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With over 140 photographs, specially designed maps, models, and drawings, Von Däniken applies the same fact-filled analysis to Nazca that launched his 1968 Chariots of the Gods to continuous bestsellerdom. He reports on his many visits to the lost civilization of Nazca, an ancient, isolated settlement deep in the Peruvian desert. He analyzes aerial views and closeups of extraordinary markings that stretched across the land for miles, forming complex shapes and designs unnoticed from the ground but unmistakable from the air. How could primitive people have achieved such an amazing feat? Von Däniken concludes: Forget the theories about religious rituals, irrigation systems, and astrological calendars; these are creations of extraterrestrials. Impossible to explain or even envision from the ground, the mile-long "landing strip," the curious etchings of beasts, and the immense geometric designs and giant mandalas are simple to execute--if their creators could see them from the air.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
29 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
About the author
Erich von Däniken
284 books884 followersGreek: Έριχ φον Νταίνικεν
Born on April 14th, 1935, in Zofingen, Switzerland, Erich von Däniken was educated at the College St-Michel in Fribourg, where already as a student he occupied his time with the study of the ancient holy writings. While managing director of a Swiss hotel, he wrote his first book, Chariots of the Gods, which was an immediate bestseller in the United States, Germany, and later in 38 other countries.
Von Däniken's books have been translated into 28 languages, and have sold 60 million copies worldwide. From his books two full-length documentary films have been produced: Chariots of the Gods and Messages of the Gods. Of the more than 3,000 lectures which Erich von Däniken has given in 25 countries, over 500 were presented at universities. Fluent in four languages, Erich von Däniken is an avid researcher and a compulsive traveller, averaging 100'000 miles each year to remote spots of the Earth. This enables him to closely examine the phenomena about which he writes.
Von Däniken is a member of the Swiss writers association, the German writers association, and the International PEN-Club.
Born on April 14th, 1935, in Zofingen, Switzerland, Erich von Däniken was educated at the College St-Michel in Fribourg, where already as a student he occupied his time with the study of the ancient holy writings. While managing director of a Swiss hotel, he wrote his first book, Chariots of the Gods, which was an immediate bestseller in the United States, Germany, and later in 38 other countries.
Von Däniken's books have been translated into 28 languages, and have sold 60 million copies worldwide. From his books two full-length documentary films have been produced: Chariots of the Gods and Messages of the Gods. Of the more than 3,000 lectures which Erich von Däniken has given in 25 countries, over 500 were presented at universities. Fluent in four languages, Erich von Däniken is an avid researcher and a compulsive traveller, averaging 100'000 miles each year to remote spots of the Earth. This enables him to closely examine the phenomena about which he writes.
Von Däniken is a member of the Swiss writers association, the German writers association, and the International PEN-Club.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 6, 2020
Bueno son muchas las cosas que se tenemos que meditar sobre este libro, por qué si bien hay veces que no queremos salir de nuestra zona de confort, menos cambiar nuestra forma de pensar de algo que por cultura y educación nos han inculcado por generaciones y si bien el autor toca un tema muy importante sobre los conocimientos cientifico y tecnológicos que tenemos en la actualidad y el pasado no significa que todo sea verdadero y que en los libros siempre hay lagunas de información en áreas de investigación que solo atraves de la experimentación y el tiempo es como podemos formular más a detalle el por qué de la creación de la vida en nuestro planeta.
Ojo no digo que los libros están mal sin embargo no tenemos las respuestas para todo.
Hay cosas que me parecieron absurdas pero otras me sorprendió muchisimo, soy una persona realmente religiosa pero por otra parte tengo una formación científica que me invita a cuestionar más la información que tenemos en la actualidad y analizar más a detalle todas las imágenes, figuras y escritos que tienen cierta similitud en civilizaciones de nuestros planeta.
Ojo no digo que los libros están mal sin embargo no tenemos las respuestas para todo.
