{"id":5837,"date":"2011-10-01T01:10:43","date_gmt":"2011-10-01T06:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=5975"},"modified":"2011-09-10T14:09:20","modified_gmt":"2011-09-10T19:09:20","slug":"book-review-weiser-field-guide-to-vampires-by-j-m-dixon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2011\/10\/01\/book-review-weiser-field-guide-to-vampires-by-j-m-dixon\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Weiser Field Guide to Vampires by J. M. Dixon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Weiser Field Guide to Vampires<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

by\u00a0 J. M. Dixon<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2009\u00a0 Weiser Books<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

ISBN:\u00a0 978-1578634491<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Paperback\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 192 pages<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

$14.95 (U.S.)<\/em><\/p>\n

When people in the modern, Western world encounter the word \u201cvampire\u201d certain images spring immediately to mind, most of which center on Eastern and Central European perceptions \u2013 think Dracula in\u00a0 all his many permutations.\u00a0 But there is a lot more to the topic of vampires than that narrow perception admits.\u00a0 They range from Papau New Guinea to Grenada; from undead relatives to modern day Strigoi Vii; and from those who subsist on blood to those who \u201cmerely\u201d siphon off energy.\u00a0 Although all of these are touched upon within the covers of this book, most are given only a passing mention.<\/p>\n

Before I had really started this book, I began to run into difficulties.\u00a0 I have never before seen the word \u201cSidhe\u201d, translated from Gaelic, to mean \u201cvampire.\u201d\u00a0 It seems as though Mr. Dixon presumes that all \u201cevil creatures\u201d are vampiric by nature, and I am not sure that is valid.\u00a0 He writes as a member of the vampire community (with the expressed intention \u201c…of being the first person in history to live for ever…\u201d), and as such he accepts as proven fact that which others make take as theory only.<\/p>\n

Since I don’t claim to be a vampire, or know any personally (that I am aware of), I can’t comment on Mr. Dixon’s assertions regarding \u201cfeeding tendrils\u201d or types of feeding.\u00a0 On a personal level, it reads like fiction (and low-budget, horror-film fiction at that), but I could be wrong.<\/p>\n

The first 40% of the book is devoted to the type of vampire commonly referred to as a \u201cpsychic\u201d vampire \u2013 one who does NOT drink blood, but merely siphons energy \u2013 and avoids the topic of the blood-drinking variety.\u00a0 It isn’t until the fifth chapter that the topic of the blood-drinking variety of vampires is actually addressed.<\/p>\n

From there on Mr. Dixon moves on to topics which are of interest to those who are not members of the vampire community itself exclusively.<\/p>\n

Throughout this book, Mr. Dixon concentrates upon those differences which set the modern, living vampire apart from the masses of humanity with which they share the world, as might be expected in a field guide.\u00a0 Very little space, however, is devoted to helping \u201cnormal\u201d people identify vampires.\u00a0 The descriptions he uses \u2013 fair skinned, soft hair, full lips, and white teeth \u2013 really don’t help much in terms of differentiating vampires from humans.\u00a0 Instead, reliance is placed on \u201cfeelings\u201d which often amount nothing more than a sense of unease in the presence of certain individuals.\u00a0 His assertion that vampires don’t have an aura (the possible source of the no-reflection myth?) seems highly unlikely to me.\u00a0 More likely their auras are tightly contained and thus hard to see, in my opinion.<\/p>\n

He sees the vampire as beneficial to mankind in general, as their draining of energy encourages increased energy production and flow in the average individual, thus preventing and relieving blockages which may result in disease and illness.\u00a0 I’m not sure how I feel about that idea, but if it is true, then it would appear that ethical vampires would almost feel obligated to work in the healing arts.<\/p>\n

Mr. Dixon seems to assert (page 104, \u201c…most modern vampires maintain strict workout regimens to keep them healthy and fit.\u201d) that the modern vampire must not be overly thin nor overly heavy.\u00a0 Coupled with his earlier physical descriptions, we are left to assume that the ideal modern vampire (and the archetype to watch for) would best be symbolized by the \u201csurfer\u201d culture, and that the odds of encountering an ugly (or even a \u201cplain\u201d) looking, anorexic or obese vampire are almost non-existent.\u00a0 Nice job description, but somewhat limiting and unrealistic, I feel.<\/p>\n

To an extent, this book comes across as a self-serving promotional tool (read \u201crecruiting tract\u201d) trying hard to look like an unbiased investigation into a phenomenon which has fascinated mankind almost from it’s very emergence into civilization.\u00a0 Whatever it is, recruiting tool or investigation, it is well-written and interesting.\u00a0 I’m not sure it will appeal to everyone, but that is really too much to expect in any case.<\/p>\n

