History As Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Required Reading as with all dr. Parenti work.
Review: I 'd like to further the discussion for this book by posting my thoughts about it. As others have mentioned, the booklist review is all together bigoted, slanted and shallow and should be disregarded by any self-respecting reader. If however one analyses this review with a more critical eye one can detect an impressive wealth of ill-founded and vacant rhetoric that serves the sole purpose of such reviews, i.e. to further the causes of their writer against free speech and the (relatively) objective circulation of thought and information, which is precisely the point that dr. Michael Parenti is trying to make in this and other books of his. I will petition the reader's and amazon's patience to go into it in just a few lines as it is such a good case in point of all that Parenti is rallying against.

Parenti is labeled a "self-styled "progressive" thinker" and his work "one-sided" and "emotional". For me to be self-styled is the only way to go and far better than being other-people-interests-styled, and the quotes on progressive serve well to subtly convey the contempt at the very begging of this article, with no more than four words coming before that (Mr. Jay Freeman, his name an irony in itself, does not feel his readers ought to know the reasons for his scorn, just accept it per se with no prior justification.) The claim of it being "one-sided" is another rhetoric device. Who is not one sided, who does not have just his own side to write about, any contrary claim to that would imply that the author could and should and must be ubiquitous and rise above themselves as if they were a type of higher essence, a mere medium for a higher order of ideas. The later claim of emotionality goes unjustified as well. And that's only the firt two lines folks! He then name drops "paranoia", "dogmatic" and "absurdity" to tie the whole thing together with empty and sterile stereotyping. The coup de grace comes with the mental image mr. Freeman constructs for dr. Parenti as being a "mind hog-tied by ideology", as if he himself had no ideology of his own, and "hog-tied"... how bile and fearful and slandering can a reviewer get. This is is insulting.

To do justice to the book is to say that it is at least revealing, well thought out and well written. Parenti writes in a clear and spirited tone, managing to be at the same time, a popularizer of complex issues, an informed scholar and last but certainly not least an inspiration for social action and change, being the activist he is. This series of essays cannnot be labeled "leftist" because this would reductionist to say the least, they are the words of a person favouring the egalitarian and democratic future that we all should aspire to. And how can we further this cause failing to understand how our distant and not-so-distant history comes to be, if we do not learn how to think as Parenti said in one of his lectures "systemically", i.e. to see the whole picture, the whole frame of reference and not the unimportant bits and pieces of information the media supply as with. (?) The answer is we cannot.

I urge you to read dr. Parenti's books for all their profound analysis, scholarship and humor and for their value at instigating social struggles and change. And listen to him live if you can, he is a remarkable speaker.

Thanks for your time and patience, and to amazon for offering a space for free and radical discussion.

Rating:
Summary: Angry, Tough to Chew Food for Thought
Review: Michael Parenti's History as Mystery was a wonderful discovery. As a fan of all things historical, it is always a pleasure to discover a writer who looks at history from a different angle from most mainstream authors. Parenti has a viewpoint and shouts it loudly and proudly. Since all history writers have a bias of some kind, it is nice to read a book that wears its bias on its sleeve. He is far left. That could pose a problem for some readers who are so firmly entrenched to the right but for others it is a delight to travel with Parenti as he examines the ways history is manipulated by the ruling elite for their own benefit. This book, whether you agree with it or not, will make you question other historians as you read them. That is a very good thing. This book opened my mind a little (and along with the History on Trial, as a companion piece) allowed me to examine with insight the history that I have been spoon fed in the past and the history books I will enter into in the future. An entertaining read from an angry (with every reason to be so) book.

Rating:
Summary: Objectivity?
Review: Parenti examined a number of accepted historical "truths" and biases to be found in current historical works. He examined the reasons for Christianity's rapid spread, the history of anti-Semitism and the clashes between labor and capital in terms of more recent factual evidence versus what is commonly explained in textbooks and the mass media. He then followed the controversial case of the death of President Taylor whom Parenti claimed was against the spread of slavery into the terrorities. The book shines when it exposes the way conjecture and flimsy evidence becomes concrete facts ready to deliver to bored students, thus fulfilling state mandated (and politically influenced) curricula.

