The Unknown Nostradamus

Was Nostradamus really a man of extraordinary prophetic vision? Or did he cobble together prophecies current at the time? And how did he survive in the rigidly Catholic, inquisitorial world of 16th-century Europe? This book considers Nostradamus's life and work and the medieval world of the time.

This popular work of historical scholarship is the first comprehensive, up to date biography of Nostradamus in the English language, published to coincide with the 500th anniversary of his birth. 12 color photos.

The amazing predictions of the "Seer of Provence" are collected in this startling book. Learn the strange, cryptic secrets of the mysterious, legendary Michel de Nostredame, who foretold world wars, Napoleon, Hitler, rockets, nuclear power, automobiles, television, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the coming of the "Antichrist," and all of this HUNDREDS of years before any of these things actually occurred! Did Nostradamus predict the Apocalypse and the end of the world? Read the amazing prophecies and decide for yourself! An all-time classic masterpiece of the unknown!

Do you think Nostradamus, the famous 16th century "Prophet of Provence," was some kind of magician, perhaps a doctor, astrologer, and seer, too? If so, Peter Lemesurier's revelation that he was really just an ordinary man using an equally ordinary technique may come as a shock. After re-examining the original sources, Lemesurier concludes that Nostradamus was in fact neither a doctor nor an astrologer, nor even (by his own admission) a prophet. He merely believed that history repeats itself, thus and projected known past events onto the future. To do so, he used the process of bibliomancy—randomly selecting extracts of randomly chosen books, then claiming "divine inspiration." Unsurprisingly, he has almost never been proved right.

Features the unknown and unpublished manuscript by the prophet Nostradamus, as found by the members of the Italian National Library in 1994 buried in their archives.

Who was Nostradamus, and what faith should we place in his predictions? This book gives objective answers. It reveals that Michel de Nostredame, a 16th-century French doctor, was more Renaissance man than arcane magician - and that his prognostications can be compellingly astute. In this edition all of the cryptic short verses of Nostradamus's Centuries appear in the original French, with new translations. Uncanny prophecies such as those of the French Revolution and the rise of Hitler are examined in detail. Here too are interpretations of the many verses believed to augur future events.Editor Ned Halley works in fields of journalism as diverse as medicine, wine and business. He takes a Plain English approach to 'a subject far too often wreathed in language that seems calculated to obscure, rather than to demonstrate, the truth'.

For the last 500 years the predictions of sixteenth-century physician and prophet Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, have been endlessly interpreted. Scholars and skeptics have hotly debated whether the 946 "quatrains" he wrote foretold everything from the discovery of electricity to the birth of Adolph Hitler, the death of Princess Diana and the attack on the World Trade Center. But while much has been written about Nostradamus's predictions and their validity, little is known of the man. This definitive biography by bestselling historian Ian Wilson reveals the man behind the legend for the first time. Tracing Nostradamus's life from his early years to his skillful treatment of Black Plague sufferers, his flight from agents of the Spanish Inquisition, and his career as an advisor to the king of France, Nostradamus separates fact from fiction and reveals a complex figure who, whether or not he could see future events, was indelibly marked by those of his own time.

A handsome, compact new edition of the singularly reliable translation of the writings of history's most famous seer-now published with a new afterword on Nostradamus and 2012. The prophecies of Nostradamus have ignited intense fascination throughout the West since they were first published in the sixteenth century. These enigmatic quatrains have gained special meaning for many during our current countdown to the year 2012. The relationship between Nostradamus's prophecies and the Mayan prophecy of 2012 is hotly debated over the Internet and is the focus of today's most popular television documentaries. Now The Essential Nostradamus-the definitive literal translation of his key verses-is redesigned, reset, and repackaged in an affordable and beautifully produced Tarcher Cornerstone Edition. This volume features a brand-new afterword from translator/commentator Richard Smoley, critiquing the Nostradamus legacy in light of the Mayan prophecies about 2012. Smoley is one of today's most respected writers on esotericism, and his new afterword fully (and realistically) assesses the question of Nostradamus's prophecies in relation to 2012, engaging readers who are hungry to learn more and want help sorting fact from fiction. Perfect for any who are curious, and for scholars and students who want to understand the real content of these haunting verses, The Essential Nostradamus is the key sourcebook of its kind.