Books

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction
Provocative, appealing and controversial
pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
Forbidden History: Prehistoric Technologies, Extraterrestrial Intervention, and the Suppressed Origins of Civilization
They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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.

Provocative, appealing and controversial.......2006-08-02

Fomenko has succeeded to convincingly demonstrate the misconception about what "history" factually is... It is fiction and -like we can read and judge for ourselves- no science. It indeed is "make belief" only. I "discovered" Fomenko while studying the "old" history of Al Andaluz, Spain. Having found too many contradictions in available data, having seen too many forgeries as to pretend the importance of christianity for its decline, I ventured out to find Fomenko, who convinced me that we know little if anything for sure of the epoch before the XI-century. However, the integration of the Arabic-Islamic cultural history into the heavily distorted Western fails... There are some attempts to fit "the budding new religion" (Islam) into Fomenko's scheme, but they are too weak to be taken seriously and too often focussing on Turkey as the region where things started to influence the West, which is untrue at all.
Islam certainly was no "new religion" in the X-century. That the highly cultivated Al Andaluz ruler Mohammed-I could have been "mirrored" down in time into some myth about the "illiterate" founder of Islam itself is highly speculative. Nevertheless, Fomenko convinces me about the processes that were involved in forging a christian history. Intriguing and controversial as his books are, I recommend them as to rethink our current position in time and space and simply verify what was claimed. It is a "good" book, but not for bedtime reading... Mundus vult decipi, the world wants to be cheated. Fomenko's readers will understand why.

pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.......2006-02-16

Traces of white wine were found in Tutankhamen's tomb however there were no record of white wine in Egypt until the 3rd century AD, 1600 years after the young pharaoh died according to the traditional chronology. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18925395.400
It can be interpreted as a contribution towards New Chronology theory that pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.

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Could Have Been Better
Perception Is Everything
you'll either love it desperately or hate it desperately.
Arguably Vonnegut's best
Absurd and fantastic book

Cat's Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Dial Press Trade Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Slaughterhouse-Five
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ASIN: 038533348X
Release Date: 1998-09-08

Amazon.com

Cat's Cradle, one of Vonnegut's most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshelf of every college kid in America; it's still a fabulous read and a great place to start if you're young enough to have missed the first Vonnegut craze.

Book Description

One of Vonnegut's major works, this is an apocalyptic tale of the planet's ultimate fate, featuring a cast of unlikely heroes.

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Cat's Cradle travels from the home turf of Vonnegut's imagination, Ilium, N.Y. to a Caribbean banana republic where an illicit religion called Bokononism is practiced, as a sense of doom (in the form of ice-nine) overtakes mankind.

Customer Reviews:

Could Have Been Better.......2007-06-27

I guess it's considered a modern classic by some, but it seemed kind of lazily written to me. Full of intriguing ideas and well-drawn characters, the book starts out strong enough. Once the action reaches San Lorenzo and begins to build toward its apocalyptic climax, however, it gradually becomes less and less coherent. While the story ends with the ultimate bang, it sort of whimpers its way there -- Maybe it's some sort of literary device that I just didn't get -- And is it just me, or does Vonnegut's slightly self-righteous cynicism, doubtless refreshing in the early 1960's when the book was published, now seem just a little tired? The Vonnegut true believers would probably call this so much "foma," but, in my opinion, if you're looking for one of the Great Man's books to read, stick with Slaughterhouse-Five

Perception Is Everything.......2007-06-25

"Cat's Cradle" is Kurt Vonnegut's fourth novel and was perhaps his most autobiographical one when it was released. Published in 1963 it features the Hoenikker family, and specifically the three kids, an elder son, a tall middle daughter, and a younger son are similar to Vonnegut's family. This novel also helped turn Vonnegut into a popular author, when Graham Green said it was "one of the three best novels of the year." As with his other novels, Cat's Cradle is a satire, and while there is a science fiction element to it, that is not the strength of the work.

The narrator is a writer who is working on a book called "The Day the World Ended", which initially is about the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, and in particular the father of the atomic bomb, the late Dr. Felix Hoenikker, and in particular his three unusual kids and what they remember about the day the bomb was dropped. However, like the title suggests, things are not always what they appear to be ("See the Cat? See the Cradle?").

