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At the time of Japan’s surrender to Allied forces on August 15, 1945, some six million Japanese were left stranded across the vast expanse of a vanquished Asian empire. Half civilian and half military, they faced the prospect of returning somehow to a Japan that lay prostrate, its cities destroyed, after years of warfare and Allied bombing campaigns. Among them were more than 600,000 soldiers of Japan’s army in Manchuria, who had surrendered to the Red Army only to be transported to Soviet labor camps, mainly in Siberia. Held for between two and four years, and some far longer, amid forced labor and reeducation campaigns, they waited for return, never knowing when or if it would come. Drawing on a wide range of memoirs, art, poetry, and contemporary records, The Gods Left First reconstructs their experience of captivity, return, and encounter with a postwar Japan that now seemed as alien as it had once been familiar. In a broader sense, this study is a meditation on the meaning of survival for Japan’s continental repatriates, showing that their memories of involvement in Japan’s imperial project were both a burden and the basis for a new way of life.
At the time of JapanÕs surrender to Allied forces on August 15, 1945, some six million Japanese were left stranded across the vast expanse of a vanquished Asian empire. Half civilian and half military, they faced the prospect of returning somehow to a Japan that lay prostrate, its cities destroyed, after years of warfare and Allied bombing campaigns. Among them were more than 600,000 soldiers of JapanÕs army in Manchuria, who had surrendered to the Red Army only to be transported to Soviet labor camps, mainly in Siberia. Held for between two and four years, and some far longer, amid forced labor and reeducation campaigns, they waited for return, never knowing when or if it would come. Drawing on a wide range of memoirs, art, poetry, and contemporary records, The Gods Left First reconstructs their experience of captivity, return, and encounter with a postwar Japan that now seemed as alien as it had once been familiar. In a broader sense, this study is a meditation on the meaning of survival for JapanÕs continental repatriates, showing that their memories of involvement in JapanÕs imperial project were both a burden and the basis for a new way of life.
The Long Awaited Sequel to the Worldwide Best-seller Chariots of the Gods When Chariots of the Gods was published 50 years ago, it began a worldwide change in humanity's view of the cosmos. In an era of the military space race, Erich von Däniken boldly proclaimed that Earth had been visited by more advanced beings early in our history. But prescientific man had no concept of space ships, so he called their vehicles "chariots," and those driving the chariots became "gods." Over the next five decades, von Däniken's more than 40 books built an ever-stronger case for Earth being visited by extraterrestrial visitors. And Chariots became an international best seller, with 30 million copies sold in more than two dozen languages. Also during that time, the case for ET visitations millennia ago was being reexamined by contemporary UFO researchers, who found evidence of modern visitations. And von Däniken expanded his perspective to encompass the present. Now, he presents his long-awaited sequel to Chariots of the Gods, proclaiming that the gods never left us with all-new material to show that ancient aliens are still with us. The Gods Never Left Us contends that recent advancements in biotechnology, astrophysics, engineering, and artificial intelligence not only give us a fresh perspective on his ancient astronaut theory but actually validates it. We are--as a race--embarking on the exact same trajectory of our own interplanetary colonization, just as von Däniken suggested Earth itself was colonized. ETs are definitely at work today. And that affects all of us. Why do they do what they do? What could an extraterrestrial species possibly gain from observing us in the same way we look at ants? What have these strangers wanted for the past thousands of years? Can't they leave us alone? And what makes it so difficult for us to acknowledge the existence of these extraterrestrials? That is what this book deals with. "Erich's newest book is a fascination journey from the ancient past into the present with a plethora of scientific evidence and documented research. As always, he ads his own "to the point" take on it all. Readers may also like that his newest work moves in a slightly different direction from his past books. A thoroughly enlightening and enjoyable Read." --Bruce Cunningham, Director, Ancient Mysteries International LLC & Publisher of Advanced Archaeology Review magazine
Haraldur the northman once joined Jason on his fabled quest for the Golden Fleece, but now he wants nothing more to do with gods and adventure. Returning to his homeland for the first time in many years, he hopes only to settle down on a farm of his own—until he comes across an impenetrable wall of eldritch fire and a lovesick youth determined to breach the wall at any cost. Behind the towering flames, he is told, lies a beautiful Valkyrie trapped in an enchanted sleep, as well as, perhaps, a golden treasure beyond mortal reckoning. It is the gold that tempts Hal to agree, against his better judgment, to assist the youth in his quest. But to find a way past the fiery wall, they must first brave gnomes, ghosts, and the wrath of the gods themselves. For a mighty battle is brewing, and Hal soon finds himself caught up in a celestial conflict between Thor the Thunderer, Loki the Trickster, and most powerful of all, Wodan, the merciless Lord of Battles!
