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Post by timoneill on May 25, 2011 8:13:17 GMT
has hit the shelves. Some of the reviews and blurbs ring predictable warning bells: In Holy Bones, Holy Dust, Freeman illustrates that the pervasiveness and variety of relics answered very specific needs of ordinary people across a darkened Europe under threat of political upheavals, disease, and hellfire. .... Freeman examines an expansive array of relics, showing how the mania for these objects deepens our understanding of the medieval world and why these relics continue to capture our imagination.
The bit about a "darkened Europe" sounds typical. And I find it hard to associate the words "a deep understanding of the medieval world" and "Charles Freeman". I'm also intrigued by the two reader reviews, one dated May 20 and the other May 21, for a book that is listed as published on May 24th. Quite feat. Both five star reviews too. Mirabile visu! |
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Post by humphreyclarke on May 25, 2011 9:42:58 GMT
It's a bit worse than you think judging from this article by CF in the New Humanist newhumanist.org.uk/2546/holy-bones 'It was unhealthy not least because the dependence on the capriciousness of God and his endless apparent miracles froze the possibilities of scientific advance. One cannot define natural laws if they stand under constant threat of being subverted. It was only in Christian contexts where miracles were not ubiquitous that science was possible and this explains the very different futures of northern Protestant Europe and the Catholic south, which reaffirmed the miraculous at the Counter-Reformation.'It's a fascinating subject and i'd like to dip into it but stuff like that is going to irritate me immensely if it is in the book. |
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Post by humphreyclarke on May 25, 2011 9:51:28 GMT
I'm also intrigued by the two reader reviews, one dated May 20 and the other May 21, for a book that is listed as published on May 24th. Quite feat. Both five star reviews too. Mirabile visu! Aldo Matteucci is one of them - the guy who reviewed 'Genesis of Science' in the U.S and said it was nothing but intellectuals talking to other intellectuals. I'm pretty certain he is a genuine reviewer as he is way too nuts for someone to invent as a sock puppet. |
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Post by humphreyclarke on May 25, 2011 9:59:42 GMT
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Mike D
Master of the Arts
Posts: 204
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Post by Mike D on May 25, 2011 13:06:30 GMT
Tim,
Your ability to put up Freeman and his crowd of flunkies is quite astounding. You have the patience of a...a...very patient person...
I noted that the other reviewer, the one who was not Aldo Matteucci, was a reviewer who goes by the name of Dr Dee (presumably not the Dr Dee, unless alchemy works better than we have been led to believe). His 2 previous reviews have been to excoriate with extreme prejudice A.C. Grayling's Humanist Bible and Freeman's New History of Ancient Christianity (both awarded 1 star), so this effort stands out somewhat.
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joel
Bachelor of the Arts
Posts: 70
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Post by joel on May 25, 2011 13:21:26 GMT
I don't think you should read too much into the fact that there are 5-star reviews a few days before release. They probably just got a review copy, par for the course in the publishing industry.
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Mike D
Master of the Arts
Posts: 204
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Post by Mike D on May 25, 2011 13:31:16 GMT
Checked the book on UK Amazon - the hardback version was released in this country on 22nd March.
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Post by James Hannam on May 25, 2011 20:20:44 GMT
For someone who claims to find the Hannam debate boring, Freeman is finding it hard to let go. On Leonardo, the great Thony Christy recently chimed in on the side of the antileonardistas (which as the comments show, I was quite pleased about). thonyc.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/pissing-on-a-holy-cow/As for Heilbron, the fictional dialogue is intended to communicate Galileo's actual influences although we don't know the precise dates and order of them (hence the fictionalisation). If he'd read the book, Freeman would know this. Alas, historians of a certain era do insist on going in for this kind of "historical fiction". And my comment on humanists as incorrigible reactionaries was made in the context of humanists denigrating medieval Latin for the "pure" Ciceronian original and in the process killing the language as a living entity. This isn't terribly controversial either. Yes, I'm hard on the humanists compared to the adulation that they are used to, but I do give several pages of evidence as to why. If he doesn't believe me, Freeman should try reading Charles Nauert. But on the Amazon reviews, he is bang within his rights to send advance copies to people for review (or for his publisher to do it). Every publisher does this. Best wishes James |
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Post by timoneill on May 26, 2011 3:32:09 GMT
But on the Amazon reviews, he is bang within his rights to send advance copies to people for review (or for his publisher to do it). Every publisher does this. Sure, but I was under the impression that publishers did this for people who reviewed books in the press or for journals. I wasn't aware that they sent reviews to random Amazon.com reviewers. Or do you think Freeman did this? And does this mean I get an advance copy of your next book James? |
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Post by wraggy on May 26, 2011 7:28:38 GMT
And does this mean I get an advance copy of your next book James?I think this could be more likely than you receiving any advance copy of one of Charles Freeman's books. Although,......you could ask him. |
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Post by wraggy on May 26, 2011 7:32:54 GMT
And I thought that you were a gentleman James. Mr.Christie said nice things about your book and you persist in referring to him as "Thorny" on his web page.. |
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Post by James Hannam on May 26, 2011 19:20:16 GMT
Publishers send books to all and sundry, including bloggers and people who might do Amazon reviews. Amazon also organise free books for their regular reviewers. What publishers don't do is try to influence those reviews and in fact prefer it if they include critical ones that are not all five star.
You can certainly have a copy of my next book, but it might be a while, I'm afraid. I would have sent you the last one but you had ordered it before the Aussie publisher got their act together!
J
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