Students and thinkers looking for more than interesting historical tidbits to spout at parties will appreciate this book about the creation of history. Those who control the past control the future, said Orwell. Parenti opened my eyes about those who control the past.

He was particularly critical of Daniel Boorstin, a well respected historian of the twentieth century. Parenti seems to be asking whether the mainstream will allow alternative histories to reach wide audiences.

Parenti's book helps evaluate the current state of the "Historical Industry" (my term). His book is a reminder to remain wary of those issuing the official history. History is a human process, his book cries, not a mystery divined by Ivory Tower mystics spread by edicts written in stone!

We must be aware of those writing and distributing history and ensure their methods and sources are verifiable. Parenti ends the book with a call for more economic analysis of the class based struggles throughout history. The book promotes genuine thought and is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: helps to uncover history
Review: Parenti writes about certain events in history that need more attention and to uncover some truths. He deals with the rise of christianity in europe and how unbarbaric it was in many aspects and the resentment of peasants to the church hierarchy. He deals wiht issues like politics and certain agendas influence history. Overall, history as mystery does make you question how history is taught and how to question the facts.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: Readers of Zinn, Chomsky, Herman etc will find little new in reading this as other works by Parenti but this takes away little in the entertainment of the read. Like other Parenti books 'History As Mystery' is filled with many delightful facts rarely mentioned in mainstream history and scholarship. Aside from the distasteful apologetics of lenninism and the soviet union much of what Parenti says is highly accurate and relevant. The most novel chapter I feel was the one on Zachary Taylor being poisoned. Parenti makes a strong case for this being a possibility but does not do a good job linking this to the 'bias of modern historians.'
I have to admit however that I was somewhat dissapointed in 'History as Mystery.' I found little value in two chapters discussing the oppressiveness of the catholic church in the middle ages, and although the chapter on 'pyschopolitics' is highly amusing it is somewhat dated. A better Parenti book to read I feel would be 'Against Empire' which does a wonderful job debunking the ideas that the 'US only cares about world democracy' and that empires are artifacts of the ninteenth century. I got this book for 5$ at a used bookstore. Although not the best (in rhetoric or information) radical book I feel it was worth the cost!

Rating:
Summary: Deserves to be a classic
Review: This is an absolutely sensational book that deserves to be read by a larger audience than it will probably get. Parenti touches on traditionally taboo subjects and sheds a whole lotta light on them. His section on the religious inquisition is outstanding along with his analysis of how powerful mainstream intellectuals have white-washed the death of Zachary Taylor. If you have time to read only one history book all year, make this the one.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves to be a classic
Review: This is an absolutely sensational book that deserves to be read by a larger audience than it will probably get. Parenti touches on traditionally taboo subjects and sheds a whole lotta light on them. His section on the religious inquisition is outstanding along with his analysis of how powerful mainstream intellectuals have white-washed the death of Zachary Taylor. If you have time to read only one history book all year, make this the one.

Rating:
Summary: Unraveling The Mystery
Review: Well written and highly readable, this book is nothing more than a superb attack on the prevailing orthodoxy that passes for history today. Parenti pulls no punches and is not afraid to be politically incorrect. His savage attack on the conservative historians, their biases and their sacred cows will raise the eyebrows and the blood pressure of those who want their past prepackaged like junk food, made to look good, taste good and slowly poison the society it misrepresents. It will terrify those who believe that are ancestors were greater and wiser than we are. This is a book that should be read by every intellectual, regardless of bias. It will astound as well as entertain, and for those of a conservative bent, it will probably appall. The best sections deal with the excesses of the Church as a destructive and distorting agent in history, Viva La Revolution!