The Successors of the Messenger
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Little Data Book 2010
The Little Data Book 2010
Now in its eighth edition, this pocket-sized reference on key development data for over 200 countries provides profiles of each country with 54 development indicators about people, environment, economy, technology and infrastructure, trade, and finance. It is intended as a quick reference for users of World Development Indicators and the Atlas of Global Development.
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective fiction novel written by American author, Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus Christ of Nazareth having been married to Mary Magdalene.
The title of the novel refers to, among other things, the fact that the murder victim is found in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a pentacle drawn on his stomach in his own blood.
The novel has provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and Magdalene's role in the history of Christianity. The book has been extensively denounced by many Christian denominations as an attack on the Roman Catholic Church. It has also been criticized for its historical and scientific inaccuracy.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in the Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound.
Eragon
Eragon
by Christopher Paolini
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Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film loosely based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice of Rachel Weisz as Saphira the dragon.
The film was directed by Stefen Fangmeier, a first-time director, who had previously worked as a visual effects director on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. The screenplay was written by Peter Buchman, who is best known for Jurassic Park III. Principal photography took place at the Mafilm Fót Studios in Hungary, starting on August 1, 2005. Special visual effects and animation were by Weta Digital and Industrial Light & Magic.
Eragon was released worldwide between December 13 and December 15, 2006 by 20th Century Fox. It was the 10th worst reviewed film of 2006 on Rotten Tomatoes, and the 31st highest grossing film of 2006 in the US. A DVD and Blu-ray of the film was released March 20, 2007.
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 American film adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy of the same name. It was directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the eponymous roles.
The film is an abridged modernization of Shakespeare's play. While it retains the original Shakespearean dialogue, the Montagues and the Capulets are represented as warring business empires and swords are replaced by guns.
Eldest
Eldest
by Christopher Paolini
Eldest is the second book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and the sequel to Eragon. Eldest was first published in hardcover on August 23, 2005, and was released in paperback in September 2006. Eldest has been released in an audiobook format, and as an ebook. Like Eragon, Eldest became a New York Times bestseller. A deluxe edition of Eldest was released on September 26, 2006, including new information and art by both the illustrator and the author. Other editions of Eldest are translated into different languages.
Eldest begins following several important events in Eragon. The story is the continued adventures of Eragon and his dragon Saphira, centering around their journey to the realm of the Elves in order to further Eragon's training as a Dragon Rider. Other plots in the story focus on Roran, Eragon's cousin, who leads the inhabitants of Carvahall to Surda to join the Varden, and Nasuada as she takes on her father's role as leader of the Varden. Eldest ends at the Battle of the Burning Plains, where Eragon faces a new Dragon Rider, Murtagh, and a new dragon, Thorn.
Reviews pointed out the similarities between Eldest and other works such as The Lord of the Rings, while praising the themes of the book, such as friendship and honor. Several of these reviews commented on the style and genre of Eldest, while others considered the possibility of a film adaptation similar to the adaption of its prequel Eragon.
Brisingr
Brisingr
by Christopher Paolini
Brisingr, or The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular, is the third book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. It was released on September 20, 2008. Originally, the novel was intended to be the last in the Inheritance Cycle, but this changed when Paolini decided that the series was too complex to conclude in one book. A deluxe edition of Brisingr, which includes removed scenes and previously unseen art, was released on October 13, 2009.
Brisingr focuses on the story of Eragon and his dragon Saphira as they continue their quest to overthrow the corrupt ruler of the Empire, Galbatorix. Eragon is one of the last remaining Dragon Riders, a group that governed the fictional continent of Alagaësia, where the series takes place. Brisingr begins almost immediately after the preceding novel Eldest concludes.
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, the book sold 550,000 copies on its first day of sale, a record for a Random House children's book. The novel debuted at number one on USA Today's top 150 bestsellers list. Reviewers criticized the book for its length, while commenting on Paolini's growing maturity in his treatment of characters.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
by Robert T. Pennock
Robert T. Pennock is a philosopher working on the Avida digital organism project at Michigan State University where he has been full professor since 2000. Pennock was a witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, testifying on behalf of the plaintiffs, and described how intelligent design is an updated form of creationism and not science, pointing out that the arguments were essentially the same as traditional creationist arguments with adjustments to the message to eliminate explicit mention of God and the Bible as well as adopting a postmodern deconstructionist language. Pennock also laid out the philosophical history of methodological and philosophical naturalism as they underpin to science, and explained that if intelligent design were truly embraced it would return Western civilization to a pre-Enlightenment state.
