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- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
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- Provocative, appealing and controversial
- pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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Similar Items:
- History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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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:
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.
Average customer rating:
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Spartacus International Gay Guide 2007 (Spartacus International Gay Guide)
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ASIN: 3861877732 |
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SPARTACUS INTERNATIONAL GAY offers rapid orientation to all the most important locations for the gay tourist: addresses, tips, and information for more than 160 countries worldwide. With over 22 000 addresses the SPARTACUS covers all the highlights for the gay man, Whether you are looking for an extraordinary hotel, the hottest clubs the most exciting gay beaches or the most popular bars, you will find all this and much more. Hot off the press!
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- Check and see
- Suprise! Suprise!
- Prescient St Augustine?
- Something of a disappointment
- Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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- The Medieval Empire of the Israelites
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ASIN: 2913621066 |
Product Description
`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.
Customer Reviews:
Check and see.......2007-06-21
I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.
Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22
Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.
Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05
We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:
a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;
b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;
c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.
Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:
It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.
- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.
- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.
Fomenko goes by the following axioms:
- Chronology is the basis of history;
- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;
- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;
- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;
- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;
- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.
Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?
The Russians:
Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.
The Westerners:
Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.
The Chinese:
Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.
The Arabs:
Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.
The Divinity:
Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.
According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.
St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."
Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09
After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.
However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:
- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.
I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.
The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.
It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?
Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.
Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30
If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?
Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.
Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..
Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.
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- Spartacus Guide
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Spartacus International Gay Guide, 2006
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- Spartacus International Gay Guide 2007 (Spartacus International Gay Guide)
ASIN: 3861877252 |
Book Description
The gay travellers bible!
SPARTACUS INTERNATIONAL GAY offers rapid orientation to all the most important locations for the gay tourist: addresses, tips, and information for more than 160 countries worldwide. With over 22 000 addresses the SPARTACUS covers all the highlights for the gay man, Whether you are looking for an extraordinary hotel, the hottest clubs the most exciting gay beaches or the most popular bars, you will find all this and much more. Hot off the press!
Customer Reviews:
Spartacus Guide .......2007-03-22
Information was old and the 2007 was not available. Used it in traveling Europe and many of the bars were closed / out of business.
Something strange about this book.......2007-03-08
My wife and I used this book to create our yearly vacation but I can't quite put my finger on something. Our cruise was fun and there was lots of disco dancing. I guess as a joke a lot of men were dancing with each other. They had to because there weren't many women on board! The hotel we stayed at had a very fine gym. The pool was always crowded with lots of bodybuilders. I grew a moustache and made friends with some gentlemen. We had a lot of fun before things went horribly, horribly wrong. All in all will use it again to plan next year's trip to Greece.
Useful Guide.......2007-01-08
Its useful, but the information is one year old because all the places that mentioned in my country are closed since the last year. But its really useful in big countries.
Excellent Book!.......2006-11-10
Excellent Book ! Here you can find all you are looking for ! Congratulations !
The best gay guidebook!!!.......2006-11-04
The infos in the book is very well researched. I find it extra helpful where the accommodations are individually categorised. The maps are very useful too and easy to read. Happy travelling with this book:)
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The Authorized Bolshoi Ballet Book of Spartacus
Yuri Grigorovich , and Victor V. Vanslow
Manufacturer: TFH Publications
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- Khachaturian - Spartacus / Mukhamedov, Semenyaka, Vetrov, Bilova, Zhuraitis, Bolshoi Ballet
ASIN: 0866229442 |
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- Spartacus International Sauna Guide
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Spartacus International Sauna Guide 2007
Bruno Gmunder
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ASIN: 3861874261 |
Book Description
For sauna fans looking for the latest information on the international gay sauna scene.
The new Spartacus International Sauna Guide lists all the most exciting and action-packed gay saunas on the planet. Don't miss out on meeting the hottest men and enjoying being part of the action! Our new guide is now in full colour, with photos of the hot-spots as well as erotic photos and much more. A must for all sauna fans!
Customer Reviews:
Spartacus International Sauna Guide.......2005-09-24
This book covers many cities not in the Spartacus International Gay Guide. However, I feel that the Gay Guide would hove given a person sufficient information for their needs. The Sauna Guide should give more of a descriptive message for each sauna to make it more valuable.
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Spartacus: Film and History
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
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ASIN: 1405131810 |
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Spartacus and His Glorious Gladiators (Dead Famous)
Toby Brown
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ASIN: 0439981875 |
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- Young Adult Fiction
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The Spartacus File
Lawrence Watt-Evans , and Carl Parlagreco
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ASIN: 0809556839 |
Book Description
Casper Beech is a corporate drone. One day his boss sends him in for neural imprinting but a computer glitch loads the wrong file, and Casper is programmed with something that has nothing to do with his job. Instead of learning a new software package, he learns a new way of thinking - a mindset designed by a secret government agency for use in enemy nations, and never meant to be unleashed in the United States. Lethal government agents seek to correct the error in a steadily-escalating conflict, while Casper struggles to survive and to find out just what was in the Spartacus File.
