A debut alternative history book explores the origins of Christianity.
Davis begins by offering the rare argument that “the Jesus described in the Gospels” did not exist. In fact, the author asserts, Christianity was a fabrication that postdated the Roman-Jewish wars of the first century. Working off the conclusions of other writers, such as Joseph Atwill, Davis weaves a detailed yet speculative explanation for how the New Testament and the Christian faith came into existence. He points to Arrius Piso, a contemporary and rival of Nero, as the originating genius behind the New Testament scheme. According to the author, Piso and his closest friends and family believed that by creating a new, peace-centered religion out of Jewish concepts, Rome could effectively counter Jewish rebellion across the empire. Beyond this, the new faith could serve as a Roman-centered religion and be used as a source of power for the Piso family and the empire itself. In this ambitious book, Davis attempts to prove his theory by using “the parallels discovered by independent scholar Joseph Atwill” between the New Testament and the works of Flavius Josephus (who the author maintains was the pen name for Piso). For instance, Davis argues that Jesus’ statement “I will make you fishers of men” is actually about a ship battle against the Jews in which many men were shot at or run down while trying not to drown. In addition, the story of the good Samaritan is about an attack on a Roman Legion by Jewish rebels, causing the soldiers to recuperate in Samaria. But these and many other such “parallels” are far from self-evident. Using the new religion to take the reins of power, Piso became St. Peter, the first pope; Pliny the Younger succeeded him as St. Linus, the second pope; and so on, the author claims. He tells readers: “Piso chose the name ‘Peter’ as his alias name of the founder of the Christian religion, because he was the ‘father’ (‘pater’) of the Christian religion.” Davis is painstaking in his research and provides ample textual evidence. Nevertheless, his highly unusual conclusions will likely find a skeptical reception from many believers and scholars.
A fringe and fanciful view of the creation of the Christian faith.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78926-557-6
Page Count: 327
Publisher: Independent Publishing Network
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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Noted jazz and pop record producer Thiele offers a chatty autobiography. Aided by record-business colleague Golden, Thiele traces his career from his start as a ``pubescent, novice jazz record producer'' in the 1940s through the '50s, when he headed Coral, Dot, and Roulette Records, and the '60s, when he worked for ABC and ran the famous Impulse! jazz label. At Coral, Thiele championed the work of ``hillbilly'' singer Buddy Holly, although the only sessions he produced with Holly were marred by saccharine strings. The producer specialized in more mainstream popsters like the irrepressibly perky Teresa Brewer (who later became his fourth wife) and the bubble-machine muzak-meister Lawrence Welk. At Dot, Thiele was instrumental in recording Jack Kerouac's famous beat- generation ramblings to jazz accompaniment (recordings that Dot's president found ``pornographic''), while also overseeing a steady stream of pop hits. He then moved to the Mafia-controlled Roulette label, where he observed the ``silk-suited, pinky-ringed'' entourage who frequented the label's offices. Incredibly, however, Thiele remembers the famously hard-nosed Morris Levy, who ran the label and was eventually convicted of extortion, as ``one of the kindest, most warm-hearted, and classiest music men I have ever known.'' At ABC/Impulse!, Thiele oversaw the classic recordings of John Coltrane, although he is the first to admit that Coltrane essentially produced his own sessions. Like many producers of the day, Thiele participated in the ownership of publishing rights to some of the songs he recorded; he makes no apology for this practice, which he calls ``entirely appropriate and without any ethical conflicts.'' A pleasant, if not exactly riveting, memoir that will be of most interest to those with a thirst for cocktail-hour stories of the record biz. (25 halftones, not seen)
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-19-508629-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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