In Search of Ancient Gods: My Pictorial Evidence for the Impossible

by Erich von Däniken, Michael Heron (Translator)

Erich von Däniken believes that the 'Chariots of the Gods' that appear in the myths and legends of peoples all over the world, from the Mayas to the Ancient Egyptians, from the Australian Aboriginals to the Jews of the Old Testament, were really visiting space-ships; and that the gods themselves were no other than cosmonauts, depicted in rock paintings and ancient stone carvings in the caves of Tassili in the Sahara, Mayan burial chambers and Assyrian cylinder seals, and described in the writings of the Judaic prophet Enoch.

In this book, he sets his evidence before us again, in pictorial form, and asks us to judge for ourselves. What explanation can we offer for aerodynamically perfect model airplanes dating from the times of the Pharaohs, or a map, drawn by the Turkish admiral Piri Reis in 1513, showing longitudinal positions with an accuracy 'impossible' before the 18th century, and contours of Antarctica only discovered by modern survey methods in 1952?

Von Däniken has assembled much new evidence for his theories, and in his text develops his speculations about the ancient visits from the stars. He asks us to look at our experience with new eyes, to open our imaginations to a set of staggering possibilities, presenting plenty of pictorial evidence.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Aliens, Archaeology, Philosophy, Pseudoscience, Conspiracy Theories

249 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Greek: 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.

Reviews

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Читать ебанину, конечно, — любимое развлечение, хоть надолго и не хватает. В случае с Дэникеном, правда, еще раз убеждаешься, до чего прекрасный он популяризатор, чего — неважно. Научная ебанина от ненаучной (или псевдонаучной) ебанины отличается мало чем, а Дэникен на научность и не претендует — он просто утверждает, что верит в будущее (и прошлое заодно). Его риторический ретрофутуризм (очень забавны его рассуждения о космических полетах, генной инженерии и компьютерах — дело, напомню, происходит в конце 1960-х годов) будет похлеще любой НФ. Разница в том, что он не просто на этом зарабатывает, как авторы фикций, а честно, судя по всему, в это верит.
В этом продолжении «Колесниц богов» он опять ссылается на советских ученых, конечно. Они тогда играли нынешнюю роль «британских ученых». У западных ебанатов с советскими учеными был весьма занимательный симбиоз: западная наука к ним всерьез не относилась, поэтому за легитимизацией своих находок, идей, фанаберий и фантазий они ездили за железный занавес. А советская наука долгое время исходила из того, что если западная буржуазная наука что-то ругает, значит, дело это хорошее, передовое, надо брать.
Странно, что Илья Кукулин в своем недавнем прекрасном интервью (https://indicator.ru/article/2017/09/...) о сращивании советских ИТР с оккультизмом, эзотерикой и прочей «ебун-травой» (тм), об этом синдроме детского негативизма не обмолвился. Но ведь и писатель Казанцев (ладно, этот-то не бог весть какой ученый был), и Вячеслав Зайцев, и Иосиф Шкловский, будучи легитимными учеными, шли на серьезный контакт — и с Дэникеном, и с Эндрю Томасом. На что они рассчитывали и как им это удавалось без последствий от «ученых в штатском»? Или последствия были? Или они сами были «учеными в штатском»? Загадки, загадки…

[Priscilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this book - I really did. I wanted it to be a fun romp through outlandishly terrible misinterpretations of real evidence. But it's just so, so, so, so bad. The writing is just so, so, so, so bad. Hell, even the formatting is so, so bad, to the point where it's sometimes impossible to tell when one paragraph has ended and another one has begun. And it's not just misinterpretations - it's the complete lack of understanding even in the most basic sense what some of the artifacts/evidence are, such as somewhere around page 14 when von Daniken refers to some piece of ancient Egyptian text or carving and talks about the "cuneiform" writing of the piece. Um, cuneiform? That's frickin' ancient SUMERIAN writing, dude, that was made by pressing a triangular stylus into clay tablets. The Egyptians wrote in HIEROGLYPHICS - pictorial symbols that overtime became stylized into various versions of the original writing - that were carved into stone and or painted onto surface. And don't even ask me about all the illustrations (this book has hundreds, total) that are just dropped in there, numbered of course, with no justification, explanation, caption, or link to the text. IDIOT. Why did I keep struggling through to the end?

[Mario Isamitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Von Daniken ve señales equivocadas en todas partes, conspiracionismo puro. Pésima obra.

[David Mcdowell]

Actually read this straight after 'Gold of the Gods' and that review was for both.



