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Thursday, March 18, 2010

In the Footsteps of Dracula

Can’t help thinking about Dracula and his dark history? Then Steven P. Unger’s latest book “In the Footsteps of Dracula: A Personal Journey and Travel Guide” (World Audience Publishers, 2010) is for you. In 258 pages, author Steven P. Unger makes “In the Footsteps of Dracula: A Personal Journey and Travel Guide” the only book to include:

“For the armchair traveler - pictures and descriptions, in memoir form, of every site in England and Romania that is closely related to either Bram Stoker`s fictional Count Dracula or his historical counterpart, Prince Vlad Dracula the Impaler.

“A thorough history based on original research and face-to-face interviews with experts” such as the Man in Black of Whitby, England “of how the novel Dracula came into being, and almost never happened.

“The true life story of Vlad the Impaler, connecting his lineage for the first time in print to the Brotherhood of the Wolf, which had already survived for two thousand years when Prince Vlad was born in 1431.

“For the independent traveler who would leave his armchair for the Great Unknown, a Practical Guide to the Dracula Trail, including a complete Sample Itinerary with recommendations for lodging and detailed instructions on traveling to each British or Romanian Dracula-related town or site “at a small fraction of the cost of Western European-only travel.  Also in the Practical Guide are sections on money; recommended reading; modes of transportation; security and health; internet access, shopping, and cable TV; and alternatives to independent travel.

The book is also filled with photos and with travel details about how to get to the places themselves. It includes: (1) An account of the fictionalized and filmized Count Dracula, (2) An account of the real places and people behind the fictions and films, and (3) A detailed guide as to how to get to the places themselves and turn it all into a personal experience.
The most impressive part of the book is its scholarly thoroughness that at the same time is extremely evocative and tantalizing. While I was reading it I felt that I wasn`t merely reading, but actually time- and history-traveling, that`s how thorough and three-dimensionalized it is. Not only a must-read, but, if possible, a tourist guide into horror history.

The book is available online at http://worldaudience.powweb.com/pubs_bks/Dracula.html.