Rating: 
Summary: Original and insightful
Review: Chariots of the gods? and other works of Erich Von Daniken stimulate the imagination. Although others criticize his work, and cry out "unscientific" and "doubtful" pertaining to his evidence and methods. I am certain that some of his work is based on pure speculation (develop a hypothesis) or observation (form a theory), the two initial steps in solving a scientific problem. A problem of puzzles that for hundreds or thousands of years have mystified the best and brightest of society. Von Daniken's is but one possibility.There are many many things that we take for granted everyday that are not "proven". Until someone finds an alien corpse inside a pyramid on a world premier TV exclusive, there will always be doubt. The approach used is not "hard science", paleontology, anthropology, history, and the like are based on pieces and fragments and often more than a little guesswork. This is one interpretation coming from an individual outside the box. Also, his work is but one opinion. I'm sure he's not 100% right, but he is also not 100% wrong (as some reviewers say). If some of histories great minds were to give in to ridicule and the majority disbelief, Einstein would have never achieved and modern physics would have postponed indefinitely. Likewise Gregor Mendel (genetics) and Madame Curie (Founder of Radiation chemistry, 2 Nobel prizes) would have been defeated early on in their careers for their riduculous ideas and/orgender respectively. All "hard" scientists! thank you, to the skeptics out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Revolting
Review: Von Daniken represents the worst of the archaeological community. When pressed to write a paper about pseudoscience and bad archaeology, I turned to this book, which yielded plenty of material.
Von Daniken simply refuses to put any of his "studies" into their proper cultural context - which is dangerous and simply wrong. I am all for new ways of thinking, but this is not enough to even raise an eyebrow.
Past civilizations deserve credit for their astounding achievements; Von Daniken yanks it away and hands it over to ET.
Rating:
Summary: chariots of gods
Review: i purchased the vhs tape of the movie. I was very upset because i saw that movie at the show when it first came in the 1970's.A urge part of the movie spoke about the bible and Jesus cHRIST . The tape that amazon,com have in stock cut at least one hour of the original movie. in fact the most facinating part of the movie was missing. If someone has the uncut, original version let me know. this version is very bad
Rating:
Summary: Clearing the air
Review: First of all, I will say that this is and excellent book and highly recommended. Erich is one of the few people out there in that are willing to think outside the square. Too many scientists and scholars are wrapped in their own self glorly and ideals, that they refuse to consider a concept out of left field. If we didn't accept ideas, concepts, theories, etc out of left field, where would we be today?!?! We would not have flight, electricity, the ability to transplant organs, computers, etc. On a more personal note, my father was in South America a few years ago and went to a small, private, museum where they have artifacts dating back to over 11,000 years ago. One piece that stands out is a human skull with a gold plate in it that has been dated at arounf 9,000BC. What is astonishing is that the bone had mostly grown back over the plate. This indicates that brain surgery of some description was performed and was SUCCESSFUL! How can anyone dispute ET interference with something like that??? You don't do brain surgery with hand axes and flint knives! I get rather annoyed when people make false statements about Erich von Dèaniken to discredit him. A few facts: * yes he went to jail - he was imprisoned for 3 1/2 years for embezzlement and was TOTALLY unrelated to the writings in his books
* Erich has NEVER had a case brought against him about the content of his books All in all, Erich's books are an excellent insight into the past and that facts brought to light are hard to dispute...especially when my father can confirm a lot of the things Erich raises in his book. Oh, by the way, I have never met or spoken to Erich, nor has my father, but I would dearly love to meet him and go on one of his adventures!
Rating: 
Summary: The Gods do not make their case...
Review: One of the earliest examples of the pseudo-science documentary genre, this famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view), film poses many questions, and provides little else. Although there are some fascinating sites around the world visited here, such as Easter Island and several sites in Bolivia, Egypt, and Peru, there are also some things strangely left out. Stonehenge, for example, is completely missing, even though the focus of the film is on the mystery of moving massive stone blocks great distances. The flight over Plains of Nazca, which sport mysterious drawings that can only be seen from the air, and the Easter Island footage, are perhaps the most interesting parts of the film. Part of the problem with this 1972 effort is that it was obviously shot for a German audience, and then translated for American audiences. Everything is done in voice-overs, so we do not really hear what the "experts" are trying to tell us. The voice-overs add to the frustration of watching the film. Many questions are raised, but there seems to be no real case being made by the producers. The "evidence" being offered is simply a question with no answer. Basically, they're saying, "Is it old and mysterious? Must have been aliens!" Of course, no one watches this sort of film for any kind of real scientific education. The theories put forward here have been debunked quite thouroughly, and a zillion times over. The fun in watching this kind of film is in seeing how people only a few decades ago could buy into just about anything that could be labeled as "Unknown" or an "Ancient Mystery". Unfortunately, while this film is one of the earliest examples of the psuedo-science documentary genre, it is not one of the most entertaining. One interesting facet of the film is that several Russian "experts" were interviewed, an odd inclusion for a US audience at the height of the Cold War. On the other hand, the Russians depicted here were hardly legit, so perhaps the government or whoever figured that that worked in our favor. The promo for the film, included on the DVD, is classic early 70's advertising, and sadly, better than the film itself.