Vonnegut changes the focus of perception throughout the book. The end of the world originally focused on the atomic bomb, changes to a new and different threat also created by Dr. Felix Hoenikker. Bokonoism goes from a spoof of a religion to a religion of its own. Perceptions also change with regards to San Lorenzo, the relationship between the government and religion, and the attitude of the narrator to writing. Even the perception of the titles of the chapters changes as the reader progresses through the story.

The science element of this story is actually rather weak, although there is an intriguing concept; there is also a key point which Vonnegut doesn't address at all. Nevertheless, the strength of the novel is in the insights, as well as the counter-culture elements, and the unusual style makes this an interesting read, to say the least. When Vonnegut is discussed, often this novel is left out when it comes to what was his best. However, his dark humor and social satire are well in evidence here, and this is not one to be missed.

you'll either love it desperately or hate it desperately........2007-06-21

cat's cradle, like all of vonnegut's books is a rather odd little piece of work. it's bitingly cynical, deeply depressing, and yet seems to convey a fragile sort of hope all at once.

this book was written as a critique of what mr. vonnegut referred to as unethical scientists, people so concerned with what they might possibly be able to do that they don't stop and think what the consequences of their actions might be. it's rather effective at this in my opinion, creating a scenario that is silly and terrifying all at once.

it's a harsh book, and some people will find that the almost fluffy humor grates with the dark premise and sometimes nasty characters. some people will love it deeply as it showcases vonnegut's ability to hate what humanity is and yet care what becomes of it at the same time.

even if it turns out to not be your thing it's probably worth the read.

Arguably Vonnegut's best.......2007-06-05

I discovered Vonnegut in high school and fell madly in love. Besides being a wonderful writer, he's a perfect transition point for someone just beginning to tackle literary fiction, because while his style is accessible, his ideas are complex.

I've read all of his stuff, and CAT'S CRADLE was always one of my favorites, along with BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS and MOTHER NIGHT. But this is the one I've returned to most often, probably three or four times, so the day after he died, I picked it up again as a personal farewell. Like all of his stuff, it's deeply human, mingling a sincere love for our best with a wry acknowledgment of our ever-present worst. Summarizing this book takes the joy out of it, so I'll just say that it's about a new religion, a nuclear scientist, a midget, a failed writer, and the end of the world. If you've never read Vonnegut, you could do worse than to start here.

Absurd and fantastic book.......2007-05-29

"Cat's cradle" is written in very Vonnegut style, in the midst of fiction and realism. The book starts describing the narrator's intention of writing a book about what important Americans did on the day Hiroshima was bombed with major attention on the "father of atomic bomb" fictional Nobel laureate physicist Felix Hoenikker. During his research the narrator gets acquainted with the scientist's childern though several letters, and finally ends up in the plane with them flying to an island where Frank Hoenikker suppose to become the next president.

Bokononism as a new religion defined by Vonnegut, created in the fictional island of San Lorenzo, one of the poorest countries in the world that was yield by each government to the next without any resistance during last several centuries. None of the islanders cares about anything except fishing, bokonizm and sex (defined as "boko-maru" in unpublished Bokonist books). All the intrigues are about a powerful material called Ice-9, the last discovery of great scientist, the only existing piece of which was shared among his children.

Narrator fells in love with beautiful Mona, who as well as all other native Bokonists make suiside by Bokonon's order. At the end he appears alone with four Americans on San Lorenzo as a "new Robinson family" and finally meets Bokonon, the creator of Boknist religion. The book leave reader guessing what will happen next and is absurd and fantastic.

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A gentleman's rant
Excellent Translation
Juvenal's Satires

The Satires (Oxford World's Classics)
Juvenal
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192839454

Book Description

This new translation reproduces the original style and metrical effect of Juvenal's hexameters, while the Introduction and Notes provide literary and historical background to the sixteen satires.

Customer Reviews:

A gentleman's rant.......2007-05-12

These 16 essays aren't satires, in the modern sense of comedic exaggerations. Instead, they are serious commentary on some of the many failings of a time in social decline - topics that will often send a familiar chill through a modern reader.

Juvenal's complaints are numerous and well-founded: hypocrisy in general, physical and moral risks of urban living, marital infidelity, abuse of power by the military (were they the police?), abuse of trust by almost anyone, and more. Along with his generally gloomy outlook (e.g. 'The Futility of Aspirations') and incipient sense of persecution ('The Plight of Intellectuals'), one struck close to home for me.