Why I am Not a Christian
Why I am Not a Christian
by Russell, Bertrand
Russell begins by defining what he means by the term Christian and sets out to explain why he does not "believe in God and in immortality" and why he does not "think that Christ was the best and wisest of men", the two things he identifies as "essential to anybody calling himself a Christian". He considers a number of logical arguments for the existence of God, including the cosmological argument, the natural-law argument, the teleological argument and moral arguments following what he describes as "the intellectual descent that the Theists have made in their argumentations". He also goes into specifics about Christian theology, alleging defects in Jesus's teaching and his moral character, in particular because Jesus believed in hell and everlasting punishment. He argues ad absurdum against the "argument from design", and favors Darwin's theories
The Dawkins Delusion
The Dawkins Delusion
by Mcgrath, Alister & Joanna Collicutt
The Dawkins Delusion?, subtitled Atheist fundamentalism and the denial of the divine is a book by Christian theologian Alister McGrath and psychologist Joanna Collicutt McGrath, written as a critical response from a Christian perspective to Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion.
Alister McGrath, the primary author, studied chemistry and molecular biophysics at Oxford University, and moved on to study Christian theology, earning doctorates in both science and theology. He is also the author of Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life. Joanna Collicutt McGrath is his spouse and a deacon at Oxford with background in experimental psychology and Christian theology, specializing in biblical studies. Currently a lecturer in the psychology of religion at Heythrop College, University of London, she has made a particular contribution to the sections on biblical studies, and the relationship of religion with psychology and the neurosciences. Her book, Meeting Jesus: Human Responses to a Yearning God, co-written with Jeremy Duff, was published by SPCK in 2006.
The Cambridge Companion to Atheism
The Cambridge Companion to Atheism
by Michael Martin
Michael Martin's Companion is an excellent survey of a wide range of topics with which the phenomenon of atheism is concerned. It will be a valuable resource for courses on the philosophy of religion and belief and unbelief today. Nevertheless, one drawback of the volume is the sense that one is often drawn into the tug-of-war between atheism and theism rather than in the attempt to move beyond the well-trodden paths of these binary oppositions. In both negative and positive forms atheism sometimes emerges as sharing some of the traits of fundamentalist religions. If atheism is to move forward as a belief system it will have to negotiate the winding curves of a postmodern world which mixes and matches much more eclectically than some of the voices in this fine volume seem to want to believe.
- The Philosophy of Humanism
The Philosophy of Humanism
by Lamont, Corliss
The Philosophy of Humanism is a scholarly work, tracing the influence of Humanism from the ancient Greek philosophers through the Enlightenment and the Bill of Rights to the twentieth century. It is very well documented with reference notes and bibliography for those who prefer sources, yet it is written in a most readable style.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone who truly wishes to investigate and understand this often misinterpreted philosophy. They will learn that Humanism certainly does not promote witchcraft or the worship of human beings, nor does it advocate selfishness, as in the "me" generation, or for conscienceless materialism and ruthlessness, as is often falsely asserted by those who fear and misunderstand the principles of Humanism.
The Atheist's Bible
The Atheist's Bible
by Joan Konner, Andrew
A book that carries the title of "The Atheist's Bible" sounded interesting. Based on the title alone, I was expecting an essay on atheism. But it is not - it is nothing more than a series of quotes, organised into ‘books’ along the lines of the Bible. Literally nothing but quotes, with no commentary on the quotes themselves and no information on the people (or fictional characters) that uttered or wrote the words or into the context in which these quotes where uttered. So it is certainly not essential reading, unless you have a good memory and frequently get into arguments with Jehovah's Witnesses. That being said, the quotes are quite extensive and I enjoyed this light read
History of the Conflict Between Religion Science
History of the Conflict Between Religion Science
by John William Draper
For a socio-historical theory with a similar name, see Conflict theory.
Conflict: Galileo before the Holy Office, by Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury, a 19th century depiction of the Galileo Affair, religion suppressing heliocentric science.
