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Enigmas of History
Searching for the Real Dracula
48 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2013
8 people want to read
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World Book
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 19, 2022
The strength of this book is its photos and illustrations. Book design is poor; text is clunky.
Two column text layout is inappropriate for children's books. A typical paragraph has so many explanatory dependent phrases that the text does not flow; each explanatory phrase feels like an interruption. Eventually I stopped reading and started skimming.
A sentence structure employed too frequently: "The boys were educated in the military arts and knew Mehmet II (1432-1481), also spelled Mehmed II, who was the seventh sultan (ruler) of the Ottoman empire. Mehmet II conquered Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire (which at that time covered parts of what is now Turkey and Greece) early in his reign."
Two-page photo spreads of Snagov Monastery and Hunyad Castle are breathtaking. The two-page labelled photo of Targoviste is attractive and helpful. Historical illustrations, diagrams, maps, photos of artifacts etc. suitably impress.
My bad. I should have comprehended the title more carefully. This is partly a history of Vlad III, true, and also equally a foray into world vampire folklore and history. (I don't want movie vampires when I want to learn about Vlad Tepes.) With its cover portrait of Vlad, the book appearance was misleading. Not that most children will mind. Stoker's folkloric and literary forbears was unexpected but appreciated.
Mediocre index (some words not indexed). Inconsistent Glossary (How did the editors decide which words to define in-text and which to include in the Glossary?)
Age level: middle school.
I suspect the editors cared most about the visual appeal of the book, and everything else was an afterthought.
To be clear: all textual information is accurate. The book is thorough. The tone is even; not sensational.
I have not read any other titles in the "Enigmas of History" series.
Text: 2 stars
Two-page photo spreads: 5 stars
Illustrations: 4 stars
Overall: 3 stars
Two column text layout is inappropriate for children's books. A typical paragraph has so many explanatory dependent phrases that the text does not flow; each explanatory phrase feels like an interruption. Eventually I stopped reading and started skimming.
A sentence structure employed too frequently: "The boys were educated in the military arts and knew Mehmet II (1432-1481), also spelled Mehmed II, who was the seventh sultan (ruler) of the Ottoman empire. Mehmet II conquered Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire (which at that time covered parts of what is now Turkey and Greece) early in his reign."
Two-page photo spreads of Snagov Monastery and Hunyad Castle are breathtaking. The two-page labelled photo of Targoviste is attractive and helpful. Historical illustrations, diagrams, maps, photos of artifacts etc. suitably impress.
My bad. I should have comprehended the title more carefully. This is partly a history of Vlad III, true, and also equally a foray into world vampire folklore and history. (I don't want movie vampires when I want to learn about Vlad Tepes.) With its cover portrait of Vlad, the book appearance was misleading. Not that most children will mind. Stoker's folkloric and literary forbears was unexpected but appreciated.
Mediocre index (some words not indexed). Inconsistent Glossary (How did the editors decide which words to define in-text and which to include in the Glossary?)
Age level: middle school.
I suspect the editors cared most about the visual appeal of the book, and everything else was an afterthought.
To be clear: all textual information is accurate. The book is thorough. The tone is even; not sensational.
I have not read any other titles in the "Enigmas of History" series.
Text: 2 stars
Two-page photo spreads: 5 stars
Illustrations: 4 stars
Overall: 3 stars
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews