Customer Reviews

Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years

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The first time I laid eyes on this book was at my local library, and the title was too intriguing to pass up. I never could quite see Santa as Mr. Nice Guy (except when I met his kindly avatars at the mall), so I was perfectly willing to consider the possibility that the 'jolly old elf' might be more like the old, tricky elves than the new, toy-shop versions.

Phyllis Siefker pursues the Santa legend enthusiastically, but ultimately Santa is not the legend who receives the most illumination. It's the Harlequin who emerges, in all his incarnations, from the Jester in the royal court who is the only one allowed to speak his mind (because everyone thinks he's crazy) to painted, gender-bending rock stars like Alice Cooper and Marylin Manson, to The Joker from the movie THE DARK KNIGHT. The fact that the actor who played The Joker has since died only strengthens his connection to the legendary Wild Man.

Once you've read this book, you'll see that the Wild Man is everywhere -- he makes the evening news almost every night (in one incarnation or another). After I read the library copy, I ordered my own copy on amazon. It's one of the few books I'm willing to pack up and move -- and that's rare praise.

This book has a wealth of information delivered in a clear, straightforward style. The excellent research draws from sources as varied as Gilgamesh and the Ainu bear ritual and manages to bring in all together in a cohesive history. A treasure trove for those interested in folklore of all kinds.

about Santa Claus. A wonderful book that unearthes a forgotten past where Santa was quite more spooky than he is now, and has ties to our much deeper past than just the current neo-Christian myths we are fed each year. A great book, easy to read, highly recommended.

If your looking for a good read on acient origins of Santa Claus I recommend this book. It got me thinking about that the Jolly Old Elf has been around alot longer than most major religions, countries and nations today. This Jolly Elf that flys through the night with reindeer has transformed and evolved for 50,000 years like the title says.

The book's content belies its title. It has very little to do with Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas; rather, it is a study of how the pagan theme of the "wild man" has entered the myth, legend and folklore of many cultures. The 1st page of the 1st chapter leaves a very bad first impression, containing the glaring error of calling St. Nicholas a "Turk" (because he lived in present-day Turkey). However, that part of the world was Greek in St. Nicholas' day, so it seems highly unlikely that St. Nicholas was a Turk. To its credit, the book makes a very good argument that the origin of Santa Claus is not St. Nicholas, but his sidekick in Germanic lore known as Pelznichol "Furry Nicholas." However, I was expecting a study on the origin of Santa Claus and got a study of pagan myth and history instead. In another gaffe, the author quotes (on p. 30) a passage from the book The Children's Friend, but the author (Wm. Gilley) is not mentioned and the book does not even appear in the bibliography! The books ends very abruptly with a discussion of the Ainu and one final paragraph about Christmas; having presented lots of info it utterly fails to tie it all together at the end. In conclusion, although the work is apparently well researched, its title is highly misleading and it contains some errors and omissions uncharacteristic of a scholarly work.
If I could return this book, I would.

Santa Claus - Saint Nicholas, a patron of children and sailors of Greece. Traditionally identified as a 4th century bishop from the ancient city of Lycia. The city was visited was visited by St. Paul (Acts 27.5). Ruins include rock-cut tombs and Grecian sculptures from the 5th century. Please note that Santa Claus was a bishop and Saint - Turks and Ottomans never had neither. Ms Siefker's sin is that she is a revisionist of the first order.