IE, AA, Nostratic & Black Athena

Yes, but cave. As Guillaume says, the book has its flaws.

Don't worry, I'm always careful! Haven't you noticed that I've been questioning everything you say? :o)

You also wrote:

The trouble is that there appears to be no-one giving the full picture, most seem to be either in one camp or the other, or studiously refusing to draw any possibly controversial conclusions from their discoveries.

True. This is one of the few things I did learn at university. The last group, those who never express any opinion and refuse to draw any conclusions from their work, can sometimes be the most irritating.

 

Thanks Piotr for your tip about Jasanoff & Nussbaum. I'll read this one as well, if I just can get my greedy hands on it.

 

Thanks John for the answer about pharaohs!

 

Several of you wrote that the only thing to do is to read and draw your own conclusions and I agree: this is the only way. My trouble is that my limited knowledge of linguistics prevents me from evaluating others' theories and drawing informed conclusions the way I would like to do. I sometimes wish I had finely tuned ears - that I could hear, from the tone of someone's voice, if he was lying or leaving out a few facts because they don't fit into his theory.

Hakan