Customer Reviews

Celts and the Classical World

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This is a really helpful compilation of information pertaining to this topic. There's a lot of very shaky, pseudo-mystical scholarship about the Celts out there. This, however, is a book you can trust. If you're into the Celts, or if you're a classicist interested in broadening your knowledge base, you could do a lot worse than this book. Also, if you're looking for real information about the Celts, look for the website for the Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin. They have a School of Celtic Studies there, and everything they print can be considered a legitimate, authoritative source of information. Also, if you do pick up this book, you'll be getting a stupendous bibliography for your money, which could easily constitute a guide to a lifetime of reading on this subject. Two thumbs up.

Some works on the Celts are almost pure archeology, others border on new age rubbish while still others use the writing of the classical Mediterranean authors whose works are not only full of contradictions but were written for the audience of the times they were written as a type of political propaganda. Rankin is a scholar who bridges these gaps and offers a level headed approach to the Celts who came in contact with the classical world. Authoritative and reliable.
A must for the Celtophile.