Historically Speaking

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I always hated my History classes. I learned early on that History was a dull, mundane subject most often taught in monotone by a bearded, middle-aged man with rancid coffee breath. The tedious tasks of reading massive text books and answering summary questions at the end of each chapter, all while the "teacher" read the paper or silently graded the latest pop quiz, left me listless. I stopped paying attention and I did the minimum amount of work necessary. I memorized dates, names, and facts, but purged them from my mind soon after the unit test was completed. And why not? When would that knowledge prove useful in my life, other than during the occasional game of Trivial Pursuit?

However, it appears I have been mistaken in my disdain for history. In a personal endeavor to improve my knowledge of historical events, people, and facts, I am discovering that there are some fascinating stories to be learned. Reading about the characters, personality traits, trials, and tribulations of historical figures is so much more interesting than simply memorizing the dates relevant to that person. Here are a few books that I have read and enjoyed recently, all excellent examples of how history can, in fact, be engaging.

1. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick
I hated reading Moby Dick in high school. A chapter dedicated to how to tie knots? Another focused on the process of removing the blubber from a whale? Dull, dull, dull! This book, however, is the true tale of the American whaling ship whose plight was inspiration to Herman Melville. It is a story of survival, tragedy, and adventure that depicts the desperate measures men will take when faced with their own demise.

2. Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, by Nathaniel Philbrick
Although not as dramatic or intense as In the Heart of the Sea, this book by the same author introduces the reader to an under-appreciated event in American history. It provides a glimpse into the personalities behind the U.S. Exploring Expedition, including it's captain, Charles Wilkes. Political intrigue, scientific discoveries, and world exploration abound. The book is a slow read at times, but it was fascinating to learn about the controversy over who actually discovered Antarctica and how the islands of the Pacific were charted.

3. The Skeletons on the Zahara, by Dean King
Yet another story of survival, this is the true tale of twelve American sailors who were stranded on the African continent in 1815. Following the destruction of their ship, the men are faced with captivity, slavery, and the harsh conditions of the Sahara desert.

4. The Lost City of Z, by David Grann
This book tells the story of Percy Fawcett, his search for the legendary "City of Z", his disappearance into the unforgiving wilderness of the Amazon, and the countless explorers since who have sought to solve the mystery of his disappearance. I've always thought that someday I would see the Amazon. I love to travel, and the prospect of taking a boat ride down the massive river and exploring the jungle and the canopy, has always been appealing to me. Not so much, after reading this book. The detailed descriptions of the bugs, parasites, pests, and maladies of the area will give you nightmares!

Okay, so it's true that Squirt still knows more about history than I do. However, I do take some comfort in knowing that, with each book, I'm increasing my knowledge just a little bit. Upon finishing each book, I curse my past teachers for their inability to suck me into a story in the same way as the authors did. I sincerely hope that my children's History teachers engage them with intimate stories of real people, captivate them with true tales of adventure, and charm them with legends of discovery. Since I was not so lucky in my educational experiences, I will take the challenge upon myself to continue reading. In fact, I'm considering making it a New Year's resolution to read a minimum of 5 (okay, maybe 3) historical non-fiction books in 2011. Any recommendations?

Cheap Horror Books, 48 by James Herbert

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Born in London James Herbert has written many fictions. He is renowned for Best Selling Horror Books. In the genre of horror fiction James Herbert has produced many artistic work. At the earlier stage of his carrier he worked as an art director for an advertising agency. Now as full time writer he works for designing and publicity for his book.His first literary work was The Rats and The Fog which are full of horror, suspense and mystery. His work Domain is one of the Herberts most iconic book. His third novel is The survivor which is a ghost story where he has used supernatural horror. His book contains horror aroused with science fiction. In shrine he visits roman catholic heritage where he has depicted an apparent miracle which turns out in to sinister. His book Haunted is story of a skeptical paranormal investigator who investigate the malicious ghost. There are many Cheap Books written by him.

His horror book 48 keeps bind the readers throughout. The story is set in an alternate world of 1948. The second world war has just ended and people have started to suffer from plague. The protagonist of the story is a pilot and is stranded in a dystopian London. He used biological weapon in the shape of V2 missiles. Hoke who is an American pilot lives alone in the streets. The lord Hubble is in danger of his life as he suffers from slow death and need blood transfusion.

The v2 missiles which contains biological weapon came with two types of disease as a. First one is Blood death which end the subject instantly. The arteries get blocked and explode, and the blood pours from every side of the body. Slow death is different from blood death as it works slightly. It weakens the subject, blackens the fingers and get weaker day by day.

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Masonic Books - Jacob's Ladder

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"And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up
on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven:
and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it."

Gen. 28:12

In the Entered Apprentice Degree, the candidate sees and hears Freemasonry's lesson symbolized by the star-decked heavens, or clouded canopy which covers the material earth. This symbolism is of such significance that many European and domestic lodges continue to reinforce its lessons by painting the ceilings with stars, planets and other heavenly luminaries. Concealed within that symbolism is the additional veil to certain wise and serious truths known as "Jacob's Ladder."

We read in the book of Genesis that a man named Jacob fell asleep one night out in the open during his travels from Beersheba to the land of Haran. In his dreams he saw a great ladder with one end set on earth and the top reaching far into the heavens above. Jacob seemed to see the "angels of God" ascending and descending the ladder. As he looks higher up, he also seemed to see God Himself standing above it and heard Him promise that Jacob and his descendants would inherit the land where Jacob slept. Upon awakening, Jacob declared the ground sacred, arranged the stones he used for a pillow into a pillar and named the spot Bethel, which means house of God. (Genesis 28:10-19).

