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| The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History | 
 enlarge | Authors: Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar, Jeremy Salter
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $0.75
You Save: $13.20 (95%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 40073
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0061132217
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.480973
EAN: 9780061132216
ASIN: 0061132217
Publication Date: October 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: used-remainder mark-back cover and last few pages have large slices from unpacking-corners are folded,creased and bent
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Product Description
From Santa Claus to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from Uncle Sam to Uncle Tom, here is a compelling, eye-opening, and endlessly entertaining compendium of fictional trendsetters and world-shakers who have helped shape our culture and our lives. The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived offers fascinating histories of our most beloved, hated, feared, and revered invented icons and the indelible marks they made on civilization, including: # 28: Rosie the Riveter, the buff, blue-collar factory worker who helped jump-start the Women's Liberation movement # 7: Siegfried, the legendary warrior-hero of Teutonic nationalism responsible for propelling Germany into two world wars # 80: Icarus, the headstrong high-flyer who inspired the Wright brothers and humankind's dreams of defying gravity . . . while demonstrating the pressing need for flight insurance # 58: Saint Valentine, the hapless, de-canonized loser who lost his heart and head at about the same time # 43: Barbie, the bodacious plastic babe who became a role model for millions of little girls, setting an impossible standard for beauty and style
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 A great concept-- but not particularly well done May 18, 2007
32 out of 32 found this review helpful
I read a review of this book in a magazine, and I was intrigued by the concept: Michael Hart's "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History" deals with actual people; wouldn't it be possible and useful to do the same with fictional characters? Yes, it would, but, unfortunately, the authors don't execute the concept very well.
The problem for me isn't the rankings. After, all, they're admittedly subjective, and in the end, they don't matter that much any way. The thing that I found jarring at first-- and then grating as I read on-- was the uneven quality of the essays. I suspect that this was in part due to the simple fact that there are three co-authors. It would be very difficult to coordinate the styles and lengths of the essays.
More seriously, though, they clearly didn't attempt to coordinate the point of the essays. That is, some of them are straight biographies. Some are pop-cultural analyses of the significance of the characters. Some are political screeds. Some are failed attempts to be cutsie, best illustrated by the essay supposedly written by an author's dog. Many of the essays read as though they were responses to homework assignments that were written at the last second by a student hoping that his teacher will mistake generalities and clever wordplay for content.
Now, this isn't to say that I hated the book; in fact, I actually liked it. It's just that it disappointed me. With a little more authorial discipline-- or maybe stronger editorial control-- it could have been a GREAT book.
So, in summary, I think it's worth reading, and it's entertaining, but I believe it could have been so much better.
 A Book Worth Reading More Than Once November 30, 2006
17 out of 26 found this review helpful
A few nights ago I was watching a local television show that discussed who made ATLANTIC MONTHLY'S list of the one hundred most influential Americans. There was great debate among the panelists about who was included and who was not, and since the list was subjective, there was a great deal of debate and disagreement. It's difficult to compile a list of those who have influenced us, but what about people who have never loved, but still influence our lives. At the time this review is being written, Christmas is in the air, and anyone who is stingy is called a scrooge, after Ebenezer Scrooge of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. While Charles Dickens deftly created a character that can seem real, in truth he never lived. People are also flocking to the remake of CASINO ROYAL to see Bond, James Bond, as real to many people as Abraham Lincoln, but once again, he never existed. These fictional; people have become a real part of our popular culture, and whether we realize it or not, we have been influenced by these characters.
Allan Lezar, Dan Karlan, and Jeremy Salter made a list of one hundred and one characters from literature, myth and legend, film, television, and music and created a book that tells their stories. While the book is entertaining and easy top read, the authors do base their work on an interesting theory. As people, we enjoy stories and believe that many stories not just entertain us, but have an impact on us as well. These stories can help us determine values, shape the way we view the world, and teach us lessons. The authors do a reasonably good jib at selecting characters that most people do not believe ever lived, and steer clear from figures that some question whether they ever existed.
The writers include sections on how they compiled the lost, how they went about writing the book, and experiences that took place while researching these figures. The book is meant to entertain rather than be scholarly but it does contain plenty of great stuff for trivia buffs and makes for easy and enjoyable reading when time is minimal.
 One Out of Three Ain't Good October 18, 2006
14 out of 19 found this review helpful
Three people wrote this book, but unfortunately, only one of them wrote the book I was hoping to read.
This is a great topic which raises intriguing questions: to what extent do fictional creations represent human aspirations and to what extent do they CREATE human aspirations? Did Icarus create the dream of human flight or was the dream always there and just embodied in the myth? And of all of the fictional characters in world culture, which affected the real world the most?
Unforunately, although the authors have created a respectable list of such characters (although it is a rather anglophone biased list), they admit that they were just out to "have a good time," so the book was a disappointment for me. One of the authors took his brief seriously, writing thoughtful essays about a variety of subjects, but of the others, one seemed to confuse influence with the number of Hollywood sequels, (which means that in a few years, Freddy Krueger will be more "influential" than, say Robin Hood) and the other just used the book as an opportunity to make jokes, some of them quite funny and some of them very lame.
And that's a pity, because the authors can all write well and have hit upon a subject which needs to be studied. And although their list is respectable, their rating system is not. The most influential fictional character in world history, they tell us, is the Marlboro Man, because of the number of cancer deaths. More influential than Icarus, which encouraged man to fly? than Sherlock Holmes, which popularized the application of science to criminal investigations? than Santa Claus, a secular unifier which allows most of the world to celebrate a Christian holiday?
Furthermore, the Marlboro Man is only as effective as he is because he is based on the cowboy, who is only number 19 on the list. How can a fictional derivation of a fictional character rate his own place on the list?
Sadly, two of the authors (I'm guessing) not only did not think these questions through, they had no inclination to do so.
 A bathroom is where this book belongs. February 4, 2007
13 out of 28 found this review helpful
I found the book title to be very fascinating and looked forward to reading about people who have shaped our society and ourselves. What I found was self-indulgent humor that was not particularly funny and in fact often times trite. Were the authors drunk when they wrote this?! It's full of side bars and I guess what they consider jokes; though none were funny. The #24 person they listed was Odysseus who they claim tried to avoid the Trojan War by pretending to be insane; that plan having failed, he tried to join the Air National Guard in Texas. The book eventually wound up being a politial satire to slam our government I guess.
Then the authors suggest having a St. Lupercalia'a Day in which we have a day to celebrate orgies to keep the clergy happy. What?! Are you kidding me? This book is completely inappropriate. You wouldn't be able to let children read this book. Also, it would not make a good gift as there are too many people who would be offended by this book.
I think the 3 authors of this book didn't all take the same writing style so it makes the book very confusing to read. Don't buy. Get at the library and then return after you don't read it.
Let the Debate Begin! October 21, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I laughed...I cried...Ok so maybe it wasn't THAT dramatic, but it certainly was extremely entertaining and very intelligent and will no doubt spurn many great debates. Those who dare think of themselves as intellectuals, will assuredly find the iconoclastic, think-outside-the-box flavor an irresistible treat!
The perfect choice for Book Club or Holiday Gift!
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