The conflict thesis proposes an intrinsic intellectual conflict between religion and science. The original historical usage of the term denoted that the historical record indicates religion’s perpetual opposition to science. Later uses of the term denote religion’s epistemological opposition to science. Also denominated as the Draper–White Thesis, the Warfare Thesis, and the Warfare Model, the conflict thesis interprets the relationship between religion and science as inevitably leading to public hostility, when religion aggressively challenges new scientific ideas — as in the Galileo Affair (1614–15).
The historical conflict thesis was a popular historiographical approach in the history of science during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but in its early form is mostly discarded. Despite that, Conflict Theory remains a popular view among the general public and has been recently publicized by the success of books such as Professor Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.
God is not Great
God is not Great
by Hitchens, Christopher
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007) is a book critiquing of religion by author and journalist Christopher Hitchens. It was published in the United Kingdom as God Is Not Great: The Case Against Religion.
Hitchens contends that organised religion is "violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children", and that accordingly it "ought to have a great deal on its conscience." Hitchens supports his position with a mixture of personal stories, documented historical anecdotes and critical analysis of religious texts. His commentary focuses mainly on the Abrahamic religions, although it also touches on other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
God Wants You Dead
God Wants You Dead
by Hastings, Sean and Paul Rosenberg
In 1997, Hastings worked on cryptographic protocols and tools free of U.S. cryptographic export restrictions with Vincent Cate, who started the International Conference on Financial Cryptography in Anguilla that same year.
Main article: HavenCo
Hastings founded HavenCo in 2000, originally incorporating in his country of residence, Anguilla, before a second incorporation in the Channel Islands. Hastings was the CEO; other co-founders included Ryan Lackey and Sameer Parekh. Immediately following its public launch, HavenCo was the subject of a great deal of press coverage, including Hastings appearance, along with several cofounders and the "royal family" of Sealand, on the cover of Wired's July 2000 issue.
In 2002, Hastings began work on seasteading with Patri Friedman, a project aimed at building floating communities free from the restrictions of current governments. This collaboration continued through 2009, including a talk by Hastings at the Seasteading Institute's annual conference.
Hastings is the cofounder, with Eric S. Raymond, of Green-Span, an open source infrastructure for trust and reputation management, begun in March, 2009.
Hastings is also the author, with Paul Rosenberg, of a book, God Wants You Dead which takes a look at the lighter side of atheism and anarchy.
The End of Faith
The End of Faith
by Haris, Sam
This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in the modern world. The End of Faith provides a harrowing glimpse of mankind’s willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when these beliefs inspire the worst of human atrocities. Harris argues that in the presence of weapons of mass destruction, we can no longer expect to survive our religious differences indefinitely. Most controversially, he maintains that “moderation” in religion poses considerable dangers of its own: as the accommodation we have made to religious faith in our society now blinds us to the role that faith plays in perpetuating human conflict. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris draws on insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and Eastern mysticism in an attempt to provide a truly modern foundation for our ethics and our search for spiritual experience.
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Letter to a Christian Nation
Letter to a Christian Nation
by Haris, Sam
Letter to a Christian Nation is a non-fiction book by Sam Harris, written in response to feedback he received following the publication of his first book The End of Faith. The book is written in the form of an open letter to a Christian in the United States. Harris states that his aim is "to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms." The book was released in September 2006. In October it entered the New York Times Best Seller list at number seven
Monday, October 25, 2010
The 48 Laws Of Power
The 48 Laws Of Power
by Robert Greene
Greene uses anecdotes from historical figures such as Louis XIV, Talleyrand, Otto von Bismarck, Catherine the Great, Mao Zedong, Haile Selassie and various con artists in order to illustrate real-world application of the 48 rules. Greene's modern courtship theory was inspired by the writings of Baltasar Gracian and Niccolò Machiavelli. Greene also often uses an amoral approach, mimicking Machiavellian language, leaving the reader to weigh the ethical implications of the laws
Sunday, October 24, 2010
How to be a Good Atheist
How to be a Good Atheist
by Nick Harding
Nicholas Mark Harding (b: London 1964), is an author and British screenwriter who has written for film, television, magazines, newspapers and computer games. He is also a published poet and short story writer. He is the author of the cult classic and critically acclaimed How to Start Your Own Secret Society. He has appeared on ITV’s This Morning, has been a contributor to TV documentaries on secret societies including one for Channel 4 and has made over fifty appearances for both local and national BBC radio. He co-wrote The Notebooks of Cornelius Crow and Folie a Deux with director Sean Martin and Reality Horror Night with Doug Elford Argent. In 2008 OMNI Communications / PAWS awarded him a bursary to develop a television series. He also has four film projects in development as well as several novels. He is active in the Mendip Caving scene and was a co-discoverer of the Lost Cave of Loxton made famous by Alexander Catcott and Upper Canada Cave in Hutton near Weston super Mare. He is a member of the Axbridge Caving Group. He is an atheist, skeptic and a registered Bright. He was recently one of the interviewees on BBC Radio 4's Weston's New Pier presented by Chris Ledgard. His novel Sunsphere will be published 2010
Misquoting Jesus Bart Ehrman
Misquoting Jesus
by Bart Ehrman
Ehrman says the modern Bible was shaped by mistakes and intentional alterations that were made by early scribes who copied the texts. In the introduction to Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman writes that when he came to understand this process 30 years ago, it shifted his way of thinking about the Bible. He had been raised as an Evangelical Christian.
