The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture

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Summary: the power of myth
Review: It seems that the quest of this book by Markale is to explain the Celts through the power of their myths. Noble goal, indeed, and Markale succeeds in describing the history and the emmense influence the Celts had on Western Europe...even by today's standards.... a great deal of which he does by recalling mythical incidents. His history, as always, is nearly flawless, unbias, and interesting.

But I got somewhat bored with Markale's constant comparisons of Celtic myth figures to Biblical and Greco-Roman figures. Back in the days of Charles Squire this may have been necissary, but I found it tedious in this work. Not just tedious, but irrelevant and not slightly irritating.

If you can get past the many subtle personal commentary and criticism, the work has great merit. Markale is a notable historian and I especially recommend his work "The Druids".

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Summary: The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Wes
Review: Jean Markale's The Celts is a must. It is one of the most informative books on the Celts that I have ever read. Along with his King of the Celts, Women of the Celts, and Merlin, one is transported into that world of the Celts to find what beautiful, intelligent, magnificent people they were. The amount of research and sources in his books is truly unbelievable. These books are very close to my heart.

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Summary: The Absolute Resource for Learning About the Celts.
Review: With the great Celtic revival that is happening worldwide, this is the best book for anyone interested in uncovering their roots. Readers of British, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Northwestern French, Basque, Belgian, French Canadian, Acadian, and Cajun! descent (among others) will find that they all have something in common here... This book is a God-sent! It encapsulates the history, sociology, politics, language, litterature and struggles of the great Celtic nation from several milleniums BC to today and offers a compelling look at one of the most important contributing races of modern Western thought alongside the Greek, Roman and German peoples. Get it and may this book sit next to your Bible at home. Amen!