This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1874 Excerpt: ...and by farming villages, to which the citizens repair at the harvest time to superintend the labor of their slaves. But such cities, with their villeggiatura, their municipal government, their agora, or forum, their fortified houses, their feuds and street frays of Capulet and Montague, are not indigenous in Africa; their existence is comparatively modern, and is due to the influence of Religion. An African village (old style) is usually a street of huts, with walls like hurdles, and the thatch projecting so that its owner may sit beneath it in sun or rain. The door is low; one has to crawl in order to go in. There are no windows, the house is a single room. In its midst burns a fire which is never suffered to go out, for it is a light in darkness, a servant, a companion, and a guardian angel; it puriflies the miasmatic air. The roof and walls are smoke-dried, but clean; in one corner is a pile of wood neatly cut up into billets, and in another is a large earthen jar filled with water, on which floats a gourd or calabash, a vegetable bowl. Spears, bows, quivers, and nets hang from pegs upon the walls. Let us suppose that it is night: four or five black forms are lying in a circle with their feet toward the fire, and two dogs with pricked-up ears creep close to the ashes, which are becoming gray and cold. The day dawns; a dim light appears through the crevices and crannies of the walls. The sleepers rise and roll up their mats, which are their beds, and place on one side the round logs of wood which are their pillows. The man takes down his bow and arrows from the wall, fastens wooden rattles round his dogs' necks, and goes out into the bush. The women replenish the fire, and lift up an inverted basket whence sally forth a hen and her chickens, which make at...
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About the Author
Winwood Reade (1838-1875) was an atheist, traveler, and controversialist who traveled extensively through Africa, covered the Ashanti War, wrote against Roman Catholicism and other established forms of religion.
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THE land of Egypt is six hundred miles long, and is bounded by two ranges of naked limestone hills, which sometimes approach, and sometimes retire from, each other, leaving between them an average breadth of seven miles. Read the first page
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THE land of Egypt is six hundred miles long, and is bounded by two ranges of naked limestone hills, which sometimes approach, and sometimes retire from, each other, leaving between them an average breadth of seven miles. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Andrew Woods
Format:Paperback
The Martydom of man takes you on a grand journey through mans history, from the achient egyptions through to the greeks and romans. Then dives deeply into the origins of Islam and Christianity, Followed by the African slave trade. Then takes you back in time to the first existance of life on our planet through to the evolution of man.
With all that said this book is to "my suprise anyway" very easy to read. It is well written and simplistic considering its content. There is alot of infomation given here and it can be over bearing in places, however that said it is a very enjoyable read and can capture your imagination beautifully.
Much of the books content are from other sources which has been listed in its introduction eg Darwin (Some Evolution parts of book). That hasn't stopped this book having a small fanclub amoung famous faces eg Winston Churchill listed it as one of his favorites and Cecil John Rhodes stated it made me what I am.
The book however did suffer some controversy due to the bashing of Christianity the auther boldly wrote near the end of the book, this was his opinion and should be read with an open mind.
This is the classic reprint so the pages are scanned from orginal work so some of the pages are blurred and some sentences unreadable but you will find that this isnt a major factor due to the scale of the book.
I Throughly enjoyed reading this, reading back through mans memories of war and savagery I have more respect for the world around me, and thanks to this book I understand that good morality is the way forward "Now" and not the teachings of an achient doctrine (My opinion).
With all that said this book is to "my suprise anyway" very easy to read. It is well written and simplistic considering its content. There is alot of infomation given here and it can be over bearing in places, however that said it is a very enjoyable read and can capture your imagination beautifully.
Much of the books content are from other sources which has been listed in its introduction eg Darwin (Some Evolution parts of book). That hasn't stopped this book having a small fanclub amoung famous faces eg Winston Churchill listed it as one of his favorites and Cecil John Rhodes stated it made me what I am.
The book however did suffer some controversy due to the bashing of Christianity the auther boldly wrote near the end of the book, this was his opinion and should be read with an open mind.
This is the classic reprint so the pages are scanned from orginal work so some of the pages are blurred and some sentences unreadable but you will find that this isnt a major factor due to the scale of the book.
I Throughly enjoyed reading this, reading back through mans memories of war and savagery I have more respect for the world around me, and thanks to this book I understand that good morality is the way forward "Now" and not the teachings of an achient doctrine (My opinion).
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkable Journey
26 Nov 2008
By Publius Cornelius
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Although one may not agree with the author's religious beliefs, or lack thereof, his keen insights into human nature and man's journey through time are quite remarkable. This book is difficult to put down once started, and likely to be read many times once read for the first time. I happened onto it by reading that it was one of Winston Churchill's favorite books. It is now one of mine.
20 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Basis and Structure of Civilization
29 Aug 2000
By n.r.lenehan
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The above would be an appropriate title for this concise and unpretentious account of human development.
My first reading of the book was many years ago and was invaluable in formulating an understanding of how civilization began and particularly in withstanding the nonsense produced by the present day "anthropologists" who make the definition of civilization a shifting target.
If this book were to be the basis of a definition of civilization it would begin a useful science of anthropology and a reaming out of the nonsense that has inundated this area of endeavour.
The style in which the book is written makes surprisingly absorbing and light reading considering the scope and weight of the topic .
The sombre title is witness only to an unassuming presentation of an Author sympathetic to his subject.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still A Worthwhile Read
23 Dec 2009
By London Fog
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
That this book reamins relevant so many years after it's publication does say much about the validity of the content. It is a thought proviking read even when so many other, more modern authors have argued similar subjects, and regardless of religious belief (or lack therof), I think, there is still much that can be taken from this. Again, a fascinating read that I did not expect from the original publication date and has rivaled or rises to the level of much of the modern humanist literature. If you have any interest in humanism/atheism, this is a surprisingly easy read, and one of my favorites on the subject.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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