How We Know What Isn't So
How We Know What Isn't So
by Gilovich, Thomas
There is a plague if illogical reasoning today. Mr. Gilovich says this is because “. . . there are inherent biases in the data upon which we base our beliefs, biases that must be recognized and overcome if we are to arrive at sound judgments and valid beliefs.” The cost of these biases is real and severe. We are naturally prone to wrong thinking, and this book shows us how we can combat this.
Sophie's World
Sophie's World
by Garder, Jostien
Sophie's World (Sofies verden in the original Norwegian) is a novel by Jostein Gaarder, published in 1991. It was originally written in Norwegian, but has since been translated into English (1995) and at least 53 other languages. It sold over 30 million copies and is one of the most successful Norwegian novels outside Norway.
Mostly consisting of dialogues between Sophie Amundsen and a mysterious man named Alberto Knox, interwoven with an increasingly bizarre and mysterious plot, Sophie's World acts as both a novel and a basic guide to philosophy.
Bart D. Ehrman
God's Problem
by Bart D. Ehrman
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Bart D. Ehrman is an American New Testament scholar, currently the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ehrman writes about the early Christians, using the term "proto-orthodox" to describe the Christian traditions that would later be defined as orthodox. He describes first- and second-century Christians as not yet having a unified, orthodox tradition. He is the author of a number of books in this area, including Misquoting Jesus (2005), God's Problem (2008), and Jesus, Interrupted (2009)
Darwin's Dangerous Idea
Darwin's Dangerous Idea
by Deniel Dennett
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life (1995) is a book by Daniel Dennett which argues that Darwinian processes are the central organizing force that gives rise to complexity. Dennett asserts that natural selection is a blind and algorithmic process which is sufficiently powerful to account for the evolution of life including the complexities of human minds and societies. These assertions have generated a great deal of debate and discussion in the general public. The book was a finalist for the 1995 National Book Award in non-fiction.
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
by Daniel Dennett
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon is a 2006 book by the American philosopher Daniel Dennett, which argues for a scientific analysis of religion in order to predict the future of this phenomenon. Dennett implies that the spell he hopes to break is not religious belief itself, but the conviction that religion is off-limits to scientific inquiry.
Unweaving the Rainbow
Unweaving the Rainbow
by Richard Dawkins
Unweaving the Rainbow (subtitled "Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder") is a 1998 book by Richard Dawkins, discussing the relationship between science and the arts from the perspective of a scientist.
Dawkins addresses the misperception that science and art are at odds. Driven by the responses to his books The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker wherein readers resented his naturalistic world view, seeing it as depriving life of meaning, Dawkins felt the need to explain that, as a scientist, he saw the world as full of wonders and a source of pleasure. This pleasure was not in spite of, but rather because he does not assume as cause the inexplicable actions of a deity but rather the understandable laws of nature.
The Improbability of God
The Improbability of God
by Richard Dawkins
The Selfish Gene is a book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, published in 1976. It builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's first book Adaptation and Natural Selection. Dawkins coined the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution as opposed to the view focused on the organism. From the gene-centred view follows that the more two individuals are genetically related, the more sense (at the level of the genes) it makes for them to behave selflessly. Therefore the concept is especially good at explaining many forms of altruism, regardless of a common misuse of the term along the lines of a selfishness gene.
The God Delusion
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
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The God Delusion is a 2006 bestselling non-fiction book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, professorial fellow of New College, Oxford, and inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford.
