Have you read this book....???????

I've never heard of it, but it sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out.

I've not read yet, but gone through its summary
....In Chariots of the Gods, von Daniken collected and documented evidence from around the world that supports the idea that the bulk of human achievement across the millennia can be attributed to the influence of alien civilizations, merely passing through.
About concept of aliens coming on our earth in distant past, I don't beleive much, but some of the discovery programmes make me to think over it.

Is it fiction or non-fiction?

Wow, I never thought I'd hear anyone else mention this book! I think some of it is going a bot far, but I agree wholeheartedly with the general concept, and it's hard not to be impressed with the writer's research and reasoning. I wish there was an up-to-date version of it though, as there have been a lot of developments since he wrote it.

I have read the book, but I did with with a skeptical position.

The so called evidence presented by Mr. Daniken requires a lot of faith from the part of the reader to believe that they are alien.

In fact the whole concept of the book doesn't make a lot of sense, unless someone is already ready and wanting to believe it.

And here I quote from the wikipedia:

Von Däniken claimed a non-rusting iron pillar in India was evidence of extra-terrestrial influence (Chariots...?, p.94). However, he admitted in a Playboy interview (vol.21, no.8, 1974) that the pillar was man-made and that as far as supporting his theories goes "we can forget about this iron thing." Neither von Däniken nor his publishers have removed this, or any other, discredited evidence from subsequent reprints of Chariots of the Gods? or his other books.

And from the skeptic dictionary:

The term 'ancient astronauts' designates the speculative notion that aliens are responsible for the most ancient civilizations on earth. The most notorious proponent of this idea is Erich von Däniken, author of several popular books on the subject. His Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past, for example, is a sweeping attack on the memories and abilities of ancient peoples. Von Däniken claims that the myths, arts, social organizations, etc., of ancient cultures were introduced by astronauts from another world. He questions not just the capacity for memory, but the capacity for culture and civilization itself, in ancient peoples. Prehistoric humans did not develop their own arts and technologies, but rather were taught art and science by visitors from outer space.

Where is the proof for von Däniken's claims? Some of it was fraudulent. For example, he produced photographs of pottery that he claimed had been found in an archaeological dig. The pottery depicts flying saucers and was said to have been dated from Biblical times. However, investigators from Nova (the fine public-television science program) found the potter who had made the allegedly ancient pots. They confronted von Däniken with evidence of his fraud. His reply was that his deception was justified because some people would only believe if they saw proof ("The Case of the Ancient Astronauts," first aired 3/8/78, done in conjunction with BBC's Horizon and Peter Spry-Leverton)!

However, most of von Däniken's evidence is in the form of specious and fallacious arguments. His data consists mainly of archaeological sites and ancient myths. He begins with the ancient astronaut assumption and then forces all data to fit the idea. For example, in Nazca, Peru, he explains giant animal drawings in the desert as an ancient alien airport. The likelihood that these drawings related to the natives' religion or science is not considered. He also frequently reverts to false dilemma reasoning of the following type: "Either this data is to be explained by assuming these primitive idiots did this themselves or we must accept the more plausible notion that they got help from extremely advanced peoples who must have come from other planets where such technologies as anti-gravity devices had been invented." His devotion to this theory has not dwindled, despite contrary evidence, as is evidenced by still another book on the subject, Arrival of the Gods: Revealing the Alien Landing Sites at Nazca (1998).

SO please, if you are going to read it, read it but do not accept all of it at face value.

I have read the book and found it very interesting. I do believe alians have visited the planet. It is arrogant to think in the vastness of space that we are the only living creatures.