| The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula | 
 enlarge | Author: Eric Nuzum
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $7.71
You Save: $6.24 (45%)
New (33) Used (4) from $7.71
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 303000
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0312386176
Dewey Decimal Number: 133.423
EAN: 9780312386177
ASIN: 0312386176
Publication Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The undead are everywhere. They’re not just in movies and books, but in commercials, fetish clubs, and even in your breakfast cereal. Bloodsuckers have become some of the most recognizable bad guys in the modern world, and Eric Nuzum wanted to find out why. He was willing to do whatever it took —even drinking his own blood—in his quest to understand the vampire phenomenon. And he found the answer in Goth clubs, darkened parks, haunted houses, and . . . chain restaurants.
In The Dead Travel Fast, Nuzum delivers a far-reaching look at vampires in pop culture from Bram to Bela to Buffy, and at what vampires and vampirism have come to mean to us today. And the blood? Let’s just say it doesn’t go with eggs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 An entertaining, informative, and hilarious read. November 15, 2008
The subject matter is what got me reading. The informative and often hilarious writing of Eric Nuzum is what KEPT me reading. This is one of those rare books that I was sorry to see come to an end. It was that good. From his assorted adventures meeting so-called "vampires" to a stupendously funny account of a Romanian Dracula tour with Eddie Munster himself,to his well-written and informative passages regarding vampire lore and Dracula in book and film, "The Dead Travel Fast:Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula" was a fantastic book from beginning to end. If you want a supremely entertaining and funny book, read this one. You won't be disappointed.
A book to sink your teeth into October 26, 2008
Eating his bowl of Count Chocula one morning, author Eric Nuzum was struck by the ubiquity of vampire references in modern culture. He set himself the task of exploring the popularity of vampires, a quest which led to his book The Dead Travel Fast and to the graphic scene with which it begins: Nuzum watching blood drip down his bathroom mirror after an experiment in auto-hematophagy that went badly wrong. No, Nuzum's not a crazy person, but his investigation into vampirism did prompt him to do some wacky things. In addition to trying to drink his own blood, Nuzum watched 216 vampire films--apparently they get pretty bad after the first dozen or so--traveled to Romania on a bus tour with celebrity host Butch Patrick (a.k.a. Eddie Munster), took in a vampire-themed topless show in Vegas, and attempted to turn himself into a vampire in six easy steps. This last project necessitated his ending a meeting early so he could chant over a raw chicken liver. (Nuzum also watched all seven seasons--108 hours' worth--of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, developing an appropriate regard for it in the process. But that's a sign of good taste rather than wacky obsession!)
Nuzum's account of his modern-day exploration into things vampire is punctuated by the results of more traditional research. Nuzum writes about vampire mythology in antiquity, for example, and the connection between vampirism and disease; he discusses the curious legal history of the 1922 film Nosferatu, the masher note Bram Stoker wrote to Walt Whitman, and the sorts of things Vlad the Impaler got up to to deserve his epithet. Nuzum leads readers to suggest that he's not one to spend his time reading old books in dark libraries, but he's clearly done his homework. The book is also very well put together, Nuzum's more historical discussions woven seamlessly into his present-day narrative. Informative and well-written and, topping it off, quite funny in parts: Nuzum's book is definitely recommended.
 The Dead Reads Fast (and Fun!) August 31, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Dead Travel Fast offers a fresh look at the fascination of vampire lore, remarkably lacking in cliches, and an honest yet humane look at the people who obssess over it. Author Eric Nuzum cheerfully undertakes experiments that would daunt the casual vampire fan (i.e. sampling his own blood, watching every vampire movie ever made). He visits Romania on a tour of vampire history with uncomfortable conditions and limited appeal. He spends months trying to contact a real vampire. Nuzum journeys to the very outskirts of accepted culture to find source of the undead's universal appeal. He attempts to reconcile the equal strength of the mainstream's fascination and the fringe's obsession with vampires and he does so with wit, spunk and an open mind.
Great summer read! August 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book on the recommendation of Dave Mrozek, and he was dead on. This is a funny, informative book for anyone who's ever had even a passing interest in vampire lore and Stoker's Dracula. The author is easy to read and comes across more as a buddy of yours telling you about his trails and tribulations than a distant author you know nothing about. This book was the perfect summer read for me, something I could pick up and read in 15-20 minute increments outside in the shade or at night before bed. The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is that some people might be looking for more substance and this is definitely a light, humorous read.
Fabulous! July 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fabulous-- even if you haven't met a Vampire or Eric - you'll feel like you know both afterwards and found an old friend.
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