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Rating: 
Summary: an excellent work on Celtic diversity
Review: Beautiful produced with lots of excellent photos of statues, jewellery and places in Celtic History, this is a broader view than a lot of work. It covers who were the Celts, the push into Italy and then the thrust Eastward, covering the struggles of the Celts in the Mediterranean, the Collapse of Gaul and the fight for survival in the West. For someone searching to start their journey on just who were these people, what influence they made on the ancient world, this is an excellent starting point to understanding this warlike people.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent work on Celtic diversity
Review: Beautiful produced with lots of excellent photos of statues, jewellery and places in Celtic History, this is a broader view than a lot of work. It covers who were the Celts, the push into Italy and then the thrust Eastward, covering the struggles of the Celts in the Mediterranean, the Collapse of Gaul and the fight for survival in the West. For someone searching to start their journey on just who were these people, what influence they made on the ancient world, this is an excellent starting point to understanding this warlike people.
Rating:
Summary: The best general survey available, beautifully written
Review: Celtic Warriors is the first widely available book of its kind in English: a scholarly survey of Iron Age Celtic culture that can be enjoyed by specialists and the general reader alike. Herein you will not find wild speculations or New Age wishful thinking; O'hOgain does an excellent job of interpreting the body of evidence available from the period of roughly 800 BCE to about 450 CE (the period when the designation "Celtic" can properly be applied to the indigenous cultures/languages of Western Europe). The author skillfully balances Classical historical accounts with archaeological remains (coins, inscriptions, weapons, grave plots, etc.)and later medieval Irish and Welsh epics. Indeed, the focus on antiquity (as opposed to the Middle Ages) makes this book the landmark study that it is. So many other books about the Celts give way too much coverage of the later medieval manuscripts (which are heavilly influenced by Christian and Germanic traditions) at the cost of the reader coming away with a some what blurred notion of what the term "Celtic" actually means in a cultural context. The section on Gaulish tribal names and their meanings/etymologies is a very nice feature and O'hOgain's comparative analysis of insular and continental tribal names is fantastic. Furthermore, he addresses a topic often ignored in other surveys: the British origins of Ireland's dominant east coast tribes. In the end the story of the Celts is a tragic one. These mighty warbands had the power to overrun all of Europe and wipe out all who cared to stand up against them...but all evidence indicates that the celts had no sense of "nationhood" and they spent more time fighting each other than they did threatening outside enemies. In a sense, the Celts were not defeated by Romans or Germans: they defeated themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Celtic Culture: An Early Victim of "Diversity"
Review: This historical atlas-like offering is a record of the Celtic peoples, from their 1st Millenium B.C. entrance on the historical stage, to their withdrawal from their continental heartland into Western France, Ireland, and Wales. The tale is well told and supported by helpful maps, plus photos of weapons, coins, statues, paintings, and drawings of the tall, fair, fearless, red-haired people. It seems the beautiful and gallant Celts, so fascinated later civilizations that the Romans and Greeks were compelled to depict Celts in many paintings and sculptures, such as "The Dying Gaul". (It's in there) The early Celtic warriors extended their culture throughout most of Europe and into Asia Minor, as they conquered and settled the continent almost at will. Alexander the Great (355-323 BC) came to terms with them and turned his attention to the south and east of his Greek/Macedonian home base. In 189 B.C., while addressing his troops, the Roman general Manlius called the Celts a fierce nation. He further stated: "Their tall physique, their flowing red hair, their huge shields and enormous swords", along with the songs they sing when marching naked into battle, "their howling and leaping, and the fearful din of arms as they bang their shields according to some ancestral custom -- all these things are designed to terrify!" The archeological finds displayed in the book are of surprising excellence and sophistication for the 1st Millenium B.C. The bronze art-works and iron weaponry, both of which have been found plated with gold, tell the tale of an advanced people who spread throughout Europe, into Asia Minor, and perhaps beyond. Apparenty the Celtic culture was an early victim of "diversity". Their settlers mingled and interbred with conquered and conquerors, alike. Thus, the Celtic civilization was infected with so much "diversity" that it disappeared in most of Europe... The illustrations alone make this book a worthwhile purchase, but for those who can read, (advocates of "diversity" and social engineers are excused) the text is clear and easy to follow. An excellent appendix is included, which contains an "Alphabetial Listing of Celtic Peoples" including the area of Europe with which each is associated. There is also a bibliography for further research: go to it and enjoy.
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