In The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that belief in a personal god qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. He is sympathetic to Robert Pirsig's statement in Lila that "when one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Ancestor's Tale
The Ancestor's Tale
by Richard Dawkins
The Ancestor's Tale (subtitled A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life) is a 2004 popular science book by Richard Dawkins, with contributions from Dawkins' research assistant Yan Wong. It follows the path of humans backwards through evolutionary history, meeting humanity's cousins as they converge on common ancestors. The book was nominated for the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books.
The Blind Watchmaker
The Blind Watchmaker
by Richard Dawkins
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The Blind Watchmaker is a 1986 book by Richard Dawkins in which he presents an explanation of, and argument for, the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. He also presents arguments to refute certain criticisms made on his previous book, The Selfish Gene. (Both books are intended to popularise the gene-centric view of evolution.)
A Devil's Chaplain
A Devil's Chaplain
by Richard Dawkins
A Devil's Chaplain, subtitled Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love is a 2003 book of selected essays and other writings by Richard Dawkins. Published five years after his previous book Unweaving the Rainbow, it contains 32 essays covering subjects including pseudoscience, genetic determinism, memetics, terrorism, religion and creationism. A section of the book is devoted to Dawkins' late adversary Stephen Jay Gould.
The book's title is a reference to a quotation of Charles Darwin, made in reference to Darwin's lack of belief in how "a perfect world" was designed by God: "What a book a devil's chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low and horridly cruel works of nature!
The Descent of Man
The Descent of Man
by Charles Drawin
by Charles Drawin
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The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex is a book on evolutionary theory by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871. It was Darwin's second great book on evolutionary theory, following his 1859 work, On The Origin of Species. In The Descent of Man, Darwin applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection. The book discusses many related issues, including evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics, differences between human races, differences between sexes, the superiority of men to women, and the relevance of the evolutionary theory to society.
The Origin Of Species
The Origin Of Species
By Charles Darwin
Science Without Bounds
Science Without Bounds
by Art D'Adamo
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As the years went by, a world view coalesced in his mind, a view which embraces science's logic and dedication to truth with religion's quest
for ultimate answers. Art D'Adamo compares New York City to truth. Imagine, he says, there are official keepers of the "Truth" about New York City. These people know New York City by the books they've read. They've selected a list of books which are "true" about New York and harmonized disagreement among the books by various means.
But anyone who actually travels to New York City will see things which do not agree with the books, and the keepers of the "truth" are likely to be intolerant of this disagreement.
In Science Without Bounds, Art D'Adamo recounts his attempts to find the real New York City—the place where reason and ultimate truth reside in harmony. Readers of Gary Zukav or Lynne McTaggart are likely to appreciate this book, as well as the integrity of Art D'Adamo's search for truth.
Perhaps his quest will help you. For that reason he has posted his book online.
Atheism As a Positive Social Force
Atheism As a Positive Social Force
By Raymond W. Converse
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Editorialreviews
We live in a world which still believes, and lives as if, God exists and directs the workings of the unive. This book is an attempt to set forth the major lines of philosophical argument that support the position of atheism. Along the way, it will also set forth the major philosophical arguments of those who rely upon religion as the support of their belief in the existence of God. As the two counter positions are presented, it is hoped that the contrast between them will open the doors to debate. Recent disasters have raised new questions concerning the role of religion in society. The author does not oppose religion per se; he outlines the growth of religion from a modern historical perspective and shows how atheism can be applied as a positive alternative in facing everyday problems.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Dracula
Dracula (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
By Bram Stoker, Brooke Allen
From Brooke Allen's Introduction to Dracula
Upon its publication in 1897, Bram Stoker's Dracula was seen as nothing more than a slightly cheesy thriller, if an unusually successful one. Most such "shilling shockers" were forgotten within a year or two. But this one was different: Over the course of the next century Count Dracula, the aristocratic vampire, left his natural habitat between the pages of a book and insinuated himself into the world's consciousness as few other fictional characters haveever done. Now, more than a hundred years after his appearance in print, Dracula has shed the status of "fictional character" altogether and has become an authentic modern myth.
Why has this odd and terrifying figure exerted such a hold on our collective imagination? Why does the image of the vampire both attract and repel, in apparently equal measure? If, as has been argued, Dracula owes its success to its reflection of specific anxieties within the culture, why then has its power continued unabated throughout more than a century of unprecedented social change? Late-Victorian anxieties and concerns were rather different from our own, yet the lure of the vampire and the persistence of his image seem as strong as ever.