Hay cosas que me parecieron absurdas pero otras me sorprendió muchisimo, soy una persona realmente religiosa pero por otra parte tengo una formación científica que me invita a cuestionar más la información que tenemos en la actualidad y analizar más a detalle todas las imágenes, figuras y escritos que tienen cierta similitud en civilizaciones de nuestros planeta.
October 8, 2012
I adore this book. I bought it as soon as the translation came out, because I was a weird teenager, and read it over and over. Not necessarily because I'm a ~believer, or because I'm crazy for extra-terrestrial tales, I just love the haphazard and chaotic way von Däniken writes, flitting from IMPORTANT POINT to YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT to RANDOM FICTIONAL IMAGINING and so on.
It's a quick and easy read, with room for every facial expression from eye-rolling to grinning to actually, now you mention it, that *is* really weird. I love revisiting his books, and, with the increasing hindsight of time, and our comparatively rapid advances in science, his discussion of things like the human genome and computer technology are dated in particularly interesting ways.
September 19, 2022
Un libro lleno de datos curiosos sobre la posibilidad de visitantes del espacio en el pasado, interviniendo directamente en la vida en la tierra. Él habla mucho de que son pruebas irrefutables, aunque algunas me parecen más bien teorías (sin ser por eso menos interesantes).
3,5 estrellas.
3,5 estrellas.
December 3, 2022
Really not my cup of tea, stitching together random bits of information and presenting them as alternative truths is hard to swallow.
January 11, 2022
von Daniken's unique writing style is by itself entertaining enough to keep a reader engaged. In this book he presents more theories or interpretations of ancient texts. His theories are easy to follow and seem agreeable if you can trace back to the root, but I don't know if what he is saying about the text is true to begin with. For example, he talks at length about the Book of Enoch and how the original meaning is to be taken literally. He gives examples of texts that were chosen to be in the Old and New Testaments and argues some things were modified over time or mistranslated because the people were not in a place to comprehend the literal meaning. This is possible, but then I could say the same thing about the texts he references to make his points. I liked how he has chapters containing fictional stories in order to help the reader understand his point from a different perspective.
Regardless of any preconceived notions of deities, it's a decent read following his first bestseller. I just don't know anything about the legitimacy of the material he references, like the Book if Enoch, to be able to determine how much weight to put on his particular points. If what he is saying is true then it's certainly compelling, and he is passionate enough about this life's work to require an open mind when reading his book.
He has a chapter about the Egyptian pyramids and argues for more scientific and computer-based research to counteract the Egyptians' claims about a discovered shaft. Same for genetics. This book was written in 1998, and there is a lot that has advanced since then in both fields.
Regardless of any preconceived notions of deities, it's a decent read following his first bestseller. I just don't know anything about the legitimacy of the material he references, like the Book if Enoch, to be able to determine how much weight to put on his particular points. If what he is saying is true then it's certainly compelling, and he is passionate enough about this life's work to require an open mind when reading his book.
He has a chapter about the Egyptian pyramids and argues for more scientific and computer-based research to counteract the Egyptians' claims about a discovered shaft. Same for genetics. This book was written in 1998, and there is a lot that has advanced since then in both fields.
December 12, 2019
Not very compelling
I remember enjoying Daniken's first book Chariot of the Gods and was excited to begin reading this one . Sadly I found this book not as compelling . I would have liked more chapters on archeology and less on speculation and imagined conversations from future cultures. The last third of the book was my favorite part. I was interested in his chapters on Egypt and alien abduction. I found myself wishing the whole book would have been on the Egyptian pyramid controversy.
I remember enjoying Daniken's first book Chariot of the Gods and was excited to begin reading this one . Sadly I found this book not as compelling . I would have liked more chapters on archeology and less on speculation and imagined conversations from future cultures. The last third of the book was my favorite part. I was interested in his chapters on Egypt and alien abduction. I found myself wishing the whole book would have been on the Egyptian pyramid controversy.
