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Japanese Swords (Color Books)
Wristwatch Annual
Kusana Coins and History
Slam It!: a Guide to Collecting Basketball and Other Cards
Schroeder's Antiques Price Guide 2004: Identification & Values of Over 50,000 Antiques & Collectibles (Schroeder's Antiques Price Guide)
Roman Silver Coins - Volume 5: Carausius to Romulus Augustus
Coinage in the Greek World
Indian Artifacts: The Best of the Midwest Identification and Value Guide
Materializing the Military
Florences' Ovenware from the 1920s to the Present: Identification & Value Guide
Gaborabilia
Paperweights: The Collector's Guide to Selecting and Enjoying New and Antique Paperweights (Collectors Guide Series)
Hat Pins and Tie Pins (Antique Pocket Guides)
Protrepticus: Clementis Alexandrini Protrepticus (Vigiliae Christianae Supplements S.)
New Worlds in Old Books
Doulton Pottery from the Lambeth and Burslem Studios, 1873-1939: Catalogue of an Exhibition of Pottery at the Fine Art Society, 24 June to 5 July 1975, at 148 New Bond Street, London W1 Pt. 2
Royal Doulton Series Ware: Doulton in the Nursery Vol 3
Boyds Bears and Friends 2001: Collector's Value Guide
Hints for Coin Collectors: Coin of Southern India
Beauty of Yixing Teapots
Ancient Indian Coinage (Reconstructing Indian History & Culture S.)
Caring for Your Collections
Cigarette Card Catalogue
Trade Card Catalogue
Liebig Card Catalogue

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

Average customer rating:

Midway: the Japanese Side
Shattered Sword, Well Put Together Book
Detailed examination of a complicated operation
Shatterd Sword - Shatterd Myths
An unbalanced view

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Jonathan Parshall , and Anthony Tully
Manufacturer: Potomac Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Clash of The Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II
The Unknown Battle of Midway: The Destruction of the American Torpedo Squadrons
The Battle Of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action (Twentieth-Century Battles)
Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers 1921-45
Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945

ASIN: 1574889230

Book Description

Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's bestselling MIRACLE AT MIDWAY, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement.

Unlike previous accounts, SHATTERED SWORD makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida's MIDWAY: THE BATTLE THAT DOOMED JAPAN, an uncritical reliance upon which has tainted every previous Western account. It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle. The authors examine the battle in detail and effortlessly place it within the context of the Imperial Navy's doctrine and technology. With a foreword by leading WWII naval historian John Lundstrom, SHATTERED SWORD will become an indispensable part of any military buff's library.

Customer Reviews:

Midway: the Japanese Side.......2007-06-08

This was probably the best book I have ever read on Midway. The Battle is brought to you from the Japanese side of the battle. This causes one to relate toward an old enemy. Many of the conventional thoughts on the battle are rebuked and the reader is given new info that makes much more sense then what has been reported by badly researched books. It is most informative but does not lull the reader into bordum trying to retain all the info. Although not much is takan from the American side of battle, most know what has happened. The idea i like most is that this is the Japanese fleets story. To much of any war is putting things in terms that dont reveal bloodshed(Planes, ships, ect.) This story puts home that even our enemy were still humans and that blood is a part of any war. Many people were killed at Midway and tuching bass with the other side is refreshing.

Shattered Sword, Well Put Together Book.......2007-05-12

This is a very convincing revisionist view of the Battle of Midway. We were all brought up on Fuchida's account, not to mention Morison's and Prange's, but now we'll have to reconsider the subject. A major change concerns the Japanese intentions in the Aleutian Islands--not a feint, according to Shattered Sword, but virtually a separate operation. Another major shift is the matter of the supposedly cluttered flight decks of the Japanese carriers at the moment of the American dive bomber attacks (not so, the authors convincingly content). Of course, the American Navy still emerges vistorious, but the behavior of the Japanese commanders now becomes far clearer in the context of their culture and of the circumstances as seen from their point of view.

Detailed examination of a complicated operation.......2007-05-07

The authors did an excellent job of ferreting out many decade old information and portraying it in an interesting format that is easy to read and understand.

Shatterd Sword - Shatterd Myths.......2007-05-06

A step by step time line and analysis of the June 1942 Midway Naval battle that doomed the Imperial Japanese military global ambitions.

The narrative clearly dispels the myths previously presented by other written treatments and popular movies.

Presented in easily understood language the reader will come away with an appreciation for Aircraft Carrier tactics and the efforts and sacrifices made by members of the US Navy, Marines, and Army in achieving this victory.

