Customer Reviews

Iceman Inheritance : Prehistoric Sources of Western Man's Racism, Sexism and Aggression

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I've recently had cause to read this book as it's come to my attention that it's something of a minor classic among certain afrocentrist scholars. What has amazed me, after reading the book and various reviews of it, is that no one has yet brought up what is probably the most disturbing issue of Bradley's work: it is basically 19th century Aryanism warmed over and with a few of its valences flipped.

Aryanism, as espoused by its key ideologues such as Gobineau, Galton, Grant and Hitler, believed that certain groups of white people were descended from the "Aryan" race: a superior branch of humanity endowed with the unique ability to create civilizations. Aryans, according to Gobineau and his disciples, were a uniquely warlike and creative people who moved out of Central Asia and conquered the "inferior" races in their paths. They would then enslave these peoples and use them as a base upon which they would construct civilizations. Conflict with inferior but supremely parasitic Semitic peoples, however, would inevitably lead to these civilizations' decline as the Semites would infiltrate and corrupt Aryan civilization from within.

Bradley follows a similar sort of line of thought in The Iceman Inheritance, but he rather cleverly inverts the basic valence given to the all-conquering Iceman. According to Bradley's new take on Aryanism, this "special" white retains his ferociousness and essential brutality. Whereas the classical Aryanists saw this as a positive trait, however, invaluable in the supposed Darwinian struggle between the various races of humanity, Bradley turns this around and calls it racist.

But does that mean he's somehow against racism?

A visit to the author's website shows him to be extremely anti-semitic. While casting the Aryan "icemen" as racists, Bradley still believes the classical Aryanist position that white people as a whole are at the mercy of the evil, corrupting Jews. He even goes so far as to suggest that the "non-semitic" peoples of the world should unite in an alliance to save the planet from the Jewish menace.

As other reviewers have noted above, Bradley's work is full of holes and dodges but one thing no one has yet pointed out is that for all of his description of the Icemen's supposedly racist ways, Bradley never out-and-out condemns them. This, combined with his anti-semitism, makes me wonder if the guy isn't, in fact, performing some sort of real life "troll" of certain branches of the black nationalist movement.

I mean, think about it for a minute.

Presume that you are in fact an Aryan supremacist and that you believe that your branch of humanity is infinitely superior to blacks. You also believe, as Aryanists have since Gobineau, that the Semites are your race's main enemy. You are also very aware that most people - white or black - will stop their ears when white guys like yourself come along spouting Aryanist rhetoric, however.

Well what better way to get your ideas regarding Aryan supremacy out there on the market than to disguise them as a lukewarm pro-black and anti-racist screed? If you can whip up blacks and whites against the Jews, why then according to your Aryanist supremacist logic, you'll later be able to deal with the blacks at your leisure.

I think that The Iceman Inheritance is one of the greatest racist Trojan Horses ever constructed and it amazes me that intelligent people of any color would believe that allying themselves with a declared anti-semite who is almost certainly a closet Aryanist will somehow lead to a better or more just world.

It is also extremely dismaying that significant numbers of black intellectuals can be taken in by this sort of rewarmed European gutter philosophy to the point where they are willing to label it "afrocentric".

Michael Bradley, as a member of the Caucasian race, has bravely stepped forward with a valuable contribution to the analysis of Caucasian group behavior, or should I say misbehavior, toward people of color. No matter what your political affiliation or race, anyone who engages in a discussion of race relations is in reality examining why people who call themselves white have such a seemingly inherent animosity to people classified as non-white. Mr. Bradley also asks why Caucasian culture has an adversarial relationship to the planet Earth. It is a rare white person who will even admit the existence of the global system of white supremacy, let alone one who will acknowledge that the group mentality of his race is indeed the source of the racism, pollution, and resource depletion that plague the world.

As part of the system of white supremacy, whites have developed an entire vocabulary (e.g. "affirmative action," "immigration reform," "civil rights," or calling Egypt part of the "Middle East," thereby removing the nation from Africa) which allows them to talk about race without mentioning any explicit racial terms. That way, anyone who speaks candidly about the core of the race problem - white group behavior- can be accused by white people of preaching anti-white racism. I'm sure some Eurocentric people who are only used to receiving "information" that bolsters the white viewpoint will be shocked by some of the things Bradley says; but Eurocentric people need to be shocked out of their extreme xenophobia. I don't neccesarily agree with some of the conclusions the author reaches but I have to commend him for his honesty. Other books that cover the same subject matter but, in my opinion, do a better job of analysis are: The Isis Papers by Dr. Frances Cress-Welsing and, especially, Yurugu by Marimba Ani. I will conclude by saying that anybody interested in truly addressing the problem of white supremacy should include these three books on their essential reading list.

I first read this book nearly 10 years ago, and am still amazed at its logical explanation about the aggressive behavior of white Europeans. Since my first reading of it, I have yet to find a more plausible theory about why a small group of nomadic people subsequently known as "whites" maintain such dominance over their women and persons with color. Bradley's book will be denounced by many, pooh-poohed by some, but I would challenge any of these persons to find a more relevant theory on the aggressive behavior of Caucasians. I recommend that it be read at least twice in order to grasp all of its meaning.