July 28, 2011
I could have sworn this was called Return To The Stars, but maybe my memory is tricking me. Anyway this is pretty standard Von Daniken stuff, but interesting nonetheless. A lot of the ideas don't really stand up to close scrutiny!
January 9, 2023
Kiedy pierwszy raz wzięłam "Dzień Sądu Ostatecznego..." do ręki nie spodziewałam się tematyki, która została w tej książce ukazana.
Początkowo ciężko było mi wywnioskować o czym jest sama książka, gdyż było to moje pierwsze spotkanie z dziełem autora. Po kilkunastu stronach zaczęłam rozumieć tematykę - niecodzienna książka, której autor rozwodzi się nad istnieniem cywilizacji pozaziemskiej, a także przywołuje znane teksty religijne, dla potwierdzenia swoich tez. Autor nie stara się na siłę brzmieć wyniośle - stosuje raczej prosty język, a gdy już wtrąci bardziej skomplikowane określenie - stara się je jak najlepiej wytłumaczyć.
Elementem, który najbardziej urzekł mnie w książce była swoista więź, którą Daniken utrzymywał ze swoim czytelnikiem. Interesujące i chwilami zabawne były niektóre stwierdzenia autora - zabiegi te sprawiały, że książkę czytało się bardzo przyjemnie i szybko.
Intrygujące były teorie, które przedstawiał autor i stanowiska jakie zajmował odnośnie dziejów ludzkości, ale samego Wszechświata - pozwalały one czytelnikowi, na spojrzenie z innej perspektywy, z pespektywy o której nigdy wcześniej nie patrzył na dane zjawisko. Miłym zaskoczeniem były ilustracje zamieszczone w środku, przedstawiające historyczne budynki, które miały i nadal mają ogromną wagę dla badaczy.
Koniecznie sięgnę po kolejne książki spod pióra Ericha von Daniken'a, aby poznać kolejne teorie i w jakimś stopniu przybliżyć się do samego autora.
Początkowo ciężko było mi wywnioskować o czym jest sama książka, gdyż było to moje pierwsze spotkanie z dziełem autora. Po kilkunastu stronach zaczęłam rozumieć tematykę - niecodzienna książka, której autor rozwodzi się nad istnieniem cywilizacji pozaziemskiej, a także przywołuje znane teksty religijne, dla potwierdzenia swoich tez. Autor nie stara się na siłę brzmieć wyniośle - stosuje raczej prosty język, a gdy już wtrąci bardziej skomplikowane określenie - stara się je jak najlepiej wytłumaczyć.
Elementem, który najbardziej urzekł mnie w książce była swoista więź, którą Daniken utrzymywał ze swoim czytelnikiem. Interesujące i chwilami zabawne były niektóre stwierdzenia autora - zabiegi te sprawiały, że książkę czytało się bardzo przyjemnie i szybko.
Intrygujące były teorie, które przedstawiał autor i stanowiska jakie zajmował odnośnie dziejów ludzkości, ale samego Wszechświata - pozwalały one czytelnikowi, na spojrzenie z innej perspektywy, z pespektywy o której nigdy wcześniej nie patrzył na dane zjawisko. Miłym zaskoczeniem były ilustracje zamieszczone w środku, przedstawiające historyczne budynki, które miały i nadal mają ogromną wagę dla badaczy.
Koniecznie sięgnę po kolejne książki spod pióra Ericha von Daniken'a, aby poznać kolejne teorie i w jakimś stopniu przybliżyć się do samego autora.