'The Influence of Vicious Parents' repeats something both obvious and in desperate need of repetition. Children learn what they see, not what they're told, and the adult acts as the child learned to act. If only one quote from this book sticks with me, I hope it's this: "A child demands the utmost respect, so think twice if you have someting nasty in mind."

Although generally readable, it doesn't flow as easily as other translations I've seen. Profuse endnotes (about 40% of the book's total mass) address many issues of culture, cross-reference, and linguistic interest. I'm a general-interest reader with a deepset habit of reading footnotes, and often found the commentary more pedantic than enlightening. Specialists and scholars may appreciate the detail; I just found it distracting.

//wiredweird

Excellent Translation.......2006-03-02

Rudd's translation is a pleasure to read. He manages to stick closely to the Latin of Juvenal while also conveying the liveliness and humor of the Satires. I would recommend it not only for a student who is struggling through the Latin, but also the casual reader.

Juvenal's Satires.......2000-04-19

Juvenal is best understood when you liken his satire to drama. You're actually not supposed to identify with the speaker. The satirist's harsh indignance forces you to be skeptical in the way you read, and the way you look at the world. Rudd has produced a good translation, and his preference for generalizing over historical specifics is helpful for most readers, though slightly prohibitive for the student. Adequate notes and helpful introduction.

Since Amazon insists on posting my review of Rudd's translation to Braund's Cambridge text, I must admit that I have not used Braund's text. The series, though, is consistently good, and Braund is a natural choice to comment on the Satires. I am confident from reading her other scholarship on Juvenal that her commentary is educated, her viewpoint modern, and her commentary very helpful.

Roman Satire (Blackwell Introductions to the Classical World)

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Roman Satire (Blackwell Introductions to the Classical World)
Daniel M. Hooley
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1405106891

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The decadence of Nero's Rome
Not for the squeamish, but very amusing

The Satyricon (World's Classics)
Petronius
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192833057

Book Description

`The language is refined, the smile not grave, My honest tongue recounts how men behave.' The Satyricon is the most celebrated work of fiction to have survived from the ancient world. It can be described as the first realistic novel, the father of the picaresque genre, and recounts the sleazy progress of a pair of literature scholars as they wander through the cities of the southern Mediterranean. En route they encounter type-figures the author wickedly satirizes - a teacher in higher education, a libidinous priest, a vulgar freedman turned millionaire, a manic poet, a superstitious sea-captain and a femme fatale. The novel has fascinated the literary world of Europe ever since, evoking praise for its elegant and hilarious description of the underside of Roman society, but also condemnation for some of its lewder subjects. This new and lively translation by P.G. Walsh captures the gaiety of the original, and the edition is supplemented by his superb Introduction giving an account of the plot, the various scholarly interpretations and the later histtory of its literary influcence. There are also extensive and detailed notes which serve to illuminate the reading of a text rich in literary in-jokes and allusion.

Customer Reviews:

The decadence of Nero's Rome.......2003-06-29

Follow the bawdy adventures of Encolpius through the
decadence of Nero's Rome as he tries to maintain the
love of his beautiful young male slave Giton. They
must contend with an evil roommate, Ascyltus -- also
vying for the attentions of Giton -- an orgy from the
Priestess of Priapus, a shipwreck, and a severe case
of impotence.

This satire of Roman life during the time of Nero
unabashedly shows the love (and sex) between
Encolpius and Giton. Not to mention the fact that
others -- both men and women -- also are attracted to
the beauty of young Giton and sometimes have their way
with him. It's quite humorous, sometimes a little
long in the speeches (like many Greek or Roman works
of the time) and even manages to throw in some poetry.

I was actually surprised at this openness to talk
about homosexuality in the First Century A.D. I would
have thought this to be a taboo suject at the time.
After some reasearch, I discovered that Petronius
actually served under Nero as his "arbiter elegantiae"
-- which means that he advised Nero on luxury and
extravagance. He was what would be considered today a
"partier:" sleeping during the day and staying up
until all hours with both young men and women, as did
Nero. So what Petronius writes about was actually
happening -- all the extravagant dinners, the orgies,
the openness of sexuality.

I highly recommend this!

(Also, as a note on the book. It is fragmentary. The
scholars have been unable to find a complete text of
"The Satyricon" so in reading it, you need to give a
little leeway in what happens.)