I made a typo there at first: "Golf of the Gods" - now that's a book I want to read :D



Who would you have in a 4-ball?



I see Zeus and Thor for the classic gods perhaps up against a couple of newbies such as Allah & Ganesh



(P.S. I notice Ganesh is the Remover of Obstacles so perhaps he gets free drops!)

[Signor Mambrino · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty dumb. I read it quickly over the course of two evenings and I found myself restless towards the end because it was so stupid. Some of the photos are really cool though. I also enjoyed reading the part about ezekiel but i think Daniken's explanation of this biblical event is no less dumb than any others.
The book is based on a cool hypothesis but none of the examples given in this book are remotely convincing. You would have to be a complete moron to believe this rubbish.

[Michelle Tempted By Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love pictures. I tended to not read the explanation of the pictures until after I looked at them and formed my own opinions. Some of Daniken's are a bit far reaching for me while others weren't too hard to see. I am really enjoying the opinions and ideas so once again I give this book a top rating.

[Drew Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

...the information contained in the book was really good, there was less speculations and opinions, and more information so to speak. this edition was hard to read due to the way it was edited. not only was the editing poor in spots, but there were no chapters. this edition read like a very long essay, and while I didn't find it boring, without chapters it was a bit tedious to get through...

[Pingwin98 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book sincerely worth reading - full of astonishing facts that stimulate reflection about the unfathomable past of the planet.

[Dan Zarfati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because this book is more visual than textual, even if you are not a big fan of Van Daniken it is worth purchasing the book if the price is right, mind you the text is also nothing notorious or that absurd, it is just that it became a bit obsolete. In his theory, the author claims that AA were exploring this planet, almost by chance, set here as a place to get supplies and move to other place, while they were here they gave good lessons in civilisation to our stone age cultures. More contemporary AAT and Ufology nowadays points toward a decisive desire of engagement rather then an encounter by chance. The images provided in this book are still fascinating, may not be from an ancient encounter but most of them are highly unusual and interesting, I fully enjoyed this book.

[b e a c h g o t h · Rating 2 out of 5]

I disagreed with this authors assumptions on many things and... disliked his apparent lack of understanding... for example: Cuneiform is Babylonian. Hieroglyphics are Egyptian. They are not the same. He also has a strong distrust of biblical text which was leaking through his writing in very sarcastic, mocking tones.
However, I continued to press on.
And then. THEN. He arrived in NZ and trash talked spaghetti toasted sandwiches. And that confirmed it for me, Erik and I shall have to agree to disagree.. on almost everything.

[Angie]

Theres a review on the back of this book that describes it as 'audacious', I also got this book for free at an op-shop. I mean, think about that. The original owner didn't want this book, and neither did the op-shop. That should tell you a little something about this book.
It's a good thing my bookshelf is a home for unloved books.
So, this is basically an explanation for gods and religion. And the explanation is obviously.... aliens.

But my own theory is that it was time-travellers from the future.
Fun stuff.

[Horus Virú · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno, es un libro que toca temas muy arriesgados, si eres una persona de mente cerrada, no te lo recomiendo, ya que se tocan muchos antecedentes, sustento y opiniones sobre topicos tales como el origen del hombre, la presencia de vida inteligente extraterrestre en civilziaciones antiquisimas de diferentes paises, etc. Si quieres un enfoque diferente de las cosas o la historia, lo recomiendo.

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informative book. The picture quality stinks but then again it's an older book and back then.... I love the way that Von Daniken speaks. It's easy to understand what he is telling you.

If you want proof that Aliens visited the Earth many many many years ago then read his books.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seek and ye shall find whatever it is you are looking for - especially if you make up the evidence, ignore the most likely "mainstream" explanation and suspend any critical faculty you might possess. Yes, then the impossible becomes possible.

[Gali · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for something that would make me chuckle but, after only about 10 pages, all I could do was put the book down and never pick it up again because the author just makes such huge leaps that it can't even be taken as a comedic thing.

[Brent · Rating 1 out of 5]

No footnotes, flagrant misreadings and willful deception. von Daniken is a nut. Not even sure why I read though his books. I think it was an adolescent thirst for forbidden knowledge.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

as a science fiction enthusiast and a free thinker, i found this book to be thought provoking and fun to read.

[Guadaloupe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es realmente valioso gráficamente e incluso por ciertos datos históricos objetivos, sin embargo el autor no es nada claro y demasiado redundante. Anyway, viva los aliens!