An unbalanced view.......2007-04-16

This book is not about the Battle of Midway. It is about the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway. The book focuses almost entirely upon the IJN's role in the battle, and, to their credit, the authors make it clear in the book's introduction that this is the case. There is a wealth of technical detail about Japanese air operations, which is what the authors intended and most brilliantly accomplished, and for that reason alone this book belongs in any library on the subject of Midway. But the result is a very unbalanced treatment. Further, the "untold story" referred to in the subtitle is largely a matter of reexamination of small details, such as whether a certain bomb struck the Japanese carrier's deck or was a near miss, or whether another bomb hit a gasoline cart or the deck itself. Interesting, to be sure, but Midway was not about technical detail; it was about the incredible human skill and determination and courage and sacrifice displayed by the participants on both sides, and to ignore that is to miss the true meaning of the battle. Further, as another reviewer has quite rightly noted, in this book there is a great deal of self-congratulatory insistence upon the authors' rightness about certain details, and a plainly implied denigration of earlier Midway authors and their efforts, which is rather troubling. In short, if you want to know all about Japanese carrier operations and doctrine in 1942, read "Shattered Sword." If you want to know about the Battle of Midway, read Walter Lord's "Incredible Victory" or Robert Cressman's fine book on the subject. In those works you will find the drama and the inspiration, the triumph and the tragedy, and, above all, the true historical significance of this epic battle.

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

Average customer rating:

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.

Average customer rating:

not a comprehensive handbook
GOOD SOURCE
confused...
Great first sword book
Great book

Samurai Sword: A Handbook
John M. Yumoto
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide (Japanese Arts Library)
The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords
The Craft of the Japanese Sword
Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship
Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present

ASIN: 0804805091

Book Description

The samurai sword: symbol of the spirit of old Japan it embodies the samurai's steely discipline, unswerving devotion, and peerless skill. A feat of craftsmanship by hereditary artisans, the samurai sword is often judged superior to the famed blades of Western Damascus and Toledo. This complete handbook reveals the lore of the samurai sword, fascinating both for owners and for the intrigued. Detailing the origins and development of the samurai sword, its historical background, styles, famous schools, and differences in construction, outlining methods of identifying and researching the sword, as well as caring for it properly.

Customer Reviews:

not a comprehensive handbook.......2006-06-28

mr. yumoto's work is very descriptive and pictures fill the pages more than text does.

"Samurai Sword a Handbook" lacks an analytic quality that would bring togheter the social, historical, technical and martial dimensions of the nihonto.

last but not least, such an important - and relatively undocumented - subject as care and maintenance of japanese blades is simply and vaguely evoked in two pages that make up a ridiculous chapter.

all in all, yumoto's work is too old to be satisfying to comtemporary readers in search of a meaningful, concise handbook which would explain rather than describe.

GOOD SOURCE.......2006-03-17

A PERFECT SOURCE WHO WANTS TO LEARN ABAUT JAPANESE SWORDS AND THEIR HISTORY

confused..........2006-03-03

I finished reading it yesterday. It is too much for beginner and not enough for intermediate or even expert...

It is definitely usefull for future reference in terms of finding more about your sword or swords you want to buy and using some of the criterias. Photos are B&W and crappy and references text-to-drawings are badly organized.

What is strongly missing is types of sword damage, how to eveluate type of damage and find it on blades etc...

I dont know when book was written but some information also seems bit obsolete...

If the book was hardcover, had two times more pages, colored photos to go with drawings, better organized and have more information, I would give 5. Now I give 3 of 5.

Great first sword book.......2005-10-27

This is a good, short overview of the basics of Japanese Swords. Recommended.

Great book.......2005-05-05

This is an awesome book for anyone wnating to know more about samurai swords and speaking as a beginner myself, I found that this book explained everything clearly and concisely - I now know a lot more about swords than i did before :)

The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide (Japanese Arts Library)

Average customer rating:

very good
EVERYBODY CAN LEARN ABOUT JAPANESE STEEL WITH THIS BOOK
The Japanese Sword; K.Sato
A standard in any nihonto library!
Superb illustrated history and guide to connoisseurship.

