Learn About
...Ancient Times
EXCERPT
All God's Children
The tumultuous story of A.D. 31 - 71
by James D. Snyder
 
You'll find several maps as well as liberal use of navigational directions and
distances in miles. The intent is to help you appreciate, for example, how difficult it was for
Paul to walk across Asia Minor or how relatively easy for anyone to board a ship at
Caesarea and sail to a wide choice of Greek ports. Another purpose is to demonstrate
how closely people of all nationalities interacted and passed on news.
The subject of money also looms large in the book, for the simple reason that people
thought and talked about it just as much as they do today. Although many client states had
their own coinage (the Jewish shekel, for example), the prevailing monetary units were the
Roman as, sesterce and denarius. In general, four as comprised a sesterce and four of
these a denarius. It took roughly 6000 denarii to make a silver talent.
For convenience sake, one might roughly equate a sesterce to today's U.S. quarter ($.25)
and the denarius to $1. But precise comparisons are frustrating for several reasons. Cash
was less crucial to ancient economies because most households produced more of their
own goods and bartered for trade than today. Although the as (6.25 cents by the above
reckoning) would buy six loaves of bread, it doesn't follow that an as should be valued at
$6 just because we might pay a $1 for a loaf of bread today. The reason is that the value of
human labor was more akin to that in today's least developed economies. A typical
Roman soldier, for example, earned 900 sesterces a year. And to further complicate
comparisons, the value of that pay would have been worth more in A.D. 31 and perhaps
one-third less by A.D. 71. The reason: inflation took its toll then as it does now.
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Set in prehistoric North America, Shadow of
the Serpent is an absorbing tale of nomadic
peoples, exotic civilizations, and the struggle
for dominance. The most powerful nomads
ever known rule the plains, forests and
mountains of ancient America for thousands of
years. Many tribes face the end of their way of
life if they succumb to the awesome power
generated by a sophisticated and oppressive
culture exiled from the powerful cities of
Central America more than a thousand years
ago. Using a masterful blend of myth and
mysticism, James Joseph puts you on the trail with a resourceful
ancient tribe.
This action-packed adventure is a tale of epic proportions, steadily drawing
the reader into the heart of an ancient clan facing a civilization with fantastic
powers. For a mystically entertaining blend, this is a must read. ISBN: 1-879418-80-0 ©1997
$14.95 US
Softcover 423 Pages
 
The Pleistocene Redemption is Dan Gallagher's prehistoric science
fiction / spiritual thriller about ancient mysteries and extinct
species regeneration (megafauna, Cro-Magnon &
Neanderthal). Can genetic engineering fulfill the prophesy of
the resurrection of humankind by creating genetic weapons?
What do scientists and spiritual thinkers say? See book
reviews, art & excerpts! [Flash: The yeti excerpt from this
novel, converted to a short story, is now a finalist for The
Writers Foundation's 1997 "America's Best" award!]
ISBN: 0-966692-90-X ©1997
327 Pages
$14.95 US Hardcover
$9.95 US Paperback
The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie
Jove Publications (The Berkeley Publishing Group)
 
The Light Bearer is a richly embroidered tale of war, vengeance and
spiritual transcendence set in ancient Rome and northern Europe in the
first century A.D. Encompassing a sweep of events that spans the reigns of
two tyrants, Nero and Domitian, The Light Bearer is the story of Auriane, a
Germanic tribeswoman who faces the brutal encroachments of imperial Rome.
She takes the oath of a warrior, becoming a 'shield maiden' to avoid being
made into a pawn of Roman diplomacy. She is also a visionary, apprenticed
to a powerful tribal shamaness. Set against her story is the tale of a
philosophically inclined Senator, Marcus Arrius Julianus; through wit,
daring and brilliant maneuvering, he struggles to check the murderous whims
of the increasingly corrupt Emperor Domitian. When Julianus realizes his
efforts are doomed, he orchestrates a complex, delicately balanced plot to
assassinate the emperor.
ISBN: 0-515119-66-0 ©1994
$8.50 US
Massmarket 1011 Pages
 
A prehistoric novel in the bestselling tradition of Clan of the Cave Bear. A child is born to the
people of the Mammoth bearing the mark of the Great Mother--one eye of blue and one of green.
Cast out as a demon by her own people, she is taken in by a shaman and taught the powers and
secrets of an ancient talisman, which possesses both a promise and a curse. Original. (Historical
Fiction)
ISBN: 0-451174-97-6 ©1993
Softcover
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