, race, and war, he finds the cultural ground well prepared by the end of the Middle Ages for the centuries-long genocide campaign that Europeans and their descendants launched--and in places continue to wage--against the New World's original inhabitants. Advancing a thesis that is sure to create much controversy, Stannard contends that the perpetrators of the American Holocaust drew on the same ideological wellspring as did the later architects of the Nazi Holocaust. It is an ideology that remains dangerously alive today, he adds, and one that in recent years has surfaced in American justifications for large-scale military intervention in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. At once sweeping in scope and meticulously detailed, American Holocaust is a work of impassioned scholarship that is certain to ignite intense historical and moral debate.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars In answer to conservative pseudointellectuals..........2007-09-24

All of the big words and "references" in the world won't change history for you, unfortunately. I notice that among the people who did not like this book, they all pretty much said the same thing: That Stannard didn't paint an accurate picture of the natives of the western hemisphere. That he didn't acknowledge cannabalism (he did), that he didn't acknowledge human sacrifice (he did - to the tune of 20,000 per year in the Inca capital), and that he didn't acknowledge inter-tribal warfare and cruelty (he most certainly did). One of the reasons I liked this book so much was its extensive reference section (with explanations as to most of the references, so if you have any questions about something...LOOK IT UP). It'd do you all some good, rather than blindly naysaying whatever doesn't fit your racist little mold. Does it really MATTER whether or not native peoples practiced unsavory rituals? They're all dead.

In any case, the book was superb and whatever your views are regarding the native peoples mentioned in the book, one point remains irrefutable: They were exterminated. It was deliberate. It was planned, sanctioned, supported, and financed by every exploratory realm in Europe and by the American government throughout it's short and brutal history. You all know it.

5 out of 5 stars This is one of the most important books that you will ever read in your entire life.......2007-04-29

It is amazing that we live in a country that was built upon holocaust but we yet we are in complete denial. And not just the U.S., the entire Americas. This book discloses the atrocities committed by the Spaniards and and other Europeans. It also dispels the myth that prior to the arrival of Columbus, America was nothing more than open prairie lands. And it reveals that the so-called new world was heavily populated before the mosting devasting and the largest genocide committed in history. It does more than reveal the diseases that the Spaniards and other Europeans brought to the new world. It uncovers the enslavement and intentional massacres of countless natives of the new world. A sad thing about this book is that those who need to read this book most (the ones in denial), will probably never read this book and continue to perpetuate the lie that no holocaust or genocide was ever committed in the Americas by the Spaniards and other Europeans. If you only read one book over the next decade, this should be it.

3 out of 5 stars Simplisitc and sensationalistic.......2007-03-26

Almost every time someone uses the word 'holocaust' when they are not referring to the actual Holocaust between 1939 and 1945, they use it in an incorrect and sensationalistic manner, comparing the incomparible. This is no exception. It is true that millions of people died following the arrival of Europeans in the New World in 1492. However 90% of them died from Disease. This was an extraordinary number, but there is a difference between planning to murder so many and having them die for biological reasons(not being immune to disease). Indeed many of even the most cynical Spaniards were dismayed that the Indians were dying, either because they could no longer be used as slaves or because they could no longer be enslaved. It is rediculous to pretend that this was a 'holocaust' unless the black Plague that swept Europe in the 13th-14th centuries was also a holocuast.

In addition this book accuses the Europeans of 'racism' which is a patent lie. Race did not propell Europeans across the seas in 1492 and the years afterword. It is true that Europeans looked different than the indigenous people of the New World, but it is not true that this was what motivated colonization, ensalvement, war or exploitation.

Just as the rise of most empires, such as the Chinese or Ottoman, are not accused of being tied up in racism, it is comical to pretend that men like Columbus had any concept of the 19th century ideas of race. The notions are neither found in thier writings or documents and that is why none are quoted in this book. In fact many Spaniards defended the Indians, such as Bartholemew De Las Casas, but all those people are conveniently ignored here. Not a suprise.