Rating:
Summary: Read it and laugh out loud!
Review: This book is a real rib tickler. One of the funniest I've recently read. I re-read it, and often read parts of it aloud with friends, so that we can all laugh together. If you read it with your sense of criticism turned on and a bit of common sense, you'll find 'witty' risable phrases and ridiculous conclusions he arrives at in almost every passage! (I don't NEED to remind you, but I will - the author was imprisoned when it turned out he pretty much forged the lot of the 'evidence' in this book. The so called 'hard' evidence. The silly assumptions, calculations and demagogy he employs, can be brushed aside by anyone who isn't reading it 'under the influence'). READ IT, because it's so funny, and because it's a true comic classic. Don't take it seriously to any extent, though... (NOT to say that I mind or dissagree with anything he tries to convey in his bottom line...)
Rating:
Summary: Buy it and laugh out loud!
Review: This book is one of the funniest I've read recently. I reread it, and read passages aloud together with friends, so that we can all laugh. If you read it with your sence of criticism turned on, you'll find risable suggestions and ridiculous conclusions in almost every passage. Brilliant. :-) (I'm sure I'm not telling you something you didn't already know, when I remind that the author was imprisoned when most of the evidence in this book of his turned out to be forged.) Buy it if you don't already have a copy. It's a keeper!!!
Rating:
Summary: psychology, not archaeology
Review: This is a sneaky book. Von Daniken expends most of his energy attacking the supposed close-mindedness of the scientific establishment. This tactic predisposes the reader to want to disprove him -- to demonstrate that he or she is open-minded and willing to consider facts that don't agree with a pet theory. This makes the reader let down his or her guard, afraid to question von Daniken's evidence. His evidence? A few dozen seemingly anomalous finds linked together with a liberal helping of speculation and a heavy reliance on arguments from incredulity and a refusal to believe in any coincidence whatsoever. If you insist on reading this book, be as skeptical of his accusations of close-mindedness as you are of his theories (or any theories, for that matter).
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, yet he jumps to conclusions too easily
Review: I read Chariots of the Gods as well as several other Von Daniken works, and he never ceases to entertain me (with the exception of Miracles of the Gods - a horrid, poorly executed book). I find his "theories" thought-provoking, yet very weak at their base. Mr. Von Daniken has an irritating habit of jumping from subject to subject, stating his opinions quickly and with little supporting evidence, and then suddenly switching to another "mystery" to start the cycle over again. Even though he makes many compelling points, he never stays on the same subject long enough to fully support his beliefs. If a golden amulet looks like a modern airplane, then it's an airplane. Period. If a stone carving looks like an astronaut, then it's an astronaut. Period. If a straight line drawn in the sand extends for the length of a modern runway, then it's a runway. Period. And this same style has gone on and on for years and through several books, with more on the way. I take everything he says with a grain of salt. He is sooo quick to jump to (seemingly) reasonable conclusions that I can't help but be intrigued... but obviously I can't even call that he does "theorizing" since he never spends enough time on one piece of evidence to complete his arguments. I look at his work as a starting point, rather than a finished product. If someone takes one of his ideas and runs with it, gathering collaborating evidence and building a more air-tight case for the "solution" presented in his works, then in my opinion Von Daniken has done his job. Unfortunately, I can't be sure Von Daniken shares this opinion. I think he raises important questions, yet his answers are too quick off the mark and ultimately unsatisfying to the discriminating reader. I much prefer the approach taken by Graham Hancock, for example, who normally stays much more conservative. Hancock presents compelling arguments supported by many different pieces of evidence, and will not insult the reader by leaping to his conclusions based upon a single painting or pottery shard. Anyone interested in "alternative" (for lack of a better word) history would do well to pick up Hancock's "Fingerprints of the Gods" for a better-realized examination of ancient mysteries. I still find Von Daniken immensely entertaining, though. Call it a guilty pleasure. I would never be able to defend his ideas during an in-depth discussion of them, and I honestly don't believe Von Daniken would be able to either. I give this book 5 stars for being a lot of FUN and a closet masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The "Reefer Madness" of archaeology
Review: It amazes me that anyone can take this book seriously, much less consider it a way to open one's mind. It amazes me that this book is still in print. It amazes me that von Daniken is still writing. Highlights for this book: first off, von Daniken exhibits all the typical behavior of Martin Gardner's "hermit scientist" -- long on speculation, short on proof. Second, mentioning people like Edward Cayce favorably. Third, an undercurrent of racism inherent to much literature of this type ("of course zey could not haff made zese; zey are not European!"). On top of all that, the edition I have would appear to be a fairly bad translation of a ridiculous book, making it perfect reading for those late-night toke'n'Twinkie sessions. Get this used. It's not worth the price of buying new. I got mine for a quarter at a library discard sale, and since I don't smoke pot...
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