The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide (Japanese Arts Library)
Kanzan Sato
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Samurai Sword: A Handbook
The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords
The Craft of the Japanese Sword
Lethal Elegance
Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present

ASIN: 0870115626

Book Description

The Japanese sword combines unbreakability, rigidity, and lethal cutting power, and it is in the resolution of these conflicting practical requirements that it emerges as a triumph of the forger's art. The mystique of the sword lingers on in our age of mechanized combat, but the aesthetic qualities for which swords are most valued by collectors today—the liveliness of the metal "skin," the confidence in every aspect of the design, the scrolling temper-line, the almost buoyant lightness of the hilt when the blade is held in the hand—all derive from what the Japanese sword demanded as a symbol of strength and as a weapon. As an instrument of clear persuasion, no other blade anywhere has ever been its equal.

This volume, containing color and black-and-white plates, has been prepared as an introduction to the history and appreciation of the Japanese sword. Its author, until his death in 1978, was one of Japan's foremost sword experts, and his wide knowledge is here brought to bear on every aspect of sword lore, including forging techniques and problems of appraisal. Looking over the 1,500 years of sword history in Japan, Kanzan Sato notes how the major developments—the shift from the early straight blades to the tachi, which were longer curved blades slung edge downwards at the waist, to the familiar daishō pair of short and long swords worn by samurai until modern times—were the result of both technical innovation and changed fighting techniques. He examines the various fashions in sword mounts and the at times precious, highly decorated work of the smiths who specialized in sword guards, or tsuba, during the Momoyama and Edo periods.

The centerpiece of this book, however, is a detailed examination of over a dozen of Japan's most revered blades, including the Ō-Kanehira and the Dōjigiri by Yasutsuna, perhaps the two finest swords in Japan and as clear and beautiful today as when they were forged some 900 years ago. The discussion of what makes these blades special and how they have been passed down for generations offers the reader a wealth of insight into the sword in Japan as heirloom and cultural treasure.

Customer Reviews:

very good.......2007-02-08

i loved this book it gave me all the information i needed on the art of the japanese swords.

EVERYBODY CAN LEARN ABOUT JAPANESE STEEL WITH THIS BOOK.......2006-03-17

IF YOU COLLECT JAPANESE SWORDS YOU MUST HAVE THIS EXCELLEBT BOOK

The Japanese Sword; K.Sato.......2004-09-14

An excellent introductory book. Pictures were of high quality which was surprising since they were not digital quality.

Definitions were clear and the glossary of terms was excellent.

A standard in any nihonto library!.......2004-01-14

The pictures in this book are stunning! A real tribute to the sword and their beauty. This is a great book for someone who is just beginning their study in nihonto, or for anyone who enjoys the awesome creations that man has achived, before the days of electricty and the power tool!

Wonderful book!

Superb illustrated history and guide to connoisseurship........1998-10-15

Just when I thought there were new books of note on Japanese swords lacking, I discovered this fabulous volume in a Tokyo book store. The content is meaningful and constructive in building on an already developed foundation of knowledge. A must for both the collector and the fortunate chance owner of a possibly valuable war souvenir. You can learn much about the care of your possession here.

Average customer rating:

Back to roots
Greatest swordsmith?
Yoshindo Yoshihara Sensei
just what i was looking for
Great overview of the construction of a Japanese Sword

The Craft of the Japanese Sword
Leon Kapp , Hiroko Kapp , and Yoshindo Yoshihara
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide (Japanese Arts Library)
Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way To Perfection
The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords
The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing
Samurai Sword: A Handbook

ASIN: 087011798X

Book Description

Well over a thousand years old, the tradition of swordmaking in Japan is one of the most highly regarded metal crafts in the world. When all sword manufacture was prohibited in Japan for seven years after World War II, the age-old techniques were in danger of being lost forever. Today, in the hands of a new generation of practitioners, the craft is making a startling comeback. Connoisseurs say that the swords being produced now are the equal of anything made in Japan in the past few hundred years.

This book takes the reader into the workshops of four of Japan's leading sword craftsmen. Each craftsman has a different role in the manufacture of a blade. Yoshindo Yoshihara, the swordsmith, begins with raw steel made in a traditional charcoal-fueled smelter and refines it by folding and forging, gradually shaping it into a sword with a hardened edge. Okisato Fujishiro then sharpens and polishes the sword with fine stones to reveal the color and texture of the steel. Metalworker Hiroshi Miyajima makes the small copper-and-gold habaki collar that fits between the blade and the scabbard. Finally, Kazuyuki Takayama carves the hilt and the scabbard out of a single piece of wood. Black-and-white photographs show every stage of the manufacture, while important information on history, metallurgy, and modern-day appraisal is presented in an extensive introduction.