Like so many other stories in the Old Testament, for those who do not insist upon a literal interpretation, the legend of Jacob's Ladder conveys a deep concern and belief that is actually centered in a very old culture. A careful reading of the book of Genesis reveals to the discerning eye that the entire book, when read as a whole, appears to be disjointed, difficult to read as one continuum and seemingly missing some very essential background information. Recent academic research has concluded a reason for this fact that tends to more fully explain why Egypt was so important to our Masonic ancestors.

Jacob's vision was but a fragment of a richer living tradition; an ancient teaching about the link between the earthly and divine worlds. This tradition is further emphasized in Masonic ritual by the explanation given concerning the pillars named Boaz and Jachin, discussed in an earlier chapter. In this tradition we are told that the link between the two worlds has been broken. Angels with flaming swords block the entrance to the Garden of Eden and, as we read further in the story about Jacob's Ladder, Jacob is admonished against climbing that ladder to heaven. For many who read this story, it is a significant event in describing the Fall of man to sin and his need for divine redemption. Yet, the ancient tradition behind that story is much more enlightening.

The ancient Egyptians absorbed much of the earlier cultural and religious practices of Mesopotamia, from which the legends of Gilgamesh arose. Within that legend is a startling tale about men who walked the earth seemingly having come from nowhere known to mankind. They were on earth to learn what the earthly existence had to teach and once those lessons were learned, they left earth to travel to heaven to enrich that divine environment with earthly influences. (The book of Genesis actually contains a piece of this legend in the story about the "Watchers," or "Giants.") This legend later became a benchmark for Hermes Trismegestis whose philosophy known as Hermeticism emphasis the divine slogan "as it is above, so shall it be below."

According to the ancient tradition, the story about Jacob's Ladder is both instructional and insightful. Owing to the location of the sacred ground where Jacob slept, it is believed that it together with other similar sacred locations serve as the perfect conduits between the earthly and divine worlds. In other words, the ancients believed, as many believe today, that there are more sacred places to worship God than others. In part, this legend tends to shed more light on the earthly significance of Jerusalem to our Jewish brethren, as well as our Christian and Muslim brethren.

For Freemasons there is yet another lesson to be learned from Jacob's vision. While certain dogmas and doctrines assert the lone entitlement to bridging the gap between heaven and earth, God and man, those dogmas and doctrines are but paths one may select to complete our divine journey. There are other equally valid paths, which fact reminds us that embracing diversity is essential to establishing true freedom. More importantly, Masons are encouraged to think for themselves, pray to God on their own and develop a relationship with the Divine that is not wholly dependent about the intermediary of a specific dogma or doctrine. God created man in His image. He did not create dogma and doctrine in His image - those were created by man.

In that latter regard, the ancient writer Philo affirmed that the Therapeutae practiced what Freemasonry now preaches about the acquisition of divine knowledge. Stories from the Old Testament and elsewhere should be read for their symbolic messages, not for their literal recitation about factual history. The Therapeutae read the Holy Scriptures and sought wisdom from their ancestral philosophy by taking it as an allegory, since they also thought that the words of the text were symbols of something whose hidden nature is revealed by studying the underlying meaning.

Masonic Books teach that by the use of symbols and in so doing encourages its members to understand that God's most enduring lessons are yet to be recovered from the mists of the past. Prophets and seers have told us that mankind has merely scratched the surface of all that is to be learned. Where man once walked on foot to get from one place to the other, he may now fly. While ancient civilizations could not communicate one with another, today's nations are in instant communication. Mankind is drawing ever closer together, hundreds of thousands of people are living in urban environments and men on one end of the globe are nourishing the needs of men at the other end. Man's relationship with God, direct and unfettered by outside dogma or doctrine, is essential for men to absorb the concept of brotherly love - not as a mere concept, but as a way of life.

Such are some of the lessons learned from the Masonic symbolism of Jacob's Ladder. Can you find others?

John Heisner is the author of several masonic books about symbolism in Freemasons History [http://masonicbooks.heisner.info/masonic-book-store/masonic-books/]. He has been a Master Mason since 1968; served as Chaplain, Senior Deacon, Junior Warden, Senior Warden and Worshipful Master of Amity Lodge No. 442 in San Diego, California, and serves presently as an Inspector for Division IX of the Grand Lodge of California. He has written two Masonic Symbolism Books [http://masonicbooks.heisner.info/masonic-book-store/masonic-books/].; is a member of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in San Diego, where he currently serves as an officer in the Lodge of Perfection and has thrice been awarded the Albert Pike trophy for excellence in the performance of Scottish Rite ritual; a member of Al Bahr Shrine since 1976; a member of the York Rite Bodies, Knights Templar, Allied Masonic Degrees, York Rite College and the Knights of the Red Cross of Constantine. Mr. Heisner is also a member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitibus Foederatis.

Mr. Heisner has also been a practicing attorney in the State of California since 1973 and is currently a partner and trial specialist in a San Diego law firm where he emphasizes complex business litigation, trade secret litigation, real estate and probate litigation. He formerly served as an Assistant District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney and Special Assistant United States Attorney. As a criminal prosecutor, Mr. Heisner investigated and prosecuted organized crime, public official corruption and major fraud matters.

In his professional capacity, Mr. Heisner has also chaired several committees for the San Diego County Bar Association and been a member of various criminal justice committees.

Within his community, Mr. Heisner has served as president and director of his homeowner's association, participated in the immigrant nationalization process as a member of Kiwanis. He is married, father to four adult children and grandfather of five young children.