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Title: The Ancient Celts by Barry Cunliffe ISBN: 0-14-025422-6 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 28 February, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The treasures of a lost society
Comment: An informative and comprehensive overview of the history of Celtic Eurasia. Cunliffe's status as a leading scholar in this field is well deserved. This volume exhibits the result of many years of work. The wealth and breadth, in both time and space, of the material preclude Cunliffe engaging in flowery rhetoric or idle speculations. Using archaeology as the basis for his presentation, he provides both textual and graphic information. The result is a thorough examination of the development and movements of the Celtic peoples. Their impact on the geopolitics of Europe is great, he reminds us. Place names, artistic styles, and numerous practical elements, many of which have been downplayed or ignored during the Christian centuries, remain as a legacy of their presence and influence.
Given the paucity of Celtic written records, Cunliffe begins with a early archaeological efforts and snippets of Greco-Roman observations. What the Celts thought of themselves must remain a mystery. Those observing them found a warrior society, highly sophisticated in that realm from both aggressive and defensive standpoints. Highly mobile, the Celts established societies from Western Asia to the British Isles. In their settlements, which became increasingly organized and administered over the centuries, they laid the foundations of many modern communities. Cunliffe's accounts of these settlements, particularly those in the Iberian peninsula is likely to offer fresh information for many students.
Cunliffe gives us overviews of the "barbarian" migrations and their impact on European society. The most important result of Celtic movements, of course, was the counter expansion of Rome. Celtic domination of the trans-Alpine region drew Rome into Europe proper. Rome's choice of land routes for armies instead of sea routes for trade meant occupation or dominance of Celtic holdings. These counterforces had far-reaching results in all areas of European life. Even religion, which was normally viewed tolerantly by Rome, came under assault when the Celtic Druids became the force organizing resistance to Roman rule. Cunliffe traces these interactions with a scholar's precision, relating it all in a crisp narration.
The author's long career in this field has provided him with a storehouse of resources. Aside from the fine bibliographic essay, he enhances the main text with excellent maps, illustrations and photographs, many in colour. These cultural images impart a graphic sense of how misleading the term "barbarian" is applied to these people. Their rich heritage, eroded by Rome and virtually eliminated by Christianity is revived by Cunliffe's superb recounting of their world. This book is valuable at many levels and well worth the investment. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating: 4
Summary: Very Detailed and Informative
Comment: Let me start by saying I am nowhere near an expert on this subject. I read this book because I wanted to learn more about the Celts. Although I found this book to be a bit academic for my liking it was obviously scrupulously researched. My biggest complaint was the use of archaic names for ancient geographical locations without providing an approximate modern reference point; the same holds true for the mention of many long extinct cultural groups. The numerous maps which were included did not to my mind provide much clarification, plus they were all clustered together at the end of the book which made it cumbersome to keep flipping back and forth. Perhaps it was the author's intent to target a more scholarly audience which would explain my frustration with the content; hence, the 4 stars.
Rating: 3
Summary: Reality of the Celtic world??
Comment: Many Iron Age Celtic scholars have criticized this work exactly on the grounds of the above review. Cunliffe does a good job of overemphasizing both the linguistic evidence and the classical sources (which, as any scholar of Greek and Latin knows, are very difficult to interpret). He makes many assertions that have been effectively disproved by the archaeological record.
I will agree that this is the best synthesis of research (written by a SINGLE author) on the Celts in the last decade, but this is only because so much of what is written about the Celts is terribly misinformed. However, John Collis' European Iron Age (1984) is more up to date than Cunliffe's 1997 account! Cunliffe is okay if you've never read anything on the Celts and you're simply curious about them. But if you're looking for a more accurate and scholarly portrayal, there are many many better books.
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Title: Atlas of the Celtic World by John Haywood, Barry Cunliffe ISBN: 0500051097 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: The Celtic Empire: The First Millennium of Celtic History, 1000BC - AD51 by Peter Berresford Ellis ISBN: 0786709332 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 09 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Celts by Nora K. Chadwick, Barry Cunliffe ISBN: 0140250743 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Druids (Ancient Peoples and Places Series) by Stuart Piggott ISBN: 0500273634 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: May, 1985 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The World of the Druids by Miranda J. Aldhouse-Green, Miranda J. Green ISBN: 050005083X Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: June, 1997 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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