Bite: A Vampire Handbook

Description

Arm yourself with garlic, stake and crucifix, for the vampires are back in force - at the top of the best-seller lists, on your TV, on the web and lurking in darkened cinemas. But, where did they come from? Why have they come back now? And how can you tell if you are one? Beginning with the first sightings of bats and blood-sucking in the Romantic period, Bite follows the undead's progress through the ages, right up to the present. Alongside mini essays, anecdotes, facts and figures, each section is punctuated with lists, such as the best places around the world for vamp tourism; rock songs with vampire allusions; box-office revenues for vamp movies; the top 10 Vampire clubs, video-games, vampire brides, as well as reliable and unreliable methods of killing a vampire .

Kevin Jackson's childhood ambition was to be a vampire but instead he became the last living polymath. His colossal expertise ranges from Seneca to Sugababes, with a special interest in the occult, Ruskin, take-away food, Dante's Inferno and the moose. He is the author of numerous books on numerous subjects, including Fast: Feasting on the Streets of London, and reviews regularly for the Sunday Times.

'With True Blood and New Moon fever gripping our screens, this thorough yet fun compendium of all things blood-sucking is a perfectly timed read for Twi-hards and vampire virgins alike. Jackson's guide leaves no crypt uncovered: from Orlok to Cullen, they're all here' Will Thomas, Empire (Nov 2009) 'Down the ages, there have been more iconic vampire figures than you could shake a blooded stake at, and Jackson features them all' Brian Donaldson, List (08/10/09) 'Kevin Jackson has put his obsessions to extremely good use. Bite is snappily written, erudite and extremely good fun to read' John Preston, Spectator (24/10/09)