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The Penguin Book of... (Penguin Classics)
The Penguin Book of Dragons
Two thousand years of legend and lore about the menace and majesty of dragons, which have breathed fire into our imaginations from ancient Rome to Game of Thrones
A Penguin Classic
The most popular mythological creature in the human imagination, dragons have provoked fear and fascination for their lethal venom and crushing coils, and as avatars of the Antichrist, servants of Satan, couriers of the damned to Hell, portents of disaster, and harbingers of the last days. Here are accounts spanning millennia and continents of these monsters that mark the boundary between the known and the unknown, including: their origins in the deserts of Africa; their struggles with their mortal enemies, elephants, in the jungles of South Asia; their fear of lightning; the world's first dragon slayer, in an ancient collection of Sanskrit hymns; the colossal sea monster Leviathan; the seven-headed "great red dragon" of the Book of Revelation; the Loch Ness monster; the dragon in Beowulf, who inspired Smaug in Tolkien's The Hobbit; the dragons in the prophecies of the wizard Merlin; a dragon saved from a centipede in Japan who gifts his human savior a magical bag of rice; the supernatural feathered serpent of ancient Mesoamerica; and a flatulent dragon the size of the Trojan Horse. From the dark halls of the Lonely Mountain to the blue skies of Westeros, we expect dragons to be gigantic, reptilian predators with massive, bat-like wings, who wreak havoc defending the gold they have hoarded in the deep places of the earth. But dragons are full of surprises, as is this book.
A Penguin Classic
The most popular mythological creature in the human imagination, dragons have provoked fear and fascination for their lethal venom and crushing coils, and as avatars of the Antichrist, servants of Satan, couriers of the damned to Hell, portents of disaster, and harbingers of the last days. Here are accounts spanning millennia and continents of these monsters that mark the boundary between the known and the unknown, including: their origins in the deserts of Africa; their struggles with their mortal enemies, elephants, in the jungles of South Asia; their fear of lightning; the world's first dragon slayer, in an ancient collection of Sanskrit hymns; the colossal sea monster Leviathan; the seven-headed "great red dragon" of the Book of Revelation; the Loch Ness monster; the dragon in Beowulf, who inspired Smaug in Tolkien's The Hobbit; the dragons in the prophecies of the wizard Merlin; a dragon saved from a centipede in Japan who gifts his human savior a magical bag of rice; the supernatural feathered serpent of ancient Mesoamerica; and a flatulent dragon the size of the Trojan Horse. From the dark halls of the Lonely Mountain to the blue skies of Westeros, we expect dragons to be gigantic, reptilian predators with massive, bat-like wings, who wreak havoc defending the gold they have hoarded in the deep places of the earth. But dragons are full of surprises, as is this book.
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2021
91 people are currently reading
2004 people want to read
About the author
Scott G. Bruce
14 books34 followersScott G. Bruce is an historian of religion and culture in the early and central Middle Ages (c. 400-1200). He teaches in the Department of History at the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Classics. His research interests include monasticism, hagiography and Latin poetry. He is a specialist on the history of the abbey of Cluny. His work has been funded by the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation.
SGB is the author of Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism: The Cluniac Tradition (c. 900-1200) (Cambridge, 2007) and the editor of Ecologies and Economies in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Studies in Environmental History for Richard C. Hoffmann (Leiden, 2010). His articles have appeared in Revue bénédictine, Cîteaux: Commentarii cistercienses, The Journal of Medieval Latin, and Early Medieval Europe.
SGB is an enthusiastic participant in the Medieval Academy of America (MAA). He is recently served a two-year term on the MAA Nominating Committee (2012-14) and is currently serving a three-year term on the MAA AHA Program Committee (2013-17).
SGB is Director of the University of Colorado's Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (CMEMS) for a three-year term (2013-2016).
SGB is the author of Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism: The Cluniac Tradition (c. 900-1200) (Cambridge, 2007) and the editor of Ecologies and Economies in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Studies in Environmental History for Richard C. Hoffmann (Leiden, 2010). His articles have appeared in Revue bénédictine, Cîteaux: Commentarii cistercienses, The Journal of Medieval Latin, and Early Medieval Europe.
SGB is an enthusiastic participant in the Medieval Academy of America (MAA). He is recently served a two-year term on the MAA Nominating Committee (2012-14) and is currently serving a three-year term on the MAA AHA Program Committee (2013-17).
SGB is Director of the University of Colorado's Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (CMEMS) for a three-year term (2013-2016).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
August 26, 2023
From the blurb, I was expecting some sort of semi-scholarly analysis of dragons with accompanying quotes/references spanning the globe and recorded history. What we actually got was a series of excerpts from various texts (mostly old, mostly Christian, some only vaguely dragonish because apparently snakes = dragons?), preceded by an all too brief commentary and summary of those stories/texts. The repetition was tedious. Some of the excerpts were new-to-me and interesting, the rest, not so much.
September 29, 2021
I received an Advanced Read Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is well researched and well written covering the history of dragons in every area of the world. Much of it is dense with information that will be new to most who only know dragons through popular fiction.
Recommended to those who enjoy dragon literature.
This book is well researched and well written covering the history of dragons in every area of the world. Much of it is dense with information that will be new to most who only know dragons through popular fiction.
Recommended to those who enjoy dragon literature.
February 28, 2024
This is a wonderful encyclopedia of dragon lore. I wish there had been a bit more contextual commentary for each entry, but that was not the purpose of the book. A Lizardy Sort of Beast by Kenneth Grahame was so, so good. I will be reading it to Murphy when she gets a bit older.
March 20, 2022
The Penguin Book of Dragons is a fascinating collection of writing referencing this famous mythic beast, with examples dating from about 1500BC, to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
When I was at university in the 1980s, one of my courses covered what was called ‘agitprop’, a kind of aggressive, black and white theatrical style used to push a political agenda. Dragons started out in life with a starring role in what you might call religiously inspired agitprop. Heroes of all religious shades, wishing to acquire an impressive reputation, required a formidable enemy to defeat. The scarier the enemy, the more impressive the chosen one’s triumph. Drawing perhaps on an instinctive fear of snakes, a ferocious, fire-breathing serpent evolved to take on the task of symbolic enemy. For millennia this super snake was a tool, actually more a blunt instrument, used to build up heroes, run down opponents, or maintain discipline - in the ‘go to bed or the monster will get you’ sense. The Loch Ness Monster derived from accounts of this kind. In a more general context the dragon became a symbol of temptation or greed. While Genesis had a serpent persuading Eve to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, later more secular incarnations were characteristically portrayed as guardians of cursed treasure hoards.
