Swords of the Viking Age

Swords of the Viking Age

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This beautifully illustrated work fills a gap in the literature in English on the swords made and used in northern Europe during the Viking age, between the mid eighth and the mid eleventh centuries. Ewart Oakeshott outlines the significance and diversity of these ancient heirlooms co-author Ian Peirce, who handled hundreds of swords in his research for this book in museums across northern Europe, selects and describes sixty of the finest representative weapons. Where possible, full-length photographs are included, in addition to illustrations of detail an illustrated overview of blade types and construction, pattern-welding, inscription and handle forms and their classification prefaces the catalogue of examples which is the principal part of this work. IAN PEIRCE was a lecturer and museum consultant specialising in early swords EWART OAKESHOTT was renowned for his pioneer studies on a wide range of medieval swords.

 

Tutankhamun: The Story of Egyptology's Greatest Discovery

Tutankhamun: The Story of Egyptology's Greatest Discovery

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When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered the burial ground of King Tutankhamun on November 26, 1922, they found it in perfect condition, with all the richness of its contents still intact. Never before had an excavation uncovered such a perfectly preserved Egyptian tomb. Now, as the treasures of Tutankhamun once again travel the world on exhibition, this intriguing book brings to life the age of the Pharaohs as well as Carter and Carnarvon’s expedition, which revealed so much about ancient Egypt.  It draws on the personal archives of Carter himself, and contains a trove of beautiful facsimiles of his own papers, including diaries and notebooks. Photographs, drawings, and diagrams from the original expedition capture all the excitement and wonder that must have accompanied the first view of this remarkable discovery.   

 

The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples

The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples

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The names of early Germanic warrior tribes and leaders resound in songs and legends the real story of the part they played in reshaping the ancient world is no less gripping. Herwig Wolfram's panoramic history spans the great migrations of the Germanic peoples and the rise and fall of their kingdoms between the third and eighth centuries, as they invaded, settled in, and ultimately transformed the Roman Empire. As Germanic military kings and their fighting bands created kingdoms, and won political and military recognition from imperial governments through alternating confrontation and accommodation, the tribes lost their shared culture and social structure, and became sharply differentiated. They acquired their own regions and their own histories, which blended with the history of the empire. In Wolfram's words, the Germanic peoples neither destroyed the Roman world nor restored it instead, they made a home for themselves within it. This story is far from the decline and fall interpretation that held sway until recent decades. Wolfram's narrative, based on his sweeping grasp of documentary and archaeological evidence, brings new clarity to a poorly understood period of Western history.

 

Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century

Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century

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What accounts for the growing income inequalities in Silicon Valley, despite huge technological and economic strides? Why have the once-powerful labor unions declined in their influence? How are increasing waves of immigration and ethnic diversity changing the workplace in the Valley? Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream examines these questions from a fresh perspective: that provided by the history of women in Silicon Valley in the twentieth century.Silicon Valley is internationally renowned. It is less well known, however, that the Valley once contained the world's largest concentration of fruit-processing plants, set in a sea of fruit orchards. Despite the many differences between the fruit and electronics industries, one important thread connects them: the production workers have been preponderantly immigrant women. (In the early part of the twentieth century, the newcomers came primarily from southern Europe in the latter part of the century, they came mostly from Asia and Latin America, especially Mexico.) The author examines both industries, both work forces, and the changing nature of the local power structure. Although she documents the many sources of vitality and ferment that have undergirded the region's economic might, she also demonstrates that its wealth has not been equally distributed.

 

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs

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National Geographic is proud to present this volume that features many of the finest pieces from this priceless collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts. Captured in lavish detail and sumptuous color, here are scores of objects dating back to the reigns and tombs of such fabled kings and queens as Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and, of course, Tutankhamun, the richest trove of all. From superbly sculpted life-sized statues to elegantly inlaid furniture to funerary urns and myriad implements that guarantee safe passage to the Afterlife, they offer vivid insights into the skillful workmanship and astonishing sophistication of Egyptian culture in the golden age of the pharaohs. Intricate golden jewelry glitters with precious gems, while bas-relief panels depict great events and religious ceremonies. Each photograph is accompanied by a precise description of materials, subject, and significance.

