Santa: A Life

by Jeremy Seal

Santa Claus began as Nicholas, a Byzantine bishop whose anonymous acts of night-time charity would turn him into the most popular and enduring of all saints.

Jeremy Seal's journey follows Nicholas's all-conquering expansion west from Turkey to the Crusader ports of Bari and Venice, and thence to 16th century Amsterdam. Seal records his subject's 20th century rebirth in the advertising boardrooms of Manhattan, and his own children's encounter with Santa in his new Lapland home.

This high adventure spans early Christian relics and Italian chicanery, reindeer, chimneys and chocolate coins, in a riveting narrative that combines epic sweep with cameos of childhood innocence. From the nature of belief to the settling of modern America, this is an extraordinary tale, triumphantly told.

Genres: History, Christmas, Nonfiction, Biography, Religion, Travel, Holiday

291 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Jeremy Seal is a writer and broadcaster. His first book, A Fez of the Heart, was shortlisted for the 1995 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. He is also the author of The Snakebite Survivors' Club and The Wreck at Sharpnose Point, and presenter of Channel 4's ‘Wreck Detectives’. He lives in Bath with his wife and daughters.

Reviews

[Jessica]

Allow me to describe this book as one would a fine wine: Dry yet fruity, with not-too-subtle sarcastic notes.

What I had hoped would be a straightforward history of Santa Claus, his origins as a Turkish bishop and Christian saint, leading up to the current world-wide icon, is instead a chance for Jeremy Seal to show off. The man doesn't so much write about Saint Nicholas as tap dance around and over him. Each paragraph is a dizzying spiral that requires careful reading to discern any point. And often there isn't one, except that Seal traveled a really long way and saw some stuff. What stuff? Well, a lot of dust. A lot of dim images. He met some old people. Very few facts about Saint Nicholas are presented here, and the final chapters about the sudden transformation from "saint to Santa" are so rushed that I had to go back over them to pull out the few points of interest.

Oddly enough, Seal is more cynical about the saint than the Christmas icon, making cracks about how Nicholas cleverly "made his move" from Orthodox to traditional Christianity, or adapted to this or that culture, as though the man widely worshipped as a pious and charitable figure was angling from the day of his birth for sainthood. Not that Seal is clear about that birth, or anything else. He doesn't make much effort to find any hard facts about the man. He appears to have wandered around the Middle East talking to random people on the street and hotel maids about what they knew, and writing it down in no particular order.

He doesn't make it clear why he's doing this (there is a framing story about his own daughters discovering Santa Claus that is supposedly the reason for his quest, yet he'd already bought a plane ticket to Turkey BEFORE his oldest had a disappointing experience with a "phony Santa"), or what he really hoped to find. He comes to no conclusion, he just ends his narrative. I never thought I would say this, but I was hoping for something more . . . textbookish. A timeline. Maybe some maps. And certainly more pictures. What images there are are few, and so badly reproduced that they could be paintings of the author's grandmother for all I can tell. I would have liked some opinions, even, on why the popularity of the saint through the years, and the myths and legends of the modern Santa. Basically, I was looking for something, but instead found 200+ pages of nothing, wrapped in such convoluted prose that the most elaborate Christmas bow would be easier to unwind.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

St Nicholas of Myra to Sinterklaus to Saint Klaus to Santa Claus. Jeremy Seal extensively travels from England through Turkey (where Nicholas of Myra had his original seat) to Italy and Germany, England and Holland, the U.S. and Finland all in search of the origins of the saint and how he transformed into the Christmas icon. All supposedly due to one of his daughters having a negative experience with a store Santa.

He researched a tremendous amount of information - not only on Nicholas and his legend of the three daughters (stealth gifts of gold for dowries for the three girls instead of their father selling them into prostitution) but the mixing up between him and another Saint Nicholas of Sion nearby. Sion was an abbot who protected sailors and the shoreline which transferred to Myra's saint even as he traveled away from Byzantium into Russia protecting sailors, cargo, river rescues to providing general assistance .

Then there is the Roman verses Byzantium. Greek Orthodox (and Russian Orthodox) verses Roman Catholic verses Muslim. Crusades and apprehensions regarding saint's remains and moving them from highly disputed lands. The basic tourist attractions having saint's memorabilia because that's what the bones, splinters, veils, clothes and liquids are. And they are not sold but for a donation to the church, shrine, whatever is gratefully accepted.

