In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth
 | von J. P. Mallory
ISBN: 0500276161 |
A good, thorough introduction to a complex field.
This is a good, thorough introduction to a complex and difficult subject matter. Dr. Mallory has assembled material from linguistics, archeology, and historical accounts to document the many aspects and issues in this hotly-contested area. While readers searching to fuel political programs will find little fodder here, serious students can trust both the majority of the details and the major conclusions of the author. He also follows the professional custom of summarizing major alternative interpretations when discussing issues still in dispute within the field.Undoubtedly, some will find the entire concept of Indo-European origins offensive; for them the best course might be to look elsewhere. This book is not about polemics, but about rational, careful scholarship; even if the very premise of Indo- European language were called into question, the historical and archeological detail would be fascinating.
A little dated, but still an excellent introduction
Past racist misuse of the term "Aryan" notwithstanding, there is no more copiously documented and supported thesis in historical linguistics than the Indo-European hypothesis, with over 200 years of scholarship to back it up. Although this work was published before human genetic data published by Cavalli-Sforza which tantalizingly suggested an Anatolian origin for the Indo-European peoples, this book is an honest, well-informed introduction to the problem of Indo-European origins. The unfavorable reviews on this page astound me by their pettiness and ignorance, and I have to conclude that they simply have an unscientific, ideological objection to the concept of a Proto-Indo-European language or a people that spoke it, based on the silly notion that such a hypothesis is "racist."
Not racist, just boring
The book takes a broad approach to an interesting but difficult subject. It started out strong, but became progressively less interesting. The discussion of language was very good, the discussion of homeland was reasonable, and the archeology section at the end was death. It's as if the author just ran out of excitement. To me, the book seems very uneven. As a layperson, I found the linguistic argument compelling, and the discussion of geography reasonably interesting, albeit a bit long. The discussion of archeological evidence is arcane and just not interesting to someone unfamiliar with the terminology and minutae of pre-historic European burial ritual. This book might not be the ideal introduction to this topic.
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