Let me start of by saying that I do not accept this as the truth, however the some of ideas are not as far-fetched as they might seem at first. One reason I love the ancient astronaut theory is because it brings light to all the thing archaeology conveniently "overlooks". Which is part of the reason I know look at my once favorite fi Let me start of by saying that I do not accept this as the truth, however the some of ideas are not as far-fetched as they might seem at first.

Which is part of the reason I know look at my once favorite field of study with a bit of disdain. I wanted to hear their theories on all the amazing feats accomplished but they chose to give very straightforward answers that while they make it easier to understand don't really seem to fit.

Main stream scientists don't seem to like facing the possibility of things they themselves consider impossible, where as this theory doesn't like to discredit anything truly probable. Daniken had some very interesting theories that make a lot of sense of you look at it from an open mind. Some of them of course are little out there but at least it opens you up to think on such grand scales. I might pick up a few more of his books in the future. Oct 07, Yigal Zur rated it liked it.

There's really no point adding any further mockery of this book On page 83, the author discusses with incredulity the fact that the Egyptians had a calendar that counted from the first rising of Sirius; for what possible conceivable reason could the Egyptians have cared about Sirius, he asks in perplexity, rather than, say, the moon?

Sirius can clearly have no significance to anybod There's really no point adding any further mockery of this book Sirius can clearly have no significance to anybody, unless their civilisation was founded by space aliens Yes indeed, for what possible reason could a civilisation count their year as starting from a regular, easily perceptible astronomical event that coincides with the most important economic period of the year, it's truly unfathomable.

Presumably he also thinks that, because our solar calendar doesn't have the coldest day of the year fall exactly on January 1 each year, there can be no relation between our calendar and the passage of the seasons? Von Daeniken is almost impressive in how he's able to have his ideas totally collapse even just by looking at the 'facts' that he himself presents in the same paragraph as his ideas Although, to be fair, 'ideas' is stretching it. Looking at a few pages, his strategy is not so much 'having ideas' as 'asking questions, refusing to answer them, and then just assuming that therefore aliens'.

Here's an actual sample of his prose, from p. Where did the animal come from? How can we explain the fact that the Egyptians had a decimal system already at the beginning of the First Dynasty? How did such a highly developed civilisation arise at such an early date? Where do objects of copper and bronze originate as early as the beginning of Egyptian culture? Who gave them their incredible knowledge of mathematics and a ready-made writing?

Before we deal with some monumental buildings which raise innumerable questions, let us take another glance at the old texts.

Where did the narrators of The Thousands and One Nights get their staggering wealth of ideas? How did anyone come to describe a lamp from which a magician spoke when the owner wished? What daring imagination invented the 'Open Sesame? Of course, such ideas no longer astonish us today, for the television set shows us talking picture at the turn of a switch. It's fascinating. Not what he's saying, but how he's saying it.

See, most sane people, having lead with the skeleton of an unknown animal, would have talked about it. But he sees it just as a jumping-off point for a question about the decimal system. He throws in tiny 'facts' the king was called Udimu to give the impression of detailed knowledge, but really he's just asking elementary questions.

Ancient egyptians Arabian Nights thousands of years later! In the sagas, apparently, the Earth is "remarkably" described as a disc or ball what should they have described it as!? And since Thor is known as the Thunderer, he must be a reference to space aliens who make the sky unsafe for human travel because the alternative theory, that people were aware of the existence of thunder, is too ludicrous for him to even consider.

Anyway, the page after that we're on to the Apocryphal Books of Abraham and Moses, and this wonderfully contemptuous dismissal of all other writers: "a number of scholars would like to stick to the so-called realities". When he, in between these topics, dismisses the Theory of Relativity on the grounds that "19th century mathematicians" proved that trains were impossible because passengers would die when the train reached 21 miles an hour.

See, details - that means he knows what he's talking about! You couldn't just make up a detail like that. So who cares how ridiculous it is to blame 'mathematicians' for their theories on the human ability to withstand high-speed travel? In reality, "mathematicians" means Dionysius Lardner, an astronomer, who did indeed believe that travelling at a sufficiently "high speed" would result in asphyxiation - but the 21 mph is a random figure plucked out of the air by von Daeniken to make himself look more informed.

Interestingly, although there was a hysterical fear of early train travel, including a few notes of concern from doctors about things like the level of pollution inside tunnels, the fearmongering was almost entirely drummed up by politicians, businessmen, quacks and madmen, and the train companies had to hire actual doctors to calm the public. The lesson here is not that the nebulous establishment of intellectuals was suppressing progress through pessimism and the 'so-called realities' of the scientific method, but rather that people like von Daeniken have always existed, have always been exploited by political forces, and have always had to be combated by actual people who know what they're talking about ] Well, if you want to stick to 'the realities', this isn't the book for you.

More than that, though, it's not just wrong, it's not just insane, it's palpably incoherent. It's a guy ranting on the street corner. But it is interesting how he seems to have homed in on the characteristics of a conspiracy theory, not just in content, but in style.