June 15, 2024
Faszinierend, unglaublich und doch absolute Realität an deutschen (und vermutlich auch anderen) Hochschulen: wer nicht in den wissenschaftlichen Konsens passt wird lächerlich gemacht, verliert Fördergelder, wird vor die Tür gesetzt. Nicht nur was in der Ägyptologie passiert ist ein Witz. Es kann nicht sein, was nicht sein darf, ist schon seit Jahrhunderten der Leitsatz der Archäologie (und ja, natürlich gerade auch der Theologie), und daran wird sich gerade in Zeiten, in denen die Budgets für Geisteswissenschaften immer kleiner werden, historische Monumente in großer Zahl vom Erdboden verschwinden (und daran sind nicht die Außerirdischen verantwortlich...), Lehrstühle zusammengeschmolzen werden und Wissenschaftler, die angesichts dieser Zustände an einem Strang ziehen sollten, gegeneinander intrigieren.
Erich von Dänikens Bücher sind ein wahrer Schwung frischer Luft und inspirieren dazu neue Wege in betracht zu ziehen. Ich wünschte, ich hätte schon viel früher mit der Lektüre begonnen. Mein Archäologiestudium wäre deutlich spannender ausgefallen.
Erich von Dänikens Bücher sind ein wahrer Schwung frischer Luft und inspirieren dazu neue Wege in betracht zu ziehen. Ich wünschte, ich hätte schon viel früher mit der Lektüre begonnen. Mein Archäologiestudium wäre deutlich spannender ausgefallen.
December 2, 2020
Hay cosas que parten de un ejemplo de pura contradicción y se supone que Von Däniken intenta quitarnos la contradicción de encima. Él cita a los ángeles como seres infértiles pero más allá en la Biblia dice claramente que los ángeles se reprodujeron con los humanos y bla bla, entonces Dios envió el diluvio. ¿En qué quedamos?
También, sin ningún tipo de sentido, cuenta una historia sobre tres sobrevivientes. Algunos podría decir que eso es necesario para enfocar el libro, podría ser siempre y cuando cambiase el tiempo verbal de la historia porque así, tal y como está, no hace más que confundir. Y la verdad que podría haberlo ilustrado todo más rápido aunque si quitásemos el relleno quedaría un libro de ¿40 páginas? ¿50 como mucho?
También, sin ningún tipo de sentido, cuenta una historia sobre tres sobrevivientes. Algunos podría decir que eso es necesario para enfocar el libro, podría ser siempre y cuando cambiase el tiempo verbal de la historia porque así, tal y como está, no hace más que confundir. Y la verdad que podría haberlo ilustrado todo más rápido aunque si quitásemos el relleno quedaría un libro de ¿40 páginas? ¿50 como mucho?
February 14, 2019
I like this book the least of Von Däniken’s books that I have read so far. While I don’t subscribe to the majority of his writings I do find them entertaining and a little thought provoking. This book seemed to have a lot of filler to it. Whole passages are given over to examples of what extra terrestrials think of humans and of earth. And I don’t think we really need to have these examples presented to us. I would find it more worthwhile if some of the archeological finds talked about in the book had been fleshed out a bit more.
July 26, 2023
Para hacer un refrito de sus anteriores libros no era necesario este viaje.
Señala múltiples hechos que no casan con la arqueología e historia establecidas y plantea una duda razonable, pero pretender que la única explicación posible son lo extraterrestres y además afirmar pretenciosamente que lo ha demostrado 😱 deja mucho que desear.
Señala múltiples hechos que no casan con la arqueología e historia establecidas y plantea una duda razonable, pero pretender que la única explicación posible son lo extraterrestres y además afirmar pretenciosamente que lo ha demostrado 😱 deja mucho que desear.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2023
this book was not for me- there were no coherent points throughout this book it was all just stringing random bits of information to try to prove the existence of extraterrestrials but it’s done so so poorly
December 30, 2017
It is definitely very interesting and almost convincing in certain areas. But as any conspiracy theories go everything is to be taken with a grain of salt.
March 22, 2019
Una chaladura deliciosa.
May 3, 2020
Interesting.
TBC
TBC
October 11, 2021
Review pending
April 2, 2023
An interesting subject matter, that I have started to look into.