How Nicholas changed his holy day from December 6th to original New Years' Eve while in conflict of two other 'gift-giving icons.' His dress changed. Entering from the chimney instead of the old standby of windows. His connections with Coca Cola as well as the parades sponsored by big department stores. How his image has become the token character used to badger for Christmas donations as well as attempting to sell just about anything during the Christmas season.

The author certainly has a flowery turn of phrase. For example, when describing the toys available at some New York City department stores it sounded more like a series of various categories in a catalog. He tried to list them all. At times, it provided wonderful images but other times, it seemed he was spewing out a thesaurus. Very distracting and got monotonous after a while.

Far more information regarding hagiography rather than just Nicholas of Myra. The author was also personifying the saint 'making decisions' regarding the movement of its relics as well as changes in appearance, features, patronage, feast days, etcetera. It was kind of disturbing.

Interesting overall but certainly not what I was expecting.

2019-124

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a history of the transformation of Nicholas, itinerant Bishop of Myra, into Santa Claus, movie star and bringer of toys around the world.

Sadly not in this book. There's lots of information in here if you can wade through Seal's personal travelogue. While I'm sure he enjoyed visiting the various sites associated with Nicholas (and probably claiming them as expenses associated with writing the book), they're often intrusive to the story. On top of this he refers to Nicholas as some sort of immortal concept that is seeking fame and a bigger market share or something.

Most disappointing of all is the lack of any reference between the conjugation of the British "Father Christmas" and his eventual merger with the American "Santa Claus". Since Seal is a Brit I'd at least hoped this would be touched on somewhere.

My quest for a good book on the origins of Santa continues.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is misleading. Rather than the history of how a 4th Century bishop became a Coca-Cola drinking, 20th Century, pop culture icon, this is a world travelogue heavily seasoned with autobiography. The author visits a variety of places associated with both St. Nicholas and Santa Claus, but he tends to get lost in own musings about his own life instead of focusing upon the mysterious transformation of his research subject.
If the reader is willing to wade through the author's creative nonfiction, Nicholas The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus does contain some good facts and history about St. Nicholas and/or Santa Claus, but nothing in this tome is straightforward, to the point, or short and sweet.

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the books in my daughter's Christmas collection.

3 Stars = It was 'okay'.

[Kevin Hikel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit, I am a sucker for seasonal reading and I love history so when I searched for books on St. Nicholas and found this I was quick to get a copy from the library and start reading. The results? A satisfying read on the evolution on one of today's most recognized figures.

Jeremy Seal's travelogue traces the origins of the real Nicholas from Bishop of Myra to modern day Santa Claus and every stop in between. It features a number of well researched facts not only from Nicholas' life but also the historical, political and religious climates that led the Saint and his cult to move around the world and grow in popularity and legend. Some reviewers found the author's style-speaking of Nicholas as though he had a will to be famous from beyond the grave to be inappropriate, but I found it to add a sense of humor as the Saint outwitted other Saints and Mythological characters to become the legend we know today.

I also appreciated that the author took a neutral stance on the subject matter. It never felt like he was pushing any element of faith nor was he disrespectful to Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant believers who all had a part to play-whether promoting or trying to silence the Saint. Even the author's commentary on the negative aspects of materialism that is associated with Santa Claus today was redeemed by the end of the book as he describes the continued belief of his daughters and as he recounts the number of charitable ways Santa is used to give back during the Christmas season.

My two gripes with the book were its readability and the author's seemingly useless travels. I found at times I had to reread sections to understand where the author was headed and the sequential order of events didn't always make sense to me. Eventually, what seemed like random trains of thought did connect but it was confusing at times. Because this book is a travelogue it features Seal's travels to various locations connected with St. Nick but it often felt needless. Never was there any sort of scheduled meeting with a local scholar or expert, all the information appeared to be derived from the author's own study. Any festivals or events that he attended could have been simply explained without his presence. Hearing his take on being there just made me wish he had traveled with a video crew to document footage for a documentary film but, for the sake of the book, it felt unnecessary.

Regardless of any complaints, Nicholas' journey certainly is epic and this was a great way to get acquainted with a beloved character and accent this Christmas season. I'll never think of Santa quite the same way again.