So pervasive was dragon imagery, so tied into primeval desires and fears, that early scientists bent themselves out of shape trying to make a mythic animal into a real one. In the case of the Loch Ness Monster, scientific investigations continued until quite recently - a 2019 DNA study of the loch showing a large eel population.
Slowly as the centuries went by, with people became at least a little more rational, these ferocious creatures began to lose their power. Though one scurrilous eighteenth century journalist suggested there were dragons living near Horsham, Sussex, their habitats were generally located in conveniently distant, inaccessible locations, the kind of places that were progressively squeezed away by the advance of knowledge and technology. By the early twentieth century, dragons had been tamed into cute characters in children’s stories, by writers such as Kenneth Grahame and Edith Nesbit.
And yet, all the human characteristics which gave birth to dragons still survive. People remain greedy, vulnerable to temptation, and are still prone to an irrational simplification of complicated situations into an easily digested agitprop. We might be more scientific these days, but irrationality in many ways is still a potent force, as seen in modern conspiracy theories and misinformation. Perhaps The Penguin Book of Dragons presents the trajectory of its narrative a little too neatly. There remain, after all, echoes of former dragon powers in Tolkien’s Smaug, and in the hatchlings of Westeros, which, in the Game of Thrones books, mark the return of a long-lost species of a fire breathing reptile to the world. Perhaps that return in George R.R. Martin’s hugely successful book series is instructive. Maybe dragons continue to lurk, not now in dark corners of the world, but in dark corners of the human mind from whence they originally emerged.
The Penguin Book of Dragons uses a mythic creature to access a huge range of literature in different times and places, all linked by a common thread. I enjoyed it.
When I was at university in the 1980s, one of my courses covered what was called ‘agitprop’, a kind of aggressive, black and white theatrical style used to push a political agenda. Dragons started out in life with a starring role in what you might call religiously inspired agitprop. Heroes of all religious shades, wishing to acquire an impressive reputation, required a formidable enemy to defeat. The scarier the enemy, the more impressive the chosen one’s triumph. Drawing perhaps on an instinctive fear of snakes, a ferocious, fire-breathing serpent evolved to take on the task of symbolic enemy. For millennia this super snake was a tool, actually more a blunt instrument, used to build up heroes, run down opponents, or maintain discipline - in the ‘go to bed or the monster will get you’ sense. The Loch Ness Monster derived from accounts of this kind. In a more general context the dragon became a symbol of temptation or greed. While Genesis had a serpent persuading Eve to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, later more secular incarnations were characteristically portrayed as guardians of cursed treasure hoards.
So pervasive was dragon imagery, so tied into primeval desires and fears, that early scientists bent themselves out of shape trying to make a mythic animal into a real one. In the case of the Loch Ness Monster, scientific investigations continued until quite recently - a 2019 DNA study of the loch showing a large eel population.
Slowly as the centuries went by, with people became at least a little more rational, these ferocious creatures began to lose their power. Though one scurrilous eighteenth century journalist suggested there were dragons living near Horsham, Sussex, their habitats were generally located in conveniently distant, inaccessible locations, the kind of places that were progressively squeezed away by the advance of knowledge and technology. By the early twentieth century, dragons had been tamed into cute characters in children’s stories, by writers such as Kenneth Grahame and Edith Nesbit.
And yet, all the human characteristics which gave birth to dragons still survive. People remain greedy, vulnerable to temptation, and are still prone to an irrational simplification of complicated situations into an easily digested agitprop. We might be more scientific these days, but irrationality in many ways is still a potent force, as seen in modern conspiracy theories and misinformation. Perhaps The Penguin Book of Dragons presents the trajectory of its narrative a little too neatly. There remain, after all, echoes of former dragon powers in Tolkien’s Smaug, and in the hatchlings of Westeros, which, in the Game of Thrones books, mark the return of a long-lost species of a fire breathing reptile to the world. Perhaps that return in George R.R. Martin’s hugely successful book series is instructive. Maybe dragons continue to lurk, not now in dark corners of the world, but in dark corners of the human mind from whence they originally emerged.
The Penguin Book of Dragons uses a mythic creature to access a huge range of literature in different times and places, all linked by a common thread. I enjoyed it.
February 4, 2025
this has GOT to be one of my most disappointing reads ever.
(i'm ranking this because I read over 60%)
this book is a sad example of what an anthology has the potential to be. it was clunky- put together with practically no editing - tell me why I had to read the SAME paragraph. THREE different times. on completely different pages, regarding completely different topics. Obscene.
Here is the paragraph in question. The dragon is larger than all other Serpents or even all other animals on earth. The Greeks call this creature draconta, from which we derive the Latin word draco. Drawn forth from its caves, the dragon often takes flight and disturbs the air. It is plumed with a small mouth and narrow windpipes through which it draws breath and sticks out its tongue. It's strength lies not in its teeth, but in its tail and it kills by lashing rather than by biting. Moreover, the dragon is unharmed by venom to cause death because whatever it wraps itself around soon perishes. (it goes on)
This paragraph repeats itself. VERBATIM. on page 86, 90, and 107. There is no FATHOMABLE reason as to why an author would publish a paragraph, word for word, multiple times in less than twenty pages. (let alone the whole damn book) If the author is convinced the reader is stupid- don't write a fucking book and question my intelligence like that. If it's a mistake- Penguin Classics need to step up their game. I do not give one shit if the paragraph was quoting something. It should not be here multiple times.
Following that, my opinion on the "quoting." This book wasn't written. It is a collection of other people's stories that the author put together in one book, wrote a bit on the history of and published. This was described as an anthology about the history of Dragons, how they have matured and changed throughout mythology over time, how these myths have inspired others, etc, etc.
Why the hell did I receive a recount of every ancient text regarding dragons in the last millennia? FOR PAGES. If I wanted to read Beowulf, I would pick up the poem and read it. I didn't pick up THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS to spend 17 pages reading BEOWULF.
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
This is the entire book. The author occasionally will provide some background on what you're about to read from, but the context is barely enough to even understand what is going on before the excerpt started.
Not to mention how rooted this book is in Christianity and Catholicism. It brushes over Eastern influences in the section deemed to it- but the Christian references are in EVERY OTHER PART of the goddamn book. I'd prefer no religious bias in an intellectual novel please.
This was a genuine and complete waste of my time, and I refuse to spend anymore time reading poems and stories that have barely anything to do with dragons. I wanted to sit here and read a collection of anthologies about INFORMATION about dragons. I wanted to not READ the stories written 400 years ago, but have a recount about their effect on the mythology of dragons.
