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What I'm reading: In the Realm of Prester John

Robert Silverberg: In the Realm of Prester John.

Imagine an obscure out of the way place that you have heard about all your life, a place like St. Helena in the South Atlantic. A place you had always heard of, but never actually met anyone who had been there themselves. You accept that its true because other people have told you that it is true. Then one day, you discovered that it really didnt exist, that it was all made up and no one had any idea how the whole story of "St. Helena" got started.

That's the essence of the legend the "Kingdom of Prester John". Its a story that got started in the time of the crusades that quickly got a life of its own, a story that all of western civilization believed to be true from the 1100's to the 1700's, but never had any actual basis in fact.

Posted @ September 05, 2008 08:34 AM | Current Affairs

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