Not for the squeamish, but very amusing.......2002-08-27

This is all that remains of what was apparently a much longer work - unless Petronius' allusions to lost episodes of the text are merely for effect, which they might be. The best known of the surviving sections is "Trimalchio's Dinner-party", which is devoted to a description of a vulgar and opinionated self-made man with much more money than sense or learning. The satire is razor-sharp. The book revolves around the misadventures of Encolpius (who is impotent), his lover Ascyltus, and Giton, for whose sexual favours the two of them quarrel bitterly. No account of the book would be quite complete with mentioning that little detail; so let the buyer beware. After Encolpius and Ascyltus split up, Encolpius and Giton fall in with Eumolpus, who is a thorough con man and generally a complete scoundrel. And of the same tastes as the others. Petronius drops his characters in one compromising situation after another - and leaves them to get themselves out.

Warmly recommended for the social comedy. And not pornographic.

Writing Down Rome: Satire, Comedy, and Other Offences in Latin Poetry

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Writing Down Rome: Satire, Comedy, and Other Offences in Latin Poetry
John Henderson
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

In a series of controversial essays, this book examines the Roman penchant for denigration and in particular self-denigration, at the expense of Roman culture. Comedy in Republican Rome radically transformed both itself and the culture from which it sprang: in Poenulus, Plautus laughed at Roman depreciation of Carthage; in Adelphoe, Terence turned on his audience in provocation. The comic Roman poets played with self-mockery: in Eclogue III, Virgil tests his audience's security in judging peasant unpleasantness; in Odes III.22, Horace sends up his own pious rusticity down on the farm. In the second half of the book, Roman verse satire is the subject: the genre of male bragging mocks its own masculine aggression. The great Latin satirists make fun of making fun: Horace, Satires I.9, shows up the politics of humour, unmanned by his own good manners; Persius nails his own weaknesses in fortifying himself against the world; Juvenal, Satire R1, loathes the literary scene he bids to dominate. The book shows a vital ingredient of Roman poetry to be an energetic surge of urbane banter directed towards Roman culure.

Acquainted with the Night : Excursions Through the World After Dark

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Magic Journey from Dusk to Dawn
Not a favourite
Enjoyable but...
Gorgeous writing; inelligent and full of poetry.

Acquainted with the Night : Excursions Through the World After Dark
Christopher Dewdney
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1582343969

Book Description

A gorgeously written exploration of the twelve hours of night.

We prepare for it each evening, and spend half our lives in its embrace, yet night retains its mysteries. In Acquainted with the Night, author Christopher Dewdney takes readers on a fascinating journey through the nocturnal realm. Twelve chapters correspond to the twelve hours of an "ideal" night, starting at 6PM and ending at 6AM, and serve as points of departure for night's central themes: sunsets, nocturnal animals, bedtime stories, festivals of the night, fireworks, nightclubs, astronomy, sleep and dreams, the graveyard shift, ladies of the night, the art of night, and endless nights. With boundless curiosity, a lyrical, intimate tone, and an eye for nighttime beauties both natural and manmade, Dewdney paints a captivating portrait of our hours in darkness.

Customer Reviews:

Magic Journey from Dusk to Dawn.......2006-02-17

This highly unusual examination of the phases of night will ensure that never again will you be oblivious of them. The author begins with the three stages of twilight---civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight, and ends with first light, the beginning of dawn.

In between he takes you through all the phases humans have assigned to the hours: dinner hour, children's bedtime, fireworks festivals, ghost- walking hours. Then there are the natural ones, such as the hour the nocturnal animals come out, stages of sleep, the best times for astronomical observations.

He does this in a poetic and engaging way, for this is no dry recitation of facts. Each hour has its own delights, and he exults in celebrating them and saluting them.

My only caveat is that his 'hours' are based on a northern European/American rhythm of the day. For them, "It is 11 pm and a great many people are asleep"---but in Spain they are just sitting down to dinner! It helps to remember the great variety of human behaviors in just about everything.

Read this book and fall in love with night!