The swords made in Japan today are not, of course, intended for actual use. But their design, the quality of their steel, and the techniques used to create them still derive from the sword's historical function as a lethal hand-held weapon. A sword must be razor sharp, light, well balanced, and strong, but not so brittle it will break. In the perfect resolution of these qualities lie the beauty of the blade and the challenge of the craft.

This book demonstrates how brilliantly Japan's sword craftsmen today have met this technological challenge. The impulse of the craft now is to preserve the utilitarian object and yet create an enduring art for the modern age. While many fine books on sword appreciation exist, these deal primarily with older blades or problems of appraisal. The Craft of the Japanese Sword is the first book in English devoted entirely to contemporary sword manufacture, and will thus be of enormous value to metal artists everywhere, as well as to collectors and students of weaponry.

Customer Reviews:

Back to roots.......2007-02-22

This book shows how a sword is made following the traditional metods. I loved it!

Greatest swordsmith?.......2006-04-29

This is the book which introduce many people outside Japan to understand modern Japanese sword making. It also helped Yoshindo Yoshihara to become one of the most recogniseble face amongst swordmakers in the West. Even so one must point out that although Yoshindo is very highly ranked in Japan he is by no means the finest swordmaker as we speak. His brother Shoji Yoshihara (who appeared in the Last Samurai)is considered more skillful and he is not alone amongst swordsmiths. However one cannot underestimate the contribution the author and Yoshindo san has made for swords by being involved in this wonderful publication.

Yoshindo Yoshihara Sensei.......2006-03-27

I known this swordsmith in Turin - Italy (April 2005): will showcase some of the phases inherent in the forging of a traditional katana (Japanese sword) using a forge built for the occasion by the master himself.

just what i was looking for.......2006-03-03

a great book in english not only for the old blade collector: it gives you a detailed idea of the stages involved in the creation of a nihonto and also takes a picture of moder days swordsmiths.

Great overview of the construction of a Japanese Sword.......2005-10-27

This is a great book. It's strength is it's focus on the construction of the sword. This is in contradistinction to most of the other books on Nihonto.

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture

Average customer rating:

Guide to occupying forces
Explains the riddle of Japan
Over-Idealized, spawning what later became myths
Seminal anthropological study on Japan and its people
Briefing to American leadership during World War II

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture
Ruth Benedict
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Patterns of Culture
Japanese Society (Center for Japanese and Korean Studies)
The Anatomy of Dependence
The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People
Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan

ASIN: 0395500753

Book Description

A recognized classic of cultural anthropology, this book explores the political, religious, and economic life of Japan from the seventh century through the mid-twentieth, as well as personal family life.

Customer Reviews:

Guide to occupying forces.......2006-05-02

While I lived four years in Japan, I read many cultural books. Most authors referenced the work done by Ruth Benedict. It's my understanding that the military needed her ideas about the enemy to help win the war, and to effectively occupy Japan following WWII.
Japanese survivors from WWII have universally told me that American soldiers, following the war, were very kind, respectful, honorable, and helpful to the poor, defeated Japanese in their home country. They seemed genuinely interested in getting Japan back on its feet, and today's elderly Japanese feel a great respect and indebtedness towards those occupying forces from America.
American occupying policy was put together fairly quickly. Decisions were made, including whether and in what form the Emperorship should continue. A cornerstone for guiding these decisions was Ruth Benedict's book, "The Crysanthemum and the Sword."
Steps taken and structures put in place by America in post-war Japan were consistent, well-thought, and extraordinarily successful.
As Americans, we really needed a Ruth Benedict to analyze Iraq and inspire our leaders to put together an occupying strategy there that would acknowledge the strengths of Iraqui culture and re-shape them for success. Instead, we seem not to have a clear plan of who Iraq is or what to do with them.
How could we have done so well in the 40's and so poorly now?
Anyway, read Ruth Benedict's remarkable book and marvel at the skill of her analysis.

Explains the riddle of Japan.......2006-02-19

This classic of anthropology commissioned as a study by US military during WWII and completed after the war was over, is a remarkable study of Japanese ethos. Benedict had no direct access to the culture of Japan because of the war situation, so she uses historical, literary, anecdotal data to construct the ethos of Japan and explain why Japanese fight so hard and surrender without hatred, why they dislike anyone showing them a favour, and why they went to war till the emperor chose peace.

