My Second Book

 I have just received the galley proof of my book, "The Enchanting Encounter with the East." Yes, I can call it now a book rather than a manuscript. 

Checking the galleys is a long and tedious process, but it also has fascinating sides. First of all, my publishing team of Authorhouse UK has done a fantastic job improving the text. I appreciate hearing my voice slightly different and retaining all its significant points.  Secondly, I am using the editorial program of Grammarly, a mandatory lifeline thrown to writers, to raise my standards and to revise the work of the publishing gang. The bottom line: my text has become much more readable and eloquent. 

While working with Grammarly, I like those moments when the program advises to rewrite the sentence, giving only general recommendations. I have to try various versions and, if I succeed, I feel so tired and happy as if I have run long distances! 

My book will have references to illustrations instead of artwork. It will take a lot of time to write letters to the owners of the pictures asking for permission to reproduce them. I expected the assistance of the publishing house, but they do not deal with these matters. It is not an easy job. You need to do research on each illustration. Sometimes, it is not clear who the owner is. Most of my forty-something pictures are borrowed from Wikipedia. Not every owner replies. Some of them are poised to charge a writer for giving their permission. 

I am not sure whether to supply the Index and A List of Books. I forgot to make it and am in two minds whether I can add it to the book. 

A week ago, I talked with the chairman of the Institute of Integration about my third lecture on zoom. It will be called "The Saga about Humankind: the View on the Habitable World during the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance."  The presentation will be based on three chapters of my book. You can view them on my site: https://independent.academia.edu/BaizermanMichael

https://www.academia.edu/40051105/The_Trefoil_of_the_World

https://www.academia.edu/45063380/Jerusalem_on_European_Mind_Maps

https://www.academia.edu/40346434/The_Enigma_of_the_Antipodes

The idea is to trace the development of the Mappae Mundi, clarify the role of Jerusalem on these maps, and expose the concept of the Antipodes, an imaginary fourth continent. 

The Turks in Jacob's Tents

I have just uploaded the final chapter of the cycle of articles focused on the legend of the Iron Gates. This collection of papers make up Unit IV, Mapping Marvels and Monsters: In the Shadow of the Iron Gate, of my book "The Enchanting Encounter with the East."  

The following extract tells the story of the Khazars, the tribe confederation of the steppe Turks, as it is exposed by written sources and archaeological finds. You can view it on my Academia page 

https://www.academia.edu/74005169/The_Turks_in_Jacobs_Tents

I have also forwarded this piece to the Discussions. I want to see the comments on the role of the Khazars as a "wall" hampering the expansion of the Arab Caliphate into the Pontic-Caspian steppes and the Byzantine Empire in Crimea. The following story adds to the myth of Gog-Magog that loomed large on Latin Christendom throughout the Late Middle Ages. 

The map of the Khazar Khaganate between 650 and 850

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars 

As for my third project about medieval and renaissance shipping in the Mediterranean, I continue collecting data on war galleys. It might be good to elaborate on the coastal fortifications erected by military engineers of the Italian maritime republics and the gunpower of land batteries aimed at approaching hostile ships.