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Rating: 
Summary: A Fascinating Alternative to Conventional History
Review: "Where Troy Once Stood" is a well-researched and well-written account which challenges our asssumptions of European history. The author puts forward the proposal that the myths and legends of the classical world have their origins not in Ancient Greece and the Aegean, but rather in the Celtic lands of north-western Europe. With the tales of Homer as his starting point, the author tackles questions of climate, geography, language, ancient and modern place-names, and cultural traditions to draw the conclusion that the Trojan War was a Celtic affair which took place on the eastern shores of Britain. The book goes on to postulate that the tale of the Odyssey was in fact both a coded navigational chart to aid Celtic merchants on their routes, and a guide to the arcane initiation rites of a people who kept these stories in oral tradition for hundreds of years. Fascinating to the last page, "Where Troy Once Stood" makes a terrific story at the least, but the depth of research and sheer plausability of its thesis make it quite a credible alternative to our conventional assumptions of history. Well worth a read!
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Alternative to Conventional History
Review: "Where Troy Once Stood" is a well-researched and well-written account which challenges our asssumptions of European history. The author puts forward the proposal that the myths and legends of the classical world have their origins not in Ancient Greece and the Aegean, but rather in the Celtic lands of north-western Europe. With the tales of Homer as his starting point, the author tackles questions of climate, geography, language, ancient and modern place-names, and cultural traditions to draw the conclusion that the Trojan War was a Celtic affair which took place on the eastern shores of Britain. The book goes on to postulate that the tale of the Odyssey was in fact both a coded navigational chart to aid Celtic merchants on their routes, and a guide to the arcane initiation rites of a people who kept these stories in oral tradition for hundreds of years. Fascinating to the last page, "Where Troy Once Stood" makes a terrific story at the least, but the depth of research and sheer plausability of its thesis make it quite a credible alternative to our conventional assumptions of history. Well worth a read!
Rating:
Summary: Compelling and Insightful
Review: Observe the tone of sneering academic superiority in the "Editorial Review" as it questions Iman's qualifications and dismisses his work as "a flimsy argument".
Nothing could be further from the truth. The people currently paying $299 or more per used copy all know that Iman has pulled together a compelling array of linguistic, cultural, and archeological evidence to support his conclusions. This is a landmark work and the failure of academia to respond fairly to it is very telling (although not unusual) and indeed quite sad, as embracing Wilken's ideas would reinvigorate archeology (based on the public interest it would generate). I wouldn't want to be a farmer in that area though once the rush for bronze age artifacts begins (and many such artifacts have already been found near Cambridge). The discussion on the "Gog-Magog" hills alone is worth the price of the book (since you will also know why this name resonated with such meaning as far away as Palestine, hundreds of years later).
Wilkens explores not just the historical background of the Iliad and Odyssey but reveals why initiatory mystery religion themes are a critical element that makes it difficult for modern scholars to grasp key clues to identifying where the events described took place.
It is true that after laying a solid foundation of evidence for his conclusions, Wilkens also speculates to some extent on the more difficult passages in the Odyssey, but even if he is dead wrong about "Cuba" or any other particular, he has already so completely established his core case that I would characterize these items not as "flimsy argumentation" but rather informed speculation at the margins of the argument as a whole. It is Wilkens' evidence regarding the setting of the Iliad that is central to the book, not his speculations regarding the stops on the itinerary of Ulysses.
Hopefully some courageous young grad students will read Wilkens, keep their mouths shut until they get tenure, and then obtain academic immortality by lobbing pieces of this argument into the proper journals, using their positions to garner acceptance that apparently cannot be granted to mere obvious evidence and sound logic.
Rating:
Summary: Pure fun - and educational too!
Review: Whether the author is right in his thinking or not, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book.
Wilkens says the Trojan War did not take place in Turkey, but in England. And the players were not Greeks, but Celts.
His research is thorough and convincing, though it goes against conventional theories.
Right or wrong, Wilkens has written an enjoyable book which will not only reacquaint you with the adventures of the Iliad and Odyssey, but teach you much you probably never knew about Celtic civilization.
This book is an ideal companion for a long trip or pleasant vacation. Pure fun. Jerry
Rating:
Summary: Pure fun - and educational too!
Review: Whether the author is right in his thinking or not, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book.
Wilkens says the Trojan War did not take place in Turkey, but in England. And the players were not Greeks, but Celts.
His research is thorough and convincing, though it goes against conventional theories.
Right or wrong, Wilkens has written an enjoyable book which will not only reacquaint you with the adventures of the Iliad and Odyssey, but teach you much you probably never knew about Celtic civilization.
This book is an ideal companion for a long trip or pleasant vacation. Pure fun. Jerry
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