"'Return of the Strong Gods,'...is a thoughtful contribution to American political debate. It is incisively written and full of modern observations. Mr. Reno explains, better than any book I can remember, the present-day progressive's paranoid fear of fascism and neurotic determination to ferret out racism where none exists."—The Wall Street Journal After the staggering slaughter of back-to-back world wars, the West embraced the ideal of the “open society.” The promise: By liberating ourselves from the old attachments to nation, clan, and religion that had fueled centuries of violence, we could build a prosperous world without borders, freed from dogmas and managed by experts. But the populism and nationalism that are upending politics in America and Europe are a sign that after three generations, the postwar consensus is breaking down. With compelling insight, R. R. Reno argues that we are witnessing the return of the “strong gods”—the powerful loyalties that bind men to their homeland and to one another. Reacting to the calamitous first half of the twentieth century, our political, cultural, and financial elites promoted open borders, open markets, and open minds. But this never-ending project of openness has hardened into a set of anti-dogmatic dogmas which destroy the social solidarity rooted in family, faith, and nation. While they worry about the return of fascism, our societies are dissolving. But man will not tolerate social dissolution indefinitely. He longs to be part of a “we”—the fruit of shared loves—which gives his life meaning. The strong gods will return, Reno warns, in one form or another. Our task is to attend to those that, appealing to our reason as well as our hearts, inspire the best of our traditions. Otherwise, we shall invite the darker gods whose return our open society was intended to forestall.
When the Americans invaded the Japanese-controlled islands of Saipan and Tinian in 1944, civilians and combatants committed mass suicide to avoid being captured. Though these mass suicides have been mentioned in documentary films, they have received scant scholarly attention. This book draws on United States National Archives documents and photographs, as well as veteran and survivor testimonies, to provide readers with a better understanding of what happened on the two islands and why. The author details the experiences of the people of the islands from prehistoric times to the present, with an emphasis on the Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, Chamorro and Carolinian civilians during invasion and occupation.
Since the middle of the twentieth century, one of biblical scholarship's chief assumptions has been that ancient Israel evolved out of the polytheism of surrounding cultures into an ethical monotheism. However, this consensus has fallen apart in recent years. Scholars now know that early Israel was surrounded by a very polytheistic culture and that many Israelites thought of Yahweh as the chief God among many gods. Furthermore, archaeology has shown that Yahweh was worshiped along with other gods throughout the period after the exile, when many shrines were in honor of "Yahweh and his Asherah." David Penchansky's Twilight of the Gods is the first accessible book that shows a historical Israel where polytheism and monotheism existed simultaneously in great conflict. He provides a historical introduction, followed by close readings of key Old Testament passages, where he demonstrates how to interpret difficult biblical texts that depict other gods or claim Yahweh is the only God within this new understanding of Israelite religion.
A continuation and a variation of the work Bergama Stereo, which was first presented in Germany at Turbinenhalle as part of the Ruhrtriennale in Bochum and then in the historical hall of Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin in 2019, Cevdet Erek’s solo exhibition Bergama Stereotip consists of a sounding architecture conceived for the gallery space at Arter. Curated by Selen Ansen, Bergama Stereotip stands as a vestige featuring a portion of Bergama Stereo’s structure: a reminder of the Great Altar of Pergamon and a remainder of the work’s prior version. The book accompanying the exhibition features an essay by Colin Lang focusing on Bergama Stereo and Selen Ansen’s curatorial text on the exhibition at Arter. The book, designed by Vahit Tuna, brings together installation views taken by flufoto with photographs showing the historical remains of the Great Altar as well as its display in the Pergamonmuseum.