Seth J. Frantzman

5 out of 5 stars Crimes of Aggression and Occupation Revealed.......2007-03-18

David Stannard reveals the awful truth of Aggression and Occupation, misnamed "Discovery" and "Settlement," in the Americas. Readers who, in the names of education and religion, have been exposed to five centuries of revisionist history should be horrified at the truth. If they aren't, it will be a testament to the effectiveness of the church, school and university propaganda to which they have been exposed. The horrors of other holocausts are not excused by recognition that the holcaust in the Americas, perpetrated by European Christians against ancient civilizations were the most horrible in the history of mankind. They continue to this day.

5 out of 5 stars THE SINGLE FINEST AND MOST ESSENTIAL BOOK OF THE AGE .......2006-06-06

A masterpiece of scholarship and analysis.

This book is nothing less than the single most important work that you will ever read.

Our entire culture is built on Holocaust Denial while those most responsible for this abnesia drape themselves in the flag of holocaust memorialism but have little honesty in their true agenda. An agenda that allows in North America alone for there to be at least 50 Holocaust memorials, museums and monuments...
only problem is they are ALL about the Holocaust that happened in Europe and NOT about the colossal extermination that took place where they live. It is not only denial on the part of the nations of the Americas and Europe but those responsible for this Holocaust Denial in relation to Indian America insist on an image of being the world's caretakers of holocaust memory. What a bloody audacity.

Why do we let the Spanish off the hook so lightly? Why is there no demand for Spain to make its Mea Culpa? Why is there no AMERICAS HOLOCAUST memorial in Madrid, Washington, London and Ottawa ?

This brilliant book re-addresses the imbalance.

POST SCRIPT....

There is a reviewer further down who uses the monica of
"history buff" who rejects the value and integrity of this work. In fact he utterly insults Mr Stannard and his thesis.

So I thought I would check out his other reviews...oh boy!

One of the remarks he makes in a book claiming that Saddam was behind 9/11 goes "But it is very difficult to argue with the facts that were available to the agencies which pointed to a direct link between Saddam and Al Qaeda." This example of his world view is the mild end of it. So people consider the character of the self-described "history buff" who rejects Stannard's brilliant thesis on the Holocaust in the Americas.

The reviewer "history buff" has a world view that comes straight out of the 1950's HUAC committee (he associates all Left wing thought with the Soviet Union not knowing that the Bolshevik regime prohibited the platform of the revolution and that its first victims were in fact the most sincere and dedicated Left revolutionaries. Clearly he has never read the finest autobiography in the history of English language autobiography; Emma Goldman's LIVING MY LIFE volume 1 and volume 2. The latter volume includes a first hand account of the destruction NOT construction of socialism by Lenin and his cohorts ).
.
The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • The Greatest Adventure of all Time
  • Great Eyewitness account
  • Amazing first person historical account
  • Every mexican and american in the west should read this.
  • A great history of Mexico
 The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)
Bernal Diaz del Castillo
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  2. Letters from Mexico Letters from Mexico
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  4. The Four Voyages: Being His Own Log-Book, Letters and Dispatches with Connecting Narratives.. (Penguin Classics) The Four Voyages: Being His Own Log-Book, Letters and Dispatches with Connecting Narratives.. (Penguin Classics)
  5. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

ASIN: 0140441239

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The Greatest Adventure of all Time.......2007-05-26

When I first read the 1800 English translation, I could not put it down. Here are the first lines--a real grabbers! "In the year 1514, I left Castile (Spain) in company with Pedro Arias de Avila, who was then appointed governor of Tierra Firma (east Panama)...but afterwards suspicious that his son-in-law had an intention of revolting, he caused him to be beheaded."

Bernal's description of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan is amazing: "To many of us it appeared doubtful whether we were asleep of awake; nor is the manner in which I express myself to be wondered at, for it must be considered, that never yet did man see, hear or dream of anything equal to the spectacle which appeared to our eyes on this day."

And how about this magnificent line: "And now, let who can, tell me, where are men in this world to be found, except ourselves, who would have hazarded such an attempt."