Customer Reviews:
Young Adult Fiction.......2006-10-12
I guess this was OK for what it was. I just didn't know it was written for young teenagers, so I was disappointed. If you want to teach your children about the evils of big government, then this may be the book for you. If you are a fan of Lawrence Watt-Evans' other books, then you are probably too old for this one.
Surprising Dystopian Read.......2006-04-24
I never expected to see a serious dystopian novel from Lawrence Watt-Evans. I knew he had a dark streak, as demonstrated in his extremely troubling Brown Magician series, but he's best known for intelligent, light fantasy not for works of political vision - at least not until he teamed up with Carl Parlagreco to write The Spartacus File.
The Spartacus File is more than just a dystopian novel, it's a polemic very specifically aimed at negative trends in current American society. There's no question that the storytelling and characterization suffer because of this, but the result is a novel which has the minimalist feel of classic dystopian works like Slan, The Day After Tomorrow and The Brave Free Men, where the story to a large extent takes a second seat to the message.
The novel is sent in a near future where the United States has evolved into a single-party corporate dominated state with a strong police aparatus where people are at the mercy of their employers, under the thumb of politcial oligarchs and at the mercy of covert police units which can make dissenters and troublemakers disappear. The Constitution is still theoretically in force, but after a major economic crisis it's been suspended and superseded by the needs of the all-powerful state.
Casper Beech is a cog in this machine-like society, overworked and undervalued and totally cowed and submissive - essentially a slave to the system. Then he's called into his boss's office and told that they're upgrading the software he uses, and to keep him up to speed he's going to be sent for neural programming to learn the new software instantly. Like a good sheep he takes the treatment, something goes wrong, and he's imprinted with a much more complex skill set accidentally downloaded from a covert government project.
What follows is a fast-paced, bare-bones narrative of Casper's efforts to stay alive while the government tries to eliminate him, and his coming to terms with the programming he was given - the 'Spartacus File' of the title - and acting on its compulsion to attempt to overthrow the government of the United States. Or as he interprets the purpose of the program, to return the nation to its Constitutional roots.
The most interesting element of the novel is the distinct perspectives which different characters have on the state in which they live. The mysterious government agent Mr. Smith can't understand how an American could accept the imprinting of the file which is supposed to only work on someone who's suffered a lifetime of slavery and persecution. From his perspective America is still a free society founded on individual rights, but the reality as revealed to Casper by the Spartacus File is quite different. The weak point of the novel is the extremely abrupt conclusion. After establishing the basic situation the novel abruptly leaps forward 16 years to a very unsatisfying conclusion.
Where the novel succeeds the most is in recreating the spare style of dystopian science fiction of the previous century. It reminds me of early Heinlein and Van Vogt. The extrapolation of a troubling near future is all too believable, and the somewhat one-dimensional characters fit with the style as symbols more than unique individuals. The ending is negative and somewhat contrived, but I could live with that if it didn't end so suddenly and unsatisfyingly. I'm not going to go into details of the plot, but I started off reading avidly, unable to put the book down, at least briefly convinced that it might be a dystopian classic. But the ending left me annoyed and unfulfilled. I don't expect this kind of novel to end in glorious triumph or heroic martyrdom, but in this case the conclusion was too abrupt and contrived to be convincing or satisfying.
Nonetheless I think The Spartacus File is worth reading if only for the critique of trends in contemporary society, but there are other dystopian novels of the past generation which I would recommend more highly, particularly An Enemy of the State by F. Paul Wilson, which has just as strong a message, but is a much more enjoyable read.
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- a masterpiece
- A "novel" bit of propaganda
- This is NOT history!!!
- The slaves who terrified Rome
- A Classic Story Of Rebellion
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Spartacus
Howard Fast
Manufacturer: I Books
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ASIN: 0743412826 |
Customer Reviews:
a masterpiece.......2007-01-10
i read this book over 50years ago,but only now i can appreciate how wonderful this book was written . a song of praise to the aspirations of the free people as well as humanity.the story is very relevant to our times. HOWARD FAST a great writer.
A "novel" bit of propaganda.......2006-04-19
"Spartacus" gives the lie to the scientific law that two bodies cannot occupy the same space: it exists simultaneously as an epic piece of historical fiction and as powerful (if less-than-subtle) bit of Leftist propaganda. The fact that most people know the story of Spartacus from the Kirk Douglas movie is a shame, because while the movie remains a classic, the book does the story far more justice.