The perception that vampires are inherently different from mankind in general seems (to me) to border on the delusional.\u00a0 Mr. Dixon acknowledges that vampires are physically nearly indistinguishable from humanity, while asserting that a few characteristics are enough to place them in a separate class of beings.<\/p>\n

Regardless of my personal feeling about the subject matter and\/or author, Weiser has a reputation for producing high quality books, and this continues that tradition.\u00a0 You will not likely go wrong when you purchase one of their books.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Weiser Field Guide to Vampires by\u00a0 J. M. Dixon \u00a9 2009\u00a0 Weiser Books ISBN:\u00a0 978-1578634491 Paperback\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 192 pages $14.95 (U.S.) When people in the modern, Western world encounter the word \u201cvampire\u201d certain images spring immediately to mind, most of which center on Eastern and Central European perceptions \u2013 think Dracula in\u00a0 all his many permutations.\u00a0 But there is a lot more to the topic of vampires than that narrow perception admits.\u00a0 They range from Papau New Guinea to Grenada; from undead relatives to modern day Strigoi Vii; and from those who subsist on blood to those who \u201cmerely\u201d siphon off energy.\u00a0 Although all of these are touched upon within the covers of this book, most are given only a passing mention. Before I had really started this book, I began to run into difficulties.\u00a0 I have never before seen the word \u201cSidhe\u201d, translated from Gaelic, to mean \u201cvampire.\u201d\u00a0 It seems as though Mr. Dixon presumes that all \u201cevil creatures\u201d are vampiric by nature, and I am not sure that is valid.\u00a0 He writes as a member of the vampire community (with the expressed intention \u201c…of being the first person in history to live for ever…\u201d), and as such he accepts as proven fact that which others make take as theory only. Since I don’t claim to be a vampire, or know any personally (that I am aware of), I can’t comment on Mr. Dixon’s assertions regarding \u201cfeeding tendrils\u201d or types of feeding.\u00a0 On a personal level, it reads like fiction (and low-budget, horror-film fiction at that), but I could be wrong. The first 40% of the book is devoted to the type of vampire commonly referred to as a \u201cpsychic\u201d vampire \u2013 one who does NOT drink blood, but merely siphons energy \u2013 and avoids the topic of the blood-drinking variety.\u00a0 It isn’t until the fifth chapter that the topic of the blood-drinking variety of vampires is actually addressed. From there on Mr. Dixon moves on to topics which are of interest to those who are not members of the vampire community itself exclusively. Throughout this book, Mr. Dixon concentrates upon those differences which set the modern, living vampire apart from the masses of humanity with which they share the world, as might be expected in a field guide.\u00a0 Very little space, however, is devoted to helping \u201cnormal\u201d people identify vampires.\u00a0 The descriptions he uses \u2013 fair skinned, soft hair, full lips, and white teeth \u2013 really don’t help much in terms of differentiating vampires from humans.\u00a0 Instead, reliance is placed on \u201cfeelings\u201d which often amount nothing more than a sense of unease in the presence of certain individuals.\u00a0 His assertion that vampires don’t have an aura (the possible source of the no-reflection myth?) seems highly unlikely to me.\u00a0 More likely their auras are tightly contained and thus hard to see, in my opinion. He sees the vampire as beneficial to mankind in general, as their draining of energy encourages increased energy production and flow in the average individual, thus preventing and relieving blockages which may result in disease and illness.\u00a0 I’m not sure how I feel about that idea, but if it is true, then it would appear that ethical vampires would almost feel obligated to work in the healing arts. Mr. Dixon seems to assert (page 104, \u201c…most modern vampires maintain strict workout regimens to keep them healthy and fit.\u201d) that the modern vampire must not be overly thin nor overly heavy.\u00a0 Coupled with his earlier physical descriptions, we are left to assume that the ideal modern vampire (and the archetype to watch for) would best be symbolized by the \u201csurfer\u201d culture, and that the odds of encountering an ugly (or even a \u201cplain\u201d) looking, anorexic or obese vampire are almost non-existent.\u00a0 Nice job description, but somewhat limiting and unrealistic, I feel. To an extent, this book comes across as a self-serving promotional tool (read \u201crecruiting tract\u201d) trying hard to look like an unbiased investigation into a phenomenon which has fascinated mankind almost from it’s very emergence into civilization.\u00a0 Whatever it is, recruiting tool or investigation, it is well-written and interesting.\u00a0 I’m not sure it will appeal to everyone, but that is really too much to expect in any case. The perception that vampires are inherently different from mankind in general seems (to me) to border on the delusional.\u00a0 Mr. Dixon acknowledges that vampires are physically nearly indistinguishable from humanity, while asserting that a few characteristics are enough to place them in a separate class of beings. Regardless of my personal feeling about the subject matter and\/or author, Weiser has a reputation for producing high quality books, and this continues that tradition.\u00a0 You will not likely go wrong when you purchase one of their books.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}