Rating: 
Summary: Psuedo Archaeology at its Best
Review: Come on people. I only read this book because he is the classic example of bad archaeology at its best. He only looks at a hand full of the evidence and makes up stories to fit it. For example in this book, The pictures of pottery he has with Flying Saucers on there, he has admited to being [unreal]. This book is is a sweeping attack on the memories and abilities of ancient peoples. Von Däniken claims that the myths, arts, social organizations, etc., of ancient cultures were introduced by astronauts from another world. He questions not just the capacity for memory, but the capacity for culture and civilization itself, in ancient peoples. Prehistoric humans did not develop their own arts and technologies, but rather were taught art and science by visitors from outer space. Does this sound a little toooooooo [unbeliveable] for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, to say the very least!
Review: This book is really an interesting read. It dares to go outside the theories of conventional achaeologists and historians, to postulate whether primitive cultures had contact with alien life forms. The author presents this theory in a well thought out fashion, first with the concept of "well why not?" As unscientific as a theory as it is, he later goes in depth to describe inexplicable findings in areas inhabited by these earlier cultures, and the similarities with cultures from elsewhere in the world at that time. Interesting stuff! Although I am not thoroughly convinced in the ancient astronaut theory, I am a believer that it could explain some otherwise inexplicable details.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for those with Open Minds
Review: This book is a good read, it opens up your mind to more possibilities. Those who say this book is bad, and does not make sense are usually, close-minded, and are not able to accept other possibilities. If you are an open minded individual, I suggest this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Dated Classic.
Review: This book has a broad reach of topics all loosely centered on ancient contact with extraterrestrial beings. While there are many examples, there are few that have any detail. This can leave you hanging as you read about astronomical computers in the time of Christ or a metal monument in India that doesn't show signs of aging. The author also shows a nearly breathless anticipation of the future in flatly stating that manned craft will reach Mars no later than 1986 and in predicting bases on the moon. And then he gets really crazy by stating that it's not really a big problem to predict the economy of a country the size of Mexico for the next 50 years. This book provides a good introduction to many unexplained mysteries...just don't look to it for answers.
Rating:
Summary: Starseed Relief
Review: For many people, this is the kind of video that one plays at two in the morning after a night of heavy partying for some good laughs before passing out. However, for some, it will trigger certain memories and feelings associated with many of these ancient structures, even if one has never visited or even seen the sites. Especially if this is your first exposure to the idea that extraterrestrials have lived on the Earth in ancient times, the video may be a particularly moving experience - even more so than the book of the same name. One may feel a huge sigh of relief and understanding as several pieces of the galactic mystery are put into place. If you are such a person that is strongly moved by this video, you may be a 'starseed' - a being that has incarnated on Earth to bring its experience and wisdom to this exciting and chaotic time. More than likely, you lived on Earth during the time when the pyramids and Stonehenge were created - you may have even helped in their construction. It is the beginning of a fascinating journey into a world beyond the confines of strictly rational though.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!!!
Review: Wow, I have to admit, when I read this, I was a skeptic, and was like, "I'll never buy this stuff" but by the end of the first chapter, I was a believer!!! But, the underlying fact that authors is NOT that aliens visited earth, but MORE that why can't people accept OTHER beliefs beside their own? He just wants to say, "there ARE other possibilities, maybe not these, but SOMETHING." A VERY quick and entertaining read. Good book to take on Vacation ;)
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC!
Review: This book got the whole u.f.o, ancient astronaut theory started. This book is getting up there in years, but still is a very good book. If you never read a book on u.f.o theories this is a great book to get started on. Chariots Of The Gods stands the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I first came across this book when a coworker was reading it.. she had an ancient copy that her father bought in 1973. I read a few pages of it, and loved it. I immediately got my own copy. My view ont his subject was mainly shaped by skeptics (most notably the essays of Isaac Asimov, who felt, until his dying day, that there was absolutely no proof of any alien cultures ever existing... I would have loved to see a head on debate between Asimov and Mr. Von Daniken.) It blew me away. It introduced me to quite believeable proof that aliens have been periodically visiting us, possibly for millions of years. The book is slightly outdated (such as a quote from NASA saying we'll "definately" land a person on Mars no later than 1986.) And his guesses at how fast technology would advance were quite off. (He expected us to have space crafts capable of travelling at 99% the speed of light by 1991, as well as having 'hover belts' and some scanning technology we aren't even close to developing yet.) However, once he gets to the facts, the book becomes fascinating. A spaceport in the Andes? An unknown 4,000 year old metal alloy we can't identify? (That won't rust or react to phosphate and sulphur.) They found the remains of a millenia old electrical battery in Iraq. Incredible. This book floored me. The only part I feel is dubious is that early "gods" (by which he means alien visitors) cross bred with early humans. (Not homo sapiens exclusively, but earlier steps in evolution.. homo erectus, neanderthal, etc.) I feel he was right when he said they may've helped the strong specimens evolve, while allowing the weaker ones to die, along with killing off the 'freaks'. (such as what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah.) Overall, a most excellent book.. highly reccomended for anyone to read, even the sceptics who don't believe in such stuff. My only question is.. what'll happen if the aliens come back? Surely, if their technology was far beyond anything we have now, it'll be so much ahead of us now we won't be able to comprehend most of it.. what kind of wonders will they show us? Or will they deem us unworthy and anniliate most of our species, like they may've very well done in the past?
Rating:
Summary: Twilight of the Gods
Review: This movie is fascinating and inspiring, and not because any of it is true. The gorgeous photography and haunting musical score brought countless archaeological wonders to life and may have indirectly allowed them to survive by bringing their existence and peril to the attention of the world community. Von Daniken's theories constitute a sort of "fake history", not altogether different from the various conspiracy theories purporting to explain our complicated modern world, but his fake history was the catalyst that allowed American audiences to cultivate an interest in the treasures of vanished peoples. For me, this film constitutes a record of childhood wonder that was soon outgrown in the face of actual education and experience. Seeing the movie again has brought renewed respect for the ingenuity and artistic flair of the ancients. No "extraterrestrials" are needed to explain the richness of our cultural past.
Rating:
Summary: The God Theory
Review: The 1960s and the 1970s produced an alarming amount of attention on "unsolved mysteries" such as the Yeti, the Bermuda Triangle, the lines on the Nazca plains, as well as UFOs. Tons of books and documentaries and TV shows focused heavily on this though many seemed just a little trite. Enter Erich Von Daniken... I was only 12 when I read this and was able to understand much of it with help from my Webster Concise Dictionary. Today, reading this new edition with a new forward from the author is just as mind opening when I first read my old used tattered paperback. I still think people dismiss the author's intentions to put a light on a theory that we are the result of a union between advanced aliens and primative man. I believe the intention was to take a back step from what is normally understood about creation and discovery. The evidence which Erich places before you should not be dismissed so easily either. CHARIOTS OF THE GODS really makes you THINK about how a primative race might carve images which resemble spacemen. Is this why when man thinks of God...we look up to the sky? I HIGHLY recomend this book to anyone who wants to see what might have happened in Earth's early years.
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