[Sean Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

They say never judge a book by its cover- but for this, perhaps never judge a book by its title would be more appropriate. The vast majority of the book goes into vast detail about Saint Nicholas- confusingly pitting the dead man as a living entity that survives eons and is masterminding the whole transformation from ancient Saint to modern Santa. Very confusing the entire way through, and when we finally get to the topic the title hints you into believing the story will truly be about you’re rushed through various explanations. Don’t put this book in your Christmas list.

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this wasn’t as good as I was hoping it to be. I think that was due to the writing style, which was rather staid. It was a slog getting through some parts. I found the section about saints relics overly long and tedious. It could have been summed up in half the pages it was given.
The book picked up a bit once we got to the Netherlands and New York, and I did manage to learn a bit on how we went from Saint Nicholas to modern day Santa. I just wish the journey was a bit more enjoyable.

[Maria Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has a lot of information but I feel like I am on a fishing expedition instead of being able to just read the info. I am sure he meant to be entertaining and it was from a certain aspect. If you are looking for plain information and facts or even the story of the real Nicholas, then this isn't it. The story definitely take the scenic route by filling the pages with information and story that is not needed.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm an interested reader. The author's research was in depth and thorough. But somehow, all the allure and fascination of this story dried right up due to his commitment to deadly quasi-academic prose.

[Adam Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this history of St. Nicholas' transformation from Saint to Santa Claus. It's not really a history or biography, but rather an in-depth look at cultures and how they have taken the myth, gifts, charity and kindness of a man as their own.

[Jarmby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish
Waffled on and on without telling too much about Santa, at least in the 50 pages I endured.
Seemed more intent on showing how erudite he could be
What I term a “one handed writer”

[Amanda Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting background story of things I had not considered before. The author travelled to Turkey, Italy and Lapland in search of the man we know as Santa.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A WELL-WRITTEN HISTORICAL SURVEY OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF “SANTA’

Author Jeremy Seal wrote in the first chapter of this 2005 book, “Nicholas’ great journey had barely begun when they laid him in his sarcophagus at Myra, in what is now southwestern Turkey, in or around A.D. 352. The year is contested; the date of his death, December 6, is far better established… Seventeen hundred years later… He is revered across the Hellenic world, across Catholic Europe and the Balkans… And in all these countries and beyond, the boys and their sisters await his secret visits as the year draws to a close. He would seem on current evidence, to have surpassed all expectation. And so to Nicholas’ life, the seed of his posthumous success.” (Pg. 2, 4)

He reports about ‘Three Daughters,’ “the most charitable and the best known” of all the saint’s deeds: “A prosperous nobleman... fell into poverty. He eventually determined, since no suitors could be found for his three beautiful daughters in their impecunious state, to sell them into prostitution… when God sent Nicholas to his aid. Nicholas, not wanting to be identified in his philanthropy, went to the nobleman’s home in the dead of night and…threw a bag of gold through the window. In the morning, when the man found the mysterious gift, he was elated and married off his eldest daughter forthwith, using the gold as her dowry. In time… the nobleman was now proposing to sell his second daughter into prostitution. He once more returned at night to throw a bag of gold through the window. The second daughter was married off accordingly. On the third occasion, when the gold thudded to the floor, the nobleman stepped outside and pursued the donor to discover who was responsible for these great kindnesses… Nicholas… bound the nobleman never to divulge his generosity… the story of Nicholas’ charity began its long journey into the world the very night he was discovered.” (Pg. 28-29) Later, he adds, “No documentation confirms ‘Three Daughters’ as historical fact, but what distinguishes the story from many of the other Nicholas episodes… is that it steers strikingly clear of stock characteristics of hagiography.” (Pg. 43)

He recounts of the Nicaean Council of A.D. 325, “The Council of Nicaea was the most significant ecclesiastical event since the missions of St. Paul and the Apostles… [But Nicholas, the] bishop of Myra is conspicuously missing from the early surviving lists of delegates… it was, after all, entirely explicable that Nicholas had not made the long journey… The reasons for his absence from the roster have, however, been interpreted differently over the centuries… Nicholas’ burgeoning renown brought new commitments: he MUST put in an appearance at the Council… Nicholas’ devotees came to argue with increasing conviction that he had not been absent from Nicaea as much as accidentally omitted from the lists. Their insistence paid off. Nicholas would get to Nicaea in A.D. 325; it just took him until the ninth century to do so.” (Pg. 80-81)

