Dracula, Prince of Many Faces reveals the extraordinary life and times of the infamous Vlad Dracula of Romania (1431 - 1476), nicknamed the Impaler...
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Aug 04, 2011
Count Dracula is a historical frustration. His life illustrates why it is difficult for historians to make simple moral judgments on time periods they know little about. Even if 90% of the horrific legends about Dracula are false--and they are--he was still a bad man (and I maintain demon-possessed). But it's worse than that: as horrible as he was Dracula singlehandedly kept Europe from being overrun by Muslims. As Florescu notes, "Europe was more interested in political in-fighting that in
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Aug 30, 2011
Alice
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We will travel to Romania/Transylvania in Oct 2011 and I wanted to read about the real Dracula. I've read lots more 15th century Eastern European history than I was ever exposed to in school. Vlad Dracula was indeed real, an illegitimate son of Vlad Dracul who very much wanted the throne his father had. He succeeded to that throne 3 separate times. The authors did extensive research from the perspective of the Hungarians, Saxons, and Russians that described a man who was considered by his en
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Jul 28, 2011
Steve
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Definitely an excellent book. Not only give a thorough biography of Valdimir Dracula but it also goes into the family history as well. In addition to providing biographical information the book also delves in ot the various vampire leegends around the world and romanian legeends of other supernatural beings. Brams Stoker researched his material well beefore writing the book Dracula. The original dracula is not a evil man as he is made out to be. Romanians view him as a hero who withstood trukish
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May 27, 2010
Ideath
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Re-read this book to refresh my memory before reading The Historian. Unfortunately, i liked it better the first time; i think some conclusions were insufficiently supported, some details too frequently repeated (obviously, they were the ones that stuck in the authors' heads, but the repetition was not helpful). This time around, i cringed at some of the writing -- yes, i know you don't read history for prose style, but hey.
The first time i read it, i remember coming away with a stro More...
The first time i read it, i remember coming away with a stro More...
Apr 16, 2009
Mike
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The man, the myth, the impaller of all that stood in his way. I am giving this book 5 stars simply to appease the wrath that a lesser review might bring from the undead... actually it is because even though this is nonfiction, it is still the scariest book I have ever read. The real man not only lives up to the stories written about his carnage, but he actually shatters then with his all too real atrocities. This book is morbidly fascinating and well worth the read to anyone even slightly intrig
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Sep 06, 2007
Sonanova
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This book was very thorough and enjoyable, but I did find a few problems. First, I hate non-fic history authors that make broad interpretations from their sources in an attempt to draw something like a conclusion. History is not about conclusions. Life goes on and historic events are consistantly reinterpreted by those in power, as history *is* power. But to try and lock down how things *actually* were without hard evidence is just silly. Let's not have theory, but fact...although I admit s
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Nov 17, 2010
Julie
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This is a thorough look at not only the mysterious life of Vlad Dracula, aka Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler, but also a comprehensive history of 15th century Eastern Europe and the evolution of the Vampire myth. While not much is known about his “personal life,” eye witnesses and oral history have kept accounts of Vlad’s tyrannous reign of the Wallachia region of Romania alive through the ages. Meticulously researched, the authors try to grasp the motivation behind his notorious undertakings
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Apr 26, 2008
Jann
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Factual, which I'm sure is hard to come by due to the time lapse since this man lived. During my "vampire" phase (which thanks to the Twilight trilogy has not exactly abated), I picked this up because fact is often more interesting than fiction to me. These authors are really the majority of this field. I picked this out of their books on the subject because it was the only one immediately available. It is fairly straightforward, but I didn't get very far into it. It is really, re
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Jun 07, 2010
Melissa
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If this book was not about Vlad the Impaler, it probably would have received 3 stars. However, Vlad just happens to be my absolute favorite person anywhere in history. Ever.
I really liked this book, but I had a problem with the fact the author scrambled around his dates. For a person who can't remember dates to begin with, that was just unnecessarily confusing.
I really liked this book, but I had a problem with the fact the author scrambled around his dates. For a person who can't remember dates to begin with, that was just unnecessarily confusing.
Feb 11, 2010
Tristan
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A great biography. At times it could get a bit dull, but I guess that's any in-depth history book for you. I'm not sure I would say the quality of the book stands out, but the life of the man it's about surely does!
