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Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters
by Matt Kaplan
Scribner | October 2012 | ISBN-10: 9781451667981 | ePUB/PDF | 3.7/7.2 mb
http://www.amazon.com/Medusas-Gaze-Vampires-Bite-Monsters/dp/1451667981
PDF conversion is mine.
We all know “there’s no such thing as monsters,” but our imaginations tell us otherwise. From the mythical beasts of ancient Greece to the hormonal vampires of the Twilight saga, monsters have captivated us for millennia. Matt Kaplan, a noted science journalist and monster-myth enthusiast, employs an entertaining mix of cutting-edge research and a love of lore to explore the history behind these fantastical fictions and our hardwired obsession with things that go bump in the night.
Ranging across history, Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite tackles the enduring questions that arise on the frontier between fantasy and reality. What caused ancient Minoans to create the tale of the Minotaur and its subterranean maze? Did dragons really exist? What inspired the creation of vampires and werewolves, and why are we so drawn to them?
With the eye of a journalist and the voice of a storyteller, Kaplan takes readers to the forefront of science, where our favorite figures of horror may find real-life validation. Does the legendary Kraken, a squid of epic proportions, really roam the deep? Are we close to making Jurassic Park a reality by replicating a dinosaur from fossilized DNA? As our fears evolve, so do our monsters, and Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite charts the rise of the ultimate beasts, humans themselves.
About the Author
Matt Kaplan is a science journalist, regularly contributing to National Geographic, New Scientist, Nature, and The Economist. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times. When not chained to a desk, Kaplan travels the wilds of the world as part of a London expedition team. He lives in London.
He is the author behind the widely circulated article From Gollum to Avatar which explored how Hollywood made the technological leap from Yoda in the original Star Wars to Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and ultimately to the Na’vi in Avatar.
When not at his desk, Matt makes a good effort at getting himself killed on expeditions in far flung regions of the world. He’s hacked his way through the Alaskan bush, fended off tiger snakes in the bogs of Tasmania, been stalked by mountain lions in Yellowstone, and got his scuba respirator hose snagged on the sunken wreck of a British minesweeper.
Contents
Acknowledgments, Introduction
1 . Giant Animals-Nemean Lion, Calydonian Boar, Rukh, King Kong
2 . Beastly Blends-Chimera, Griffon, Cockatrice, Sphinx
3 . It Came from the Earth-Minotaur, Medusa
4. The Mysterious Fathoms-Charybdis, Leviathan, Giant Squid, Jaws
5. Of Flame and Claw-Dragons
6. Hauntings-Demons, Ghosts, Spirits
7 . Cursed by a Bite-Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves
8 . The Created-The Golem, Frankenstein, HAL 9000, Terminator
9. Terror Resurrected-Dinosaurs
l0. Extraterrestrial Threat-Aliens
Conclusion, Sources, About Matt Kaplan
Index
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