In the Reformation, “Sinterklaas was the … only saint left in Holland. The Reformation did for the saints in the Netherlands just as it had done for them in England fifty years earlier. Their cults were attacked, their images hunted down and destroyed, and the churches that once bore their venerated names were now known by simple descriptives.” (Pg. 141)

In the 1600s, “The English … took Santa for a mutation of their eponymous personification of the season, the tankard-hoisting master of ceremonies who had presided over the Christmas festival for centuries… Under the Victorians, Father Christmas reemerged, bleary-eyed, to continue the seasonal party… Santa Claus… [was] fighting his way to Christmas prominence in the States… Santa adopted Father Christmas’ name and even his costume, the fur-trimmed cowled gown…” (Pg. 196-197)

He notes, “The Finns were among those who had designs on Santa. They felt that the North Pole in its general Arctic denotation gave their nation as good a claim to territorial rights over him as anywhere else in the high latitudes… They pointed out that Finnish Lapland could provide, among other things, the pasturing for Santa’s lichen-hungry reindeer that the North Pole patently could not. This alternative setting, obviously more appropriate, let the British and others, though not the Americans, to adopt Lapland as the home of Santa Claus.” (Pg. 201)

This book will be of great interest to those studying the history and development of Santa Claus.

[Justinian]

2009-11 - Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus. Author: Jeremy Seal. 368 pages. 2005

I picked up this book in the discount section of a discount store. I thought it might be interesting reading and a diversion from my usual reading stack. As I began reading the book, it occurred to me that it was actually quite similar to “Black Lamb and Grey Falcon” by Rebecca West. The author used a deft combination of geography, history, faith, culture, and personal experience. The book actually proved far more interesting than I thought it would be. It is one of those books that can really foment questions and reflections creating a challenge rather than merely dry comfortable re-telling of the same story.

Speaking of re-telling the same old story, this book is not hagiography in the traditional sense; though it certainly discusses the issue of hagiography. The subject, Nicholas is one of the most mythologized of all saints in Christendom. Any serious study of the saint will embroil the reader in a test of reality vs. myth. The larger question though is does the historical truth really matter when dealing with issues of faith? For example the issue of Nicholas slapping Arius during the First Ecumenical Council … myth … but does it really matter? This issue of myth and its creation and impact is addressed in this book though the topic could and should be a whole tome in and of its self.

The book traces the journey of St. Nicholas from his diocese in Myrna ever westward and northward as if he was the main character in the action. It may be unsettling for some readers as it gives the saint a lust for re-known out of the character normally assigned to the saint. However it is a very good device for moving and explaining the journey. To discount the device as frivolous or mere mirth is to deny the actions of and the intercessions of saints when they pass into the heavenly kingdom.

The journey surprised me. The saint changed form with each incremental move west. The rate of change proved uneven though adapted to each culture and its experience and norms. In some ways it conforms to the missionary methodologies of the early Orthodox Christian Church. What remained most constant is the notion of gift giving. For most of the journey St. Nicholas gave gifts in emulation of the famous story of the three daughters not on the days he gave those gifts but on his canonical feast day, the sixth of December. The date changed to January the first in the new world and then eventually to Christmas itself but not until almost the middle of the 19th century.

The appearance and accoutrements of Saint Nicholas changed with each cultural exposure as well. He lost much of his religious appearance during the English and Dutch iconoclasm of the 16th and 17th centuries. Though even in those societies he was still referred to as a Saint. The English eventually morphed him into Father Christmas though that could have religious implications. In some places such as The Netherlands he acquired an assistant “Black Piet” a Moor who helped him. It was not until around 1900 that the image of a white bewhiskered, ruddy faced man in red who drove a reindeer pulled sleigh solidified.

This book provides fodder for serious conversations and as such is a good starting point to look at a variety of issues about faith, memory, values, and society.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. Which is a shame, because I had very high hopes for it.

The history of Christmas is one of my hobby topics. Probably because of the varied histories that came into play in the creation of this holiday: religion, paganism, brand marketing, popular literature (Re: Charles Dickens). The list goes on.

