The Untold History of the Sinking of the Titanic: How Did Hollywood Get It So Wrong?

AppId is over the quota

How many more fact checked "chronological movies" has Hollywood racked over the historical coals, simply for their pure enjoyment to make a fast buck? When we casually watch it, should we in the not too distant future loudly demand that some form of public recording which allows a make us want to believe en-joyers to know outright that there just might not be everything throughout the totally fabricated film being told with honest to goodness objectivity?

To expend untold amounts of hard cash in the making of that superstar filled cast of historically based characters where one might wish to suppose at least some grain of truth might remain. However, did anyone care to look up the ship's manifest, to determine what could have possibly set Germany on a tizzy enough to proclaim their need to sink the real history of the Titanic? Why did Great Britain see the historical need to change the name of the ship, which was actually sunk, and then to give the first christened Titanic a brand new name?

This, to me, would have been far more gut wrenching a movie plot than to be culled into a make the audience believe belief that a block of ice on steroids actually did the deed! Can you imagine in your heart of hearts how many people today, are simply worked up based on a totally fabricated historical point of view about a fear of icebergs, and the likes, when they casually see them on luxury liners today?

There seems to be far too many unanswered questions which habitually remain in order to truly make a dim star power studded movie on this topic. If accuracy of this historically packed event was the overall driving objective to make the high [almost] powered flick, then what happened with that totally lost on the reader idea?

Please just go right over to your local public library, and see if you too can locate, "Futility and the Wreck of the Titanic," by M. F. Mansfield, c. 1898.
A book that was just 14 years before what we the oftentimes mislead history fans want to believe, was just an unsuspecting accident!

Take a good look at all those misleading books which seem to follow the same genre, which currently fill library shelves today on the topic, and then think about what a total waste of time and money alone was expended.

I personally do not want to make either Germany or any other nation, for that matter, the scapegoat of history, but to manifest the facts fit into their proper order. In doing so, it is hoped that such events can be stopped instead of them without our knowing being fed to us over and over again!

Albert B. Franklin is a freelance writer presently employed with eHow.com, and is willing to work in this capacity. He writes articles on a wide range.

"The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War" Written By Andrew Roberts

AppId is over the quota

Anyone who lived through any war, but especially WWII, needs to read this greatly detailed and informative book that gives details, stories, actions, and facts many of which were never published. The author writes in a way that draws you to each page because, while the book is fact, it never gets boring. From the very beginning of the book where, in April 1934, Hitler met with the German minister of Defence to make a secret pact where the army would support Adolph Hitler upon the death of Paul von Hindenburg (then leader of Germany). Most of us have in our minds that the war started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland but the plans for Hitler's demonic plans to control the world had started with the plans for his leadership years earlier.

Several things I advise to all readers of this complete book; remember to refer to the maps at the front of the book as campaigns in different areas occur, and do not think you will skip through a page because the book is extremely long. If you skip you will miss some important and interesting tidbit. I had forgotten the maps and now I wish I had remembered them to allow me to know exactly where certain battles occurred. I also tried to read by skipping and I found out it doesn't work. How Andrew Roberts garnered all the information and wove it into a terrific resourceful book I will never know. There is no way a review could ever do this book justice. I will hit a few highlights but you must physically read it to gain the knowledge it contains.

Hitler had been a corporal in the German army in WW I so he had felt war first hand and was twenty-nine years of age when that war ended in 1918. Hitler had a huge war machine in place. Two major factions were the OKH and the OKW, both strategic in running the military. Many leaders changed throughout the book. Hitler would have high expectations for various campaigns and when the result was not to his liking he took no remorse in immediately changing generals. Hitler controlled all the many units of might such as the Wehrmacht, the SS, the Luftwaffe (air), the Panzers (tanks), and a naval branch that, had Hitler allow it to develop fully, could have made the war much longer and given Germany a huge advantage. The German Generals, some of whom were Field Marshall's, were many; Jodl, Keitel, Himmler, von Runstedt, von Manctein, Goebbels, Rommel, and, in general were very brilliant men but too many times Hitler forced them to do his method, not theirs.