And here is the horrific vision the Spaniards beheld when they climbed to the top of the great Aztec temple-pyramid. Remember that nearby, and looming up like a nightmare, was the stupendous "tzompantli," or skull rack. By careful Spanish count, it contained the grinning remains of 136,000 human beings.

"In this place they had a drum of most enormous size, the head of which was made of the skins of large serpents: this instrument when struck resounded with a noise that could be heard to the distance of two leagues, and so doleful that it deserved to be named the music of the infernal regions; and with their horrible sounding horns and trumpets, their great knives for sacrifice, their human victims, and their blood besprinkled altars, I devoted them, and all their wickedness to God's vengeance, and thought that the time would never arrive, that I should escape from this scene of human butchery, horrible smells, and more detestable sights."

The Conquest takes on a different color when seen through the eyes of the Spanish. Yes, they were greedy and cruel, but the scale of human sacrifice practiced by the Aztecs was beyond imagination. It is said that some twenty thousand people were sacrificed for the dedication of the Temple of the Sun. The Aztec priests worked for hours on end cutting out human hearts. They worked until they collapsed from exhaustion.

Bernal's history is also interesting for another entirely different reason. Joseph Smith (born 1805), the Mormon prophet, came of age during the period of English translations of Spanish histories (Bernal's in 1800 in London, and 1803 in the US, and Clevigero's "History of Mexico" in 1806 in Virginia and 1817 in Philadelphia).

Therefore, the golden splendor of the Spanish conquests of Mexico and Peru was fresh on everyone's mind, especially because the Spanish colony of Florida had become an American state (1821).

Thus, any notion that Americans were unaware of the great civilizations of ancient America is without foundation in real history. Ancient civilizations in America were so on the mind of people that in 1816, Solomon Spaulding wrote a history about a white and dark race in ancient America. His novel, "Manuscript Found," had the white race of mound builders destroyed by a darker-skin race.

Read my review of Robert Silverberg's magnificent book, "The Mound Builders of Ancient America: The Archaeology of a Myth." A must-read for anyone interested in the archaeology and myths about ancient America. Click here: Mound Builders

5 out of 5 stars Great Eyewitness account.......2006-12-28

Diaz was one of the soldiers who accompanied Cortez to invade the Aztec Empire. His account is one of the best we have of the whole affair. It is not written with much bias and was written to discount historical myths after the invasion had taken place. It is very analytical at times and his analysis of what happened is given added authority since he was present at the events. If you want to understand what happened this is a great book to read.

5 out of 5 stars Amazing first person historical account.......2006-02-15

First person historical accounts are generally the best way to read history and have it come alive in the mind of the reader. This book by Bernal Diaz is certainly no exception to that rule. Although Diaz wrote this much later in life, and doubtless his memory was not perfect, it is obvious that the experience of marching with Cortez in the conquest of the Aztec empire left innumerable vivid memories in his mind.

I am very sensitive to the fact that the conquest of the Aztec empire and other native empires in the Americas left a horrific legacy which is still felt dramatically throughout the hemisphere. Despite the fact that in many ways, the conquistadors should not be considered "heroes," I think we still can admire and be awed by their courage and fortitude in the face of unbelievable odds in facing the Aztecs and not only escaping with their lives, but eventually conquering the entire civilization. Diaz brings these events to life better than any history book I ever read, and I highly commend this book to anyone interested in the history of this period, of Mexico, or Latin America in general.

5 out of 5 stars Every mexican and american in the west should read this........2005-09-25

most mexican-pride types haven't hit this book. if they did they would be greatly enlightened by the fact that mexico was not a united nation from campeche to oregon. the aztecs subjugated their neighbors just like the mexico city elite subjugate the common mexican to this day. this is one of the best books i've ever read and if you plan to visit mexico city it is a must-read if you want to have any basic understanding of modern mexico city and mexico in general. read it.

5 out of 5 stars A great history of Mexico.......2005-07-25

This is the classic book on the history of the conquest of Mexico. Bernal Diaz fought on the front lines of Cortez's war, and he reports everything well in this book.

