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What do we really know about how and where religions began, and how
they spread? In this bold new book, award-winning author Robin
Derricourt takes us on a journey through the birth and growth of
several major religions, using history and archaeology to recreate
the times, places and societies that witnessed the rise of
significant monotheistic faiths. Beginning with Mormonism and
working backwards through Islam, Christianity and Judaism to
Zoroastrianism, Creating God opens up the conditions that allowed
religious movements to emerge, attract their first followers and
grow. Throughout history there have been many prophets: individuals
who believed they were in direct contact with the divine, with
instructions to spread a religious message. While many disappeared
without trace, some gained millions of followers and established a
lasting religion. In Creating God, Robin Derricourt has produced a
brilliant, panoramic book that offers new insights on the origins
of major religions and raises essential questions about why some
succeeded where others failed. -- .
This is the first book to survey the 'hidden half' of prehistoric
societies as revealed by archaeology - from Australopithecines to
advanced Stone Age foragers, from farming villages to the
beginnings of civilisation. Prehistoric children can be seen in
footprints and finger daubs, in images painted on rocks and pots,
in the signs of play and the evidence of first attempts to learn
practical crafts. The burials of those who did not reach adulthood
reveal clothing, personal adornment, possession and status in
society, while the bodies themselves provide information on diet,
health and sometimes violent death. This book demonstrates the
extraordinary potential for the study of childhood within the
prehistoric record, and will suggest to those interested in
childhood what can be learnt from the study of the deep past. -- .
This is the first book to survey the 'hidden half' of prehistoric
societies as revealed by archaeology - from Australopithecines to
advanced Stone Age foragers, from farming villages to the
beginnings of civilisation. Prehistoric children can be seen in
footprints and finger daubs, in images painted on rocks and pots,
in the signs of play and the evidence of first attempts to learn
practical crafts. The burials of those who did not reach adulthood
reveal clothing, personal adornment, possession and status in
society, while the bodies themselves provide information on diet,
health and sometimes violent death. This book demonstrates the
extraordinary potential for the study of childhood within the
prehistoric record, and will suggest to those interested in
childhood what can be learnt from the study of the deep past. -- .
Directed specifically to the needs of academic authors, this
realistic handbook is a guide to publishing success for both
beginning and seasoned scholars. Robin Derricourt uses an immensely
readable series of informal letters to provide a fund of practical
advice: an up-to-date manual on how to plan and prepare a book,
approach a publisher, secure a contract, and build a reliable
author-publisher relationship that will last throughout the process
of publication and marketing. Informed by rare common sense, and a
sense of humor, the book speaks clearly about the most recent
developments in the rapidly changing world of electronic
publishing, clarifying what can and cannot be achieved with word
processors. From the possible negative responses of a publisher to
the questions implied by success--new editions and subsidiary
rights--"An Author's Guide to Scholarly Publishing" is
indispensable reading for academics in every field.
Derricourt's candid yet encouraging suggestions will be useful
at any stage of book preparation, including the process of writing,
when focusing on purpose and audience benefits both the author and
the future publisher, not to mention the future reader Furthermore,
his "letters" include those on various kinds of books--standard
monographs, technical books, conference volumes, edited volumes,
collected papers, textbooks, and works built on dissertations. A
reference of "nuts and bolts," this book is also quick and
entertaining reading when perused from cover to cover.
"Inventing Africa" is a critical account of narratives which have
selectively interpreted and misinterpreted the continent's deep
past. Writers have created alluring images of lost cities, vast
prehistoric migrations and golden ages of past civilizations.
Debates continue on the African origins of humankind, the
contributions of ancient Egypt to the world and Africa's importance
to global history. Images of "Africa," simplifying a complex and
diverse continent, have existed from ancient Mediterranean worlds,
slave trading nations and colonial powers to today's political
elites, ecotourists and aid-givers. Robin Derricourt draws on his
background as publisher and practitioner in archaeology and history
to explore the limits and the dangers of simplifications, arguing
-- as with Said's concept of "Orientalism" -- that ambitious ideas
can delude or oppress as well as inform. Defending Africa against
some of the grand narratives that have been imposed upon its
peoples, "Inventing Africa" will spark new debates in the history
of Africa and of archaeology.
Outsiders have long attributed to the Middle East, and especially
to ancient Egypt, meanings that go way beyond the rational and
observable. The region has been seen as the source of civilization,
religion, the sciences and the arts; but also of mystical knowledge
and outlandish theories, whether about the Lost City of Atlantis or
visits by alien beings. In his exploration of how its past has been
creatively interpreted by later ages, Robin Derricourt surveys the
various claims that have been made for Egypt - particularly the
idea that it harbours an esoteric wisdom vital to the world's
survival. He looks at 'alternative' interpretations of the
pyramids, from maps of space and time to landing markers for UFOs;
at images of the Egyptian mummy and at the popular mythology of the
'pharaoh's curse'; and at imperialist ideas of racial superiority
that credited Egypt with spreading innovations and inventions as
far as the Americas, Australia and China. Including arcane ideas
about the Lost Ten Tribes of biblical Israel, the author enlarges
his focus to include the Levant.His book is the first to show in
depth how ancient Egypt and the surrounding lands have so
continuously and seductively tantalised the Western imagination.
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