If you've read Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and are fascinated by the themes percolating through it, or if your only image of the character is through the movies, or if you just want to know some more about the story in general, this is an ideal place to start. Extensively researched and packed with fascinating historical detail, the book, as the subtitle indicates, discusses "Dracula" from Stoker's writing and research for the novel up to the famous - some might say "iconic" - 1931 movie version starring Bela Lugosi. Skal is a most entertaining writer, and his chronicle of the history is itself as exciting as any thriller.

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Fascinating look at the early incarnations of the Count, and his unlikely genesis as a cultural icon. Skal's writing is extremely knowledgeable, and very amusing and readable. Generous with illustrations, and the large-size format (while a little hard on the wrists!) means that the pictures are right there, where you want them, by the text.

It reminds me that I must watch the Spanish language version which, since Skal wrote this book, has been rescued and reissued on a deluxe dvd with the Tod Browning version.

One thing Skal makes clear: it's a little miracle of pop culture that so many flawed individuals --Stoker, Mrs. Stoker, Browning, even Bela Lugosi -- wound up producing something that lingers in the mind, and has spawned such a weird, rich mythology.

...ahh, the children of the night. What music they make!

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