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Erich von Däniken

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Chariots of the Gods Paperback – Illustrated, January 1, 1999

by Erich von Däniken (Author), Michael Heron (Translator)

4.7 9,229 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Chariots of the Gods

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THE SEVEN MILLION COPY BESTSELLER

AS SEEN ON ANCIENT ALIENS • The groundbreaking classic that introduced the theory that ancient Earth established contact with aliens.

Immediately recognized as a work of monumental importance, Chariots of the Gods endures as proof that Earth has been visited repeatedly by advanced aliens from other worlds. Here, Erich von Däniken examines ancient ruins, lost cities, spaceports, ufos, and a myriad of hard scientific facts that point to extraterrestrial intervention in human history. Most incredible of all, however, is von Däniken's theory that we are the descendants of these galactic pioneers—and he reveals the archeological discoveries that prove it...

The dramatic discoveries and irrefutable evidence:
• An alien astronaut preserved in a pyramid
• Thousand-year-old spaceflight navigation charts
• Computer astronomy from Incan and Egyptian ruins
• A map of the land beneath the ice cap of Antarctica
• A giant spaceport discovered in the Andes

Includes remarkable photos that document mankind's first contact with aliens at the dawn of civilization.

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The Gods Never Left Us: The Long Awaited Sequel to the Worldwide Best-seller Chariots of the Gods

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Eyewitness to the Gods: What I Kept Secret for Decades (Erich von Daniken Library)

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Erich von Däniken is arguably the most widely read and most-copied nonfiction author in the world. He published his first (and best-known) book, Chariots of the Gods, in 1968. The worldwide best-seller and was followed by 32 more books, including The Eyes of the Sphinx, Twilight of the Gods, History Is Wrong, Evidence of the Gods, and Odyssey of the Gods. His works have been translated into 28 languages and have sold more than 63 million copies. Several have also been made into films. Von Däniken's ideas have been the inspiration for a wide range of TV series, including the History Channel's hit Ancient Aliens. He lives in Switzerland but is an ever-present figure on the international lecture circuit.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Are There Intelligent Beings in the Cosmos?

Chapter 2 - When Our Spaceship Landed on Earth ...

Chapter 3 - The Improbable World of the Unexplained

Chapter 4 - Was God an Astronaut?

Chapter 5 - Fiery Chariots from the Heavens

Chapter 6 - Ancient Imagination and Legends, or Ancient Facts?

Chapter 7 - Ancient Marvels or Space Travel Centers?

Chapter 8 - Easter Island—Land of the Bird Men

Chapter 9 - The Mysteries of South America and Other Oddities

Chapter 10 - The Earth’s Experience of Space

Chapter 11 - The Search for Direct Communication

Chapter 12 - Tomorrow

Bibliography

Index

Berkley Books by Erich von Däniken

CHARIOTS OF THE GODS
SIGNS OF THE GODS
PATHWAYS TO THE GODS

Most Berkley Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs.

For details, write: Special Markets, The Berkley Publishing Group, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

CHARIOTS OF THE GODS

A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY
G. P. Putnam’s Sons edition / February 1970
G. P. Putnam / Berkley Medallion edition / April 1977
Berkley mass market edition / September 1980
Berkley trade paperback edition / January 1999

English translation © 1969 by Michael Heron and Souvenir Press. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission. For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

The Penguin Putnam Inc. World Wide Web site address is http://www.penguinputnam.com

ISBN: 9781101076125

BERKLEY®

Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

BERKLEY and the “B” design are trademarks belonging to Berkley Publishing Corporation.

19 20

Foreword

It was more than a quarter of a century ago—in February 1968—that my first book, Memories of the Future, was published by Econ, a German publisher. I had written the book two years earlier, but rejection letters from publishers fluttered on my desk with great regularity: “Sorry, not usable for our program ... ,” “We are very sorry ... ,” “We don’t want to go this way ... ,” “We recommend a more esoteric publisher....”

In later years I was often asked how this publishing miracle happened, to finally place this controversial work with a renowned textbook house. Today I can finally confess: with outside help and a little discretion.

I met Dr. Thomas von Randow, then the science editor of the weekly Die Zeit, in the summer of 1967. He leafed through the neatly typed manuscript, examined some of the peculiar pictures, and decided, “This is not for us. You have to publish it as a book.”

“And how does one find a publisher?”

