We now know that the Bible creation stories had their origins in far older tales. These stories often match the Old Testament and originate from clay tablets discovered in ancient Sumeria and Babylonia. They are the oldest preserved stories the world has ever known; revealed in this interesting book and passed down for many centuries before being adopted by Moses or whoever wrote the Old Testament. It seems the "Word of God" may not have come entirely from God; but "the gods". It is important that the earliest sources of our beliefs be examined. That is the purpose of this book.
#2427179 in Books 2012-04-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.70 x 1.30 x 5.60l; 1.41 #File Name: 158243817X512 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. History repeating itselfBy Anthony McEvoyFor many years I have been fascinated by the enigma that was; Baron Gustaf Mannerheim. A curious episode in his life was his trek through central Asia to China at the behest of Tsar Nicholas II. Having received a grubbing at the hands of the Japanese a year earlier in a war where they grossly underestimated the capabilities of their enemy; the Russian Emperor was perilously short on solid intellegence about their southern neighbours.For two years Mannerheim trekked through the southern borderlands of the Russian empire seeking to ascertain the military strength and the political intentions of the Chinese empire. Ostensibly a spying mission under the guise of an anthropological expedition; as with all things concerning Mannerheim; it wasn't as straight forward as it first seemed. Eric Enno Tamm's book retraces Mannerheim's route 100 years later. Tamm uses Mannerheim as his guide and as a framework around which he builds a fascinating travelogue. Tamms erudite and relaxed writing style makes this a relaxing; but at the same time informative read. He wonderfully combines the observations made 100 years ago with the current situation and you are left wondering if anything really changes politically or is history destined to continue repeating itself. The only difference between then and now seems to be that man has managed to pollute horribly what was pure 100 years ago.I bought this book as a Kindle edition and at the start of each chapter their is a resource link; linked to Tamm's website which has copious information; maps and photographs related to each particular chapter. Unfortunately using this link on my Kindle was frustratingly slow and the maps were hard to discern in black and white; but I think it is a marvelous innovation on Tamm's part to have this in his book. Usually books like this are very short on such maps. Much more practical would be to peruse it on a PC insted.I found this a wonderfully engrossing book to read and Tamm's writing style is very discriptive so much so that you can almost feel the pollution; he describes; getting right up your nose.For those who know about Mannerheim you may not learn a lot of new things about the man but certainly you will learn a lot about the current state of the areas he visited 100 years ago. As to the accusation of Tamm being biased against the Chinese and China. I think you can see where that reviewers opinions were coming from. Of course Tamm may have his opinions about China. It is hard to travel through the border lands of China and not feel the effect of their regional power. I think that Tamm tries to be as objective as is humanly possible. He tries to put everything in context; especially for readers who may not know these lands intimately.One thing you can be assured of he is a lot more politically correct and balanced in his findings than his predecessor was a hundred years before him.If you like travelogues you will love this book especially if you like things put in their historic context.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Mannerheim on MannerheimBy Janene E ManerheimOnly 3/4 way through so far. Was expecting more comparison quoting of Mannerheim's original treck. Would also have liked photos taken in 2006 as I remember having seen some from 1906. But I guess Tamm is a writer whereas Mannerheim was an amazingly multi-faceted man was a real anthropologist linguist apart from being a spy.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. spy story a century ago but still modernBy A. Brehmfantastic account of forgone years; actualised by this writer who has done the spy-trip again in modern times.Learn about the historie of Russia; China; Finland and what has (not) changed.....