She bases the bulk of her analysis on the concepts of Japanese 'indebtedness' - giri and gimu. She states that Japanese do not follow a fixed catalog of common values nor do they have a fixed idea of character but have clear cut ideas about the hierarchy of duties based on the Japanese social structure.

These duties make life very hard for an average Japanese person, but they bear it, because clearing the debt is very important for a Japanese. And debt includes debt to one's name, which is cleared through revenge in the Samurai tradition.

Benedict's analysis correctly explains why the Japanese sought to conquer and rule other countries, why they fought so hard and bitterly, and yet accepted peace so easily.

It also explains much that happened after the book was written - the rise of Japanese industry, management and technology. Japan cleared the debt to its name (due to its loss in war) through commerce.

Her other insights are generally in harmony with other writers on Japan from management theorists explaining Japanese personnel culture to cultural theorists like Geert Hofstede, who rate Japan as the most masculine of all cultures.

Over-Idealized, spawning what later became myths.......2006-02-17

While this book covers many aspects of Japanese culture and behavior, making some of the seminal distinctions (e.g. shame v. guilt culture), it also adds up to a misleading picture in my opinion. Beautifully written, Benedict throws around abstractions and generalizations that I found added up to mythmaking, and ultimately popularised misleading notions about the honor, dignity, etc.

Perhaps I have a skewed view, having lived in Japan when many thought it permanently at the pinnacle of the capitalist world (how quaint does that seem today?), but I saw virtually none of the stuff that Benedict claims is the underlieing reality of life there. I would guess that, since she did not live in Japan and do her work on-site, it was inevitable that she constructed an ideal world and hence ignored the banalities and ugliness that I witnessed every day there. All the stuff about Samarai codes and delicate intimacies, in my opinion, are peripheral - to be sure, they can be found, but the everyday reality there is far darker, far bleaker, than this study implies.

As such, this book reflects about as much reality in Japan as Disney or the cartoon Rex Morgan would for the US. It obscures as much as it illuminates and a lot of people have wasted time trying to base their understanding on it rather than what their eyes told them. There is far less underneath than we would care to admit - perhaps, just perhaps, Japan is as ugly as it appears.

Seminal anthropological study on Japan and its people.......2005-08-15

Those reviewers saying that this book is outdated have obviously never "set foot in Japan" (as one reviewer criticizes the author). Even though I have dozens of friends who live and work in Japan while loving, laughing, crying and living with Japanese, there are still some things about Japanese behavior and society that utterly confuse us as a group. Many Japanese of today who participate in our discussions are also unable to satisfactorily explain their way of thinking to us.

To my surprise, several of these mysteries were explained in great detail here, in a book several decades old! As many students of sociology know, societal change takes time. While Japan's advancement has been remarkably fast, the motivations and analyses laid out in this book still apply to most Japanese today. At the very least, they form the bedrock of the convictions for the middle-aged Japanese of today who dictate political and social policy in the power circles of Japan.

This book is value not only because of how it showcases differences (this is done only for illustrative purposes) but for how it defines and contrasts the Japanese way with what we know, and in doing so allows us to understand them to a higher degree. Very highly recommended.

Briefing to American leadership during World War II.......2005-05-27

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword describes clearly and succinctly how the Japanese lived and thought in the 1930s and 1940s. The book developed from research into Japanese society conducted for the American leadership, civilian and military, during the Second World War.

Benedict describes social customs and traditions found in Japan at the outbreak of WWII. For instance, Japanese love bathing and the eldest male gets to go first and women having their period go last; everyone uses the same water but this is no worse than everyone sharing a pool because bathers wash >>before < < getting into the tub. Another tradition is that women usually control the family purse with the husbands handing over their wages to their wives and getting an allowance. This is still largely true today.

For over ten years I avoided this book because it was written by someone who had never been to Japan and also because I avoid books that "explain" the Japanese. So when I picked up a copy lying around at a coffee shop and began skimming, I was very surprised at how insightful it was. Benedict was unable to do her research in Japan because of the war, so she obtained all her material from interviews with Japanese POWs and also with second generations Japanese-Americans interned in American concentration camps.

It is still worth reading today. Things have changed in Japan, as they have everywhere else in the world, but her people are still basically the same.

Bokken Art of the Japanese Sword (Literary Links to the Orient)

Average customer rating:

Excellent book...
A good book for fundamentals-and attitude.
Alright book for starters
EXCELLENT BASICS FOR THE NEWLY INITIATED
A good introduction...