Two thousand years of legend and lore, and about 30 minutes of editing.
Complete and utter disappointment.
(i'm ranking this because I read over 60%)
this book is a sad example of what an anthology has the potential to be. it was clunky- put together with practically no editing - tell me why I had to read the SAME paragraph. THREE different times. on completely different pages, regarding completely different topics. Obscene.
Here is the paragraph in question. The dragon is larger than all other Serpents or even all other animals on earth. The Greeks call this creature draconta, from which we derive the Latin word draco. Drawn forth from its caves, the dragon often takes flight and disturbs the air. It is plumed with a small mouth and narrow windpipes through which it draws breath and sticks out its tongue. It's strength lies not in its teeth, but in its tail and it kills by lashing rather than by biting. Moreover, the dragon is unharmed by venom to cause death because whatever it wraps itself around soon perishes. (it goes on)
This paragraph repeats itself. VERBATIM. on page 86, 90, and 107. There is no FATHOMABLE reason as to why an author would publish a paragraph, word for word, multiple times in less than twenty pages. (let alone the whole damn book) If the author is convinced the reader is stupid- don't write a fucking book and question my intelligence like that. If it's a mistake- Penguin Classics need to step up their game. I do not give one shit if the paragraph was quoting something. It should not be here multiple times.
Following that, my opinion on the "quoting." This book wasn't written. It is a collection of other people's stories that the author put together in one book, wrote a bit on the history of and published. This was described as an anthology about the history of Dragons, how they have matured and changed throughout mythology over time, how these myths have inspired others, etc, etc.
Why the hell did I receive a recount of every ancient text regarding dragons in the last millennia? FOR PAGES. If I wanted to read Beowulf, I would pick up the poem and read it. I didn't pick up THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS to spend 17 pages reading BEOWULF.
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
This is the entire book. The author occasionally will provide some background on what you're about to read from, but the context is barely enough to even understand what is going on before the excerpt started.
Not to mention how rooted this book is in Christianity and Catholicism. It brushes over Eastern influences in the section deemed to it- but the Christian references are in EVERY OTHER PART of the goddamn book. I'd prefer no religious bias in an intellectual novel please.
This was a genuine and complete waste of my time, and I refuse to spend anymore time reading poems and stories that have barely anything to do with dragons. I wanted to sit here and read a collection of anthologies about INFORMATION about dragons. I wanted to not READ the stories written 400 years ago, but have a recount about their effect on the mythology of dragons.
Two thousand years of legend and lore, and about 30 minutes of editing.
Complete and utter disappointment.
January 20, 2025
This is actually more of a historical dragon source book than a deep-dive analysing how thinking about dragons has evolved over time. I prefer it this way, reading these sources (as a historian) is very inspiring, it feels far more authentic than reading an anthology of adapted stories. While I do think the introductions to each source could be a little bit more in-depth or analytical, I’ve greatly enjoyed reading the entirety of this book.
Reading these texts chronologically really helps one appreciate the long-term evolution of how dragons as a symbol of evil and emissary of the devil evolved into a far more malleable template that allows for comedic, heroic, and kindhearted dragons. I greatly enjoyed Silius Italicus’ first-century description of an altercation with a dragon near the Bagrada river. This was written with all the dramatic flair and action of a modern film script! Yet I was especially surprised by Edward Topsell’s 16th-century exposition of dragons: this was basically kinky dragon-maiden smut (never thought I’d see that in a premodern text!). Finally, I was amused and charmed by the shortstories at the end (perhaps most of all Edith Nesbit’s ‘The Last of the Dragons’ aka “your kindness quite undragons me”), where the dragons have become quintessentially British gentlemen who can’t be bothered with all that killing and terrifying people sort of nonsense.
In general, this book does mostly feel like a very ‘English’ take on dragons throughout history, especially from the Late Middle Ages onwards. This is most evident from the sparseness of stories and lore pertaining to Eastern (or Southern, for that matter) cultures. There is a section for these stories, but it feels like an afterthought in comparison to the rest. A missed opportunity. Still, a fascinating read. I hope someone feels inspired to pick up the torch and compile a big compendium of historical dragon sources from all over the world!
Reading these texts chronologically really helps one appreciate the long-term evolution of how dragons as a symbol of evil and emissary of the devil evolved into a far more malleable template that allows for comedic, heroic, and kindhearted dragons. I greatly enjoyed Silius Italicus’ first-century description of an altercation with a dragon near the Bagrada river. This was written with all the dramatic flair and action of a modern film script! Yet I was especially surprised by Edward Topsell’s 16th-century exposition of dragons: this was basically kinky dragon-maiden smut (never thought I’d see that in a premodern text!). Finally, I was amused and charmed by the shortstories at the end (perhaps most of all Edith Nesbit’s ‘The Last of the Dragons’ aka “your kindness quite undragons me”), where the dragons have become quintessentially British gentlemen who can’t be bothered with all that killing and terrifying people sort of nonsense.
In general, this book does mostly feel like a very ‘English’ take on dragons throughout history, especially from the Late Middle Ages onwards. This is most evident from the sparseness of stories and lore pertaining to Eastern (or Southern, for that matter) cultures. There is a section for these stories, but it feels like an afterthought in comparison to the rest. A missed opportunity. Still, a fascinating read. I hope someone feels inspired to pick up the torch and compile a big compendium of historical dragon sources from all over the world!
July 30, 2023
I was doubting whether I should give this three or four stars, meaning that technically my rating is 3.5 stars, but I'm going to round it down to 3 for the sake of this review.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to read how the depictions of dragons have changed over time and across cultures, and I especially adored the final two stories. However, my enjoyment of this book was greatly lessened by the large focus on medieval European texts, all with a strong focus on Christianity. About two or three parts of the book (and thus many separate chapters) were dedicated to this, whereas the parts dealing with non-Western depictions of dragons consisted of a mere five chapters in total. It would have been nice to see only a few examples taken from medieval Europe in order to include more cultures than was now the case. Nonetheless, the book was quite interesting, and I do generally recommend it to anyone who either reads a lot of fantasy or who just simply likes dragons.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to read how the depictions of dragons have changed over time and across cultures, and I especially adored the final two stories. However, my enjoyment of this book was greatly lessened by the large focus on medieval European texts, all with a strong focus on Christianity. About two or three parts of the book (and thus many separate chapters) were dedicated to this, whereas the parts dealing with non-Western depictions of dragons consisted of a mere five chapters in total. It would have been nice to see only a few examples taken from medieval Europe in order to include more cultures than was now the case. Nonetheless, the book was quite interesting, and I do generally recommend it to anyone who either reads a lot of fantasy or who just simply likes dragons.
September 22, 2022
Saw this in a library, thought it'd be interesting to read some dragon myths. The further in I got, the harder it became to remind myself that dragons don't really exist. People have attributed so many different characteristics and meanings to them across times and places.
The first few passages were familiar despite my not having read them previously, which was cool in itself, as it affirmed how contemporary media continues to draw on these ancient stories. But the medieval European lore section is pretty dry and repetitive - surely just one source could have been quoted, with an editorial note or something. Apart from that, I wish the Asian section were longer. The anthology as a whole is skewed towards the Western world. Still, the final couple of stories are endearing.
Overall, my main complaint is that I want more scholarly commentary. The introduction is brief, to the point, and exciting - and then we just never quite regain that feeling. If there are people who study dragon lore, hit me with their observations! Don't just toss the original texts at me with a cursory summary preceding each one.
The first few passages were familiar despite my not having read them previously, which was cool in itself, as it affirmed how contemporary media continues to draw on these ancient stories. But the medieval European lore section is pretty dry and repetitive - surely just one source could have been quoted, with an editorial note or something. Apart from that, I wish the Asian section were longer. The anthology as a whole is skewed towards the Western world. Still, the final couple of stories are endearing.
Overall, my main complaint is that I want more scholarly commentary. The introduction is brief, to the point, and exciting - and then we just never quite regain that feeling. If there are people who study dragon lore, hit me with their observations! Don't just toss the original texts at me with a cursory summary preceding each one.
January 15, 2023
Сборник упомин��ний о драконах от античности до нашего времени. Довольно много повторов, в целом, мне не понравилось, как составлена книга. Есть интересные рассказы, например, японские мифы. Красивые иллюстрации.
April 24, 2023
This felt a bit lazy. Based on the description, I had expected an anthropological analysis of the image of the dragon across cultures and time. In the end, it is just a series of excerpts from various texts.
February 3, 2025
I found the concept of this book really interesting, though I didn't really like how it was assembled. It turned out to be a lot of historical texts, each prefaced by a paragraph of context. I found the context much more interesting than the passages chosen and would have preferred a book which was mainly contextualising history filled with short quotes of examples. As it was, I don't really feel like I have a full grasp of the changing portrayals of dragons in literature and didn't take a lot of the texts in. I feel a bit like when you go to a museum and just look at the art and history on display without being told anything about what you are looking at.
November 1, 2024
A good selection of dragon mythology and literature from Europe - provides a great historical overview of how the concept of dragons has changed over time. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in dragons, literature, and history; it covers Europe from Greek mythology to the beginning of the 20th century. I would have liked a little more about dragons in West Asia & East Asia.
For those wanting more scholarly commentary to go along with the sources, this resource might be useful: https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechT...
For those wanting more scholarly commentary to go along with the sources, this resource might be useful: https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechT...
February 28, 2025
A lovely collection. I felt like the final portions were missing something but it’s got some pretty great, interesting and surprising excerpts and choices. Highlights for me were the Japanese folk tales and the ‘factual’ writings by explorers and religious figures throughout history and the world confidently telling you exactly how dragons work. Fun educational stuff that triggers the imagination
June 14, 2023
I wanted to love this book, and the texts presented in it are cool, but I feel like it’s missing something. I wanted more analysis of the texts, bc I’m a dumbass and don’t know the historical context and links of the texts. Also, I wish that the book focused less on Christian mythology and devoted some more time to other cultures and their perspectives on dragons.
May 15, 2023
This little anthology gathers a decent selection of dragon-centric tales from the broader mythological, theological and folkloric record. Or, well, for the most part: the last two stories featured in the collection are children's fiction from the early 20th century, but those are meant to illustrate the evolution of the dragon as archetypal beast in the (specifically) Western story-telling canon. And yes, I'll concede pride of place is somewhat given to said Western canon, and even more specifically to the Greco-Roman and Medieval Christian ones, though the collection also features stories from the Near and Middle East, and the Asian continent.
And it was fine. I think this book serves as a good textual reference if you're interested in the history of classical dragon lore and dragon-centric story-telling... but I didn't really find it engaging beyond this, shall we say, documentary aspect? There was, after all, a fair bit of repetition between stories, and the whole "Dragon/Serpent as Satan needs to be slain by a valiant Christian martyr, saint or knight" thing, whilst certainly part of the aforementioned canon like I said, got really tedious after a while. A chunk of Beowulf is also in this anthology, and I just couldn't with the verse narration of yet another male hero being all macho-heroic in slaying his draconic foe. BO-RING. So I just skipped that one. 🤣
So my recommendation here is: read this as non-fiction, in a way, out of scholarly interest; read The Book of Dragons (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...) for more engaging and creative draconic fiction. 😉
And it was fine. I think this book serves as a good textual reference if you're interested in the history of classical dragon lore and dragon-centric story-telling... but I didn't really find it engaging beyond this, shall we say, documentary aspect? There was, after all, a fair bit of repetition between stories, and the whole "Dragon/Serpent as Satan needs to be slain by a valiant Christian martyr, saint or knight" thing, whilst certainly part of the aforementioned canon like I said, got really tedious after a while. A chunk of Beowulf is also in this anthology, and I just couldn't with the verse narration of yet another male hero being all macho-heroic in slaying his draconic foe. BO-RING. So I just skipped that one. 🤣
So my recommendation here is: read this as non-fiction, in a way, out of scholarly interest; read The Book of Dragons (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...) for more engaging and creative draconic fiction. 😉
August 22, 2023
There are no shortages of dust-covered gems hiding in the public domain. Much of that is not in English or any other widely spoken language either. Sadly, some of what's available might not be as accessible as it could be. People reading this might be scratching their heads wondering what I'm talking about, but if anyone goes back far enough then a lot of old texts are exclusively in Latin.
Outside of academia and the Vatican, who speaks Latin? The answer is almost no one. This is why, even though vast resources are available in the public domain, books such as The Penguin Book of Dragons are still worthwhile to read.
Granted, a book such as this probably has a limited audience. It's not really a collection of stories, nor is it explicitly fantasy. Most of the content is oriented around what is a kind of literary history of dragons over the millennia. Beginning with early Greek and Roman tales of dragons, and then moving forward to the early 20th century. The stories and ideas range to different locations, but geography is less important than the depictions of dragons.
And this point about how the place might affect dragons is crucial. The book is not a sort of atlas of dragon stories from around the world. When I told some people what I was going to read the first thing someone requested was to let them know how dragons are represented in their part of the world. This is not that kind of book. Rather, this text shows how dragons represented different notions or were themselves depicted physically in a variety of ways. It's this evolution and variation on the "dragon" that makes the book interesting, at least to me.
Dragons were once the agents of evil, emblematic of corruption and greed, or even real creatures guarding treasures and sacred places. Perhaps they were powerful deities with influence over the elements. Alternatively, they were misunderstood beasts that merely sought friendship. It's clear that over the centuries the roles dragons have played in the popular imagination have changed considerably.
It was interesting as well how there were some similarities, for example, dragons were always in far-off and isolated locations. They were a threat, but because they weren't invading populated areas they remained a distant menace. Only brave heroes sought them out. This idea of dragons living in isolated places has been a fairly consistent theme for as long as stories about dragons have existed. Furthermore, I can say fairly confidently that this idea has been codified in genre fiction. I might be mistaken here, but I'd be up for having that debate.
A second aspect of this book that intrigued me was the idea that dragons were agents of "Evil". They worked for Satan. In stories throughout the past dragons became a sort of parable where their defeat represented the power of God over the Devil-a reason why people should be devout in their religious beliefs. However, as metaphorical as they were being portrayed as, it didn't stop people from insisting that they were real.
There was a third component to this book that made me chuckle a bit while I was reading it. Even though it was likely not intended to be funny, there was a continuity to the stories in this book that I couldn't stop being amused by. Not the stories themselves, but the way they perpetuated themselves. Fantastic tales from the Greeks and Romans were being recited as fact for centuries. Writer after writer would continue to repeat the "historical" accounts. They only just lost credibility because society had changed nearer to our contemporary society. The way these legends, because that's basically what they were, kind of became a game of "Telephone" that lasted from Antiquity almost all the way up to the modern era. It's really quite stunning.
On one hand, it's absurd how unverified narratives of events can simply turn into "fact" in the right conditions. Once Christianity reigned in Europe and well-known religious leaders started parroting these ancient accounts then these tales of dragons became "true". While this may not have been the purpose of the book, I found it difficult to ignore this trend in what became a sort of genealogy of dragon lore. The implications of this kind of behaviour are significant.
On the other hand, when considering the idea that dragons were foul, malicious creatures I found myself thinking back to the film "Usual Suspects". There was a quote from Kevin Spacey's character, Verbal Kent, when he says, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." (The quote is actually by French author Charles Baudelaire, but many people have said similar things as noted here.) What if it was the same with dragons? Maybe we only stopped believing because the idea of gigantic reptilian creatures in isolated places became it merely appeared too far-fetched to believe, but not because it was false. Like so many other superstitions people simply abandoned them, but does that mean there isn't truth to them?
This is a debate for another time and an idea I probably have to entertain on this site. Not for the sake of cryptozoology, but for the debate itself and what we're willing to believe and why. Many people have had different opinions and this maybe needs a bit of exploration for the Pulp Culture Museum. Yet, I digress...
tl;dr, this is a good book for people interested in more than just a story involving dragons. It serves as an international history that explores dragons as an enduring idea that changed over time, as well as their place in literature. I wanted a "What's next" chapter that looked at how dragons have endured, especially in the world of entertainment, and discussed how this role might embed itself further as the years tick by. Despite this, I really enjoyed this book. It was a surprise and I didn't know what to expect, but I appreciate the time Scott G. Bruce spent wading through the dusty tomes of bygone eras to shed some light on one of the most iconic beasts of all time. This book was enjoyable enough that I'll be reading through others in the "The Penguin Book of..." series and it would be a great read for anyone that just really can't get enough of dragons.
Outside of academia and the Vatican, who speaks Latin? The answer is almost no one. This is why, even though vast resources are available in the public domain, books such as The Penguin Book of Dragons are still worthwhile to read.
Granted, a book such as this probably has a limited audience. It's not really a collection of stories, nor is it explicitly fantasy. Most of the content is oriented around what is a kind of literary history of dragons over the millennia. Beginning with early Greek and Roman tales of dragons, and then moving forward to the early 20th century. The stories and ideas range to different locations, but geography is less important than the depictions of dragons.
And this point about how the place might affect dragons is crucial. The book is not a sort of atlas of dragon stories from around the world. When I told some people what I was going to read the first thing someone requested was to let them know how dragons are represented in their part of the world. This is not that kind of book. Rather, this text shows how dragons represented different notions or were themselves depicted physically in a variety of ways. It's this evolution and variation on the "dragon" that makes the book interesting, at least to me.
Dragons were once the agents of evil, emblematic of corruption and greed, or even real creatures guarding treasures and sacred places. Perhaps they were powerful deities with influence over the elements. Alternatively, they were misunderstood beasts that merely sought friendship. It's clear that over the centuries the roles dragons have played in the popular imagination have changed considerably.
It was interesting as well how there were some similarities, for example, dragons were always in far-off and isolated locations. They were a threat, but because they weren't invading populated areas they remained a distant menace. Only brave heroes sought them out. This idea of dragons living in isolated places has been a fairly consistent theme for as long as stories about dragons have existed. Furthermore, I can say fairly confidently that this idea has been codified in genre fiction. I might be mistaken here, but I'd be up for having that debate.
A second aspect of this book that intrigued me was the idea that dragons were agents of "Evil". They worked for Satan. In stories throughout the past dragons became a sort of parable where their defeat represented the power of God over the Devil-a reason why people should be devout in their religious beliefs. However, as metaphorical as they were being portrayed as, it didn't stop people from insisting that they were real.
There was a third component to this book that made me chuckle a bit while I was reading it. Even though it was likely not intended to be funny, there was a continuity to the stories in this book that I couldn't stop being amused by. Not the stories themselves, but the way they perpetuated themselves. Fantastic tales from the Greeks and Romans were being recited as fact for centuries. Writer after writer would continue to repeat the "historical" accounts. They only just lost credibility because society had changed nearer to our contemporary society. The way these legends, because that's basically what they were, kind of became a game of "Telephone" that lasted from Antiquity almost all the way up to the modern era. It's really quite stunning.
On one hand, it's absurd how unverified narratives of events can simply turn into "fact" in the right conditions. Once Christianity reigned in Europe and well-known religious leaders started parroting these ancient accounts then these tales of dragons became "true". While this may not have been the purpose of the book, I found it difficult to ignore this trend in what became a sort of genealogy of dragon lore. The implications of this kind of behaviour are significant.
On the other hand, when considering the idea that dragons were foul, malicious creatures I found myself thinking back to the film "Usual Suspects". There was a quote from Kevin Spacey's character, Verbal Kent, when he says, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." (The quote is actually by French author Charles Baudelaire, but many people have said similar things as noted here.) What if it was the same with dragons? Maybe we only stopped believing because the idea of gigantic reptilian creatures in isolated places became it merely appeared too far-fetched to believe, but not because it was false. Like so many other superstitions people simply abandoned them, but does that mean there isn't truth to them?
This is a debate for another time and an idea I probably have to entertain on this site. Not for the sake of cryptozoology, but for the debate itself and what we're willing to believe and why. Many people have had different opinions and this maybe needs a bit of exploration for the Pulp Culture Museum. Yet, I digress...
tl;dr, this is a good book for people interested in more than just a story involving dragons. It serves as an international history that explores dragons as an enduring idea that changed over time, as well as their place in literature. I wanted a "What's next" chapter that looked at how dragons have endured, especially in the world of entertainment, and discussed how this role might embed itself further as the years tick by. Despite this, I really enjoyed this book. It was a surprise and I didn't know what to expect, but I appreciate the time Scott G. Bruce spent wading through the dusty tomes of bygone eras to shed some light on one of the most iconic beasts of all time. This book was enjoyable enough that I'll be reading through others in the "The Penguin Book of..." series and it would be a great read for anyone that just really can't get enough of dragons.
March 30, 2022
Not at all what I expected, read more like non fiction. There weren’t many actual “stories” just a collection of anecdotes, some of which only mentioned dragons in passing or something that could only be loosely termed as a dragon, Medusa? Always thought she was a gorgon but hey.
January 12, 2022
"Dragons were living and breathing monsters...., but they were always a distant threat, their menace mitigated by time and space." - Scott Bruce
After reading Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books and Tolkein's Hobbit, I found the Book of Dragons to be an excellent companion piece. LeGuin's dragons are ancient magical creatures that are revered whereas Smaug from the Hobbit is a wrathful, cunning & jealous beast. The former's inspiration lies with eastern myths and the latter with the west.
Here Bruce Scott presents a survey of Dragons from folklore, myths, encyclopedic entries, satires, religious texts, children's stories, and poetry. We can trace the shifting attitudes towards these creatures over the centuries.
The Dragon as a wrecking machine:
"Sleek dragon of spite, and soars by night
Ensheathed in flame; him the land-folk
Do sorely dread." - From Beowulf
A knight in shining armor dashes to rescue his princess and secure the treasure. In the process, he saves the village from the creature's tyranny.
As an allegory:
"when he arrived at the clearing, he saw a dragon holding a lion by the tail and burning its flanks with its flaming breath. My lord Yvain did not waste time observing this marvel. He asked himself which of the two he would help." - From The Dragon And The Lion
Political forces shove the clay to fit a mold. Thus, creating either an elegant allegory or a ridiculous tale. Dragons are also represented as symbols of paganism, the devil, Saxons or Normans.
As a historical footnote:
"There be some dragons which have wings and no feet, some again have both feet and wings, and some neither feet nor wings, but are only distinguished from the common sort of serpents by the combe growing upon their heads, and the beard under their cheeks." - A World Full of Dragons
We trace the tradition of encyclopedic entries from the Roman to the British empire. In the process, we gain a better understanding of the unknown and in turn, learn to be tolerant towards them.
As a silly, gentle, and kind companion:
" 'Dragon! Dragon dear!'
'WHAT?' shouted the dragon. 'Say that again!' and they could hear the dragon coming towards them through the darkness of the cave. The Princess shivered, and said in a very small voice:
'Dragon-Dragon dear!'
.......
'Whatever's the matter?' said the Prince.
'Nobody', sobbed the dragon, 'ever called me 'dear' before!' " -Your Kindness Quite Undragons Me
The last two tales make the Dragon a lovable neighbor or an adorable pet.
Finally, as a benevolent spiritual being:
"The gratitude of the Dragon King knew no bounds. The whole family came and bowed down before the warrior, calling him their preserver and the bravest warrior in all Japan." -My Lord Bag of Rice
The divine serpentine grants boon for those with a kind heart.
Regards,
Vinay A
October 25, 2025
This is a very disappointing anthology. I do not feel that this editor was the right choice for The Penguin Book of Dragons. As an historian of religion, there was a preoccupation in this collection with Christianity that I (personally) felt was way off-base to the subject of dragon mythology. It also does a disservice to the topic, which has global origins and ubiquity and is not at all unique to medieval Christian thought. It is almost insulting that Eastern tales of dragons only received a single, brief subsection. Dragons in China should at least receive its own dedicated section, if not multiple covering wide spans of time such that Western Europe received, but inclusions of dragons outside of Europe very much felt tacked-on so that it could be said the collection covers all its bases.
The best I can say in its favor is that it is nice reference material for many repetitive stories, some of which don't actually use the word dragon or feature creatures resembling them in any way. Many, such as things which relate to Adam and Eve, include mentions of serpents, which I'd argue is only tangential to the discussion of dragons and certainly does not merit the amount of pages dedicated to the discussion of how it might have influenced medieval storytellers. These loose fits only served the editor's seeming purpose of somehow relating every tale to a history of religion.
The commentary in between excerpts (which are usually just summaries) also sometimes include rash conclusions that I take firm issue with, such as the "indebtedness" of certain Eastern stories, like the Persian Book of Kings, to Western perceptions of dragons. This is a strong claim which immediately contradicts itself later by elaborating on how the tale actually follows "Asian traditions" (as vague as that is) by including banter between dragons and humans, something noticeably absent from medieval European depictions. It is audacious to make such a claim of Persia of all places, being the heart of the Silk Road and thus one of the most likely places to feature varied and multicultural representations of dragons, blending those of the East and West. If anything, the 4-5 (at least, I stopped counting) times that the exact same description of dragons living in India and Ethiopia near their eternal foes (elephants) was used seems to suggest the opposite: that the West's image of dragons may actually be indebted to the East.
This is unfortunately rather mistitled and mismarketed. I'd suggest a different name along the vein of "Colonizing Mythology: A Christian History of Dragons" or something to that effect. Perhaps with a different or narrower title or goal, then this would be a nice little collection of excerpts, but I would not recommend it to someone looking for a more comprehensive or respectably academic dive into the history of dragon mythology.