While Diaz may have been a great soldier, he was an awful writer. He wrote this book as he was aging well after he returned home to Spain. In his original edition, there were hundreds of pages of rambling personal attacks against various people in his life. As a result, Penguin has heavily edited this edition -- it's only about half the size of the original. However, the book is greatly improved this way, and Penguin's version is very easy to read and never gets boring.

Of course, Diaz doesn't have many negitive things to say about the Conquest, and he was a true believer in the religious mission of the conquistadors. Diaz essentially makes genocide seem not so bad. Read Bartolome de las Casas' books to balance out some of the propaganda contained in this book.
The Conquest of the Incas
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Still one of the best analyses of the Conquest of Peru
  • The best history of the Incas
  • Riveting tale of an intriguing lost culture
  • Booooooooring
  • The Beauty of Beauty
 The Conquest of the Incas
John Hemming
Manufacturer: Harvest/HBJ Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

IncanIncan | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
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  4. The Inca Trail, Cusco & Machu Picchu, 3rd: Includes the Vilcabamba Trek & Lima City Guide The Inca Trail, Cusco & Machu Picchu, 3rd: Includes the Vilcabamba Trek & Lima City Guide
  5. The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers) The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers)

ASIN: 0156028263

Book Description

This monumental work of history removes the Incas from the realm of legend and shows the reality of their struggles against the Spanish invasion. Winner of the 1971 Christopher Award. Index; photographs, maps, and line drawings.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Still one of the best analyses of the Conquest of Peru.......2007-03-27

A must read for anybody interested in one of the most amazing events in world history. I recommend reading the book before and (especially) after traveling to Peru. The key battles and turning points of the conquest are analyzed from both the viewpoint of the Spaniards and the Incas.

5 out of 5 stars The best history of the Incas.......2007-01-21

The Incas and the conquest of Peru are two of the most interesting stories in latin American history. This book captures the whole of that story and in wonderful detail relates the invasion of Pizzaro and the fall of the Incas. From Manco Inca to Tuti Cosi the Inca rebellions raged against Spanish occupation and eventually resulted in the free Inca state of Villacamba. In the end this state was doomed to fall to Spanish greed but the attempts at the Incas to preserve sovereignty is impressive. The writing style is excellent and the book is a very quick read. If you want to get a start on learning about the Inca's there is not a better book out there. If you are starting a study of South America as a whole this is an essential addition to that library. Highly recommend.

5 out of 5 stars Riveting tale of an intriguing lost culture.......2007-01-16

After visiting Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (and the many Incan and pre-Incan ruins), I was enthralled by the culture and what they had left behind. I had considered other books (namely the ones by Hiram Bingham and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega), but I wanted to read something that was able to bring the whole story together from a variety of sources. Despite at times being confusing because of the use of direct quotes from his sources, Hemming is able to go into colorful detail about the lives of the Incas and Spanish during the Conquest. He does so in an unbiased way. The descriptions of the battles in Cusco and the surrounding area were especially interesting for me, having just visited the area and seeing firsthand the destruction committed by the Spanish conquistadors.

3 out of 5 stars Booooooooring.......2007-01-09

Wow. If you need to know who went to the bathroom where at what time while so-and-so was standing watch, this is the book for you! The author goes in to exceptional detail, and it is presumably historically acurate [or at least he tells it with such confidence that you beleive it is]
Also, there are lots of footnotes, but they don't lead to the bottom of the page, you have to turn to the back of the book, which can be frustrating at times.
I am fascinated with the Incas and their "disappearance" and was looking forward to a good book on the subject, but after making it about 1/2 way through the book, I had to throw in the towel.

5 out of 5 stars The Beauty of Beauty.......2006-03-05

I think that every person who lives in the Western Hemisphere needs to go to Peru or Bolivia and visit the ruins of one of the greatest civilazations that ever inhabited the earth at least once in there lifetime. There were the Egyptians, Athenians and the Incas. I visited Peru this past Xmas and this book made the trip 10 times more interesting. It opened my eyes to where I was standing, it opened my eyes to what I was looking at and it opened my eyes to the greatness of a people who were exploited in the latter years of there civilization later to be unsurped by the Spanish way of life.