Bokken Art of the Japanese Sword (Literary Links to the Orient)
Dave Lowry
Manufacturer: Ohara Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0897501047

Book Description

Dave Lowry frequently travels throughout Asia to research its culture and history, and has written several books about Japan and the budo. He started writing for Black Belt magazine more than 20 years ago and has shared his traditional take on the martial arts world in a monthly column called Karate Way since 1986.

In Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword, Lowry focuses his expertise on the techniques and history of the bokken--the wooden training sword used by both ancient samurai and today's swordsmen. According to Lowry, training with the bokken is important on two levels for the modern practitioner: "On one, he builds the physical stamina, rhythms, and adroit body movements of traditional swordsmanship. On the other, he achieves something of the animating spirit of the traditional swordsman. He is, through the refinement of his practice, linked in a very real way to his past, for it is from the principles of swordsmanship that the budo of today have based their teachings, no matter what their present form."

Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword couples Lowry's concise, eloquent writing style with more than 100 hundred technique photographs to provide the reader with the traditional and modern perspectives of this vital, historically rich practice tool.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book..........2007-02-01

Famed swordsman and Black Belt magazine contributor Dave Lowry chimes in on the use of the bokken--the wooden samurai sword. Practicing with the bokken is obviously safer than practicing with a "live" katana, but it also develops stamina, technique, and an appreciation of the weapon's history. Ancient samurai warriors used the bokken (remember Tom Cruise's repeated beatings in The Last Samurai?), and so should you. Lowry also wrote The Best of Dave Lowry, which is an excellent compilation of his Black Belt articles.

A good book for fundamentals-and attitude........2006-05-11

I was prepared to be disappointed-but was pleasantly surprised. I have studied the sword for years, and yet learned something from this book. For a beginner, too, its clear, concise explanations, coupled with well thought out photographs, will prove an excellent study guide or workbook. There are minor deficiencies, occasionally, but they will provide the student an incentive to put down the book and physically explore what Lowry is trying to demonstrate.

There are few like Musashi, who need little personal instruction. This book is not a substitute for a good teacher, but an excellent adjunct to one. The Way is not a set of rules. It is only the Way.

Alright book for starters.......2005-07-25

The book starts with the history behind the bokken which I found interesting. It has nice pictures and explanations of the different types of stances and attacks. Even though the pictures are black and white, they still help quite a bit. I was some what dissapointed when it came to the chapter on practicing with a partner. I was expecting ways to block but instead I found ways to attack faster (strike first) against an opponent doing another attack. The images in that chapter seemed too far time lapsed to know exactly what he is doing. I also would have liked it more if there were phonetic spellings of each of the japanese names. I do not speak japanese and therefore I'm probably saying most of the names wrong. I'd recommend this book if you want to start suburi by yourself. Otherwise, find another book.

EXCELLENT BASICS FOR THE NEWLY INITIATED.......2004-06-28

BY THE TIME I READ LOWRY'S BOOK, I WAS A YEAR INTO MUSO SHINDEN RYU IAIDO, AND I FOUND SOME MINOR DESCREPANCIES IN THE HANDLING OF THE BOKUDO AND THE KATANA. MOST OF THE STANCES AND POSITIONS OR KAMAE VARY ONLY EVER SO SLIGHTLY. I FOUND "BOKKEN" TO BE VERY HELPFUL IN SOME AREAS AS IT IS FULL OF PHOTOGRAPHS SO THERE IS NO MISTAKING WHAT IS BEING DESCRIBED AS THE PROPER WAY TO HANDLE THE BOKKEN AND MOVE ABOUT.
IT'S AN A+ BOOK FOR THE ABSOLUTE BEGINNER!

A good introduction..........2000-05-29

As an Aikido student I was looking for a reference guide for katas and exercises so that I could practise outside the dojo. This book does not provide complex single katas ( it only has two very basic ones )so I was disappointed in that respect, however I did find the various introductory articles very educational and certianly relevant to any martial art whether you are trainig with a sword, a staff, or are doing empty handed techniques. My advice is: buy the book ad keep in mind Mr. Lowry's advice at all times but don't expect a visual feast of amazing pictures ( they are just plain black and white ). If you take this book as an introduction you will like it and hopefully it will push you to train harder and find out more about Japanese swordsmanship.

