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 warri