Dr. von Randow puffed on his pipe, looked me straight in the eyes: “I do know a publisher. I could just give him a noncommittal call, if you wish.”

He picked up the telephone and asked to be connected with Dr. Erwin Barth von Wehrenalp, the chief of Econ Publishing. The blood rushed to my head. After all, I knew what Dr. von Randow could not know: My manuscript had already been turned down by Econ. Naturally, the ensuing conversation stuck in my gray brain cells.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley Books (January 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425166805
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425166802
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.99 x 0.6 x 7.95 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #18,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20 in UFOs (Books)
- #28 in Ancient & Controversial Knowledge
- #30 in Unexplained Mysteries (Books)

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4.7 9,229 ratings

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Erich von Däniken

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Erich von Daniken is arguably the most widely read and most-copied nonfiction author in the world. He published his first (and best-known) book, Chariots of the Gods, in 1968. The worldwide best seller was followed by 40 more books, including the recent best sellers Twilight of the Gods, History is Wrong, Evidence of the Gods, Remnants of the Gods, and Odyssey of the Gods (all published by New Page Books).

His works have been translated into 28 languages and have sold more than 65 million copies. Several have also been made into films. Von Danikens ideas have been the inspiration for a wide range of television series, including the History Channel’s hit Ancient Aliens. His research organization, the AASRA/legendarytimes.com, comprises laymen and academics from all walks of life. Internationally, there are about 10,000 members. He lives in Switzerland but is an ever-present figure on the international lecture circuit, traveling more than 100,000 miles a year.

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Richard

What started it all

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024

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Great read for opening imagination.

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024

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Read originally about 40 years ago. Wanted to read again. Still one of the best books written. This is what started the whole ancient aliens revolution.

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J. Langston

Very interesting

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024

A good read.

Interesting book but lacks sound logic

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2012

Verified Purchase

I read this book because I watched the show Ancient Aliens. I found the idea interesting but in the show I did not like it too much because the basis of all theories is that, "I don't know, therefore aliens." I gave it a benefit of doubt though because the show is short and they cover a very wide range of history and never really focus in on the core of their beliefs.

So in came this book, Chariots of the Gods. There's no real reason why I selected this book other than the fact that the name of it sounds interesting and it also got a lot of reviews. Since I don't know the subject too well, I figured I'd get some sort of starting point.

After reading the book I can't say I'm all too convinced about aliens visiting us in the ancient times. In the show Ancient Aliens, the conclusion was, "I don't know, therefore aliens." In the book, the base of the theories are, "If it's possible, then it must be true."

At the start of this book, I felt Erich presented a good hypothesis. Could it be possible that in ancient culture they have seen aliens and describe them as gods since they could not interpret the technology? The answer is yes, of course, it's all possible.

However I felt where the book failed is how he intends to "prove" his theories.

I felt there are many holes in Erich's logic:

1) He compares his radical idea to that of other thinkers in the likes of Newton, Darwin, Einstein, and many other who made some radical claims that somehow came out to be true. What Eric failed to realize is that these "thinkers" backed their ideas up with proof and very sound logic. Newton gave his theories based on math and logic. Einstein used math to prove many of his theories. All the radical thinkers used very convincing proof for their ideas that's hard to deny. They didn't say, "Well other people made radical ideas that turned out to be true, so this must be true as well because it's just as radical." Eric didn't really do a good job of sounding convincing to me.

2) He says scientists are "wrong" because they have a failed system of thinking. I think Erich made a fatal mistake here. Science is about being able to reproduce some series of thoughts over and over again. Erich is saying that people in the past were visited by aliens and that humans are too dumb to have evolved to what we see today. He makes claims as wild as that humans are hybrid of "gods" where they reproduced with us, all the way to being genetically altered to be smarter. If these things were true, then wouldn't it make sense that we'd find some "oddity" in our dna? Or that we discover that somehow humans of the early period somehow appeared differently than normal? He gives no sound proof other than wild claims and then never backing it up with anything that sounds logical or provable.

Erich also claims that scientists HAVE to unprove aliens. Last time I checked, "radical" thinkers proved their claims themselves.

3) Many times he claim that certain ancient buildings or land are airstrips of some sort. This is a very famous theory that Erich visits frequently in his book. He shows some photos of areas and say, "It looks like an airstrip." I think Erich is somewhat delusional in this regard because it sounds like (in the time the book was written) probably got bored one Sunday afternoon, pull out an encyclopedia and went, "Oh my, it's an ancient alien airstrip!" I highly doubt that he actually visited any of these so-called "ancient airstrips."

