Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

As a person with a long and meaningful relationship with fiction, I was excited to read a book based on the effects of fictional persons on a societal level.
However, most of the book is dedicated to introducing you to these characters, their history and introduction, and very little time (almost no time) is spent talking about the cultural impact. For instance, Superman (#64) is introduced as a creation in comics and later discussed how he differs from conventional heroes, followed by a discussion of a few later incarnations. There is no discussion about the hero mentality, the usage of Superman in language to embody the exceptional. There isn't even a note about the irony with the Nazi "superman" concept.

The book is broken up into a series of individual character vignettes of about 2 pages each. They offer a brief history of the character with some relatively mediocre quips of humor. The information offered is not a discussion of the impact of fictional characters, so much, as a simple introduction to each character in turn.

Even at the beginning of the book with their self proclaimed "subjective" ranking, they fail to offer any kind of metric or ideal on how they rated each character. They may have, for all I know, picked the names out of a hat, which would be why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is listed as MORE influential than Helen of Troy, Batman, and Atticus Finch.

The writing is ok, and the content is amusing. The book is a simple overview of 101 fictional characters in a quick and relatively enjoyable fashion. Their influence and impact remain pretty much unmentioned.

Probably a decent bathroom book, since each character has an isolated area that can be read in any order. However, I can't recommend it for more than that.

When I got this book, I expected to find educated views about the historical/cultural significance of each of the "people" that never lived. Why and how would they consider these particular characters the most influential? Amazingly, this book doesn't even discuss the influence of the characters on society throughout history or why they have so much staying power in our hearts and imaginations. Instead, the authors provide boring summaries of what the characters "did," or how they were created and by whom. Then they proceed to give self-righteous and condescending opinions about whether the message(s) in the story or the actions of the character(s) are appropriate in today's times. Gee, I thought that's what readers/viewers were supposed to do for themselves!!

For example, we shouldn't read Cinderella to our little girls because it creates a sense of false hope that you don't have to do anything to solve your problems (fairy godmother), and that men will only want to marry you if you're beautiful. Perhaps that's true, but last time I read the story, Cinderella was hard-working, lived a difficult life without complaint, and did not resort to treating people badly even when that was the way she herself was being treated. The problem with these compilation-type books is that they can so easily oversimplify and fall into the trite.

Of course I was not expected objectivity. The very nature of a book of this type is one person's biased viewpoint (or in this case two people). I did, however, expect a literary and cultural analysis, as well as perhaps some humor or interesting perspectives. NOT!

This book seemed to me like a brazen attempt for the authors to cash in on the success of books like the 1001 series. My advice: save your money on this one.

Well you can pretty much guess what this book is all about just from reading the title. The only thing left to argue about is the content of the list. Uncle Sam is there, as is Uncle Tom, there's Sherlock Holmes and Luke Skywalker. But there's no Harry Potter, perhaps when he grows up. Mickey Mouse is there, along with Buck Rogers and Superman, but no Charlie Brown or any of the Peanuts gang. Atticus Finch is there - Who's that again? Atticus Finch, the defense lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird.

I could go on, but with 101 people to argue about it would take forever.

After you argue about who is included in the list, then you can start to argue about their ranking. I can't believe that The Marlboro Man #1, ranks higher than Santa Claus - #4.

With each name on the list there is a page or three of description as to who is this person and why he was included. All in all, this shows an amazing amount of research into these characters and I must admit present pretty good arguments to justify their inclusion.

Pretty good arguments, wrong, but pretty good.

Delightful reading.

My sister bought me this book and I was really excited to read it because my friends and I would sit around and discuss topics such as this. It appears that a group of people took advantage of an idea most of us have had and did not deliver anything more than essays that remind me of papers I wrote 3 hours before they were due. Sometimes I never understood why they thought the character was influential, sometimes their influence seemed extremely exaggerated and sometimes I was not sure whether they undertsood influence. The only reason I gave the book 2 stars is because it reignited my desire to have discussions a=on topics such as this.