Everyone knows the basic story of Spartacus, the anonymous third-generation slave sold to a gladiator school to fight for the amusement of decadent Romans, and how he ended up leading a gigantic slave rebellion that nearly destroyed the Republic. What Fast explores in the novel is how and why this rebellion came about, and what effect it had on the psychology of the Romans, whose culture even during the years of the Republic was enormously dependent on slavery. Most importantly, Fast explores the moral climate of Rome by following around the "victors" of the Servile War as they reminisce about Spartacus and how he was defeated. It is in this backward-looking manner that "Spartacus" unfolds.
Fast draws his characters, most of whom are real-life figures, with wonderful clarity: Crassus, the general who crushed Spartacus' rebellion, is shown as "the bronze hawk of the Republic" -- ruthless, sensual, grasping, yet ultimately hollow; Cicero, the historian-philsopher, as a scheming opportunist of the worst sort; Gracchus as a basically decent man turned cynical and decayed by the evils of his society. The lesser Roman characters are much worse: empty-headed, venal, vain, cruel, parastic, sexually depraved, almost unspeakably vicious and treacherous, all holding onto illicit fortunes wrung from the sweat and labor of slaves, and all desperate to increase their wealth, power and position relative to each other. Nor are the common folk of the cities and towns spared: Fast depicts them in passing as a lazy, bloodthirsty, amoral mob who live for cheap wine and the grain dole and the games, who "strangle their children at birth" and whore themselves on the streets for pennies.
In contrast, Fast holds the slaves as being rendered pure and noble by virtue of their suffering. Spartacus is depicted as almost Jesus-like in his simplistic divinity; Varinia (his lover) as a pillar of wifely and motherly virtue; David (the Jewish gladiator) as a hate-filled soul brough to love and redemption through his apprenticeship at Spartacus' side. Once freed, the slaves live in perfect socialistic harmony, sharing their property, keeping no more than they need, living as equals and brothers, and -- inflamed by their passion for freedom -- fighting like lions against the numercially superior and better-equipped Roman legions.
If all of this seems rather heavy-handed to you, it is. Fast's Rome is metaphoric. The Romans are modern-day capatalists, the slaves the modern-day working class; and in attacking capitalism and imperialism he is suggesting, as most Marxists did, that the triumph of socialism/communism is a "historical necessity"....not because it is stronger (the slaves are defeated), but because it is righteous (the slaves will rise again). It hardly comes a surprise that this book was required reading for many Soviet schoolchildren.
What saves "Spartacus" from bogging down into a tiresome polemic is Fast's skillful prose and his ability to re-create the atmosphere of ancient Rome. The exhausted slaves, the hawking street vendors, the awesomely disciplined legionary camps, the blood-splattered gladiatorial arenas, the cramped and sweating tenements, the lavishly-set dinner tables of the slaveholders....all of it is brought to life vivdly by Fast's poisoned pen. Unlike most political zealots, he was able to avoid descending into cant and Orwellian duckspeak even when making the most thinly-transparent references to modern society. If he is often blatant and obvious, he at least is obvious in an entertaining way.
Historically "Spartacus" is pretty solid except where the real story interfered with Fast's own ideology or just with the narrative in general. Pompey's role in Spartacus' defeat goes unmentioned (probably for the best), and the fact that the slaves had a chance to flee Italy through the Alps but elected to stay and loot Roman cities -- thus giving Crassus the chance to destroy them -- is conviently forgotten by Fast, who insists somewhat amusingly that the slaves are above such greed and do not want any more than they need. Fast also plays fast and loose with some of the uglier details of the rebellion -- most notably he makes the slaves less vindictive and bloodthirsty than they really were. None of this really matters, however, or makes the story less inspiring. In a revolt of slaves against slave-masters, picking a side is not really difficult.
I found it very ironic that Viktor Belenko, the Soviet fighter pilot who defected in his MiG 25 to Japan in 1979, named reading "Spartacus" as one of the reasons why he FLED communism to come to a capatalist society. Obviously Fast's politics, dazzled as they were by an alluring but false ideology, were simplistic and wrong: poverty doesn't make a man saintly any more than wealth makes him evil, and capitalism -- while crass, disgusting and amoral -- has slaughtered far fewer people than socialism (whether Nazi or communist) ever did. His basic message, however, was correct: freedom is freedom, no matter what you call it, and it is very much worth fighting for.
This is NOT history!!!.......2005-01-13
Howard Fast's novel has pretty much become the seminal work on Spartacus, which is really sad. It's like basing a final essay on the movie Gladiator and thinking it's historically correct!
