Books Rudgley's first book was
The Alchemy of Culture: Intoxicants in Society was published by the
British Museum Press in 1993. It was published in America under the title
Essential Substances: A Cultural History of Intoxicants in Society. It was the first winner of the Prometheus Award. He also authored
The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances, first published by Little, Brown and Company. His 1998
Lost Civilisations of the Stone Age addresses a popular audience, and argues that ancient peoples were more advanced than has been typically thought. John Robb, reviewing it in
Nature, praised its writing and some aspects of its approach to the matter, but criticized the book for its overly broad definition of "civilization" and for Rudgley's consistently taking the minority stance on issues. Robb concluded "the way to read this book is as an entertaining and enlightening account of prehistory’s greatest hits". In a review of the same work in
Isis, archaeologist
Denise Schmandt-Besserat was more critical, saying the whole framing of the book manufactured a controversy that did not actually exist. She also criticises his use of the key terms 'prehistory' and 'civilisation', which he fails to define, arguing that he misuses them.
Choice magazine's R. M. Rowlett gave a positive review, praising it for its approach to the material and evidence, recommending the book for all libraries.
David V. Barrett was critical and argued that Rudgely's book is "a catalogue of racist individuals and organisations whose only connection with Odin, through very dubious links, is by assertion rather than argument." American writer
Gary Lachman was positive in his assessment of the book, calling it a helpful, fascinating, and informative assessment of the subject matter.
Television Rudgley presented a
Channel 4 series titled
Secrets of the Stone Age. He authored another book under the name
Secrets of the Stone Age, as a tie in with his TV series. A companion volume of the same name was written by Rudgley and published in 2002 by
Channel 4 Books. He also presented
Pagans, which ran on
Channel 4 in 2004. In one episode, Rudgley has an encounter with wolves. This was at the behest of the producer; he said that it "wasn't my idea to do this, but somehow I got talked into it".
The Times reviewer Sarah Vine commented that the subject matter was "undoubtably fascinating" but criticised the "irritating, pseudo-mystical way in which it is presented". Caitlin Moran of the same outlet remarked that it "provided some great moments: not least the 3,000-year-old, 3ft-high, ornately embossed wizard’s hat made of 24-carat gold." In 2006, Channel 4 broadcast another documentary presented by Rudgley entitled
The Celts, which investigates the
Celtic peoples of the British Isles and mainland Europe. The legend of
King Arthur, the mysticism of the
Druids, and warriors such as
Boudica and
Vercingetorix are covered as the programme attempts to unpick the facts from the fiction, about an ethnic group that were ultimately crushed by the might of Rome's legions. == Personal life ==