One section of the book that was about a subject I thought I did know but the author gave some details that blew my mind of how humans could treat other humans as they did. Excerpts of the authors words; "After they were rounded up in their local communities from all across German-occupied Europe, Jews were transported by train to Auschwitz or one of the other five extermination camps in Eastern Europe." "Once the transports arrived at the siding at Birkenau, there would be the first selection, where SS officials would choose the able-bodied men and women - numbering roughly 15% - who would be taken to the camp barracks to join work details, leaving the old, the weak, the infirm, the children, and the mothers of children, who would be immediately walked to the gas chambers and exterminated." This is only a small part of the inhumane things the Germans carried out in order to "cleanse" the world of Jews.

The inhumane actions of war do not lie just with the Germans. Their allies, as well as the allies of the United States, Great Britain, France, and many other nations, performed many actions that killed many innocent civilians. In many cases the Germans surrounded their factories with these civilians making the bombing of the weapon producing buildings also kill those civilians. This, along with civilians being in the wrong place at the wrong time, caused many more killings. Military casualties for all the nations involved were immense. Some of the numbers are unbelievable but also undeniable.

The many battles of WW II were brutal and lasted far too long. So many new recruits were rushed to the front and into battle before they knew what they were getting into. This occurred with all nations involved, not just the Germans. The details of the Russian war involvement are quite extensive. At first they didn't know whom to fight with, allies or axis, but eventually chose the allies because they, like Germany, wanted to control the world, especially all of Europe. Because Russia is so huge with a large population, they suffered many casualties and had so many more to fill in for those killed.

This review is too large now so I must put a halt to it and tell you to read the book. If you have no interest in war, especially WW II, don't start it. If you have any like of the subject you must read "The Storm of War" from front to end.

Reader review by Cy Hilterman of a book supplied by The Amazon Vine Program

Critique Of John R Green's Book: "A Short History Of The English People"

AppId is over the quota

Norseman, Roman, German, and French incursions imprinted the primitive Picts, Jutes, Anglia, and Celtic enclaves found in the Isles early history. Early Maps and Generational Tables reflect the ascent and decline of influence and dynastic successions. Indicatively, the names Great Britain and England find their nominative substance in Angevin territories bridging the channel, along with Brittany in Western France.

In 1008 pages, the author reveals a short history of the Anglo Saxon; revealingly, its introduction was written in 1888. With biographical assistance from eras much more ancient than Shakespeare, Chaucer, Homer, or even Ovid, Green chronicles those influences shaping the ethics, ethos, and law construct among English speaking peoples. With candor, he describes the cruelty, debauchery, and chicanery associated with Great Britain's rise as a world leader; indeed, it was a reflection of mankind's propensity to the course, vulgar, and licentious liberties common among those who used the sword and mace to control equally undisciplined values. Though England's Kings and Court are exposed in their most basic appetites, Green remarks: "I have drawn greater attention to the religious, intellectual, and industrial progress of the nation itself than has, so far as I remember, ever been done in any previous history of the same extent."

John Green died before his work could be fully edited. To bring his ambitious endeavor to fruition, his wife, Alice, labored on to finish his massive elaboration.

Development of the expansive United Kingdom is drawn in laborious detail; simultaneously, an introduction to English mechanics, in its purest form, can be perused in this copious demonstration of intellectuality. The book is highly recommended as an introduction to English skills; but amidst such linguistic elegance, readers must endure unending banality from the era's repeated power struggles and unconscionable inhumanities. Still, with over one-half million words, the book represents a formidable history of English speaking peoples.

Incongruously, we find Wyclif's Bible translative efforts honored, along with Tyndale's; yet, no mention was made of King James' translation effort to design a book 'easy to be understood.' King James, though he was crude and unscrupulous, was responsible for the most far-reaching literature to affect Anglo Saxon minds - though the result did not in the least alleviate symbol and number mysteries in the ancient and cryptographic Bible accounts. Even now, those secretive writings, unanswered for 2000 years, remain hidden to all but the most studious exegete. Neglected in the King James translation, as was King James' considerable effort neglected by John Green, these mysteries have since been unraveled beyond contest.

The only fault accused Mr. Green's considerable work is his neglect to the one truly great literary work accredited to English speaking peoples, the King James Holy Bible.

Ben Winter, particles physicist, Bible scholar, and author of "THE GREAT DECEPTION: Symbols And Numbers Clarified," reveals there 'is' something new under the sun -- that is, for modern Bible students. He addresses correctness of language and true intent of the major Bible topics: solves Bible mysteries, defines Gog and Magog, reveals Daniel He-goat's surprising identity, and dares to number the all important Ten Ages. Sign up for FREE book critiques at http://www.winterbriar.com/ and view more articles in blog format at http://blog.thegreatdeception.net/.