Dracula's durability may in part be due to Tod Browning's 1931 film, for when most people think of the character, it is Bela Lugosi's portrayal that springs to mind. But in spite of memorable performances by Lugosi and by Dwight Frye as Renfield, the film is awkward and clunky, even laughable in parts; in terms of shocking, terrible, and gorgeous images, it cannot compare with the novel that inspired it. It is hard to believe that, on its own, it would have created such an indelible impact.
Once Dracula became lodged in the popular imagination, it began to accrue ever-new layers of meaning and topicality. The novel has provided rich material for every fad and fancy of twentieth-century exegesis. It has been deconstructed by critics of the Freudian, feminist, queer theory, and Marxist persuasions, and has had something significant to offer each of these fields. Today, in the age of AIDS, the exchange of blood has taken on a new meaning, and Dracula has taken on a new significance in its turn. For post-Victorian readers, it has been a little too easy to impose a pat "Freudian" reading on the novel, in which the vampire represents deviant, dangerous sexuality, while the vampire-hunters stand for sexual repression in the form of bourgeois marriage and overly spiritualized relationships. This interpretation certainly contains a large element of truth, but the novel's themes are much richer and more complex than such a reading might suggest.
Readers coming to Dracula for the first time should try to peel away the layers of preconception that they can hardly help bringing to the novel. We should try to forget Bela Lugosi; we should try to forget easy (and anachronistic) Freudian cliches; we should put out of our minds all our received twentieth- and twenty-first-century notions of friendship and love, both heterosexual and homosexual. If we let the novel stand on its own, just as it appeared to Bram Stoker's contemporaries in the last years of the Victorian era, what exactly do we find?
Upon its publication in 1897, Bram Stoker's Dracula was seen as nothing more than a slightly cheesy thriller, if an unusually successful one. Most such "shilling shockers" were forgotten within a year or two. But this one was different: Over the course of the next century Count Dracula, the aristocratic vampire, left his natural habitat between the pages of a book and insinuated himself into the world's consciousness as few other fictional characters haveever done. Now, more than a hundred years after his appearance in print, Dracula has shed the status of "fictional character" altogether and has become an authentic modern myth.
Why has this odd and terrifying figure exerted such a hold on our collective imagination? Why does the image of the vampire both attract and repel, in apparently equal measure? If, as has been argued, Dracula owes its success to its reflection of specific anxieties within the culture, why then has its power continued unabated throughout more than a century of unprecedented social change? Late-Victorian anxieties and concerns were rather different from our own, yet the lure of the vampire and the persistence of his image seem as strong as ever.
Dracula's durability may in part be due to Tod Browning's 1931 film, for when most people think of the character, it is Bela Lugosi's portrayal that springs to mind. But in spite of memorable performances by Lugosi and by Dwight Frye as Renfield, the film is awkward and clunky, even laughable in parts; in terms of shocking, terrible, and gorgeous images, it cannot compare with the novel that inspired it. It is hard to believe that, on its own, it would have created such an indelible impact.
Once Dracula became lodged in the popular imagination, it began to accrue ever-new layers of meaning and topicality. The novel has provided rich material for every fad and fancy of twentieth-century exegesis. It has been deconstructed by critics of the Freudian, feminist, queer theory, and Marxist persuasions, and has had something significant to offer each of these fields. Today, in the age of AIDS, the exchange of blood has taken on a new meaning, and Dracula has taken on a new significance in its turn. For post-Victorian readers, it has been a little too easy to impose a pat "Freudian" reading on the novel, in which the vampire represents deviant, dangerous sexuality, while the vampire-hunters stand for sexual repression in the form of bourgeois marriage and overly spiritualized relationships. This interpretation certainly contains a large element of truth, but the novel's themes are much richer and more complex than such a reading might suggest.
Readers coming to Dracula for the first time should try to peel away the layers of preconception that they can hardly help bringing to the novel. We should try to forget Bela Lugosi; we should try to forget easy (and anachronistic) Freudian cliches; we should put out of our minds all our received twentieth- and twenty-first-century notions of friendship and love, both heterosexual and homosexual. If we let the novel stand on its own, just as it appeared to Bram Stoker's contemporaries in the last years of the Victorian era, what exactly do we find?
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