This book takes you back to the beginning and explains how Pizarro and the Spaniards were able to fool and capture the Inca ruler Atahualpa. Then with superior weapons and armor and most of all, horses were able to fool and be admitted as rightful rulers of the former Empire of the Incas. This book does not look at the Spaniards in a harsh light. It describes them as doing the best that they could because they believed in the morality of the bible but greed took over their initial desires. The world is run more by money than faith. But the book notes that things could have been worse if a northern European power had discovered America and I agree. In the end though the best wishes and desires of the Spanish king could not conquer that awesome clitter that the sun brings to gold. It is something no man, espcially one from that time period can escape.

But the Incas were enslaved and put to work in harsh mines. They knew nothing about money or about Catholism but they were made to worship both. This book is a great study of greed and how it ingulfes ones soul. But there were heroes who fought for the Indians and their were rules made to protect them but the lust for gold blinded most. If you want to continue with the story of the Incas and their decendents after the closure of the book I recemment "Born in Blood and Fire" by John Charles Chasteen.
The Conquest of Gaul (Penguin Classics)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 2000 Plus years old and still going strong
  • Caesar third person account of his conquest of the Gallia
  • Insights into a Brilliant Mind
  • For Miss Rogers who loved her Latin so much A note on the style of the work
  • The Greatest General - in his own words
 The Conquest of Gaul (Penguin Classics)
Julius Caesar
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140444335

Amazon.com

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres... It is, perhaps, the most famous opening line of any memoir in Western civilization. What Caesar and the Romans called "Gaul," although we usually think of it as France, also comprised Belgium, the German lands west of the Rhine, southern Holland, and much of Switzerland. This is the only military campaign of the ancient world for which we have a chronicle written by the general who conducted it, and Julius Caesar is an insightful historian, with a keen eye for detail, as in this scene from the repulsion of the forces of the German king Ariovistus:
Caesar placed each of his five generals ahead of a legion and detailed his quaestor to command the remaining legion, so that every soldier might know that there was a high officer in a position to observe the courage with which he conducted himself, and then led the right wing first into action, because he had noticed that the enemy's line was weakest on that side.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars 2000 Plus years old and still going strong.......2007-01-10

If the pre-christian world is where your interests are this book belongs in your collection. The good old days when power and might formed and held together the greatest empire to ever rule the known world.

3 out of 5 stars Caesar third person account of his conquest of the Gallia.......2006-12-22

De Bello Gallico - Julius Caesar third person account of his conquest of Gaul (modern day France, and large parts of Switzerland and Belgium, approximately) is well known for its opening line: Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres... This military chronicle brings us back to a time when rules of engagement were very different to our own: today, Caesar would be facing charges of genocide at the International Criminal Court for wiping out the Helvetii, for example. The book is fascinating at times but is also repetitive - so many tribes gets you confused. But it allows us to see a very different morality to our own - Caesar naturally thought nothing of killing, ethnically cleansing or enslaving his enemies, as well as a picture of the lives of the european tribes that lived outside the Roman empire. A must for Asterix fans.

5 out of 5 stars Insights into a Brilliant Mind.......2006-12-01

I found this book very hard to put down once I finished the introduction. Caesar's writing style is crisp (and unique - he writes in the third person) and blatantly political. The best parts of the book are his descriptions of the customs and habits of the various peoples, and the self laudatory comments that pepper the narrative. An opportunity to see into the mind of one of history's most fantastic figures.