November 22, 2025
Thought provoking. Any challenge to the herd mentality mass mainstream is ok in my book.
August 13, 2019
Ерих фон Деникен ме запали по загадките, затова с удоволствие се върнах към негова книга, нищо че е отпреди 20 години. Като цяло ми хареса. Част от хипотезите му са вече доста популярни, но, естествено, в такива книги не може да си съгласен с всичко написано. Все пак за себе си открих някои нови идеи. Цялостното впечатление малко се развали накрая, където Деникен напада археолозите (очевидно е имал преки сблъсъци с тях и това е неговият отговор).
July 23, 2011
C1998: How I love to quote from this book when conversations become boring. Yep – that’s me all right – a sparkling raconteur. Not! Remember that this man was convicted of fraud relating to a jewellery transaction in his early life. With thanks to Wikipedia “At the age of 19, von Däniken was caught stealing money, both from an innkeeper and from a camp where he was employed as a youth leader, and was given a four-month suspended sentence. The psychiatrist who examined von Däniken at the time described him as displaying a "tendency to lie". Von Däniken was withdrawn from his school, and became apprenticed to a Swiss hotelier for a time, before moving to Egypt. While in Egypt, he was involved in a jewelry deal which resulted in a nine-month conviction for fraud and embezzlement upon his return to Switzerland” Then the theme park set up in Interlaken closed because it was unable to pay its creditors. “One of Interlaken's top tourist attractions, the Mystery Park, has closed its doors for the last time. The theme park, opened in May 2003, was devoted to unsolved extraterrestial mysteries, and was the brainchild of best-selling Swiss author Erich von Däniken. It failed to attract enough visitors to guarantee its survival.” SwissInfo.ch November 19, 2006. FWFTB: religions, punishing, judgement, extraterrestrial. ancestors?
December 7, 2016
An interesting book to read, while the basic idea that when the ancient stories and legends tell of people from the stars travelling to and fro from craft orbiting the earth in a clearly technological aircraft, they were telling the truth rather than being allegorical is not all that controversial in itself other than to "mainstream" archaeologists there are some notable flaws.
For example the idea that man could not have evolved the idea of mathematics so it must have been genetically installed in humanity fails to consider that the alien races must have evolved the idea of mathematics which renders the theory that it could not have evolved obviously wrong, and the final chapter on Alien Abductions seems to have very little relevance to anything in the rest of the book to the extent that it could have been already written and added later.
For example the idea that man could not have evolved the idea of mathematics so it must have been genetically installed in humanity fails to consider that the alien races must have evolved the idea of mathematics which renders the theory that it could not have evolved obviously wrong, and the final chapter on Alien Abductions seems to have very little relevance to anything in the rest of the book to the extent that it could have been already written and added later.
October 12, 2021
Read the book again in 2021, I really think he has some logic to what he is saying. However, the skeptic that I am I need to do further research before I can convince myself (The ancient books that EvD has referred are not usually found in bookstores).
I didn't like the 1st chapter which is EvD's fiction on a future scenario, barring that the other chapters were interesting(some of them fascinating) and definitely will make you ponder the usual religious s**t that we get dished out day in - day out. For the curious minds who have less of an inclination toward religion, this will definitely be another path worth traversing. Some of the interesting topics covered in the book - artificial insemination, ETs, alien abductions, Pyramids, paleo-seti research.
I didn't like the 1st chapter which is EvD's fiction on a future scenario, barring that the other chapters were interesting(some of them fascinating) and definitely will make you ponder the usual religious s**t that we get dished out day in - day out. For the curious minds who have less of an inclination toward religion, this will definitely be another path worth traversing. Some of the interesting topics covered in the book - artificial insemination, ETs, alien abductions, Pyramids, paleo-seti research.