The best I can say in its favor is that it is nice reference material for many repetitive stories, some of which don't actually use the word dragon or feature creatures resembling them in any way. Many, such as things which relate to Adam and Eve, include mentions of serpents, which I'd argue is only tangential to the discussion of dragons and certainly does not merit the amount of pages dedicated to the discussion of how it might have influenced medieval storytellers. These loose fits only served the editor's seeming purpose of somehow relating every tale to a history of religion.
The commentary in between excerpts (which are usually just summaries) also sometimes include rash conclusions that I take firm issue with, such as the "indebtedness" of certain Eastern stories, like the Persian Book of Kings, to Western perceptions of dragons. This is a strong claim which immediately contradicts itself later by elaborating on how the tale actually follows "Asian traditions" (as vague as that is) by including banter between dragons and humans, something noticeably absent from medieval European depictions. It is audacious to make such a claim of Persia of all places, being the heart of the Silk Road and thus one of the most likely places to feature varied and multicultural representations of dragons, blending those of the East and West. If anything, the 4-5 (at least, I stopped counting) times that the exact same description of dragons living in India and Ethiopia near their eternal foes (elephants) was used seems to suggest the opposite: that the West's image of dragons may actually be indebted to the East.
This is unfortunately rather mistitled and mismarketed. I'd suggest a different name along the vein of "Colonizing Mythology: A Christian History of Dragons" or something to that effect. Perhaps with a different or narrower title or goal, then this would be a nice little collection of excerpts, but I would not recommend it to someone looking for a more comprehensive or respectably academic dive into the history of dragon mythology.
February 11, 2025
I read this book in bits and pieces on Kindle, with most of the texts I've heard about and read before. This seems to be another shot at appealing to the growing dragon fan base by writers, with author by his credentials seeming to have more qualifications than others looking at dragons from a historical view anyways.
To begin with a positive, this book does have most of the essential lore to understanding dragons historically as they developed over time. Pliny, Isidore, Topsell, and even Grahme/Nesbit's works are crucial players in the folk understanding of dragons historically wise before the rise of Tolkien, Gygax, etc., so it's nice to see them all here. The other additions vary from nice, at least if history is your thing, to questionable. More on that in a bit.
With the cons, the first is formatting. The introduction is solid and well-researched, while the rest of the book is mostly primary texts with a brief blurb written in Italic at the beginning providing historical context. At least on Kindle, I think it just makes everything a bit clunky for a reason I can't explain. It just doesn't sit well with me. I've looked at other Penguin books of this series and this seems to be a general theme, but honestly if the whole book was like just the introduction with primary sources in an appendix or just spread out in the text, that would've been way cooler.
The second is, like I said, the questionable inclusions (yeah, I am mostly talking about Medusa here, but seriously, it really sticks out like a sore thumb). I sense a lot of inspiration from Ogden, who really emphasizes the snake/dragon connection in his works and considers a lot of snakes in his works dragons even if they're not viewed as such in the popular zeitgeist. While I do understand why Ogden does this as someone interested in dragons from a historical perspective myself, this book seems to be intended for a wider audience then Ogden's. I think the author is missing the mark on this.
Overall, the book's pretty middle of the road for me, hence 3 stars. I think the book is decent as an introduction to dragonlore from a historical perspective and I won't doubt the author's qualifications. I just think there needed to be more insight on the author's part between academic and popular usage of dragons.
To begin with a positive, this book does have most of the essential lore to understanding dragons historically as they developed over time. Pliny, Isidore, Topsell, and even Grahme/Nesbit's works are crucial players in the folk understanding of dragons historically wise before the rise of Tolkien, Gygax, etc., so it's nice to see them all here. The other additions vary from nice, at least if history is your thing, to questionable. More on that in a bit.
With the cons, the first is formatting. The introduction is solid and well-researched, while the rest of the book is mostly primary texts with a brief blurb written in Italic at the beginning providing historical context. At least on Kindle, I think it just makes everything a bit clunky for a reason I can't explain. It just doesn't sit well with me. I've looked at other Penguin books of this series and this seems to be a general theme, but honestly if the whole book was like just the introduction with primary sources in an appendix or just spread out in the text, that would've been way cooler.
The second is, like I said, the questionable inclusions (yeah, I am mostly talking about Medusa here, but seriously, it really sticks out like a sore thumb). I sense a lot of inspiration from Ogden, who really emphasizes the snake/dragon connection in his works and considers a lot of snakes in his works dragons even if they're not viewed as such in the popular zeitgeist. While I do understand why Ogden does this as someone interested in dragons from a historical perspective myself, this book seems to be intended for a wider audience then Ogden's. I think the author is missing the mark on this.
Overall, the book's pretty middle of the road for me, hence 3 stars. I think the book is decent as an introduction to dragonlore from a historical perspective and I won't doubt the author's qualifications. I just think there needed to be more insight on the author's part between academic and popular usage of dragons.
October 10, 2025
The Penguin Book of Dragons collects texts about dragons from a wide range of sources, including:
The Greco-Roman world
Early Christian texts
Northern European literature
Medieval Europe
Byzantium
Asia
and all the way to children’s literature.
If you’re interested in how dragons have been understood and portrayed through the ages and in different cultural contexts, this is the book for you. Most of the translations are easy to read and there’s enough from each category that I could get a good sense of how dragons were seen differently in each culture – I thought the way dragons were treated in apocryphal literature to be particularly interesting.
Unlike The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse, which had a long and detailed introduction to the genre, The Penguin Book of Dragons prefers to give short prefaces to each section. So if you’re looking for analysis, you might want to find another book to supplement your reading (and I definitely want to read more analysis about how dragons have been viewed and how that view has involved – please send your recommendations if you have any)!
If you’re a fan of dragons and you’re looking to read more widely about them, this is definitely the book for you. Some of the texts are extracts, so I can see this as a good jumping off point to other books as well.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
The Greco-Roman world
Early Christian texts
Northern European literature
Medieval Europe
Byzantium
Asia
and all the way to children’s literature.
If you’re interested in how dragons have been understood and portrayed through the ages and in different cultural contexts, this is the book for you. Most of the translations are easy to read and there’s enough from each category that I could get a good sense of how dragons were seen differently in each culture – I thought the way dragons were treated in apocryphal literature to be particularly interesting.
Unlike The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse, which had a long and detailed introduction to the genre, The Penguin Book of Dragons prefers to give short prefaces to each section. So if you’re looking for analysis, you might want to find another book to supplement your reading (and I definitely want to read more analysis about how dragons have been viewed and how that view has involved – please send your recommendations if you have any)!