5 out of 5 stars For Miss Rogers who loved her Latin so much A note on the style of the work .......2005-11-08

Miss Rogers was a Latin teacher in Troy, New York for many years. She loved Latin and had a pleasant and loving attitude to her students. It was from her that I first heard, "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est" She made us memorize certain passages in her beloved language.
So my first view of this ' classic' is not as a 'book to be read' but as a text to be studied in order to learn Latin grammar.
And what I felt in learning this is how logical, clear and straightforward it all seems to be. The style of the work as I understand it is a reflection of that strong, determined, clear, goal- oriented, straightforward moving Roman spirit that conquered a great part of the world.
As for the text itself, the character of Caesar, the military operations. Others more qualified than myself have already commented on this on the 'Amazon site'. I would just say that for some reason I had at that time years ago great sympathy for Vercingetorix, the defeated leader of the Gauls. I could not understand why he had to be defeated since he was in his own land fighting to defend his own people. I thought simple Justice would have him prevail. And as a young person I was dismayed at his despite his great courage being defeated.
As for the Romans even Caesar they inspire respect more than love, and admiration for their courage is balanced by a disdain for their appetite for conquest and domination.

5 out of 5 stars The Greatest General - in his own words.......2005-10-28

This used to be the manual for every young noble going to war as an officer. Today it is a historical document showing the roman republic in war, and in particular a portrait of how the great Ceasar would like his friends, enemies and history to see him. This book has shaped the thinking of allmost every military commander for 2000 years, and it would be a shame not to read the words penned by the dictator himself.
Russian Literature and Empire: Conquest of the Caucasus from Pushkin to Tolstoy (Cambridge Studies in Russian Literature)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Russian Literature and Empire: Conquest of the Caucasus from Pushkin to Tolstoy (Cambridge Studies in Russian Literature)
    Susan Layton
    Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    GeneralGeneral | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
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    ASIN: 0521444438

    Book Description

    This is the first synthesizing study of Russian writing about the Caucasus during the nineteenth-century age of empire-building. It covers major writers including Pushkin, Tolstoy and Lermontov, but also introduces material from travelogues, oriental studies, ethnography, memoirs, and the utterances of tsarist officials and military commanders. Setting these writings and the responses of the Russian readership in historical and cultural context, Susan Layton examines ways that literature underwrote imperialism. But her study also reveals the tensions between the Russian state's ideology of a European mission to civilize the Caucasian Muslim mountaineers, and romantic perceptions of those peoples as noble primitives whose extermination was no cause for celebration.
    The Scramble for Africa: White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876-1912
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Scramble for Africa
    • The Dark Continent's Darkest Chapter
    • Superior popular history
    • None better - Excellent Account
    • Thorough but also entertaining and stimulating
    		 The Scramble for Africa: White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876-1912
    Thomas Pakenham
    Manufacturer: Avon Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    GeneralGeneral | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
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    1. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
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    5. The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair

    ASIN: 0380719991

    Book Description

    White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent
    from 1876 to 1912

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Scramble for Africa.......2007-05-27

    Thomas Pakenham's Scramble for africa is a very good book on a fascinating subject. Colonizing africabegan well before the book's opening 1876 conference hosted by Belgium's King Leopold II, but after this event, according to the book, the "scramble" was on. European nations, primarily Great Britain and France, but also Belgium, Germany, and even Italy, sought territorial gains. This is imperialism at its nadir.

    The author implies a hodge-podge, willy-nilly scramble for land that resulted in Europe dominating Africa within a quarter century from the book's 1876 opening. David Livingston, Pierre Brazza, Lord Salisbury, and others based political and professional legacies on what happened in Africa. Great Britain found a way to emerge as the leading colonizer, so one could state they "won" the scramble.

    But Pakenham covers nearly every aspect of the European domination of the dark continent. The book is fast-paced and well written. The reader will not be disappointed.

    5 out of 5 stars The Dark Continent's Darkest Chapter.......2007-01-04

    It would be an understatement to write that Thomas Pakenham embraced an ambitious project in crafting a comprehensive, single-volume history of the European colonization of Africa over the course of some four decades a century ago. Few authors could have succeeded after having bitten off so much. Fewer still could have made it accessible to the layman and an immensely enjoyable read at that. Pakenham is the rare talent able to pull off such a feat.

