Michael Rank's Blog, page 17
January 6, 2014
HFM 051 | History’s Greatest Alchemists, Part 3: Ge Hong (283-343) The Chinese Polymath Who Sought Immortality, with Travis Dow of the History of Alchemy Podcast
[image error]In this third part of our series on history’s greatest alchemists, we step out of Europe and the Middle East and explore the life of Ge Hong, a government official best known for his interest in Daoism, alchemy, and attempts at immortality. Did he stumble onto the recipe for limitless life?
Check out Travis’ History of Alchemy Podcast by clicking here.
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December 30, 2013
HFM 050 | History’s Greatest Alchemists, Part 2: Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) Medieval Islam’s Foremost Intellectual Who Was Most Concerned with The Alchemy of Happiness, with Travis Dow of the History of Alchemy Podcast
[image error]The foremost intellectual in the medieval Islamic world was a theologian, juristic, mystic, and philosophy. He wrote a landmark treatise in which he attempted to construct a unified explanation of human knowledge. But what was the branch of knowledge that he thought tied in all the sciences together? Alchemy, of course!
Check out Travis’ History of Alchemy Podcast by clicking here.
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December 23, 2013
HFM 049 | History’s Greatest Alchemists, Part 1: Isaac Newton (1642-1727), the Father of Modern Physics, Who Would Rather be Transmuting Metals into Gold, with Travis Dow of the History of Alchemy Podcast
Think that Isaac Newton was only interested in advancing science and banishing all forms of superstition or empirical research? Think again! Find out how the father of modern physics and mathematics spent far more of his time attempting to unlock the secrets of transmuting base metals into gold and figuring out the date for the end of the world.
Check out Travis’ History of Alchemy Podcast by clicking here.
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December 16, 2013
HFM 048 | Lost Civilizations, Part 3: Ancient American Explorers: The Unknown Adventurers Who Arrived a Millennium Before Columbus
Archeologists have discovered hundreds of remains of ancient cultures who arrived at America centuries before Columbus, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Chinese, and Polynesians. But who came first, and why didn’t they stay? Find out in these week’s podcast episode!
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December 9, 2013
HFM 047 | Lost Civilizations, Part 2: The Pyramid Builders: Skilled Craftsmen to Some, Visitors from Another Planet to Others
[image error]Did slaves actually build Egypt’s pyramids or was it really the work of aliens, as the History Channel and wild-haired conspiracy theorists suggest? We hoped for the former but found it to be the latter.
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December 5, 2013
New Book “Lost Civilizations” Is Out — Only $0.99 for a Limited Time!
My new book “Lost Civilizations: 10 Societies that disappeared without a trace” is out today. You can get it from Amazon.com for a limited time for only $0.99!
Description: From the #1 bestselling author of History’s Greatest Generals comes an exciting new book on the greatest societies in history that vanished without a trace, and why their disappearance still haunts us today.
Whether it is Plato’s lost city of Atlantis, a technological advanced utopia that sank into the ocean “in a single day and night of misfortune”; the colony of Roanoke, whose early American settlers were swallowed up in the wild forest lands of the unexplored continent, or the Ancient American Explorers, who managed to arrive to the New World 2,000 years before Columbus, the disappearance of these societies is as cryptic as it is implausible.
This book will look at cultures of the 10 greatest lost civilizations in history. Some were millenia ahead their neighbors, such as the Indus Valley Civilization, which had better city planning in 3,000 B.C. than any European capital in the 18th century. Others left behind baffling mysteries, such as the Anasazi, whose cliff-dwelling houses were so inaccessible that every member of society would have to be an expert-level rock climber.
It will also at explanations as to how massive societies that lasted for centuries can disappear without a trace. Did the builders of the pyramids handy craftsmen whose method of transporting massive stones are still unexplainable simply disappear or were they part of an advanced alien race, as conspiracy theorists assert? Was the Kingdom of Aksum really the keeper of the Ark of the Covenant, and did this lead to their downfall?
Whatever the nature of their disappearance, these lost civilizations offer many lessons for us today — even the greatest of societies can disappear, and that includes us.