August 2, 2009
At this time it is the only book I read from this author. He is famous for his alien books. I do not believe his opinions about aliens, but it was interesting. He quoted from the bible and some parts are realy strange. You understand Erich von Däniken better after reading this book. And I am also open for new thoughts. I think this is importand. You can every time decide for yourself what you believe and what you don´t believe, but you shouldn´t close the mind for strange things. Let it in your mind. Think about and decide then!
May 25, 2012
Daniken bu kitabında dünya dışı akıllı varlıkların olup olmadığı sorgusunu bi adım ileri taşıyıp, ne için bizlerle iletişime geçmediklerini, kaçırılan insanlar üzerinde yapılan testlerle - alınan embriyoları ile ne amaçladıklarını, niçin insanlara zarar vermeden aldıkları yerlere bıraktıkları gibi konulara değiniyor. Daniken'e şimdilik ara verip, daniken'in iddalarının doğru olup olmadığını anlamak için bundan sonraki okuyacaklarım sümeroloji ya da sümer arkeolojisi ve kaçırılma vakaları ile ilgili bir kitap olacak, bakalım onları okuduktan sonrada Daniken hakkında neler düşüneceğim.
July 21, 2012
I am thankful for Erich Von Daniken.
His books always make you think about who we are and where we might have come from. His ideas and books have largely met with derision and condemnation because there is a lot of secular and ecclesiastical power that would crumble if he is correct. I appreciate the fact that he continues to have ORIGINAL ideas and publishes them despite his many detractors who live in fear of truth.
His books always make you think about who we are and where we might have come from. His ideas and books have largely met with derision and condemnation because there is a lot of secular and ecclesiastical power that would crumble if he is correct. I appreciate the fact that he continues to have ORIGINAL ideas and publishes them despite his many detractors who live in fear of truth.
August 10, 2012
love chapter one description of how a civilization might form a cult/ religion around artifacts found from before a world disaster.. changing unexplainable documentation where it doesnt fit what we deem possible...entirely reasonable.. explains many religions in my mind.. also love chapter 5 hypothetical description of the human race from the POV of outsiders... again perfectly reasonable... we're not too impressive as a species. :(
February 13, 2023
Πρωτοδιάβασα Ντένικεν πριν πολλά χρόνια και πραγματικά μου άλλαξε τον τρόπο με τον οποίο έβλεπα τον κόσμο.Κάποια από τα συμπεράσματα στα οποία καταλήγει ο συγγραφέας ίσως φανούν λίιιιιιγο τραβηγμένα αλλά...
Όλα τα βιβλία του Ντένικεν σε βάζουν σε σκέψεις.Ο άνθρωπος έχει ταξιδέψει σε όλο τον πλανήτη ερευνώντας τα μυστήρια του κόσμου μας.Προσπαθεί να δώσει απαντήσεις σε διάφορα θέματα.Το βιβλίο είναι ποιοτικό,τυπωμένο σε γυαλιστερό χαρτί με αρκετές φωτογραφίες.Διαβάστε το!
Όλα τα βιβλία του Ντένικεν σε βάζουν σε σκέψεις.Ο άνθρωπος έχει ταξιδέψει σε όλο τον πλανήτη ερευνώντας τα μυστήρια του κόσμου μας.Προσπαθεί να δώσει απαντήσεις σε διάφορα θέματα.Το βιβλίο είναι ποιοτικό,τυπωμένο σε γυαλιστερό χαρτί με αρκετές φωτογραφίες.Διαβάστε το!
July 4, 2016
I thought this was a very well-thought-out and well-written book. Unlike many followers of the author, I have never read his first book. His analysis of humanity's stories of the gods, in conjunction with the ancient astronaut theory, was enlightening. He is very persuasive, and his arguments make sense. I would highly recommend this title.
April 14, 2015
Feeding my guilty pleasures. Inspired to do so by the announcement that Fox is rebooting "The X-files" for next season. "I want to believe." "Trust No One." Good storytelling, but a bit out of date (he wrote this in 1997), and a lot of rehashing of most of what he wrote in "Chariots of the Gods?"
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews