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anetherealpursuit's review against another edition
1.0
I decided not to finish this book, despite being the kind of person that will always finish a book regardless of how boring it is. This book was certainly not boring, however.
I was expecting a book about the origins of werewolves. What I got instead were continuous cases of cannibalism and torture with only a few of them actually relating to werewolves (usually people dressed in wolf skins or diseased in their mind to truly believe they were wolves). If these cases had all related to werewolves then I might have finished, but this was not the case. Morbid curiosity might have driven me to finish, but it got to the point that I was actually feeling physically sick from the book because these cases are a part of human history and I no longer felt it was worth continuing. Maybe one day I'll finish it, maybe. But I wouldn't count on it. This is not something I want to learn to stomach. If you want to hear a history on cannibalism and torture, I recommend this book. Otherwise, I suggest not...
I was expecting a book about the origins of werewolves. What I got instead were continuous cases of cannibalism and torture with only a few of them actually relating to werewolves (usually people dressed in wolf skins or diseased in their mind to truly believe they were wolves). If these cases had all related to werewolves then I might have finished, but this was not the case. Morbid curiosity might have driven me to finish, but it got to the point that I was actually feeling physically sick from the book because these cases are a part of human history and I no longer felt it was worth continuing. Maybe one day I'll finish it, maybe. But I wouldn't count on it. This is not something I want to learn to stomach. If you want to hear a history on cannibalism and torture, I recommend this book. Otherwise, I suggest not...
_m_sarai's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. A great wealth interesting information, historical tales and mythology ideal for those interested in traditional werewolf lore, though it can be a bit scatterbrained at times with seemingly no particular order of the given information, but that didn't really bother me, I think it's charming and deserves 5 stars.
ipanzica's review against another edition
5.0
An interesting read that dissects the folklore, legends, and historical context. and facts surrounding werewolves. It's also a very fascinating read and the author lets you make your own conclusion about werewolves without spoonfeeding the reader theories. This made the book engaging and even more interesting to read. After reading this I found my new favorite theory on werewolves, people with bad eyesight saw people in bear coats from far away take off their coats and thought they were animals turning into humans.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
3.0
Since this was a non fiction from 1865 this has some not quite great way to describe people and culture and such but that's pretty much expected from classics books in general.
The information was very mixed, from older folk tales about werewolf like people, to cases that's not always seemed to be clear in the werewolf side. It was overall an interesting read but now I'm craving a more modern werewolf nonfiction.
The information was very mixed, from older folk tales about werewolf like people, to cases that's not always seemed to be clear in the werewolf side. It was overall an interesting read but now I'm craving a more modern werewolf nonfiction.
pillywiggin's review against another edition
4.0
A more scholarly-type, research-based approach to the werewolf mythos, incorporating several historic accounts.
grubstlodger's review against another edition
3.0
The kind of book I like, it told me a little more than I needed to know about something I hadn't really considered before.
tfrohock's review against another edition
1.0
Get the e-version of this book. It's scanned and the Greek sections are merely computer language. The rest is okay.
thepenismightier's review against another edition
3.0
It started out pretty good, considering the time period, but along the way the book completely lost itself. Setting aside the racism, which is sadly common for the time period and place it was written in, there were some unexpected flaws. Many of the stories from myths and folklore were taken out of context. I'm not sure what the context is because for most the beginning was never included. For some, the ending wasn't either. About halfway through I completely lost track of what his arguments were. I knew what he was going for but he showed no logic in his thought process. It also ended abruptly. Maybe I got a bad version since it was a free one? I can't say but it bothered me even though I was just reading for inspiration from folklore and other stories. Which is why I gave it 3/5 because for all its failings, it did give me that!
Basically- interesting read. Don't expect a great or even good book but some grisly stories, conjectures about myth, folklore, and 19th century bigotry. You can find it free so it's worth the price.
Basically- interesting read. Don't expect a great or even good book but some grisly stories, conjectures about myth, folklore, and 19th century bigotry. You can find it free so it's worth the price.
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