Chariot: The Astounding Rise and Fall of the Worlds First War Machine

In his comprehensive and far-ranging book Chariot: From Chariot to Tank, the Astounding Rise and Fall of the World's First War Machine (The Overlook Press.
Table of contents

The description of Classic Maya society begins with chapter six, on agriculture and ecology. Many of the "old chestnut" theories about the Maya are put to rest here. Drought and erosion were not major causes of the "collapse" of Maya classic culture. The Maya secret was to know how to build an advanced civilization in a rain forest environment.

Chariot: The Astounding Rise and Fall of the World's First War Machine

In short, they used techniques that mimicked the diversity and dispersion of species in a rain forest. They used many styles of agriculture, no one predominating. The subsequent chapters deal with the overall economy, ideology and power, the political units and history, and the idea of "collapse". There wasn't a real collapse He calls this period a "rapid decline in complexity". Actually in some parts of the Maya world, new, vibrant political units sprang up after the end of Classic Maya times.

You can learn in great detail about Maya agriculture, trade, statecraft, religion and ritual, mathematics and astronomy, and the glyphs from which we have learned so much about them. You will encounter interesting sketches, photos, and charts.

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I will not tell you it's easy reading, but it's probably the best book on the subject these days. Decided to add this to our home collection after booking a cruise to visit Mayan locations in several countries. Was an excellent reference. I purchased this book with great expectations having read his work before. However, after a pages or so, I found Arthur constantly using the same examples over and over to prove his points.

His book is a feeble attempt to repeat what has already been done so well by another author he quotes as being his inspiration for writing this book. If you want to read a great book with lots of evidence and solid writing, buy the book by the author who believes chariot warfare was the dominant form of warfare before the advent of the foot soldier. I am sorry the title escapes me, but the book is a great read.


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If you want a good work, don't buy this book, you are liable to have a good nap before you finish it. In common with other titles in this series, it suffers from careless editing: Not the best investment in a comprehensive book on the ancient Maya.

Chariot by Cotterell, Arthur

Most beautiful pictures and wonderful information. Gift and was well likes.


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This is a must read for anyone interested in the ancient Maya and why their advanced civilization that had achieved so much under such harsh conditions suddenly collapsed and disappeared for parts unknown. Demarest argues that the collapse was political rather than the most widely accepted paradigm that it was ecological.

He concludes that the collapse was due to a proliferation of royal elites competing for power, similar to the present situation in Saudi Arabia. Warfare between these competing elites caused a collapse during a year period that resulted in a depopulation of major cities and a drastic reduction of palace and temple construction. The book is worth reading if only for Demarest's description of the Wizard of Oz type power structure where Mayan royal elites held power through fantastic ritualistic displays that captivated the masses.

He describes the Mayan royal elites as a combination of rock stars, evangelical preachers, and circus performers that dressed in elaborate costumes with feathered head dresses, lit fires with pyrite mirrors, and engaged in public displays of blood letting. Demarest even relates the Mayan architecture to theater with temples high above plazas where the masses could observe rituals. The book is easy to read for layman. This book is a great overall view of the ancient Maya and their rich history. The author does an amazing job outlining the geographic setting as well as the historical aspect of the Maya.

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Its an easy interesting read from start to finish. This book is the type of book that makes you want to read more on the subject, and more from the author. See all 25 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on July 5, Published on May 15, Published on February 9, Its devastating effect on ancient battlefields led to an arms race among competing kings, centralizing power in the hands of those rulers who could maintain the horses, craftsmen, trainers and warriors necessary to field large numbers of chariots.

Cotterell emphasizes this point by describing the integral role chariots played in four distinct geographic regions: By studying the dynamics of the chariot in each of these disparate regions, Cotterell enlightens the reader on the similar cultural attitudes each region applied toward chariot warfare and warriors.

The chariot warrior in any army across the ancient world was perceived as a member of an elite class, well skilled in the composite bow and in the rigors of controlling a team of horses. The regions had their differences, and Cotterell describes them in a way that sheds light on varying cultural attitudes toward chariot warfare. A ruler lost a battle because he deserved to do so through his personal faults, and because he did not uphold honor and courtesy on the battlefield.

Cotterell describes one Chinese chariot battle in which enemy soldiers stopped to help a chariot warrior out of a ditch instead of killing him while prone. Over a thousand years later "a Parthian shot" has become "a parting shot! The problem is that the narrative presented is so rambling, twisty-turny, hither-and-thither-esque, that multiple times I put the book down for days out of exasperation.

Couple the discusive nature of the writing with the habit of Cotterell to use semi-mythical ancient texts such as Homer's Illiad, the Old Testament, and the Mahabharata as primary sources, intermixing acts of gods with the deeds of men in a leisurely and casual manner and any pretense of sorting out the strands of historical Antiquity is pretty much out the window. The individual tales that exist within the book are valuable, it's just going to take a re-write to make a coherent story out of it. A fascinating read about the importance of the chariot and everything you ever wanted to know about it.

Cotterell covers everything from key battles, how various chariots were constructed, how horses were bred and kept, what weapons were employed with the chariot, and chariot tactics in battle. Frankly I can see myself re-reading this cover-to-cover.

Nov 30, T Campbell rated it liked it. A great book for long stretches, marred mainly by the author's tendency to go off on unrelated tangents. I like the use of fiction and fact as they relate to the subject matter, but Cotterell sometimes seems to confuse the two. Jan 18, Paul Weimer rated it it was ok. Between the domestication of the horse, and the use of stirrups and other techniques to make horse-riding warfare more practical, the primary uses of horses in warfare was by means of the chariot.

Cotterell begins with the description of one of the major battles in the ancient world, the Egyptian-Hatti Battle of Kadesh in which chariots on both sides participated. From this basis, Cotterell describes the history of the use of the chariot in time and space from Rome all the way to China. There is an enormous amount of detail in the book, but its marred by digressions, poor organization and badly formed repetitions. Cotterell mentions battles and places, only to return to them again and again.

That would not be a problem, but there is no sense of building on what was already written, or an awareness that there is something new to be said in the narrative. He mentions battles, and then comes back to them again, talking about them as if we had not already read about it earlier in the novel. It was extremely frustrating to this reader. I learned a lot from the novel, my conception of what good the chariot was and how it was used has expanded.

Chariot: The Astounding Rise and Fall of the World's First War Machine

I particularly appreciated that Cotterell did not restrict himself to the Middle East and Europe, as he extensively talks about the role of the chariot in India and China. Cotterell, in the typical haphazard fashion in this book, extends the mandate of the book beyond the war machine role of the chariot to discuss its use as symbol and mythological object ranging from Rome to China. It's all a pity, though. I really wanted to like and recommend this book, but the disorganized writing and jumbled information just made this book a chore to read, rather than a joy.

The scholarship and information is all there, but its more work than its worth, in my opinion, to reach and get it out. Jul 08, Richard rated it really liked it. This book made me re-think what I know about chariots. Yes, the Ben-Hur races were real, but that is all the Romans used the things for, that and riding in one for a triumph where a slave whispered in your ear that you are not a god will die.

The original war chariots were mobile archer platforms. The archer was a noble used to hunting with a composite bow, so he was driven around. Chariots were light and battle chariots were not used as transport, rather they were broken down, carried and put This book made me re-think what I know about chariots. Chariots were light and battle chariots were not used as transport, rather they were broken down, carried and put together before a battle.


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The horses were small, and so 2 to 4 were needed to pull even light chariots with 2, sometimes 3 soldiers in it.