In The Theft of History Jack Goody builds on his own previous work to extend further his highly influential critique of what he sees as the pervasive Eurocentric or occidentalist biases of so much western historical writing and the consequent 'theft' by the West of the achievements of other cultures in the invention of (notably) democracy, capitalism, individualism and love. Goody, one of the world's most distinguished anthropologists, raises questions about theorists, historians and methodology and proposes a new comparative approach to cross-cultural analysis which allows for more scope in examining history than an East versus West style.
The explosive truth about America’s Revolution–a bloody civil war that was won largely in the South–that modern liberals have kept buried until now. At the darkest hour of the American Revolution, in 1780, when there was little reason to hope, the British went down South and overplayed their hand. By burning the bibles of backwoodsmen and threatening their honor, the British ignited a firestorm in the most spectacular, unusual, and decisive battle of the war. Ordinary folk from throughout the Southern colonies spontaneously banded together and rode for hundreds of miles to attack and destroy British forces at King’s Mountain. The killing didn’t stop at King’s Mountain, but the war did. Never heard of the massacre that saved the American Revolution? No idea that liberty was actually won in the South? Red state values of God, guns and guts are being dismantled by leftists airbrushing our past in order to “transform” our future. Grand Theft History features shocking new evidence that exposes the latest battlefield in the culture wars–American history.
The author of this enthralling book aims to present a well-illustrated and documented alternative history of the Western World through graphic accounts of looting and art theft from the time of Sargon, ruler of Syria in 721 BC, to the present day. Almost all the principal players included appear on the stage of World history and many of them are known as conquerors, confiscators (the old-fashioned word for looters) and ruthless administrators of the regions they created as a result of their conquests. Featured here are emperors, kings, queens, popes, adventurers, explorers and those whose energies and expertise supported the greed and acquisitive ambitions of their masters. The different motivation of the greatest looters in history is a recurrent theme which is examined throughout.
When compared to terrorism, drugs and violent crimes that occupy the news today art is not considered as important. But, as it turns out, art and cultural crime is currently ranked as the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world. What exactly is art crime? Why does art matter? And what is law enforcement doing to prevent this crime today? Due to the misleading portrayal of art crime in the entertainment industry people have the flawed belief that art and cultural crime doesn’t damage anyone in a direct way. And the truth of the matter is that this crime results in the loss of billions of dollars annually. Art and cultural crime is not simply focused on museums or private displays, the loss of art directly affects our cultural identity and history. Napoleon moved from one region to the next collecting art and sending as much as possible back to France. The Nazis looted cultural property from every territory they occupied. And there have been various cases of ISIL and ISIS destroying archaeological sites as a method of destroying any evidence of past culture or history that disagree with their own. With the United States being the largest market for both legal and illicit artwork in the world more preventative attention from law enforcement and security is needed for our country to meet international standards and end detrimental art crimes. In Stealing History, Colleen Clarke and Eli J. Szydlo look at the history behind art crime, how these crimes have grown over the last half century, and what law enforcement has been involved in protecting the world from these crimes.
Without the theft of indigenous groups' lands and the exploitation of African slave labor, whites would not currently own over 95 percent of land in the U.S. Due to the forced assimilation to European religious beliefs and customs, many indigenous and former slaves compromised their native beliefs to appease European settlers. Unfortunately, the new way of life led to the five "civilized" tribes owning slaves and some former slaves joining the military to fight against tribal groups after the Civil War. As more Europeans populated the United States, the adoption of English common law beliefs of statehood and demarcation of land created our current property laws, thus replacing indigenous and African beliefs of communal living. U.S. property law was written strategically to provide land protection for whites and equip future generations to continue the European legacy of stealing land from indigenous and black landowners. Due to the history of land theft and property laws Whites now own over 95 percent of U.S. land. White Land Theft explores the history of European settlement in the Plain States and the present-day land loss of both exploited communities. Hishaw's recommendations of land reparations and how to disburse it, along with legal analysis related to tax credits, are backed up by industry interviews and her 15 years of professional experience. White Land Theft is a factual justification for land reparations supported by extensive research.
As heard on NPR's This American Life “Absorbing . . . Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever.” —Christian Science Monitor A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tiers and plume peddlers, for readers of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief. On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins—some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russel Wallace, who'd risked everything to gather them—and escaped into the darkness. Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man's destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.