Not a favourite.......2006-01-29

Last night I "finished" Acquainted with the Night: Excursions through the world after dark by Christopher Dewdney. I invoke the double quotation marks because I skimmed an awful lot of this book. That said, it did contain a great number of very interesting passages; I was greatly interested in the nocturnal animals, the stages of sleep, some of the astronomy etc. Much of the book is taken up by two-plus pages of waxing lyrical, that borders on purple, about the upcoming topic at the start of every chapter, and some of the most interesting fodder is reduced to what amounts to the listing of facts with little exposition. In these cases, we are being told many things we really already new. The section on mythology and others read like filler, and had a tenuous link to the topic at best anyway. Another problem was that the author intruded a little too much with very subjective (and, one might argue, ill thought out) comments. e.g. on the subject of famous insomniacs, the author comments on Marilyn Monroe:

Her pharmeceutical toolkit included Sulfathallidine, Librium, and the phenobarbital Nembutal. In the last year of her life it was thought she was taking up to twenty Nembutals a day. Although some acquaintances thought her death was suicide, the consensus was that it was brought about by an accidental overdose in combination with alcohol. In a sense, insomnia killed Marilyn Monroe.

I guess, in the sense that a guy with an itchy nose decides to scratch it with a chainsaw - you could say an itch killed the man. Hyperbole becomes nobody, least of all a non-fiction writer.

There are strange comments like this throughout the book. I'd say if you're interested in one area in particular, find a book on those subjects instead of this jack of all trades that barely gives enough time to any of the issues.

Enjoyable but..........2005-03-28

Ok, I did like this book. There were times, many times however, I wished it would drop the poetics and pick up the pace. There are many interesting FACTS in this book sprinkled through philosophy and poetics. Some of the potics just aren't that interesting to me. I'd say buy the paperback. It's a good decent book but not library worthy...read it and pass it on.

Chris

Gorgeous writing; inelligent and full of poetry........2004-06-20

As a night owl and poetry-lover, I was intrigued by the title alone. Dewdney's writing is gorgeous: at turns it's funny, poignant, and illuminating. It's easy to tell the writer is a poet. At the same time, it's full of fascinating trivia and pieces of knowledge, covering history, physics, literature, astronomy, psychology, and philosophy.

Rameau's Nephew and First Satire (Oxford World's Classics)

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Rameau's Nephew and First Satire (Oxford World's Classics)
Denis Diderot
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Jacques the Fatalist (Oxford World's Classics)

ASIN: 0192805916

Book Description

'unless you know everything, you really know nothing' Diderot's brilliant and witty dialogue begins with a chance encounter in a Paris cafe between two acquaintances. Their talk ranges broadly across art, music, education, and the contemporary scene, as the nephew of composer Rameau, amoral and bohemian, alternately shocks and amuses the moral, bourgeois figure of his interlocutor. Exuberant and highly entertaining, the dialogue exposes the corruption of society in Diderot's characteristic philosophical exploration. The debates of the French Enlightenment speak to us vividly in this sparkling new translation, which also includes the First Satire , a related work that provides the context for Rameau's Nephew, Diderot's 'second satire'.

The Garden of Priapus: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humor

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Scholarly and thought provoking.

The Garden of Priapus: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humor
Amy Richlin
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome
The Latin Sexual Vocabulary
Satires of Rome: Threatening Poses from Lucilius to Juvenal
Roman Sexualities
The Cambridge Companion to Roman Satire (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

ASIN: 0195068734

Book Description

Statues of the god Priapus stood in Roman gardens to warn potential thieves that the god would rape them if they attempted to steal from him. In this book, Richlin argues that the attitude of sexual aggressiveness in defense of a bounded area serves as a model for Roman satire from Lucilius to Juvenal. Using literary, anthropological, psychological, and feminist methodologies, she suggests that aggressive sexual humor reinforces aggressive behavior on both the individual and societal levels, and that Roman satire provides an insight into Roman culture. Including a substantial and provocative new introduction, this revised edition is important not only as an in-depth study of Roman sexual satire, but also as a commentary on the effects of all humor on society and its victims.

Customer Reviews:

Scholarly and thought provoking........2001-06-11

Excellent book which manages to chart the ... and (related) invectives, poetry and jokes of the late-republic/early Roman Empire. In contrast to the arid writing style of the New Historians on the classics, this is a breath of fresh air. She also provides good counter arguments to the ideas of Foucault and neo-Foucaultians, although not without problems; for example, she thinks the 'cinaedi', a term of insult roughly translated to today's 'queer', denoted a group of 'passive homosexuals', which she thinks was a (sub)cultural group in the Roman empire (there may well have been ... sub-cultures, but her idea is too reductive). Still, highly enjoyable, scholarly and recommended.