Japanese Sword Fighting: Secrets of the Samurai

Average customer rating:

Japanese sword fighting book
Rich in biographical surveys and cultural insight
A truly "must-have" manual for Japanese swordsmanship enthusiasts
A GREAT BOOK!
Samurai as a spiritual warrior

Japanese Sword Fighting: Secrets of the Samurai
Masaaki Hatsumi
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 4770021984

Customer Reviews:

Japanese sword fighting book.......2007-03-08

This book is awsome!!! it not only shows you how to do difforent moves in japenes sword fighting but it also teaches you the backround or history of the sword style what the difforent swords are called and it teaches you at least 5 moves for each difforent one. All around this was a very good book and i'm glad i found it.

Rich in biographical surveys and cultural insight.......2006-04-27

Relatively little has been written covering Samurai sword fighting techniques: here ninja grandmaster provides both a history of the art of Japanese swordplay, rich in biographical surveys and cultural insight, and a survey of classical techniques used in two-sword fighting. Vintage and modern black and white photos and illustrations pack an account that blends step-by-step how-to photos with calligraphy, description, biographies, and background history. A 'must' for any serious not just about Japanese sword fighting, but Japanese culture and history as a whole.

A truly "must-have" manual for Japanese swordsmanship enthusiasts.......2006-03-03

Informatively written by renowned Budo and Ninja grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi and ably translated into English by Bruce Appleby and Doug Wilson, Japanese Sword Fighting: Secrets Of The Samurai is an in-depth manual about the skill and art of traditional Japanese sword fighting. Black-and-white photographs by Minoru Hirata and Kyuzo Akashi copiously illustrate methods of drawing and resheathing swords, and sword strikes and cuts, while the skillfully translated text delves into the philosophical and spiritual aspects of swordsmanship as surely as the martial arts and physical aspects. Illustrations of traditional samurai dress and full armor, and an appendix of the original Japanese text round out Masaaki Hatsumi's Japanese Sword Fighting, a truly "must-have" manual for Japanese swordsmanship enthusiasts.

A GREAT BOOK!.......2006-03-01

I have been waiting days for this book, and it finally came today. Honestly, I expected it to have your standard sword exercises and cuts, but it contains stances and techniques that I have never even heard of, while some are familiar to me. Thanks to having a hardwood bokuto (which I also purchased off of this website), I can now incorporate new exercises into my practice. Even though Hatsumi-Sensei is a ninja, he is well-versed in the culture of the samurai and the sword as well. I recommend it to all aspiring swordsmen.

Samurai as a spiritual warrior.......2006-02-11

Acclaimed samurai of old would while away their elder years writing scrolls to impart their wisdom unto the next generation. These scrolls, a mix of martial arts technique and personal philosophy, would then be the foundation for the various fighting schools. The most famous and acclaimed of these are Musashi Miyamoto's "The Book of Five Rings" and Tsunetomo Yamamoto's "Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai."

Hatsumi Masaaki is determined to continue in this tradition, walking as much as possible in the path of the Sword Saints, the near-mythical warriors of the warring states period. This latest book, "Japanese Sword Fighting: Secrets of the Samurai," is a blend of martial arts photography and technique, ancient scrolls showing the heritage of this kind of work, warrior philosophies and ruminations on the Japanese language and how one can use it to unlock the fighter's path.

One thing this book is not is a history lesson. Anyone seeking further insight into the authentic samurai would be severely disappointed. Hatsumi's interpretation is not one of facts and dates, of reference books and University lectures. He is more interested in the spiritual and allegorical warrior, one who sharpens his soul so that it is straight and upright like the sword that is his symbol. Those who have read other of Hatsumi's books will know more or less what to expect, but its probably not the best book for a new reader.

What you do get, is heavy doses of how to be a warrior with your entire life, not just in the dojo. An inheritor of shared wisdom, passed down from his master Takamatsu Sensei, Hatsumi seems to want to share this with a wider audience and continue the link. Along with this are some striking photographs, a collection of ancient scrolls and photos of Hatsumi and his partners, wearing impressive sets of full samurai armor, demonstrating fighting techniques with a variety of weaponry.

Much of Hatsumi's wisdom comes from the Japanese language itself. The use of Chinese characters, where each individual character has a different meaning, is heavily tied up with what he has to say. One instance of this is his ruminations on the word shiki, which can alternately be read as "wisdom," "to respect the manner of death," or "the importance of determination." Hatsumi brings these together to mean that a warrior finds wisdom by respecting the manner of death, and through personal determination. While not necessary, those with Japanese language skills will be able to read "Japanese Sword Fighting" with a much greater depth.