I would expect someone who made a radical claim would actually go to these strips and perhaps get samples of soil and other elements. I would expect that if it was a landing strip things like a fuel or energy source, parts of the aircraft, and various other things that would run a major intergalactic air vehicle. However, Erich provides none, and like my claim in #2 point, Erich instead says that it's scientists duty to check this since the theory is possible, it must be fully investigated until proven wrong.

4) He claims that various artworks, religion, ideas, and culture are shared across the globe which asserts his claim that aliens must have visited. The first problem I notice is that many of Erich's religious examples only extend to about the first few chapters of any religious text. It seems like after he looked up the encyclopedia on afternoon, he decided to read the first two chapters of the bible and other religious text and go, "Yep, aliens, everyone of em."

Erich's claim is that many of the religious monuments are shared across the world. The pyramids were build in South America as well as Egypt nearly the identical latitude in this world. Erich's claim is that it's too much of a coincident for everyone to share the same ideas. Erich claim is that religion is actually the misinterpretation of ancient astronauts due largely because the ancient people would be unable to determine what they're seeing and only describe what they see in ways that are best understood.

I think Erich has a good claim here but I think where it fails is that fact that he only read what it appeared to me the first few chapters of all the religion texts. I think he missed out on a very large bulk of many religion and was very quick to say that human imagination differs from region to region and that the same ideas cannot be shared among two people at any point.

5) He's very quick to jump to conclusions about monuments being "impossible" to create and that it's equally impossible that someone would just wake up one day and decide, "Hey let's build a pyramid for the next three lifetimes." The main argument is somewhat valid in my opinion in that many of the records were lost about our ancient structure. Erich himself gave an example that if 1,000 years from now someone dug up the statue of liberty they'd probably think we're some sort of religiously crazy country honoring some woman holding a torch. But Erich doesn't state this theory in this fashion with the statue of liberty. What he actually states is that in the future, people will be too primitive to understand what they are seeing and draw incorrect religious conclusions about the statue of liberty. This implies that in today's world looking back at ancient pyramids, we're too "dumb" to figure out that it was some sort of alien relic.

I think Erich discredits too greatly about humans. The main fact is that a lot of information is lost about ancient days and similarly our time in the future will probably be greatly misunderstood. It's hard to take a collective thought of millions of people who lived in this world and summarize it in one or two paragraphs. Just as much, information about the past that are missing doesn't necessarily mean that some great ancient alien came down and filled in the gap. It's sort of like saying that if a court case involves someone walking down the street and some timeframe was unaccounted for then it means they must have done the crime. That's basically what Erich is saying here that since the time cannot be accounted for and that things just "appeared" without a back story that it must means aliens were involved in some fashion. That logic to me is irresponsible and highly speculative.

He also states that ancient Egyptians were smart enough to know that reviving dead tissue was possible and were given some sort of formula by aliens to mummify their bodies so that in the future they can return. This is so silly that I don't even know where to begin. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you're going to die someday and throughout our times, many men and women tried to reverse this process. Ancient Egyptians were no exception and they had their own ideas about living forever just as much as in our modern times we have the desire to find everlasting life.

6) Erich claims that humans are too dumb to figure out stuff and require a kick start. To begin, it doesn't take a human a very long time to figure out that good things reach for the sky and bad things go into the ground. When you plant a tree it reaches for the skies, not go into the ground. Man looks upwards into the sky knowing that in that lies a great mystery. Throughout time man knew flight was possible because birds flew and things go up in the air for a little while. Man also knew, just as the most primitive animal, is that light is better than darkness. The sun is the source of life for all and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

With that said, Erich claims that man's observation of the sky, flight, and so fort are impossible to imagine. That man cannot dream or use his imagination about the stars. What is known is that since the dawn of time man has looked up to sky and taken great records of the stars. If ancient aliens came down to earth, why then would man suddenly make observations about the stars? If we were too "dumb" to have known about it, then why build all these monuments and help the "aliens" go back to the stars? It makes no sense and Erich didn't give enough of a proof to really make a conclusive statement favoring it.

