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From Santa Claus to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from Uncle Sam to Uncle Tom, here is a compelling, eye-opening, and endlessly entertaining compendium of fictional trendsetters and world-shakers who have helped shape our culture and our lives. The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived offers fascinating histories of our most beloved, hated, feared, and revered invented icons and the indelible marks they made on civilization, including:
# 28: Rosie the Riveter, the buff, blue-collar factory worker who helped jump-start the Women's Liberation movement
# 7: Siegfried, the legendary warrior-hero of Teutonic nationalism responsible for propelling Germany into two world wars
# 80: Icarus, the headstrong high-flyer who inspired the Wright brothers and humankind's dreams of defying gravity . . . while demonstrating the pressing need for flight insurance
# 58: Saint Valentine, the hapless, de-canonized loser who lost his heart and head at about the same time
# 43: Barbie, the bodacious plastic babe who became a role model for millions of little girls, setting an impossible standard for beauty and style
A fun and informative take on its subject(s)Reviewed by Steve Reina, 2008-10-01
Though I can and would quibble with who made their list (for
example I probably would have been more inclined to include
Hannibal Lechter and less inclined to include Buffy the Vampire
Slayer) but I can't quibble with their mission.
In history, mythology, literature, theatre, novels and more
recently, movies and television, culture's so called mythical
characters often have more influence than the real flesh and blood
ones.
In terms of history, (perhaps stupidly) I was surprised to learn
that William Tell was actually a mythical character. According to
the authors, his story wasn't even told until some 150 years passed
from the time of Swiss independence. And interesting, the Tell
story itself had been borrowed from several earlier non Swiss
versions (including one from China!).
In terms of literature, though I knew Dracula as he was devised was
mythological but I didn't realize just how creative Bram Stoker had
been inventing him. The idea that he could be conquered by the sign
of the cross for example was all Stokers according to the
authors.
This one of those "fun" books in the tradition of the Ken Davis
"Don't Know Much About..." series as well as pretty much anything
by historian Rick Shenkman. So if you read and enjoy this book I
would heartily recommend anything by those other authors. If you
want something a little more searching...like, for example, an
exploration of the process by which characters come to be invented
and get more and more stories told about them, I would suggest
Religion Explained by Pascal Boyer as well as Marvin Harris' Cows,
Pigs, Wars and Witches. In each case, the authors in question try
to be a little more searching and methodical about the genesis of
myth.
But whether you read the other books or not you'll enjoy this one
because it talks about some pretty interesting characters.
This book didn't influence meReviewed by Julie Hedlund, 2008-06-30
When I got this book, I expected to find educated views about the
historical/cultural significance of each of the "people" that never
lived. Why and how would they consider these particular characters
the most influential? Amazingly, this book doesn't even discuss the
influence of the characters on society throughout history or why
they have so much staying power in our hearts and imaginations.
Instead, the authors provide boring summaries of what the
characters "did," or how they were created and by whom. Then they
proceed to give self-righteous and condescending opinions about
whether the message(s) in the story or the actions of the
character(s) are appropriate in today's times. Gee, I thought
that's what readers/viewers were supposed to do for
themselves!!
For example, we shouldn't read Cinderella to our little girls
because it creates a sense of false hope that you don't have to do
anything to solve your problems (fairy godmother), and that men
will only want to marry you if you're beautiful. Perhaps that's
true, but last time I read the story, Cinderella was hard-working,
lived a difficult life without complaint, and did not resort to
treating people badly even when that was the way she herself was
being treated. The problem with these compilation-type books is
that they can so easily oversimplify and fall into the trite.
Of course I was not expected objectivity. The very nature of a book
of this type is one person's biased viewpoint (or in this case two
people). I did, however, expect a literary and cultural analysis,
as well as perhaps some humor or interesting perspectives.
NOT!
This book seemed to me like a brazen attempt for the authors to
cash in on the success of books like the 1001 series. My advice:
save your money on this one.
Rethink - perhaps?Reviewed by Trisha M, 2008-02-09
Really cool book -- we are or aspire to be like those who never existed. Been passing this book around and talking about it. People don't realize how influenced (or biased) they are especially in thought by those who never existed. Great Read.
Makes a great gift for readers of all agesReviewed by L. Bravim, 2008-02-03
I gave this to my 17. y.o. sister for her birthday. She is impossible to shop for but lovedThe 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History. The Marlboro Man, Barbie, Santa Clause, Joe Came, the Wandering Jew and Mamie are a few of the many fascinating inclusions. The book is divided by category and easily read in chunks. The list is completely subjective of course, but it makes it no less interesting for debate, discussion and your reading pleasure. This is one of the those books you'll find yourself asking: "Why didn't I write this first?"
Pretty DullReviewed by Movie Watcher, 2007-12-29
I gave this book 3 stars because I think the concept is great. The title is right up my alley. That being said, I read about 5 characters, and then started skipping around because I was bored. I was bored not by the choices, but because I think they summarized what we already know more than they showed the connection between the characters and today. For instance, all of the greek/roman myth selections basically retold the myth, and then left maybe a paragraph to show why it matters. I am familiar with myths, and enjoy them a great deal, but I found myself saying, "Ok....I already know this." Of course, some of their choices had me saying, "What?", but it's hard to choose ONLY 101 when there are so many. For that, I give the writers credit. I wish more had been done with showing the influential impact versus retelling what we know.
