Book picks similar to
Mysteries of the Ancient Past: A Graham Hancock Reader by Glenn Kreisberg
history
graham-hancock
alternate-history
civilizations
Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation
Paul Kriwaczek - 2005
We see the burgeoning exile population disperse, as its notable diplomats, artists and thinkers make their mark in far-flung cities and found a self-governing Yiddish world. By its late-medieval heyday, this economically successful, intellectually adventurous, and self-aware society stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Kriwaczek traces, too, the slow decline of Yiddish culture in Europe and Russia, and highlights fresh offshoots in the New World.Combining family anecdote, travelogue, original research, and a keen understanding of Yiddish art and literature, Kriwaczek gives us an exceptional portrait of a culture which, though nearly extinguished, has an influential radiance still.
Black Athena: Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, Vol. 1: The Fabrication of Ancient Greece, 1785-1985
Martin Bernal - 1987
The Aryan Model, which is current today, claims that Greek culture arose as the result of the conquest from the north by Indo-European speakers, or "Aryans," of the native "pre-Hellenes." The Ancient Model, which was maintained in Classical Greece, held that the native population of Greece had initially been civilized by Egyptian and Phoenician colonists and that additional Near Eastern culture had been introduced to Greece by Greeks studying in Egypt and Southwest Asia. Moving beyond these prevailing models, Bernal proposes a Revised Ancient Model, which suggests that classical civilization in fact had deep roots in Afroasiatic cultures.This long-awaited third and final volume of the series is concerned with the linguistic evidence that contradicts the Aryan Model of ancient Greece. Bernal shows how nearly 40 percent of the Greek vocabulary has been plausibly derived from two Afroasiatic languages-Ancient Egyptian and West Semitic. He also reveals how these derivations are not limited to matters of trade, but extended to the sophisticated language of politics, religion, and philosophy. This evidence, according to Bernal, confirms the fact that in Greece an Indo-European people was culturally dominated by speakers of Ancient Egyptian and West Semitic.Provocative, passionate, and colossal in scope, this volume caps a thoughtful rewriting of history that has been stirring academic and political controversy since the publication of the first volume.
Unexplained Mysteries: Ancient Aliens Or Lost Technology?: The Missing Tech Behind The World's Greatest Structures (UFOs, ETs, and Ancient Engineers Book 1)
Robert Jean Redfern - 2015
Not just because these structures are beautiful and shrouded in mystery, but because they were constructed on a scale we can't comprehend, thousands of years ago. The Missing Tech Behind The World’s Greatest Structures Modern science claims everything boils down to physical labor and primitive tools, yet can't replicate an effective recreation strategy. Let's explore: - The Great Pyramids Of Giza - Stonehenge - Derinkuyu Underground City - Pumapunku and some more added information about: - Gobekli Tepe - Nan Madol - Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni - Coral Castle - Russian Megalithic Stones Ancient engineers? Forgotten technology? Let us know what you think! Take action and grab your copy now!
When Giants Were Upon the Earth: The Watchers, the Nephilim, and the Biblical Cosmic War of the Seed
Brian Godawa - 2014
Author Brian Godawa shares the Biblical and ancient historical research that undergirds the fiction. Now all those appendices have been placed together in one book for those who want serious study of the topics of Genesis 6, the Watchers, Nephilim, Spiritual Warfare, and the Biblical Cosmic War of the Seed. This book has the special bonus of a previously unpublished chapter on the Book of Enoch, as well as newly expanded chapters. The Book of Enoch: Scripture, Heresy or What? Bonus Chapter. How influential the ancient book of Enoch has been on the Church and the New Testament both directly and indirectly. Sons of God (Newly expanded from Noah Primeval) Noah Primeval Appendix. Introduction to the Divine Council in the Bible. Are the Sons of God in Genesis 6 angels, Sethites or divine kings? The Nephilim (Newly expanded from Noah Primeval) Noah Primeval Appendix. The Nephilim in the Bible is controversial. But Genesis 6 is not the only place they show up. This chapter explores everywhere giants appear in the Bible. Leviathan Noah Primeval Appendix. The notion of a sea dragon of chaos is universal in the ancient Near East and the Bible. What is its theological meaning? The Bible may surprise you. Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography in the Bible Noah Primeval Appendix. Did the Bible writers assume the ancient Mesopotamian view of a flat earth supported by pillars over an Underworld with a solid dome overhead? This chapter lets the Bible speak for itself. Retelling Bible Stories and Mythic Imagination Enoch Primordial Appendix. Ancient Jewish writers retold Bible stories to bring meaning to their world. Jewish legends and Biblical creatures in Enoch Primordial: Cain as a vampire, Lilith the demon, Rahab the sea dragon, Behemoth, Cherubim, Seraphim, Rephaim, and Satan. Gilgamesh and the Bible Gilgamesh Immortal Appendix. A look at what the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh has in common with the Bible: A lot. What was “Noah’s nakedness”? A look at the various theories of who Gilgamesh really was in history and the Bible. In Defense of Ancient Traditions Abraham Allegiant Appendix. Why are there multiple names for God in the Bible? The legends behind the Tower of Babel and Nimrod. The ancient book of Jasher quoted in the Bible. What does it mean that the Sons of God inherited the nations at Babel? Mythical Monsters in the Bible Joshua Valiant Appendix. A look at mythical creatures in the Bible: Satyrs, centaurs, Lilith, winged fiery serpents, and Azazel. Famous Biblical giants: Og of Bashan, Ahiman, Talmai, and Sheshai. Canaanite Baal and Old Testament Storytelling Polemics Caleb Vigilant Appendix. How Bible writers used Canaanite notions subversively to undermine Baal the storm god, and elevate Yahweh as the true God. Goliath was Not Alone David Ascendant Appendix. A closer look at the most famous Biblical giant, Goliath. But there are five other giants spoken of in the Bible as going after David.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Sixties
Jonathan Leaf - 2009
Get ready to break on through to the other side as critically-acclaimed playwright and journalist Jonathan Leaf reveals the politically incorrect truth about one of the most controversial decades in historythe 1960s.
Yoga: The Greater Tradition
David Frawley - 2008
This book sheds light on the greater tradition and teachings of yoga, providing readers with an important approach to the practice that can harmonize their existence both individually and collectively. Yoga provides all students with a new appreciation of their dicipline's universe.
Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices
Mary Boyce - 1979
First taught among nomads on the Asian steppes, Zoroastrianism became the state religion of the three great Iranian empires and had a remarkable influence on other world faiths: to the east on northern Buddhism, to the west on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. With the conquest of Iran by the Muslim Arabs, Zoroastrianism lost its secular power, but continued to survive as a minority faith. Despite its antiquity, it remains a living religion.
Religions of Rome: A History
Mary Beard - 1998
It sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the 8th century BCE & the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the 1st centuries of the Xian era. A companion volume, Religions of Rome, Vol 2: A Sourcebook, sets out a wide range of documents, illustrating the religious life in the Roman world.Acknowledgements Preface Conventions & abbreviations Maps 1 Early Rome 2 Imperial triumph & religious change 3 Religion in the late Republic 4 The place of religion: Rome in the early Empire 5 The boundaries of Roman religion 6 The religions of imperial Rome 7 Roman religion & Roman Empire 8 Roman religion & Christian emperors: 4th & 5th centuries Bibliography Details of maps & illustrations Index
Will Storr vs. The Supernatural: One Man's Search for the Truth About Ghosts
Will Storr - 2006
But even spending an entire day with Ozzy Osbourne wasn't as frightening as when he agreed to follow Philadelphia "demonologist" Lou Gentile on his appointed rounds. Will Storr never believed in ghosts—but his healthy skepticism couldn't explain the strange lights and sounds he witnessed, and the weird behavior of the occupants of several allegedly haunted houses.What resulted is a confirmed cynic's (and proud of it!) dedicated search for answers in a shadowy world of séances, mediums, devil worshippers—even the Vatican's chief exorcist. So get ready to confront the genuinely creepy along with the hilariously ridiculous in Will Storr vs. the Supernatural!
