Customer Reviews

Dragons and Dragon Lore

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was extremely offended by the author's disrespect towards his subject, not to mention bored to tears by his dusty writing-style. This book was written eighty years ago by a man who consistently belittles the spiritual beliefs of all non-christian peoples, and refers to the buddhist, taohist, and hindu cultures as being childish, pathetic, silly and to be pitied and ridiculed on many levels. His attitude towards dragons is nothing if not derisive. Do not be taken in by the book-jacket review and the playful cover. If you want a book tracking the rise of dragon worship throughout the world, but with little to no historical folklore, than this is your book. But if you are looking forward to reading entertaining dragon lore from around the globe, than this is NOT what you are looking for.

I've read others of Ingersoll's books and they are always scholarly, well-written and treat the topic in a interesting and entertaining fashion. This book is no exception and the only possible reason I could think of for a negative review is that perhaps the reader may have an axe to grind with Ingersolls occasional "un-politically correct" choice of language, or they aren't the type who have patience for long words and the glowing Victorian prose of the 19th century. In other words, short attention span dullards who prefer to think it's the book's fault that they get bored with truly intellectual writing.
Trust me, as a student of occult lore and esoteric mythology from all over the world, Ingersoll's book would be a necessary addition to any true student's library. It is full of information, some of it I've not seen published before, and treats the subject with a serious but very readable respect.

Full of facts about Dragon Mythology. From early history to the far east and finally a mention of the dragon in medieval times as the legend relates to St. George. The one difficulty I had with the book was a lot of historical information without much background or elaboration. An example of this is as follows... "The dragon possesses the power of self-transformation, may make itself dark or luminous, or render itself invisible." Where the reader might hope to learn the lore behind this legend. Overall a good read and solid basis for Dragon history.