Followers of Hatsumi will definitely find some insight into their sensei in this book, as will those who see martial arts as more of a spiritual path than a fighting technique. Casual readers, or those interested in the historical samurai and their fighting arts, would do best to seek elsewhere.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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

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

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

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

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Russians:

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

The Westerners:

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

The Chinese:

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

The Arabs:

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

The Divinity:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

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The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing
Review of "The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing"...
Traditional techniques very different from ours
A very good introduction to sword polishing

The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing
Setsuo Takaiwa , Yoshindo Yoshihara , Leon Kapp , and Hiroko Kapp
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 4770024940

Book Description

To understand Japanese sword polishing is to understand the Japanese sword. Down through the years, the great sword connoisseurs in Japan have been sword polishers. A swordsmith can spend a large amount of time forging a classic sword, but refining and bringing out its final shape, color and texture so that all the details of the steel and hamon (the temper line) are clearly visible is the responsibility of another craftsman - the sword polisher. An experienced polisher can tell immediately by whom a blade was made, so discintctive is each smith's work and so vital is such knowledge to the skilled polisher. The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing is the first book in English to examine in great detail the polisher's techniques - skills it often takes up to ten years of apprenticeship to master. The book illustrates the methods, materials and tools used for this process. But its true aim is to enable the reader to fully appreciate the beauty of a well-crafted Japanese sword. As readers learn both how the sword polisher enhances the beauty of the blade and how he handles the problems of coaxing out its finest qualities through his polishing techniques, they will come to a deeper understanding of the fine art of making the Japanese sword and will be able to view, purchase or collect swords with greater pleasure.

Customer Reviews:

The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing.......2007-01-12

Very Informative Great book To lean about grades of stones and thier uses

Review of "The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing"..........2007-01-10

After reading the book entitled "The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing" I now have a much clearer and detailed understanding of the process used by traditional Japanese sword polishers. The book takes the reader though all of steps from the foundation polish, used to shape and sharpen the blade, to the finish polish, which is used bring out the details of the steel and shape of the temper line, using good text and a fair number of detailed photographs. It includes some Japanese sword polish theory and how Japanese swords have changed over the historical periods. It also explains how the age of the sword can affect how the sword should be polished and what damage can and cannot be repaired by a polisher. In the last section of the book it contains a few profiles of professional Japanese sword polishers the authors of the book had interviewed which I enjoyed reading.
As someone who studies and appreciates the Japanese sword I found the book very helpful in educating me more about the process of how a Japanese sword is polished. I would recommended this book to anyone interested in learning in detail how Japanese swords are polished.

Traditional techniques very different from ours.......2006-08-08

Men have always decorated their weapons. The main items being decorated in the United States have been guns. But in Japan it is the traditional Japanese sword. Being more of a land of tradition, the Japanese sword became more or less standardized in shape as long ago as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and polishing the sword had to have followed shortly after that.

There are many books that describe the techniques of polishing and blueing guns. But this appears to be the first book available in English that discusses the polishing techniques used by Japanese craftsmen.

The Japanese practice is a strikingly different process than that used here. Polishing stones, not unlike whetstones but in far more diversity are used. A shop selling such stones is pictured with what appear to at least a couple of hundred different types of stones. And unlike here where stones are simply given numbers to indicate coarseness, in Japan they are given names.

The polishing area used with Japanese swords is a traditional form as well. It sits on the floor, and the polisher typically sits in a traditional position that most of us would find difficult to get into, and impossible to maintain for any period.

All in all, a fascinating book on techniques very different to those commonly used here.

A very good introduction to sword polishing.......2006-06-03

I wish I had this book 20 years ago when I first started to investigate the art of polishing. This book provides a wealth of information on the technigues, the material and the different ways that can be used to get a sword polisihed. In fact, the diversity of the art is highlighted by the book and certainly dispells the notion that there is only one way to restore a blade. The section on foundation polish discusses how to achieve the proper shape without removing too much material. The different stones are described and how each is used to establish and refine the shape. The finishing section covers the range of materials and tools used to bring out the grain and tempered edge unique to the Japanese sword. It also shows the burnishing and how to highlight the boshi.
There are sections that talk about the history of polishing, the schools of polishing and interviews with several modern polishers. As always there is a note warning about the perils to the blade that can be inflicted by an inexperienced person. The book doesn't reveal all the secrets to the art, such as the various forms of nugui (other than the basic hadori and sashikomi formulas),what types of stones work best with each school or era, etc. But it certainly does provide a well documented, well photographed look at this art form. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Japanese swords.

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