Icons of the Iron Age

By: Susan A. Johnston

Narrated by: Susan A. Johnston

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

Among the most famous peoples in ancient times were the Celts, who lived in Europe during the Iron Age, from about 600 BCE into the early centuries CE. They left behind an intriguing record of physical remains that have been recovered by archaeologists, and they have continued to hold our attention as modern populations claim a Celtic identity.

Using historical, archaeological, linguistic, and anthropological evidence, Professor Johnston provides an intriguing look at the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe, Britain, and Ireland.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2008 Susan A. Johnston; (P)2008 Recorded Books, LLC

Thoroughly Enjoyable

There is so much speculation and hyperbole about the Celts and Celtic culture that it's difficult to separate fact from fantasy. Susan Johnston does away with the nonsense and delivers lectures that are at once scholarly and approachable.

The professor does not present anything as fact that isn't well-researched and documented, and she regularly cautions her listeners not to make assumptions based on limited information. In that regard, she serves her students well.

I admit that I was thrown by the good doctor's frequent "uhs" and "ums" for a while, but by the third lecture I found myself looking forward to them. Her sense of humor, deep knowledge and unpretentious style brings to mind some of my favorite professors.

Thank you, Dr. Johnston, for an enlightening and enjoyable lecture series. I look forward to many more.

19 of 19 people found this review helpful

Very Interesting - Recommend

This was a good listen - very interesting. The narration is presented in lecture style - in fact parts of it may well be recorded while the professor is in class.

Prof Johnston is obviously well educated on the subject and presents a lot of information well. The only negative I have is that her speaking could be a little smoother. There are a lot of 'ums' which probably go mostly unnoticed in a class lecture but somehow stand out a lot in an audiobook. And toward the end of the book it seemed like she realized she had a lot more material to cover and was running out of time.

But over all if you're interested in Celtic history this was a very good listen, not dry or boring, with many insights from someone who's spent a lot of time analyzing the facts.

Highly recommend.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

"...Um... Uh..."

What disappointed you about Icons of the Iron Age?

While the subject itself was interesting, the presentation was painfully bad. Every sentence had at least one "um" or "uh" cluttering it up, and most had several- some to the point that you couldn't follow the train of thought from beginning to end. There was also the problem that whenever she calculated timespans from B.C.E. into C.E. her math was wrong which is not only annoying but makes one wonder if there were other less obvious errors in her material as well. Over all, I would not recommend this particular lecture. To anyone.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

New to Celtic History

This gave me a lot of solid info to combat some of the bad Wiccan history floating around out there. My only problem with this recording is that Johnston says, "um" to the point where it is distracting, thus the one star removed.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Um... And... Uh... The...

Any additional comments?

Ignoring the umm's and uh's that occur in every sentence there is some pretty good knowledge in here, like most of the modern scholar books it's very insightful, and interesting. I recommend this.

Unless that is you cant stand people saying umm... Uhh... every other word

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

For the student of history

This was a series of lectures and not a novel. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it did get very slow and repetitive in parts. I'd get it again.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Waste of time

She is a horrible speaker. There are so many ums and ahs it was driving me insane. I knew less after this book...

good read

What did you love best about Icons of the Iron Age?

this book is a series of lectures. each section is self contained. lots of interesting information. there is an accompanying test section at a different web site.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

might be a little much in one sitting.

Celtic history put in a proper perspective.

If you could sum up Icons of the Iron Age in three words, what would they be?

Celtic history, who they were and who they weren't is put in a correct perspective. You also get a good idea of the challenges of writing and indeed reading history.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I listened several times.

Any additional comments?

Aspiring history students, even those with no interest in the Celts, should listen because you'll learn a lot about what goes into it.

Great introduction to the Iron Age

I was pleasantly surprised at the straight-forward and conversational style of this audio book 'Icons of the Iron Age'. Professor Susan A. Johnston delivers her lecture in a relaxed and accessible way, which is easy to listen to and provides an excellent introduction to the subject. Those new to this era in history will receive a superb overview, whilst those familiar with this topic will be intrigued by the historical developments highlighted by Prof. Johnston. I would recommend this audio book highly for its dispelling of some of the myths surrounding ancient Celtic peoples, plus its dialogue on the historical sources that have informed our views of these cultures.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Disappointed

What a pity! As a keen and easygoing listener, I have been looking forward to discovering more about the Celts in this series. While I am sure the content is interesting, I'm afraid I have found it impossible to focus on the subject because of the intrusive verbal tic 'om' which is repeated up to 56 times in five minutes!

2 of 4 people found this review helpful