The main problem is that we don't know enough about Spartacus to write an accurate history. The main source we have is Plutarch, but he was a biographer who wanted to tell a good story rather than provide an objective view. The rest of the information we have is from tiny snippets written by other authors such as Orosius; most of the details of the Third Servile War have been, unfortunately, lost over time.
Fast decided to take advantage of this lack of information to adopt his own version of the events. His view, of course, is not backed by any evidence, but I guess that's a minor detail. His details on slavery made me scratch my head in confusion. I know that the Romans used slaves and it was a horrible thing, something we look back on in shame. However, you have to realize that the Romans treated their slaves with FAR more dignity than every other ancient society (other than the Slavs). Believe me, you don't want to know how the Persians, Carthaginians, or Illyrians treated their slaves. Fast has this idea that Romans made sausages out of slaves and sold them to foreigners. This is absolutely idiotic. There isn't a single piece of evidence to justify this erroneous claim.
The communist overtones in this story are just plain nonsense. Spartacus has been incorrectly labelled as a "champion of the masses", Fast claiming that he wished to overthrow the Roman state and establish some sort of socialist society. This is completely untrue. Spartacus wanted his freedom and fought for it; that's it. He had no illusions of conquering a fortified city like Rome. Fast's imagination really ran wild with this idea.
If you want to read this book, remember to take it for what it is; entertainment. If you're looking for history, you won't find it here.
The slaves who terrified Rome.......2004-05-29
Freedom is a tough habit to suppress, and even by using widespread terror the Romans found it very difficult to suppress the freedom of slaves who rose in revolt under the leadership of Spartacus.
Rome was built on exploitation, slavery and terror, says Fast. Interesting, if true. Roman terror was expressed in the crucifixion of 6,000 slaves after the revolt of the gladiators was crushed in 71 BC. Fast goes into exquisite technical details about crucifixion, which could take four days for a victim to die. But he also says even the wealthiest Roman citizens and politicians of that time could walk the common streets without fear of crime.
But the thrust of this book is the quest for freedom. Fast was a victim of the 1950s McCarthyism, and thus knew personally what it means to be persecuted for being out of step with the ruling authorities. Fast's views are briefly expressed by Spartacus, "Our law is simple. Whatever we take, we hold in common, and no man shall own anything but his weapons and his clothes. It will be the way it was in the old times."
Old times will never return. Rome was becoming a society without values or ideals, with the rich addicted to luxury, depravity and wastrel excess and the poor supported by welfare and mindless but increasingly violent games. He makes the Roman Senate sound a lot like the US Senate of the 1950s; proud, corrupt, ignorant and arrogrant. His portrayal of Rome is enough to make anyone cheer Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon to impose authoritative law and order.
The book is a celebration of freedom, without really defining its meaning. Perhaps unwittingly, he credits Spartacus' followers with the same loyalty that turned Rome into a tyranny; as one says, "I want you to place me by your side. Whenever we fight, I want to be at your side. I will keep you safe. If we lose you, we lose the whole thing." The followers of Caesar shared such values, except they were loyal to Caesar; today, supporters of President George Bush are equally dedicated.
If you knew what freedom was, you'd fight for it with your bare hands if necessary, the Greeks told the invading Persians hundreds of years before the rise of Rome. Perhaps "freedom" is impossible to define, since it is different for every individual. Fast is limited to, "Life is the answer to life." But his book expresses the idea that even though the slaves had life, they fought for something more, something intangible, something ill defined, something they all called freedom even though none expressed it with eloquence.
Fast says Spartucus led "an army which suddenly has the knowledge that the victory to which it is committed must change the world, and therefore it must change the world or have no victory." He didn't understand the world does not change with victory; instead, it changes when the seeds of an idea are planted in the minds of people who want more than the mere existence of life itself.
This is a book about ideas, values, commitments and dreams. It is as valid now as when written in 1951; many commnents about Rome sound as if they were taken from today's politics. The great weakness is that Fast thought of freedom as an objective, like capturing a city or a country. He didn't understand it as a perpetual process, a way to live rather than a target to be reached.
Freedom is like the sunrise; different every day, sometimes hidden behind storm clouds, sometimes golden across the whole sky in reflections from high clouds, sometimes obscured in mist and dust, sometimes sparkling and clear and bright in the dawn's early light. It is as easy to explain as the dawn, and just as difficult to understand; yet, take away either, and our lives are dark and gloomy and filled with dispair.
A Classic Story Of Rebellion.......2004-05-28
I know that this book had political overtones but at the heart of this story is a story of basic rebellion. It is about the underdog going up against a stronger force and almost beating it. It inspires one to question society and make their own stand against the things that they detest. Hence why I loved this book. It was written elegantly and beautifully.
The only thing that I didn't like was there was at times there was things that were not needed.
Otherwise; great novel.
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