Also, I just love winter. The happy bite of snow. The bright lights of the holidays. Cheer. Giving. PRESENTS.

I bought this book last year at the Ann Arbor Book Show. I was really excited to read a comprehensive history of Saint Nicholas (aka Santa Claus). I knew all about the more modern iterations of Father Christmas in Dickens' the Ghost of Christmas Present and our very American Santa Claus from none other than Coca-Cola advertising, but in the history of the saint that inspired it all my knowledge was severely lacking. I thought this book would remedy that.

I was wrong-ish.

Unfortunately, the book got off to a slow start with a narrative on the author and his experience with his current Christmas. Traveling, I believe to begin his journey where Nicholas himself began. Only it was so dry. And then the holidays actually hit me and the next thing I knew Christmas was over and this book sat on my shelf for a whole year, barely started.

And so when the holidays rolled around again I eagerly picked it back up, determined to finish it. Only it wasn't at all what I had expected.

And honestly, I'm not sure what I expected, but it was not this guy talking about Nicholas as if he has agency after his death. I still want to believe it's irony, but I have a feeling it is not. Seal speaks of Nicholas as having an active role in how his image and life-story are used throughout the subsequent centuries after his death. As if he is planning his Santa Claus legacy from the afterlife.

I didn't like that. It really took away from the history of the biography.

However, there were some really interesting insights into the physical afterlife of his body (as relics) and how his saintly patronage was adopted and readopted (even co-opted and confused with another sainted Nick) throughout the centuries by many different groups. So I did learn quite a bit about Nicholas.

But still. It read poorly and honestly just bugged me to no end with the whole agency after death angle. I only gave it two stars and I rarely rate a book so low. It was a quick read once I got back into it, but for the historian interested in the actual history behind our modern holiday (which I am), then I don't recommend it. For a casual reader who doesn't mind the religious undertones to a historical biography, go for it.

[Tony Lawrence]

I’m so glad I read Santa’s back-story in the run-up to Christmas. Firstly it provides forensic detail of St. Nicholas’s life as a Bishop in what is now South East Turkey (then Byzantine), his gradual and calculated move north and west over the centuries to his pre-eminent role in the festivities. Seal travels to various churches, crypts, and festivals following the corporeal (his saintly bones and myrrh secretions!) and spiritual journey.

He starts as kind and simple Bishop of Myra, with important stops in Bari & Venice, mostly as a saint to sailors, merchants, and pilgrims, and then on to the Netherlands, Manhattan, back to England and Lapland … I’m summarising.

In each move of his bones/relics (called ‘translation’) and evolution of his story and appearance as he adapts to the religious and secular demands of the time and place, picking up new celebrants as her went (children, travellers, perfumers!); he must be hated in the Saintly world for dogged persistence and over-achievement. The journey includes fascinating historical side notes about pawnbrokers' 3 balls - I’ll come back to this - witches broomsticks, and all the paraphernalia of the modern Santa/Father Christmas-led children's story. As the pace escalates in the 19th and 20th centuries there is an unseemly jockeying of position in the winter festival and gift-giving business, including, St. Nicholas saint’s day on 6th December, Christ’s-mass day itself, New Year, and 12th night/Epiphany. There is a word of caution about a certain weariness with the excessive consumption and loss of spirituality, but you wouldn’t put it past Sinterklass (to use one of his intermediate names) morphing again … maybe to become the patron saint of astronauts and inter-planetary humanity. You heard it here first!

Back to the 3 balls, which are a corruption of the self-less gifts given by St.Nick to help a father provide dowries for his 3 daughters, to prevent them going into prostitution. This became an important part of his sainthood and myth, but not something you see on Christmas cards!

[Iset · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, not what I was expecting. I was looking forward to reading this book and thought it would be a fascinating blend of the history of this well known figure, combined with a look at his variations and incarnations across the world - such as "Father Frost" in Russia, the "Yule men" in Scandinavian folk tales, and "Papa Noel" in various countries.

Instead the book turned out to be a fusion of the history and travelogue on the part of the author as he follows in the footsteps of Saint Nicholas. I stuck with it devotedly at first, reading every line... but I have to admit it became more and more of a struggle - I came to read about the history of Santa, not to read the author's travel diary after all. What was more difficult was that the history is not presented separately or terribly coherently, so from that point onwards when I'd decided I'd had enough of the travelogue I had to painstakingly pick the bits of history out of the main body of the text as I read through the remainder of the book.