HFM 046 | Lost Civilizations, Part 1: Atlantis: Did the Greatest Society that Ever Existed Ever Exist?
[image error]Is there any good reason to believe that an advanced society that existed 11,000 years ago really exist, or do we have to take Plato’s word for it? Find out today in this episode.
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December 1, 2013
HFM 045 | The Biggest Forgeries in History, Part 2: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
[image error]How did this fake document that was printed in 1897 in Russia and stuffed full of wild conspiracy theories against the Jews end up responsible for anti-semitism in the 20th century, the rise of the Nazi Party, and possibly the Holocaust? Find out in this week’s episode, and why the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is sadly influential to this day.
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November 25, 2013
HFM 044 | The Biggest Forgeries in History, Part 1: The Donation of Constantine
How did an anonymous medieval clergyman try to forge a letter from Emperor Constantine to Pope Sylvester justified all the land holdings of the Roman Catholic Church? Find out in this week’s podcast.
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November 24, 2013
5 Best Christmas Gifts for History Buffs
Do you worry that this Christmas, your family will give you a membership to the Summer Sausage of the Month Club? (yes, that actually exists). Have no fear. If you happen to be a history buff, I have compiled a list of the five best Christmas gifts that you can pass on to your friends or family. If you are shopping for a history buff, then this list will make your life much easier. They will not be disappointed.
I have arranged these in the order from the cheapest to most expensive, depending on how extravagant you want to be.
1) History’s Most Insane Rulers – Audible Audio Edition. OK, OK, I had to include one of my own products on this list, and I promise you that this will be the only one. I only included it because it is the best-selling product of mine currently available. The audio version is a 2-hour recording narrated by professional voice actor Kevin Pierce. Learn about the eccentric reigns of Emperor Caligula, Kim Jong-Il, and 8 other megalomaniacs while in your car or at the gym!
Retail: $6.95 (only $4.99 if you buy the book and the Audio Edition together)
2) John Adams HBO miniseries on DVD. One of my favorite series of all time. The seven-part miniseries looks at the life of our first vice president, from the Boston Massacre through the American Revolution, up to his presidency and death on the same day as Thomas Jefferson on July 4, 1826. This 8-hour-long box set is one of those rare works of historical study that doesn’t try to shoehorn in contemporary events into the past. Instead it lets history speak for itself. And what a fascinating history it is. Brilliantly acted and produced.
Retail: $16.96
3) Geno 2.0 – Genographic Project Participation and DNA Ancestry Kit. Did your ancestors join the march with Alexander the Great? Are you a direct descendant of Charlemagne or William the Conqueror? While this DNA test unfortunately won’t give you that level of precision, it will show you the migration patterns of your ancestors and your ethnic breakdown. It provides your ancestral information by accessing the database filed with the genetic information of the half million people that have participated in National Geographic’s Genographic Project. You will also learn what percentage of your genome is affiliated with specific regions of the world. Warning: not recommended if you pride yourself on being a “pure-breed” of any particular race, as you are likely in for a nasty shock!
Retail: $159.95
4) “The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World.” This course – available courtesy of the Great Courses – consists of 48 full-length lectures and is the mother of all history lessons. Professor Robert Garland of Colgate University narrates daily life for a dazzling cast of characters, from a Greek soldier marching on the front row of a phalanx to a Celtic monk running away with the Book of Kells during a Viking invasion. Available in video or audio download, or by DVD or CD.
Retail: $249.95 (Audio Download)
5) Men’s Skeepskin B-3 Bomber Jacket. You may not know it, but these jackets played a major role in helping the Allies win World War II. This was the military-issued cold-weather flight jacket in 1934, and it kept pilots warm in their long flights over Europe in unpressurized cabins at altitudes of 30,000 feet, where temps dropped as low as 60 below zero. Without them, many a dogfight could have been lost to Nazi pilots or an Allied bombing run failed. Made from Napa leather, resistant to the most extreme cold weather. Imagine you are dropping the 101st Airborne Division over enemy lines right before D-Day, but in the coolest of style.
Retail: $595.