 

The Atlantis Dialogue: The Original Story of the Lost City, Continent, Empire, and Ancient Civilization

The Atlantis Dialogue: The Original Story of the Lost City, Continent, Empire, and Ancient Civilization

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Atlantis was first introduced by the Greek philosopher Plato in two -dialogues- he wrote in the fourth century B.C. His tale of a great empire that sank beneath the waves -- a tale that Plato never even finished -- has sparked thousands of years of debate over whether Atlantis really existed. But did Plato mean his tale as history, or just as a parable to help illustrate his philosophy? In -The Atlantis Dialogue, - you'll find everything Plato said about Atlantis, in the context he intended. Now you can read and judge for yourself! //////////////////////////////////////// -An easy read . . . Provides a good starting point for anyone wanting to learn more about the Atlantis myth.- -- Judy Justice, Midwest Book Review, Mar. 2002 (Reviewer's Choice) //////////////////////////////////////// SAMPLE CRITIAS: Consider then, Socrates, if this narrative is suited to the purpose, or whether we should seek for some other instead. SOCRATES: And what other, Critias, can we find that will be better than this, which is natural and suitable to the festival of the goddess, and has the very great advantage of being a fact and not a fiction? How or where shall we find another if we abandon this? We cannot, and therefore you must tell the tale, and good luck to you and I in return for my yesterday's discourse will now rest and be a listener. CRITIAS: Let me begin by observing first of all, that nine thousand was the sum of years which had elapsed since the war which was said to have taken place between those who dwelt outside the pillars of Heracles and all who dwelt within them this war I am going to describe. Of the combatants on the one side, the city of Athens was reported to have been the leader and to have fought out the war the combatants on the other side were commanded by the kings of Atlantis, which, as I was saying, was an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia, and when afterwards sunk by an earthquake, became an impassable barrier of mud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the ocean. The progress of the history will unfold the various nations of barbarians and families of Hellenes which then existed, as they successively appear on the scene but I must describe first of all Athenians of that day, and their enemies who fought with them, and then the respective powers and governments of the two kingdoms.

 

The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America: The Missing Skeletons and the Great Smithsonian Cover-Up

The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America: The Missing Skeletons and the Great Smithsonian Cover-Up

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A study of the substantial evidence for a former race of giants in North America and its 150-year suppression by the Smithsonian Institution • Shows how thousands of giant skeletons have been found, particularly in the Mississippi Valley, as well as the ruins of the giants’ cities • Explores 400 years of giant finds, including newspaper articles, first person accounts, state historical records, and illustrated field reports • Reveals the Stonehenge-era megalithic burial complex on Catalina Island with over 4,000 giant skeletons, including kings more than 9 feet tall • Includes more than 100 rare photographs and illustrations of the lost evidence Drawing on 400 years of newspaper articles and photos, first person accounts, state historical records, and illustrated field reports, Richard J. Dewhurst reveals not only that North America was once ruled by an advanced race of giants but also that the Smithsonian has been actively suppressing the physical evidence for nearly 150 years. He shows how thousands of giant skeletons have been unearthed at Mound Builder sites across the continent, only to disappear from the historical record. He examines other concealed giant discoveries, such as the giant mummies found in Spirit Cave, Nevada, wrapped in fine textiles and dating to 8000 BCE the hundreds of red-haired bog mummies found at sinkhole “cenotes” on the west coast of Florida and dating to 7500 BCE and the ruins of the giants’ cities with populations in excess of 100,000 in Arizona, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Louisiana. Dewhurst shows how this suppression began shortly after the Civil War and transformed into an outright cover-up in 1879 when Major John Wesley Powell was appointed Smithsonian director, launching a strict pro-evolution, pro-Manifest Destiny agenda. He also reveals the 1920s’ discovery on Catalina Island of a megalithic burial complex with 6,000 years of continuous burials and over 4,000 skeletons, including a succession of kings and queens, some more than 9 feet tall--the evidence for which is hidden in the restricted-access evidence rooms at the Smithsonian.