Capoeira: History, Philosophy, Practice
Bira Almeida - 1986
In this book Bira Almeida--or Mestre Acordeon as he is respectfully called in capoeira circles--documents his own tradition with both the panoramic eye of the historian and the passionate heart of the capoeirista. He transports the reader from the damn of New World history in Brazil to the streets of twentieth-century Bahia (the spiritual home of capoeira) to the giant urban centers of North America (wher capoeira is now spreading in new lineages from the old masters). This book is valuable for anyone interested in ethnocultural traditions, martial arts, and music, as well as for those who want to listen to the words of an actual mestre dedicated to preserving his Afro-Brazilian legacy.
Not All Dead White Men: Classics and Misogyny in the Digital Age
Donna Zuckerberg - 2018
Its proponents cite ancient Greek and Latin texts to support their claims--arguing that they articulate a model of masculinity that sustained generations but is now under siege.Donna Zuckerberg dives deep into the virtual communities of the far right, where men lament their loss of power and privilege, and strategize about how to reclaim them. She finds, mixed in with weightlifting tips and misogynistic vitriol, the words of the Stoics deployed to support an ideal vision of masculine life. On other sites, pickup artists quote Ovid's Ars Amatoria to justify ignoring women's boundaries. By appropriating the Classics, these men lend a veneer of intellectual authority and ancient wisdom to their project of patriarchal white supremacy. In defense or retaliation, feminists have also taken up the Classics online, to counter the sanctioning of violence against women.Not All Dead White Men reveals that some of the most controversial and consequential debates about the legacy of the ancients are raging not in universities but online.
The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece
Josiah Ober - 2015
Through most of its long history, Greece was poor. But in the classical era, Greece was densely populated and highly urbanized. Many surprisingly healthy Greeks lived in remarkably big houses and worked for high wages at specialized occupations. Middle-class spending drove sustained economic growth. Classical wealth produced a stunning cultural efflorescence lasting hundreds of years.Why did Greece reach such heights in the classical period--and why only then? And how, after "the Greek miracle" had endured for centuries, did the Macedonians defeat the Greeks, seemingly bringing an end to their glory? Drawing on a massive body of newly available data and employing novel approaches to evidence, Josiah Ober offers a major new history of classical Greece and an unprecedented account of its rise and fall.Ober argues that Greece's rise was no miracle but rather the result of political breakthroughs and economic development. The extraordinary emergence of citizen-centered city-states transformed Greece into a society that defeated the mighty Persian Empire. Yet Philip and Alexander of Macedon were able to beat the Greeks in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, a victory enabled by the Macedonians' appropriation of Greek innovations. After Alexander's death, battle-hardened warlords fought ruthlessly over the remnants of his empire. But Greek cities remained populous and wealthy, their economy and culture surviving to be passed on to the Romans--and to us.A compelling narrative filled with uncanny modern parallels, this is a book for anyone interested in how great civilizations are born and die.This book is based on evidence available on a new interactive website. To learn more, please visit http://polis.stanford.edu/
Jesus: A Life
A.N. Wilson - 1992
N. Wilson's answers to these questions will fascinate readers of every shade of faith or skepticism.
The American Civil War Trivia Book: Interesting American Civil War Stories You Didn't Know (Trivia War Books Book 3)
Bill O'Neill - 2018
Maybe your teacher took the controversial stand that the Civil War was all about states’ rights… or maybe you learned all about the horrors slavery, but never quite figured out why things didn’t get better after the war ended. If you didn’t go to school in the United States, things are even more confusing. When the media is full of references to the Confederate flag, the legacy of slavery, and poverty in the American South, you might have a vague sense that things are bad because of the Civil War… but why? Why does a war that happened over a hundred and fifty years ago still cast a shadow over the United States? This book will tell you why. It will lead you, step-by-step, through the causes of the Civil War, and the effects. But unlike your high school history teacher, it won’t put you to sleep with long-winded biographies and lists of dates. The names you’ll learn are the big players, the ones with big personalities, who made big differences. In just a few minutes a day, you can read bite-sized stories from the Civil War – quick, easy explanations to guide you through the main points, with just enough scary, surprising, or just plain strange facts to keep you coming back for more. Each chapter ends with a bonus helping of trivia and some quick questions to test your knowledge. By the time you’re finished, you’ll know all the facts your history teacher never taught you – from who said slavery was a “positive good” (and why they thought that), to who dressed up in women’s clothing to escape from Union soldiers.