Scan barcode
A review by kikiandarrowsfishshelf
On Monsters by Stephen T. Asma
3.0
Three stars for the first half of the book; two stars for the second.
The first part of the book is intersting. It is look at how people viewed or defined monsters at various points. Asma then moves into the changing view of monsters. The second half (more like the last 1/3) seems to ramble. It feels like little more than a list and obvious statements about mass media. He almost seems to go off topic and wants to avoid offending anyone. It isn't boring, but it isn't very interesting.
The part on the anicent Greeks and Biblical times was the most intersting and fasinating. Asma does an in depth look at how the anicents viewed the other. He does not group Romans and Greeks together, but takes each and examines them. The discussion in this section of the book is lively and quite present to read. This section really makes the book. Also of note was Asma's look at the once popular freak shows and how the views on biology changed the way we looked at monsters. This seciont, it should be noted, includes pictures that if you can not handle the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, you should skip.
Average rating of 2.5. The first half of the book is worth reading; the second isn't.
The first part of the book is intersting. It is look at how people viewed or defined monsters at various points. Asma then moves into the changing view of monsters. The second half (more like the last 1/3) seems to ramble. It feels like little more than a list and obvious statements about mass media. He almost seems to go off topic and wants to avoid offending anyone. It isn't boring, but it isn't very interesting.
The part on the anicent Greeks and Biblical times was the most intersting and fasinating. Asma does an in depth look at how the anicents viewed the other. He does not group Romans and Greeks together, but takes each and examines them. The discussion in this section of the book is lively and quite present to read. This section really makes the book. Also of note was Asma's look at the once popular freak shows and how the views on biology changed the way we looked at monsters. This seciont, it should be noted, includes pictures that if you can not handle the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, you should skip.
Average rating of 2.5. The first half of the book is worth reading; the second isn't.