The endless questions - if we object, he can say "hey, I'm just asking questions! Why don't you want me asking questions? What are you trying to hide!? The pointless and often fictitious details. The appeals to authority and popularity - the various 'Professor Kuehn's - that are too vague to actually be a form of accountability. The hostility to intellectuals and their attempts to control in this case I think through hubris rather than malice?

The negative argument - rather than methodically putting out a case, he just tries to raise enough skepticism in the mainstream 'theory' that eventually people will go 'ugh, ok, it must have been aliens'. When you consider an option intently - a move in a game, a theory asking for belief, a politician - and eventually decide against that option, there's a strong tendency for you to immediately latch on to a new alternative option with limited scrutiny, even if you would never have accepted that option had you given it the same amount of thought you gave the first option.

However, exotic animal skeletons, included hippos, leopards, baboons and elephants, are common in early Egyptian tombs. These animals were either caught locally, or imported through trade. It's not really an 'early' date at all, when you consider that humans had been around for tens if not hundreds of thousands of years by that point, and near-humans for much longer. Why was Egypt quicker to develop than anywhere else other than Sumer? Probably because of its climate - too barren for a high population of hunter gatherers, but with a river, the Nile, that when properly managed could feed very large numbers of people.

This lead to large, dense populations. The copper was at first largely from the Sinai; the bronze was at first probably arsenic-contaminated copper, while long-distance tin trading developed later, including with a large tin mine in southern Turkey.

Their writing system was developed by scribes. Storytelling was a popular activity in an age with few sources of entertainment. They only first appear in the 18th French 'translation' of the compilation by Galland. Galland learnt the stories, probably already in French, from a famous Syrian, Hanna Diyab, who was then staying in Paris where he even lived in the palace at Versailles for a while ; given that the stories are not attested before then, but rapidly became popular in the middle east after the French text was published and after Hanna Diyab returned to Syria , and given that apparently the stories incorporate details from Hanna Diyab's own life, it's likely that they are either the invention of Hanna Diyab or at least heavily modified by him.

There's no reason to think that they are of any great age, and I think that if the flying saucers had visited 18th century Paris, people would have noticed It's a load of bollocks. But I will credit the author with one thing: the title.

Later editions were published as "Chariot of the Gods"; but this early edition I have is instead entitled "Chariot of the Gods? View 1 comment. I read this way back in the 70's when the UFO idea was big. Interesting ideas and theories in the book.

Much of it is kinda outdated today. Recommended I read this way back in the 70's when the UFO idea was big. Sep 30, Belhor Crowley rated it it was ok Shelves: other-none-fiction. Very fake and very creative. View all 10 comments. Jul 26, Arun Divakar rated it did not like it. A great deal has been said about this book in the 84 years of its publishing history.

Time has undone the author and the claims he made in this book which once set the cash registers ringing in bookshops across the World.

An amalgamation of lies, half truths and hearsay all stuck together with the glue of one man's passion. A passion that sees the hand of extra terrestrial intellect behind everything on our planet is pretty much how I would sum up the entire book.

The zeal of a lone crusader in a planet full of evil, lethargic scientists was he! If you tend to see Science as a lower form of life, then he will win you over in no time and have you nodding your head to most of his ideas. Ideas that are baseless and downright ridiculous for which you really do not have to be a scientifically oriented person to understand them. His opinions have emotions that range from mild scorn to incredibly racial and blatantly vitriolic.

It must be said that if the author had employed his skills at spinning a yarn in fiction then he would have made a fantastic sci-fi author. The finest review I could think of for this book was by a man whose intellect I immensely admire. I also hope for the continuing popularity of books like Chariots of the Gods? Dec 04, Heidi The Reader rated it liked it Shelves: ufo , non-fiction. This was different. I think I must have watched a documentary on the History Channel about the ideas in this book at some point in the past because it all seemed very familiar or I guess it could be that this was one of the seminal works of its kind and so many other people have "borrowed" concepts from it.

Chariots of the Gods. Fingerprints Of The Gods. Life After Death. Add 3 Items to Cart. Rate Product. Flipkart Customer Certified Buyer , Baleshwar. Flipkart Customer Certified Buyer , Bansberia. Pravasini Pradhan Certified Buyer , Champua.

Anindya sundar Bhattacharya Certified Buyer. Good printing but images are black and white. Raj kiran Ranjan Certified Buyer. Letters of this book is quiet sophisticated while reading and language af this book is easy to understand. Flipkart Customer Certified Buyer , Kailasahar. Nabarun Gautam Certified Buyer , Guwahati. Forward the Foundation.

The Complete Morgaine. Mass Effect: Ascension. Drew Karpyshyn. The Outside. Ada Hoffmann. Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies.

Arthur Goldwag. Ringworld Engineers. Alliance Space. Blue Mars. Kim Stanley Robinson. Mass Effect: Revelation. Ernest Callenbach. Fantastic Voyage. Until the End of Time. Brian Greene. The Faded Sun Trilogy Omnibus. See our price match guarantee. See how a store is chosen for you. Restrictions apply. Pricing, promotions and availability may vary by location and at Target. Loading, please wait Free 2-Day Shipping. Same Day Delivery. Please select a store.

Deliver to Edit zip code. Ship it. This item isn't sold in stores. Help us improve this page. About this item. Specifications Number of Pages: Format: Paperback.