If this book was a project for a grade in an english comp class, Bradley would be sent back to rewrite over and over. I had to do independent study to understand the material well enough, to be able to follow his premises. His conclusions, however were intriguing, and sometimes the only thing that kept me struggling with his writing style. The hip comparisons were especially convincing. Another one of his, then theoretical, premises is that the Neanderthal were a different species from Cro magnon. Feb. 2009, science announced that Neanderthal Sapien was in fact a different species. Now science is working on answering the question; could the two interbreed? DNA will soon prove Bradley right or wrong. My money is on Bradley.

This book represents the author's amusing and not-so-scholarly attempt to tie together a series of dubious assumptions to form some very shaky conclusions.

The author actually begins by apologizing for his ineptitude: "First, I would like to acknowledge immediately my own limitations of scholarship in preparing the arguments put forward in this book." Hardly a ringing endorsement of one's work. In the last chapter, he admits his theory is, "an explanation with broad circumstantial, if not in-depth support." (Bradley maintains that Caucasians are descended from Neanderthals (another species) and are therefore genetically inferior and responsible for all the world's violence, racism, and sexism because of their primitive nature.)

However, you get the feeling that he really doesn't buy his own hypothesis--he leaves plenty of doors open in case he has to duck out of the room.

There's a saying in science that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Since Bradley has plenty of the former and none of the latter, he must run hither and yon looking for evidence to cobble his wobbly theory together, and tosses in everything from extraterrestrials to whales, mediaeval codpieces, the Canadian poet/songwriter Leonard Cohen, muddled Middle East history, the German philosopher Gothe, and World War II encounters with Yeti by Russian troops--a virtual potpourri of 1960s pop culture, and little else.

What's sad is that this book has so much sway over the imaginations of westerners living in multiracial societies today. The reason? After the horror of the eugenics and Nazi pseudo-science movements in the 19th and 20th centuries, the West has largely turned it's back on consideration of how genetic heritage effects human behaviour on a macro level. We still have no clear idea if genetic heritage causes meaningful differences between different races of people. A lot of people like it that way.

The assertions in Ice Man inheritance are unproven, and it's likely that no serious study will be conducted in the near future because of western fears of igniting racial strife. The one positive thing the book does do is get people talking. It provides a useful thought experiment from which a true scientific hypothesis can be constructed.

Of course, many geneticists claim that research shows that there is not very much difference between the races. In fact, some observe that a man in the UK may be more genetically alike to a black man living in Nigeria that his similarly white countrymen. However, politics has so infiltrated the scientific academy at this time that I am sceptical even of these reasonable sounding arguments.

Is the book right or wrong? It's impossible to know. Until a truly objective study is conducted that combines the disciplines of genetics, sociology and anthropology, we will be left groping in the dark and living in danger of being seduced by the next iteration of a racist nationalist.

This is not a serious work on anthropology, genetics, human evolution, history or biology. The assertions put forth within it don't hold up to even minimal scrutiny nor can they withstand even modest criticism. In fact, they simply outlandish, and therein lies the appeal of this book.. It will appeal to those who have some kind of bigotry towards whites, but for those who wish a book based on reality, fact, and reason, I suggest looking elsewhere.

[...] I was amazed. This guy is not only serious in his convictions; he seems to believe he has single handedly overturned the modern ideas on `race.' This is the kind of book I would have expected to find originally published a hundred years ago, of course with the targets being non-Europeans. Isn't this called racism? Yes, of course it is. So, Mr. Bradley, the races are permanently different? Everything is not only nature over nurture but is also easily discovered by tracing ancestry? All previous and much more thoughtful research has clearly shown that all cultures, or races if you can't get out of that rut, were and are equally prone to what are universal human behaviors. Aggression and violence are not more pronounced in Western Europe, it was simply these westerners who were better able to effect their aggression. I am amazed that this piece of, um, spurious scholarship was published. On second thought I can. I can only hope that only those who seek this kind of [...] will read this, [...], and not a person genuinely interested in history. Especially not someone who comes upon this book early in their explorations of a very interesting area of study. In short, if you have already made up your mind that white men have ruined the world, buy this book and find a companion in your unreasoning conviction. If you have not decided this, don't waste your time.

This is the absolute truth about white people. The white man has raped every race of people on god's green earth and today they have no clue about it. White people are a plague upon this earth and the only people who don't know it are white people. The white man does not have to acknowledge what we all know to be true, which is that everything wrong with the world is because of white people. However, if the white man refuses to acknowledge this truth, then don't fix your lips to say anything to us about togetherness and reconciliation. You stay on your side of the street and we will stay on ours!

THIS BOOK IS FULL OF ALOT OF INTERESTING FACTS AS WELL AS PLAUSIBLE HYPOTHESIS ON HOW THE "CAUCASOID RACE" HAS COME TO DOMINATE THE WORLD THROUGH MILITARY MIGHT, FORCE, RESOURCE RAPE, AGGRESSION AND GENOCIDE. OF COURSE MANY WILL NOT AGREE WITH THE BOOK AND MANY WILL NOT READ IT. BUT IT IS VERY INTERESTING AND IT OFFERS A PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT TO THE EUROCENTRIC BRAINWASHING AND CULTURAL GENOCIDE AGAINST MUCH OF TODAYS HUMANITY. CAUCASOIDS HAVE DOMINATED THE GLOBE FOR OVER 500 YEARS AND THIS BOOK ANSWERS MANY OF THE QUESTIONS AS TO WHY.