If you’re a fan of dragons and you’re looking to read more widely about them, this is definitely the book for you. Some of the texts are extracts, so I can see this as a good jumping off point to other books as well.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
June 30, 2025
Such a compelling & amusing read! I learnt so much reading this book & enjoyed almost every reference (is that the right word?) — some parts went on a bit too much but mostly the passages chosen were fascinating & engaging. I loved dragon stories before this book but now I’ll appreciate them in an entirely different way whenever they feature in a book I pick up.
There are so many parts that I want to share with others (my mum is sick of hearing about dragons) & I’ve underlined & tabbed loads of bits that I found interesting or funny; honestly some of the things written about dragons in the past are absolutely wild! And not just dragons either, apparently we once believed insects came from the faeces of animals — for example, bees from cow dung! And apparently elephants & dragons are mortal enemies! Utterly ridiculous but fabulous to read about. I also didn’t know how much dragons feature in Christian literature; I found those parts especially interesting.
Scott G. Bruce must have the most incredible brain after the research that went into collating this book & I’m so curious about how long it took, what passages didn’t make the cut & what his favourite story is. Honestly, if I’d been given this task, the book would be ten times as long as it is because I would have no idea what to cut & what to keep — overall he’s done a great job with it though. Some of it is really convincing as well, & has left me wondering how we can possibly be so sure that dragons have never existed.
There’s a collection of these books covering topics like mermaids, the undead & hell, & I hope I’m able to read all of them eventually because this one was just jam packed with brilliant pieces of history. I am so, so glad I came across this at the library & that I later bought my own copy to write all over.
There are so many parts that I want to share with others (my mum is sick of hearing about dragons) & I’ve underlined & tabbed loads of bits that I found interesting or funny; honestly some of the things written about dragons in the past are absolutely wild! And not just dragons either, apparently we once believed insects came from the faeces of animals — for example, bees from cow dung! And apparently elephants & dragons are mortal enemies! Utterly ridiculous but fabulous to read about. I also didn’t know how much dragons feature in Christian literature; I found those parts especially interesting.
Scott G. Bruce must have the most incredible brain after the research that went into collating this book & I’m so curious about how long it took, what passages didn’t make the cut & what his favourite story is. Honestly, if I’d been given this task, the book would be ten times as long as it is because I would have no idea what to cut & what to keep — overall he’s done a great job with it though. Some of it is really convincing as well, & has left me wondering how we can possibly be so sure that dragons have never existed.
There’s a collection of these books covering topics like mermaids, the undead & hell, & I hope I’m able to read all of them eventually because this one was just jam packed with brilliant pieces of history. I am so, so glad I came across this at the library & that I later bought my own copy to write all over.
September 27, 2024
Picked this up on a whim at the bookstore. Perhaps I should have skimmed through the book first - was expecting more essays on the many different chronicles and interpretations of dragons and dragon-kin with a few snippets and quotations from said chronicles. Instead it was the other way around - a single paragraph summarizing the sample text with the actual chronicle taking precedence.
The 'Further Reading' and bibliography might be worth the purchase price. Otherwise treat this more like a reference/encyclopedia than an actual text.
A few of things of interest I learned:
Medieval and early modern Europeans continuously quote verbatim ancient sources. Tracks with just about every theologian/philosopher relying solely on Aristotle and/or Plato during this period.
Medieval people did, in fact, have a sense of humor (see: the farting dragon story)
Eastern mythologies of dragons are more varied, making them more interesting (for me!)
The 'Further Reading' and bibliography might be worth the purchase price. Otherwise treat this more like a reference/encyclopedia than an actual text.
A few of things of interest I learned:
Medieval and early modern Europeans continuously quote verbatim ancient sources. Tracks with just about every theologian/philosopher relying solely on Aristotle and/or Plato during this period.
Medieval people did, in fact, have a sense of humor (see: the farting dragon story)
Eastern mythologies of dragons are more varied, making them more interesting (for me!)
August 15, 2023
This book by Scott G. Bruce is part of series he has written over different supernatural phenomena in literature. The image of a dragon is common in literature throughout time and geography, and it makes one wonder if dragon did exist or is this just a common vision of the human imagination. The collection of stories and poetry in this book begin with Hercules and Lacoon, and span through all cultures and times including British and Asian literature. Games of Thrones is a of course a good example of this type of story telling, and the dragons are possessed with a certain type of morality. Do we project our own longing for control onto reptiles, and give the wings and make destructive? It is an interesting concept.
May 23, 2025
A pretty poorly put-together collection. A lot of the excerpts themselves are interesting, if a bit repetitive--they claim to go around the world but we do hear a lot about the power of Christ defeating these dragons. What really sinks it is the editing: the notes are woefully sparse and close to useless when they do appear, antiquated pieces aren't updated into modern English (is there some reason we can't change the spelling of Edmund Spenser?), and some inclusions really needed to be cut down to avoid tedium (Spenser, again). Needed to go most of the way back to the drawing board on this one.
February 11, 2024
Dragons are real in every way that matters ❤
On a less positive note, if I had a nickel for every time I read a book called "The Book of Dragons", I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's sad that I was disappointed by both of them.
This book is made up of excerpts, most of which are very short and repetitive. One chapter full of male Christian heroes slaying evil dragons would end just for another one to begin. I wanted some more information on Eastern dragons, but these stories were almost entirely Western.
On a less positive note, if I had a nickel for every time I read a book called "The Book of Dragons", I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's sad that I was disappointed by both of them.
This book is made up of excerpts, most of which are very short and repetitive. One chapter full of male Christian heroes slaying evil dragons would end just for another one to begin. I wanted some more information on Eastern dragons, but these stories were almost entirely Western.
August 16, 2024
In realtà si tratta di un ottimo libro, ma le fonti riportate vengono presentate "ridotte all'osso". Non vi è alcuna preparazione circa gli estratti che vengono riportati, divisi per argomento, periodo e zona geografica. Di conseguenza, appare leggermente dispersivo e ripetitivo (perché gli estratti, specie antichi, tendono a ripetersi e a citarsi a vicenda). Non consigliato per un appassionato che vuole leggere cose nuove sui draghi, raccomandato invece a chi stesse collezionando spezzoni e fonti dei draghi dalle prime civiltà ai giorni nostri.
August 21, 2024
A very good collection of fragments tracing dragon lore all the way from the Ancient times to some of its contemporary counterparts. The book is quite focused on the Christian backdrop of many textual instances of dragons in the past, but the book is constantly trying to comprehend the limits of analyzing only this body of texts. Thus, the organizer of this edition creates a section dedicated to Asian dragons, which is very interesting but does not stretch itself as much as other bits of the book do.
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