April 15th; 2012; will be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. People have an endless fascination with the Titanic; yet much of what they know today is a mixture of fact and fiction. In one hundred and one brief and engaging chapters; Tim Maltin; one of the foremost experts on the Titanic; reveals the truth behind the most common beliefs about the ship and the night it sank. From physics to photographs; lawsuits to love stories; Maltin doesn't miss one tidbit surrounding its history. Heavily researched and filled with detailed descriptions; quotes from survivors; and excerpts from the official inquiries; this book is guaranteed to make readers rethink everything they thought they knew about the legendary ship and its tragic fate.
#108315 in Books Timothy R Pauketat 2010-07-27 2010-07-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.50 x .54 x 5.00l; .35 #File Name: 0143117475208 pagesISBN13: 9780143117476Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
62 of 65 people found the following review helpful. Mounds of mysteryBy Jay C. SmithCahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi (Penguin's Library of American Indian History)I am a lay reader and know very little of archeology; but I have a special affinity for Cahokia. In 1967 my friend and I camped at what was then Cahokia Mounds State Park and were able to observe close-up a dig then in progress; with helpful explanations provided by the lone archeologist on-site. It seemed so painstaking; performed with fine instruments and brushes and; in so far as we could see at the time; it uncovered only shards and fragments.Back then archeologists still had not grasped much of the significance of the site as it is now understood. At one time they believed it to be a ritual center; occupied only briefly by a few inhabitants. It is now known to have been a major eleventh- and twelfth-century populous urban center supported by surrounding farms; an early example of a government-sponsored urban renewal; a culture that marked a radical transformation in the history of indigenous Americans.Well-told non-fiction accounts of archeological enterprises can draw in readers much like a good mystery; and Timothy Pauketat displays something of a novelist's touch here (although do not expect "Indiana Jones"). He recounts dozens of discoveries; generally in sufficient detail for readers to evaluate for themselves the evidence the archeologists were accumulating. Pauketat; himself a noted archeologist of the Cahokia site; clearly admires many of his predecessors and he gives us enough information about several to add an appealing human element to the narrative.What most fascinates me is the breadth and detail of what archeologists are able to infer from what they find. Consider some of the more remarkable findings from Cahokia; the skeletal remains of females buried in groups in mounds and showing signs of violence (one such sign being clenched hands and feet; indicating spasms at the time of death). Many of these women seem to have been from someplace else; not Cahokia; based on their dental morphology and bone characteristics. Via isotope studies bioarchelogists can tell something about the women's diet (generally different than that of Cahokians); and they even venture judgments about the women's beauty based on their bone characteristics. These findings form one large piece of a body of evidence that enables the archeologists to conclude that notable features of Cahokian society included human sacrifice; political theater; and social inequality.Sometimes the inferences can go too far; beyond the evidence. It seems to me; for example; that Pauketat is not on very solid ground in some of his speculations about the purposes or effects of the ritual sacrifices (although he is careful to present them only as possibilities; not certainties).Of course not all of the mysteries of Cahokia are solved; including such major ones as where the people came from; why they disbanded (around the end of the twelfth century); and where they went. Pauketat says that most archeologists believe the Mississipian phenomenon; including Cahokia; was home-grown independent of Mesoamerican culture; but he seems to leave open the possibility of connections.I was left wondering; for example; whether advances in skeletal DNA technology might help answer some of the remaining questions about the origins and destiny of the Cahokian people. The story is likely to have further chapters.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant introduction and narrative to the evolving and fascinating story ...By B. IsenbergBrilliant introduction and narrative to the evolving and fascinating story that is Cahokia. I particularly enjoyed the chapter in which Mr. Pauketat took the reader for a walk through Cahokia. This is a historical narrative at its best and I found it hard to put down. Pauketat is not only a phenomenal and respected expert archaeologist; but he is a very talented writer as well.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A required read for any Indigenous thinker.By CustomerPauketat has embraced and accepted the oral tradition of Native People's and forever transformed anthropology forever; for the better. From this important work; one can see the imprint of history onto the modern Indigenous.The legacy of Meso-America is evident in the North American institutions of the Ancient Earthen Works and the long buried cosmology of First Man; Mother Corn; the Thunder Twins; and the Upper and Lower Realms.