    The story Pakenham tells involves countless actors, but at the center of the great conquest from beginning to end is the Belgian King Leopold, whose imperial actions, clothed in the righteous language of development and humanitarianism, did more than anyone else to spur on the exploration and exploitation of Africa. As Pakenham describes him, "Leopold was a Coburg millionaire, a constitutional monarch malgre lui, a throwback from the age of absolutism, with the brain of a Wall Street financier and the hide of an African rhinoceros." From his ostentatious palace at Laeken, Leopold kept a close eye on developments in the exploration of Africa and saw in it his great opportunity to make a fortune, all in the name of the "3 Cs": Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization.

    The "3 Cs" served as the foundation for most European imperialist of the time - Henry Stanley, his rival Pierre Brazza, Sir George Goldie, Frederick Lugard and others. A twenty-first century cynic could argue that the European intervention in Africa was motivated by capitalist greed, pure and simple. But Pakenham argues that a genuine desire to help the continent develop through the guiding light of Christianity was a central and perhaps the most important motivating factor in the decision to engage in African adventures by key elements in London, Paris and elsewhere. That said, commerce provided the extra pull that made large-scale action inevitable. After the early reports from Livingstone, himself a genuine and sincere Christian humanitarian, Africa captured the fascination of Europe with the potential of untold riches in this last unexplored frontier on earth. Indeed, the early years of "the Scramble" resembled a stock market bubble as investors rushed in motivated primarily by the fear of losing out by dithering on the sidelines.

    One of the more surprising aspects of European colonialism in Africa, especially the British in the early years of the Scramble, is how much they conquered with such little direct government investment. London frequently leveraged private enterprise to do the heavy lifting on the ground and direct foreign investment to develop the local infrastructure. Companies were given charters by London and had the exclusive right to make their fortunes under the protective flag of the British Empire. The most notable examples were Sir George Goldie's Royal Niger Company that exploited the trade in modern day Nigeria and Cecil Rhodes' various enterprises mining diamonds and gold in the republics of South Africa.

    The difficult part about Pakenham's "Scramble" is that there are so many actors over so many decades operating on so many fronts that it is a challenge to keep everything straight - Isandlwana, Adowa, Majuba, Khartoum, Fashoda, Omdurman, etc. But Pakenham's prose is so engaging that the reader becomes absorbed and presses on.

    In sum, "The Scramble for Africa" is a delightful read and a great overview of an unprecedented exercise in foreign domination and exploitation, the legacy of which we very much live with today. Much of the material is presented at a high level. For instance, Pakenham has also authored an authoritative 500-page history of the Boer War, an event that is covered in "The Scramble" in a mere 25-page chapter late in the book. So those with an interest in specific episodes of African colonialism will be better served with more focused works, but no other book will piece all the parts together so well.

    5 out of 5 stars Superior popular history.......2006-07-13

    A beautifully written account of the partition of Africa by European imperialism. Though the emphasis is definitely on the British Empire and the author is rather vague on the economic factors involved, this remains an excellent narrative history with many lessons for the present.

    5 out of 5 stars None better - Excellent Account.......2006-05-03

    I have read much about Africa. As for the colonial period, this book pulls it all together. The author does an excellent job of covering a wide span of history, including military campaigns, political strategy and intrigue and a host of contributing factors to provide a detail review of how colonialism occured and what drove it across the face of Africa. I would love to see another installment by Pakenhan of the subsequent period, addressing the drive for independence and its resulting successes and unfortunate failures.

    5 out of 5 stars Thorough but also entertaining and stimulating.......2006-01-21

    Really a remarkable book in that it covers so much goings-on, countries, kingdoms, people, etc but does so in an enjoyable way. Very thorough and explicit in details and a great reference book- and also is a joy to read. Sometimes, I admit, the chapters can jump from subject to subject but I think this is more due to the scope of the work and not the author's fault. It covers so much information that I couldn't imagine trying to organize such a book. Also, satisifying, the work is honest and not as 'politically correct' as most modern books written about the colonialism in Africa. It tells the good, the bad, and the ugly of both the European elements and native elements in the tragic tale. It also fascinatingly details the politics in Europe and American with regard to the 'scramble'. Highly recommended.
    The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (Cambridge Paperback Library)
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Another great book by Steven Runciman
    • An Invaluable Resource
    • Best on the subject
    • A Must Read For Christian History Enthusiasts!
    • Enlightening
    		 The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (Cambridge Paperback Library)
    Steven Runciman
    Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    Similar Items:
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    ASIN: 0521313104