Oct 22, 2010
Lynn
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Very strange to be reading a history book and have a name keep popping up that, at least in the west, is so completely associated with a fictional character. Very interesting, though. People are so complex.
Jul 25, 2009
Dist577
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History of Vlad Dracula - good perspective on why he is a hero to the Romanian people. Also, it included the fall of Constantinople. I was in Istanbul when I read this so it was very special.
Dec 09, 2009
Linda
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a good read. Some good information about Vlad and his times. Per usual with anything dealing with Vlad, they had to compare and put comments regarding Dracula into the book, thankfully the book did focus more around the historical figure and less around the fictional figure.
Oct 31, 2011
Rhett
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A very interesting book on Eastern Europe, and of course the infamous Vlad the Imapler. This book has been much better than I had anticipated with providing historical context to the time and places surrounding Vlad.
Sep 20, 2009
Daniel
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Nice cheerful book about the historical Vlad Dracula. Got interested in the history from reading an excellent novel entitled "The Historian".
Nov 17, 2009
Jen
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One of the most thorough, interesting reads that I've found on Clad the Impaler. Interesting and twisted life he led.
Nov 21, 2008
Jeff
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One of the most informed and detailed biographies of Prince Vlad II's life.
Jun 22, 2007
Michelle
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After reading The Historian for my book club, I wanted to get some "real" history on Dracula. I remembered this book from my Borders days and decided to check it out. I'm glad that I did as it turned out to be very interesting. There is a lot of medieval history and a lot of side stories that are intertwined into the story of Dracula. I thought the authors did a good job of showing the real Dracula. I found him to be a very interesting person in history. I really recommend this book to
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Jul 18, 2011
Randy
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I gave this a three rating mostly because the book really dragged on and also had many repetitive themes. Although, I really did enjoy the book because it was interesting to learn more about the historical dracula. I've seen enough shows on the history channel around halloween and even have read some about him, but these guys really dove in, especially to note that they travelled to gain info and knowledge into eastern europe during the cold war.
Jan 30, 2012
Great book. It is about the history of the real Dracula, Prince of Wallachia and Transylvania in 1456. Compares the fiction book, 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker with actual events. A must read for Vampire lovers, Romanian history enthusiasts and lovers of the Middle Ages, the last of the Crusades and Turkish influence in the Balkans. Not as much of a mass murderer as Hitler, but certainly crueler and a definite psychopath. Great read for Halloween!
Dec 16, 2009
Michael
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I am truly blessed to have had this man as my professor in college. It was teachers like him that inspired me to become one. His passion for literature and history carried him to the far reaches of Earth to find the one and only orginial "Dracul" - the origin of Stoker's novel. His novel was the basis for Coppola's 1992 movie. Vampires do exist!! Do not believe those that will tell you otherwise-they are weak and ignorant!
May 19, 2008
Bentley
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This is the easiest to read scholarly book I have come across. A pleasant find, since I was going to read it anyway. This is a deeply researched and annotated book about Vlad Tepes (diacitical commas not available), the 15th cantury Wallachian domnul who inspired Bram Stoker's vampire. A striking case of the real person being more interesting than the firtional one.
Sep 06, 2008
Daniel
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This one is very much a history book, so there are lots of details that border on the mundane as he goes through the entire life of the subject. But overall, especially once you make it through some of the beginning chapters, all of the facts becomes interesting and the text becomes much more engaging as a result. Good read!
Jul 25, 2008
Griselda
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I bought this book after reading The Historian. It is a study of the origin of the Vampire myth (including Bram Stocker's Dracula). The book will introduce you to Prince Vlad Tepes (quite a charming fellow) and the history of western Europe during the domination of the Ottoman empire.
Jan 28, 2012
Al
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Interesting look at the real-life figure that inspired the novel's title character. Made more interesting by the authors' taking the novel into consideration and looking at Bram Stoker's knowledge of the prince and Romania in the 15th Century.
Jun 01, 2009
Abby
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Although the story of Vlad Draula is interesting the tortures he inflicted were so horrible that you have to have a strong stomach to read about them. The battle scenes are so detailed that they tend to drag and get boring. Not one of my favorites