Know Your History and Get Inspired

AppId is over the quota

Is history a mystery? Yes history is indeed mystery for those who don't know about the history. History is very interesting subject but unfortunately only few of us read history. In a wider sense reading history is essential for every human being. As everyone knows about his/her family i.e., his father and mother and ethnicity, so everyone should know about the history of human; that is from where we have come and how we have been able to make tremendous success and development over a period of centuries.

I was watching a movie inception and in that film, the writer described that when we are in a dream, we don't know the starting of a dream every time we end up in the middle of some situation, and that is true. It is true in real life as well; we don't have any memory about our origin and our first few years in this world. So we all kind of ended up in the middle of some situation. So are we all in a dream? According to that concept, in a dream we have to die in order to wake up from a dream, will any of us try to shoot him / her to wake up from this dream? It sounds crazy; but looking at it from religious point of view, it is true.

There is a concept of life after death i.e., there is a life after this life where there would be heaven and hell and people will go there after their demise, those who do good deeds will go to heaven and those who do bad deeds will suffer in hell. So we can say that this life is a big dream and reality will struck when we die, and the dreams we see in night are actually dreams within a dream.

Reading history is so important because through studying history, we can know more about ourselves i.e., from where we have come and how we have evolved to a civilized society. Study of history makes us more aware of ourselves, by studying history, we can know more about the advancement man has made and it also gives us inspiration to do more and achieve more.

Today we study novels with interest and we get involved as if it is happening in front of us, we read novels with interest because the stories in them are very exciting and have some great characters. But these characters and stories are not real.

You would be surprised to find that history books are more interesting than the novels; this is because in history books there are interesting stories and great characters and these are all real. These books are more interesting than novels because by reading these books we know that the stories and characters we are reading are real and the facts are real as well so we can get real inspiration from these books.

There are many famous personalities in history who have revolutionized the world and brought much advancement in the fields of science, politics and arts. By reading their biographies, we can get real inspiration and bring positive changes in our life.

Graduate in Public Administration.

History Offers a View of Nature

AppId is over the quota

Living in upstate New York, I've acclimated to this 2011 winter's zero degree weather by reading books inside the warmer house, with a kitty on my lap. I've just finished reading:

• The History of God, by Karen Armstrong
• A People's History of the World, by Christ Harman
• The Stuff of Thought, a history of language, by Steven Pinker

It's only a coincidence the books fall into the genre of history, but they fascinatingly complemented one another, keeping my interest piqued.

Karen Armstrong's research into the knowledge of God and its impact on the worlds three main religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, severed theology from eternity. Theologies are human-made and fluctuate as often as the weather. The History of God seemed to agree with my opinion that outmoded doctrines and restrictive traditions bring disrepute to religions. Armstrong warns against fundamentalism and encourages faith-a faith and audacity to exchange human ideologies for transcendent views of God, reality.

Harman's book, A People's History of the World, is fat, pregnant with social and political history apparently forming and reforming human nature. Discourses on religion and God are scattered throughout the book, pointing to the probability that the people's way of life, health, and systems of government indirectly mimic their concept of God, some good, some not so good.

Reading Pinker's The Stuff of Thought was like scuba-diving. It required serious exertion and concentration; resisting a ponderous oxygen tank from pulling you backward; remembering to breathe counter-intuitively through your mouth, and, abstaining from immediate verbal expressions when glimpsing an awesome view, in order not to swallow a mouthful of salty water. The history of language is entirely different from the history of words and Pinker analyzed language from many perspectives, concluding there is no complete adequate language to convey truth. Pinker is amazingly practical, humorous, and realistic.

I recommend The History of God to readers who are interested in reconciling religion to God. Religion can be beneficial when not mistaken for truth.

I recommend A People's History of the World to readers on the verge of escaping the prison of repeating deadening past activity.

I recommend The Stuff of Thought to people who value the open-mindedness of an educated engaging author.

My conclusion: History serves as a window into nature. But readers must decide which nature. Trying to understand the human nature is as promising as understanding falling snow. Admittedly, snow is no longer considered a miracle but is now known as a component of the water cycle. But this knowledge is plagued by human concerns. Too little snow causes droughts. Too much snow is a pain to deal with on the roads. Knowledge of the human nature is not satisfying.