Still, it was enlightening in some aspects - notably that the figure of Santa Claus didn't solidify into his current form until as late as the 19th century, and that he re-invaded Europe after having crystallised into today's model in America.

Ultimately however just not the book I had hoped it would be.

6 out of 10.

[Paul Pensom · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting but also a frustrating book; a record of the mythical journey from Saint to Santa taken by the 4th century Turkish bishop St. Nicholas, it was exasperating because the author used the story as the pretext to write a rather tedious Levantine travelogue.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I'd known that was what I was reading, but since it was Santa I was after, it quickly became annoying. Also, the balance of the book was wrong: there was far too much time spent in the eastern Mediterranean, trundling from church to church, and not enough on the later period, which is more interesting in my opinion, when the Saint starts to coalesce into the secular figure which we recognise today.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in the days leading up to Christmas 2016. It had been haunting my shelves for a few years now, and I am relieved that I've finally knocked it over.

Essentially the story of St. Nicholas of Myra - a Byzantine christian saint.

Really, this is the story of the all christian saints, their lives recorded, rerecorded, celebrated and revered, the passing on of knowledge and the preservation of knowledge, fact and story.

This really would make a great television documentary. I could imagine Jeremy Seal's voice over as he travels to each of the locations, sees the sites and the close up shots of early and medieval art. Actually, the delivery would probably be more enjoyable - rather than the 3 stars I've given here.

[Rosanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The descriptions of Turkey are wonderful! It was nice to feel as though I was traveling while reading a book. I especially like the author's visit to the rooftop chapel, Lapland, and the bus ride through England. The descriptions of Italy could have been better.

I thought that the narration was a bit strange. The author has written the book as though St. Nicholas intended to become famous and morph into Santa Claus.

I would not recommend this book for children because it makes several references to prostitution and contains quotes with foul language in one chapter. However, the story of St. Nicholas could not be told without mention of that theme.

[Suzie Grogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a typical Christmas book. it is a well researched 'biography' of Santa which spends two thirds of its length discussing his origins as St Nicholas and how that venerable saint managed to manouevre himself into the right places at the right times to become the 'father' of Christmas. Fascinating, rich in detail and ultimately a book that really does convince, despite all the current commercialisation, that there is an element of truth in the genuine goodness of the season.

[Crazy Uncle Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was extremely good. The author traced the origins of the Santa Claus myth with a high degree of scholarship and I really liked how it was formatted in such a way as to make me really feel like I was along for the journey. This book is great for anyone who is interested in learning more about how we got the icon we know as Santa Claus.

[Mimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like other reviewers have said, this book is very odd in perspective and writing style. Dense paragraphs that you need to read more than once, a travelogue with the author prominently inserted into the narrative, and the character of St. Nicholas is seen as intentionally manipulating his hagiography.
Interesting for the history and for the places, but not absorbing, and not one I'd recommend.

[Matt Spaulding · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't even make it through a dozen chapters. Dry prose and a strange perspective make this a very tough read. The author forces his uninteresting personal travel into the narrative and frames St. Nicholas as a glory hound.

Much better histories of the legend of Santa Claus have been written. I suggest you find them.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times interesting at times rather dull travel book focusing on the genesis of Santa Claus, with too much analysis on his origins as St Nicholas in Myra, and too little on the transformation to more modern incarnations.

[Joshua Duffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty impressive journey this guy went on to write the book, and it was a decent book; but I didn't much care for his writing style, and it just didn't keep my interest much. Personal preferences kept me from enjoying this one more, I guess.

[Lara]

I tried to get into this book, but I couldn't.

[Nate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone needs to buy the rights to the title of this book and re-write the book that truly aspires to the great title. When you pick it up, you are expecting the definitive work on how the real St. Nicholas of Eastern Orthodoxy was transformed into a symbol of consumerism. What you get is a poorly written rambling of an author who doesn't even know the difference between active and passive voice. A true shame of a book... the publisher should have hired another author to execute the concept as every high school english teacher is washing their proverbial mouths out with soap having to explain to their students that this actually made it past an editor.