The Prometheans

Did alien astronauts visit the ancient earth or were the real "aliens" the ancient humans themselves? People today imagine that ancient humans were just like us, but at a more primitive stage of development. In fact, ancient humans were nothing like us. They had incredible abilities - superpowers - that we have now lost. We discarded them in the course of becoming modern, conscious humans, but these superpowers still lie latent in all of us, and can be recovered in the right circumstances. The ancient humans were the Prometheans, bridging the gap to the gods, and supremely well-versed in carrying the divine fire. They knew the secrets of the gods. Isn't it time to regain all of their lost knowledge and power?

The richly varied lives of the Martin brothers reflected the many upheavals of Britain in the age of Industrial Revolution. Low-born and largely unschooled, they were part of a new generation of artists, scientists and inventors who witnessed the creation of the modern world. William, the eldest, was a cussedly eccentric inventor who couldn't look at a piece of machinery without thinking about how to improve it; Richard, a courageous soldier, fought in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo; Jonathan, a hellfire preacher tormented by madness and touched with a visionary genius reminiscent of William Blake, almost burned down York Minster in 1829; while John, the youngest Martin, single-handedly invented, mastered and exhausted an entire genre of painting, the apocalyptic sublime, while playing host to the foremost writers, scientists and thinkers of his day. In The Prometheans Max Adams interweaves the fascinating story of these maverick siblings with a magisterial and multi-faceted account of the industrial, political and artistic ferment of early 19th-century Britain. His narrative centres on a generation of inventors, artists and radical intellectuals (including the chemist Humphry Davy, the engineer George Stephenson, the social reformer Robert Owen and the poet Shelley) who were seeking to liberate humanity from the tyranny of material discomfort and political oppression. For Adams, the shared inspiration that binds this generation together is the cult of Prometheus, the titan of ancient Greek mythology who stole fire from Zeus to give to mortal man, and who became a potent symbol of political and personal liberation from the mid-18th century onwards. Whether writing about Davy's invention of the miner's safety lamp, the scandalous private life of the Prince Regent, the death of Shelley or J.M.W. Turner's use of colour, Adams's narrative is pacy, characterful, and rich in anecdote, quotation and memorable character sketch. Like John Martin himself, he has created a sprawling and brightly coloured canvas on an epic scale.

Three adventurers; a wealthy publisher, a soldier-of-fortune private eye, and an eccentric techie investigate the suspicious death of a friend. The case puts them on the trail of a strange serial killer who seems to have extraordinary powers. Their search leads to a secret society and astounding truths about mankind's past and future. As the human race rapidly approaches its technological singularity, these three comrades become enmeshed in the unfolding future of mankind. They are privileged to glimpse man's destiny on the other side of The Promethean Divide.

A powerful and inspiring biography of Merze Tate, a trailblazing Black woman scholar and intrepid world traveler Born in rural Michigan during the Jim Crow era, the bold and irrepressible Merze Tate (1905-1996) refused to limit her intellectual ambitions, despite living in what she called a "sex and race discriminating world." Against all odds, the brilliant and hardworking Tate earned degrees in international relations from Oxford University in 1935 and a doctorate in government from Harvard in 1941. She then joined the faculty of Howard University, where she taught for three decades of her long life spanning the tumultuous twentieth century. This book revives and critiques Tate's prolific and prescient body of scholarship, with topics ranging from nuclear arms limitations to race and imperialism in India, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. Tate credited her success to other women, Black and white, who helped her realize her dream of becoming a scholar. Her quest for research and adventure took her around the world twice, traveling solo with her cameras. Barbara Savage's skilled rendering of Tate's story is built on more than a decade of research. Tate's life and work challenge provincial approaches to African American and American history, women's history, the history of education, diplomatic history, and international thought.

Pub_AbstractText: This thesis proposes an alternative governance structure for east central Europe - the Intermarium. The Intermarium is based on the development of a supplementary federal structure capable of controlling factionalism and nationalism utilizing concepts from James Madison's Tenth Federalist. In particular, James Madison's approach to mitigating and preventing the formation of dangerous factions is found to be compatible with preexisting notions of federalism in east central Europe and offers a potential regional political solution that merits further study. In reaching the above proposal, the concepts of Wilsonian national self -determination, Pan European federalism, functionalism and historical east central European variants of federalism are explored along with their leading personalities. At the author's request over 100 previously unknown documents were declassified by a variety of intelligence agencies including the CIA, Army Counterintelligence, and FBI. In addition, three lengthy interviews were conducted with former American intelligence agent, William Gowen, who in 1947 and 1948 investigated and worked with several of the organizations and individuals profiled. The tragic history of east central Europe in the 20th Century consisted of bloody ethnic conflict, foreign invasion, and occupation with the lingering effects still evident today. While there is persuasive authority to suggest that the future for east central Europe is one of harmonious relations, liberal democracy and economic prosperity other forecasts predict decades yet of bloody conflict as the Russian Federation and its borderlands resolve rivalries fueled by national self-determination and irredentism. By developing a federal alternative to the European Union to be know popularly as the Intermarium, east central Europe might effectively pool its resources and meet the foreign relations and security challenges unique to the region rather than relying upon far away Brussels in the event of a crisis. Regional federation as exemplified by east central Europe's unique heritage may prove to be just the bridging mechanism needed to accelerate the goal of Pan Europe or provide a safe harbor from conflict in the event of the EU's inability to address future crises.

Despite African Americans' lack of political, social and economic equality in the United States, the students of Howard University answered the call to service in both world wars. Howard supported its men and women in the quest to serve their nation. The university started an army training program during the First World War, and Howard faculty, staff and students pushed the War Department to begin an officer training school for African Americans. The university organized a Reserve Officer Training program in the interwar years, the first at an HBCU. Many of the famed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II were trained first at Howard. Based on a collection of letters sent by Howard students and alumni to the university, historian and archivist Lopez D. Matthews illuminates their wartime experiences.

The myth of Prometheus has inspired countless generations of humanists throughout the ages. Prometheus -- who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans to help them survive -- remains a symbol for those who reject theistic orthodoxies and who fearlessly challenge accepted beliefs. Artists such as Byron, Goethe, Beethoven and Wagner have been influenced by this story. Most importantly, Prometheus is a symbol for selfless love. In this collection of essays, the Promethean myth and its relationship to the philosophy of love is explored from its origins in Ancient Greece, to its similarities and contrasts with the figure of Christ. Special emphasis is given to the work and writings of Paul Kurtz, the foremost contemporary defender of humanism as a worldview, who has made the figure of Prometheus a special part of his own philosophy.

Table of contents includes: Soap and Nicholas Leblanc, Color and William Henry Perkin, Sugar and Norbert Rillieux, Clean water and Edward Frankland, Fertilizer, poison gas, and Fritz Haber, Leaded gasoline, safe refrigeration and Thomas Midgley, Jr., Nylon and Wallace Hume Carothers, DDT and Paul Hermann Muller, Lead-free gasoline and Clair C. Patterson.