This is an unusual book. On the surface, it's an entertaining and often humorous read. For someone who wants a birds-eye's view of classics s/he was too busy to read, or for the reader who would like the true history and origins of some of the most popular (and sometimes unpopular) figures in history who weren't real, this book is a true little treasure. The authors did an amazing amount of research to uncover the origins and historical context of the characters they discuss. They mention primary sources, in case these little vignettes make you crave to know your fictional hero(ine) in depth. For this, I as a researcher salute them.

But the real value of this book lies in the social analysis that suffuses the book and goes down real easy. Throughout, the authors thoughtfully discuss social conditions--from the disempowerment of women and how it's perpetuated through myths and advertising and fairy tales, to the racism and insanity of the most beloved historical non-persons. Similarly, we are concisely briefed on how greed, and how fascination with money and power, have negatively affected us culturally and psychologically. For such an entertaining read, the authors exhibit an immense amount of sensitivity to what's really important.

That said, there is one minor annoyance. Sometimes, the humor is silly and self-indulgent rather than witty, and detracts from the information. The reader is forced to work to separate the historical facts from the tongue-in-cheek jokes. I found myself having to read some passages twice to see if these guys were being serious or not. Readers not from the United States, and those unfamiliar with the individuals being profiled, might not be able to tell the difference. Which is a shame, because otherwise this book is so well done.

Nevertheless, it's still a great read. And it's nice to see what's out there, especially if you're like myself--you don't have TV reception, never read your share of the classics, and are outside of the popular culture loop. Now I don't have to read all those ponderous, sexist novels that show the worst side of human nature (which is why I never wanted to read them in the first place). Now I don't have to drown myself in hundreds of pages of Captain Ahab's counterproductive obsession with revenge; or suffer through boring plots of boring people (the "great" Gatsby). And thank goodness I don't have to get cable to steep myself in commercial crassness. These guys have told me everything I won't be missing, with the bonus of great social analysis and a lot better humor than the originals. To be fair, some of the figures profiled are noble and very interesting. I learned tons about Rosie the Riveter, Mammy, Uncle Tom, and others. And I was glad to see some of my favorites, The Cat in the Hat and Superman, profiled.

So if you're looking for a well written, humorous and entertaining read, filled with historical tidbits that are surprisingly well researched, along with social commentary that is not preachy but is informative and thought-provoking, this is the book to buy. I should also mention that as the cousin of one of the authors, I'm immensely proud of him. But Dan knows that I'm ruthlessly honest. I wouldn't give this book a 5 if it didn't deserve it.

I gave this book 3 stars because I think the concept is great. The title is right up my alley. That being said, I read about 5 characters, and then started skipping around because I was bored. I was bored not by the choices, but because I think they summarized what we already know more than they showed the connection between the characters and today. For instance, all of the greek/roman myth selections basically retold the myth, and then left maybe a paragraph to show why it matters. I am familiar with myths, and enjoy them a great deal, but I found myself saying, "Ok....I already know this." Of course, some of their choices had me saying, "What?", but it's hard to choose ONLY 101 when there are so many. For that, I give the writers credit. I wish more had been done with showing the influential impact versus retelling what we know.

I couldn't put this book down. Each essay is entertaining, yet educational enough that I felt I was gaining great value from the time invested. The short "biographical" essays of the fictional characters reveal much about our culture, history, and values. There's plenty to disagree with (who should be on the list, but isn't; who ranks where and why; who should be booted off the list . . .) and plently enough to be grateful to the authors for pulling it all together into a fun, easy to read, and fairly priced way to invest an afternoon or two.

Far better investment than the money I've spent on most of the movies I've seen lately!

Highly recommended!

The short essays are hysterical and entertaining, not to mention informative. This book makes a great gift as well. You may not agree with all the numbering but who cares!!!

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!