    Book Description

    This is Sir Steven Runciman’s established and widely admired classic account of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, first published in 1968. The Great Church, as the Greeks called the Orthodox Patriarchate, was the spiritual centre of the Byzantine world. The Church’s survival during the four centuries of Turkish rule which followed the fall of Constantinople bore witness to its strenght and to the unquenchable vitality of Hellenism. Sir Steven Runciman’s history of the Great Church in this period is written with scholarship, sympathy and style.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Another great book by Steven Runciman.......2006-11-04

    I'll be honest with you.The only reason I bought this book, was because I'd already read all of Runciman's "real" history books and just wanted to complete my collection.Church history and theology aren't exactly my cup of tea.So, I thought I'd open it, start reading and fall asleep after page....ix.But I was wrong of course.I underestimated Runciman's ability to make even a debate about the role of Epiklesis in Transubstantiation appear interesting.No,really,I'm being serious.This is a well-written and interesting book that provides an answer, from a unique perspective, to the question everyone has after reading the "Fall of Constantinople": "Well,what happened next?"
    We also get a deeper insight on Runciman's own ideas about religion and theology that we only catch a glimpse of, in his most ...ermm, "secular" works.
    This book also piqued my interest on a more personal level as well, being (nominally) Orthodox.For anyone who has read his books, it's not a secret where Runciman' s sympathies lay - and he certainly tries to explain and excuse many "unfortunate" acts and decisions on behalf of the Orthodox Church.But be warned - this isn't a rose-tinted hagiography - the story of the "Great Church" in "captivity" becomes literally nauseating at times, and it doesn't lack in cynicism and petty squabling.It certainly didn't make me want to get rid of that pesky "nominally" in front of my religion....

    5 out of 5 stars An Invaluable Resource.......2006-03-03

    It is rare to find a work of excellent scholarship that is also very readable. Runciman has once again achieved this result.

    5 out of 5 stars Best on the subject.......2006-02-02

    This excellent monograph from the most objective world leader on the subject, is without parallel. A must read for all those interested in the bad but not-that-bad fate of the Orthodox Church under the Ottoman Turks.

    5 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Christian History Enthusiasts!.......2004-12-27

    This gifted British historian captures you with his prose and holds on to you with his glorious tale and historiography which is second to none. A must read for anyone interested in the Orthodox Church or Christianity. He deals with his subject with a sense of empathy without losing his objectivity. A must buy!!!!!

    5 out of 5 stars Enlightening.......2004-04-08

    The dilemma facing English speakers of Greek decent is that there are so few books written in English on Greek medieval history, and I can think of none written specifically on the Orthodox Church during the turkocratia, except of course Runciman's "The Great Church in Captivity". At first, I was skeptical. After all, Runciman is an Englishman and I was leery about potential ignorance or bias which could seep its way into his book. No need to be concerned. Runcimen's book is a well researched and a thorough history on the subject. I could hardly put it down.

    Generally, the book was easy to read and very informative. One chapter deals heavily with theology, and finding the subject brain numbing, I must admit, I skipped over most it. No matter, the balance of the book, which deals with Church history, was very enlightening. I do have one issue with Runcimen's account, however. Greek history teaches that during the captivity, Greek children were taught Greek by the clergy, under covert conditions, usually at night in underground caves, so as to not alert the Turks. By doing this, the Greek people were able to maintain their identity through language and religion, and resist turkification. This is a fact of paramount significance to the Greek people, a legend of heroism passed down from generation to generation, yet there is no mention of it by Runciman. Even though this account was omitted, there is so much content in this book, that I highly recommend it to those interested in the history of the Orthodox Church.

    To Greeks: A bit of warning to the wide-eyed and uninitiated: You were not taught this history at home or in Sunday school, so you may be shocked by some of this. I was.

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