The human struggle against concerns, hunger, suffering, and mind-numbing traditions cease only as I use history as a window into the spiritual nature. And, I did find evidence of spirituality in these good reads! Bravery, balance, insight, hindsight, compassion, morality, reform, honesty, integrity were not only obvious, but also inspiring, to the point I felt the reality of the spiritual nature.

Cheryl Petersen advocates spiritual thought before action. Cheryl blogs at http://www.healingsciencetoday.com/.

How to Learn About History and Have Fun

AppId is over the quota

Would you like to know more about history and do you like reading but you don't want to spend any time studying? Reading historical novels may do just the trick. Bot not every historical novel is suitable for acquiring the knowledge you want to have. In this article we will look at two authors who researched the historical background for their fictional heroes with great care. You can be absolutely sure that the historical facts, personalities and circumstances mentioned in their books are true. The interactions between our heroes and historical figures are pure fantasy of course, but they are so well written that they have a ring of truth about them.

An unlikely couple: Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin.

These men are the brain-children of Patrick O'Brian. Jack Aubrey is the son of a General of the British Army during the time of the wars with Napoleon. Jack joined the Royal Navy and we follow his career, starting as a commander of a sloop and rising to higher ranks during numerous adventures. Jack is a tall and strong fellow, a keen sailor and a warrior to the core. As a sailor his competence and courage are unsurpassed; a clever chap too, but not an intellectual. Of course he is very much a ladies man. All the ingredients for thrilling adventures are there, don't you think? The world in which Jack lives is very richly painted by O'Brian. Life on board of a British warship during the 1800's is so well described that you can find your way from stem to stern in your imagination. You will meet historical personalities such as Lord Melville and Peter Haywood, who served as a midshipman under Captain Bligh, the hapless commander of the Bounty.

Dr. Stephen Maturin M.D. is quite a different character. A scholar, highly intelligent and an endearing eccentric. He and Jack meet each other in the first chapter of saga and are inseparable ever since. Through the acts of Dr. Maturin and the workings of his inquisitive mind, you will get an idea of science in the eighteenth century. The hidden secretive other life of Maturin, of which I cannot reveal anything, is interwoven with the adventurous life of Jack. Jack a man of direct action, Stephen a man of political stratagems. You can't stop reading.

Captain Horatio Hornblower, a lonely hero.

Captain Hornblower is not so easy to describe. His character is a mixture of that of Jack Aubrey and Dr. Maturin. A man who doesn't think much of himself, self-doubting but when the situation requires is he acts swift and decisively. Horatio a man of action, acts not driven by an urge to fight but realizes clever naval strategy. When you can lay a hand on any Hornblower novel, buy it! They are out of print nowadays.

Have look at my blog about historical books: http://john-historybooks.blogspot.com/

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Zuyderduyn

What if History Didn't Quite Turn Out That Way - What Would Life be Like Now?

AppId is over the quota

As an online article writer I often put forth "what if" scenarios. And perhaps for this reason, one of my favorite topics is - What If History had turned out different? You know things like what if the NAZIs had taken over Europe and the US stayed out of the war. What if we had not dropped nuclear bombs on Japan and the Russians ended up conquering all those islands to the North and eventually the large island we think of when we think of Japan.

Okay so, if these types of topics intrigue you as well, I'd like to recommend a book to you, one which I find completely fascinating, interesting, and thought provoking. In fact, the author/editor of this book explains that's exactly why he wrote it in the first place to provoke thought. The name of the book is:

"What If?" Book II, "Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been," Edited by Robert Crowley - Essays by James Bradley, Caleb Carr, Thomas Fleming, John Lukacs, Geoffrey Ward, Published by Berkeley Books, New York, NY, (2001), pages 427, ISBN: 0-425-18613-X

In this second work, Book II some really interesting questions were asked followed by well-thought out questions and historical accounts. What's sorts of information and questions are in this book? Well below are just a few such as:

What if Jesus was not crucified?What if Socrates died in a battle prior to becoming a philosopher?What if FDR didn't become president of the US?What if Hitler and Neville Chamberlin didn't sign an agreement?What if the allies were unable to decipher the German enigma code?What if there had not been a cold-war?

Amazingly compelling arguments are outlined throughout this work. This is great for history students, or for teachers wishing to get their students interested in history. It's also great for those like me who believe that "those who do not study their history are doomed to repeat it!" So, I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I. Please consider all this, and if you have a "What If" comment about history, please send me an email, and let's talk.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes it's hard work to write 22,000 articles; http://www.bloggingcontent.net/