7) Erich claims that aliens came to earth. This is probably the most fundamental of the questions but his claim is that aliens visited earth a long time ago and need fuel source to return home. Basically Erich claims that most of the ancients "air strips" were created so that the vehicles used by the aliens could be harvested for fuel. The question comes to why is it a world wide effort if the aliens just needed to go back home? Then comes the question why did they need the help of the primitives to build something only they can understand? Wouldn't it take longer to teach the people than it would to just having it done yourself? Erich claim that aliens somehow jump start our world and civilization and that aliens did a lot of great stuff. Yet, he found no proof of anything that the aliens left in terms of advancement. I would imagine that a lot of people got injured or sick building these monuments and wouldn't it make sense that the aliens would teach advance medical science to the primitives so that they're better suited? And also wouldn't it make sense that the aliens would leave behind advanced techniques in clothes, ropes, weapons, etc? Wouldn't they have to guard their ancient airstrips from looters of the time? Or what about the equipments? If massive tonnage of rocks and earth had to be moved, wouldn't there be records of things like bulldozers, advanced cranes, etc? Nothing of the sort can be given by Erich and he only tells us that aliens came here for no apparent reasons and did all these indirect things to us without any sort of direct method. This would equate to us going to another planet, finding the native life there, requesting them to do something, not give them any sort of tools or method, and expect results. It just doesn't make sense and no fossil records or tools, or anything can be found that Erich can give.

The simple question comes to why? Which is unanswered and I think the biggest problem with Erich's idea.

Overall I am pleased with the book. It presented some wild ideas but I think Erich made impressive claims but was unable to prove any of them reasonably or at least give a sound logic. Erich sounds like he just read the first few chapters of religion, looked at a few pictures, then made this book. Overall it's fun, but now I'm more convinced that this "ancient aliens" idea is just a silly thing. Not necessarily lying but most certainly not thought out very well. You can't prove what happened 100 years ago much less 100,000 years ago and you can go only on what is left. Many things will be missing over time and get lost. I think Erich needs better proof than, "Hey look it's possible therefore I have to be right because other people's radical ideas were later proven to be true as well."

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Amanda E.

Excellent perspective, great theories, relatable writing

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2014

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I am only on chapter 4, but I already absolutely love it. I originally, like most of you, heard of Erich's work through the tv show Ancient Aliens that more or less features his research and theories. This being the most popular of his books, I bought it to sink my teeth into some more details and get deeper into the theories, because I think they are fascinating. When my book arrived, I was so excited, and after just the first two chapters, any doubt in this theory had left my mind. The first two chapters are all about putting the universe into perspective, then he describes a hypothetical scenario followed by a "Why couldn't this have happened to our ancestors?" It's very compelling and very convincing and in my opinion, makes way more sense than what mainstream scientists try to shove down our throats.

It infuriates me that in school and in the news we are always told what to believe. This guy came along with his own theory and millions of people are picking up on this idea because it makes more sense than the history books, in my opinion. And for the naysayers that say he is crazy, who are they to decide who is right and wrong? A theory is like an opinion, and can't be redacted just because somebody says it should be. For so long everyone thought the world was flat, because it would be impossible for people to stand on the underside of a globe. They thought the earth was the center of the universe. Science advanced and we found out they were wrong. Science has been wrong before, but they seem to not want to accept that, and just stay in their bubble, ignorant to the rest of the theories out there because surely they think they could never be wrong again. I truly believe that if this topic were researched further with the most advanced technology, we would find something incredible. Unfortunately, that day may never come if the coming generation's brilliant minds are forced into narrow-minded thinking. It would take generations and generations of open-mindedness, but eventually I hope the world comes to be as fascinated in these theories as I am, and move forward with more research and testing. Furthermore, with the Mars One project approaching, what are we doing? We are finding a planet that is habitable, and we're going to colonize it. One day ancestors of native Martian humans will tell their grandchildren about how they came from a distant planet. If we are going to be aliens on Mars, is it really logical to think this is the first time a civilization has ever traveled to another planet? Can you confirm without a doubt that we are the first beings to travel through space and land on another surface different from our own? I don't think so.

The book is written in a very easy to comprehend writing style. Instead of using huge complex words and sentences that 90% of the population wouldn't understand, he writes in a more personal style and describes things very well. His words have great imagery to them which also helps to completely understand his message.

If you have an open mind and are not opposed to learning about the ancient astronaut theories, you MUST read this book. I think it's a great place to start, and I already have a list of books compiled that I want to read next.

- Amanda Zamiska, Pittsburgh, PA

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