Selected Poetry (Oxford World's Classics)

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Step aside Byron, Dryden, and Shelley
Consult the Genius of the Place
Yevtushenko Selected Poems

Selected Poetry (Oxford World's Classics)
Alexander Pope
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Major Works (Oxford World's Classics)
The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics)
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The Major Works: Including The Prelude (Oxford World's Classics)

ASIN: 0192834940

Book Description

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is regarded as the most important poet of the early eighteenth century. An invalid from infancy, Pope devoted his energies towards literature and achieved remarkable success with his first published work at the age of 21. A succession of brilliant poems followed, including An Essay on Criticism (1711), Windsor Forest (1713), and his masterpiece The Rape of the Lock (1712). A second period of great poetry was begun in 1728 with the appearance of the first Dunciad. All these works, which exhibit Pope's astonishing human insight, his wide sympathies, and powers of social observation (displayed to greatest effect in his talent for satire), feature in this selection. In his introduction - an eloquent defence of Pope's poetic practice - Pat Rogers argues that we must abandon our Romantic conception of poetry as a record of fleeting and subjective states if we are to understand Pope fully. Instead, we must see him as an accomplished practitioner of the poetry of ideas and of satirical reflection on human society. This collection is chosen from the Oxford Authors critical edition of Pope's major works.

Customer Reviews:

Step aside Byron, Dryden, and Shelley.......2005-08-09

Step aside Byron, Dryden, and Shelley Words are not enough to describe the great pope, I have read the works of many poets but none come close to Pope. Practically self educated he puts words in such a way and with such wit, that you often feel and say "That is so true, so beautifully described"........ take a minute and contemplate on the below. A great Master
1. Some in search of wisdom, lose their common sense and then turn critics in their own defense.
2. Men deal with their life as children with their play, who first misuse then cast their toys away.
3. Launch not beyond your depth but be discreet , and mark the point were sense and dulness meet.
4. A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong which is but saying, in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

Consult the Genius of the Place.......2005-05-16

When I first started reading this collection, I thought that eighteenth century poetry was dry and inferior to later forms of literature, especially when compared with the innovations of the twentieth century. After delving deeply into some of Pope's major poems, I realized how wrong I was. Pope's wit was astounding, and he was a true poetic genius in his ability to capture concepts and arguments in beautifully rendered images and metaphors. His abilities are best summarized in these famous lines from his "Essay on Criticism": "True wit is nature to advantage dressed, / What oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed."

I was often surprised by Pope's ability to articulate ideas that had occurred to me, but I was never able to articulate myself. It is a testament to Pope's insight into the human condition that his lines still ring true three hundred years since their first appearance. The subtle, complex ideas found in his poetry will expand your thoughts in ways you never though possible, especially if you have never experienced poetry from this period before.

For me, some of the highlights from this collection are "The Rape of the Lock", a beautifully detailed mock-epic steeped in the material culture of the eighteenth century; "Windsor Forest", a topographical poem that encodes and critiques the history of England in a description of its landscape; "Epistle to Burlington", a stinging criticism of "false taste"; and "Eloisa to Abelard", an emotionally wrenching letter of tragic medieval romance. For those interested in the writing and critiquing of literature (admittedly, not everyone), the brilliant "Essay on Criticism" will be the standout piece here, with its vast complexities and beautiful imagery. Furthermore, the detailed notes in the back of this edition should fill you in on any historical or literary references that will assist in your interpretation of the poems.

This edition is an amazing introduction to the poetry of one of the greatest writers in the English language, and a good first step into a fascinating period of literature. Don't be afraid! Read this book!

Yevtushenko Selected Poems.......2002-12-19

This was concurrently, my introduction to Russian poetry and the poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko back in my early 20's. The simple prose style of the translations was appealing to a 20 year old. But since then, many of the poems have become touchstones for my own receeding youth and my Slavic family heritage. The lengthy opening poem, "Zima Junction", tells of Yevteshenko's own youthful days growing up in a small town in Siberia. The final poem, "People", affirms the spirituality of life without a single reference to religion. "Encounter" describes a chance encounter of Yevtushenko with Hemingway in Copenhagen. ("It was the very image of Hemingway. Later I heard that it was Hemingway.") "Babiy Yar" is perhaps, the most famous poem in the collection. It describes the slaughter of Russian Jews by the Nazis and the collusion of the antisemite Soviet regime. The last few lines of this poem are some of the most moving I have ever read.
"No Jewish blood runs among my blood,
but I am as bitterly and hardily hated by every anti-semite as if I were a Jew. By this I am a Russian."

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