If it weren't for characters like Sherlock Holmes, Santa Claus, Robin Hood, Lucy Ricardo, Falstaff, Norman Bates, King Lear, Jekyll & Hyde, Nancy Drew, Dracula and Wonder Woman, our lives would be immeasurably duller. This fascinating Time Home Entertainment release provides brief biographies/tributes to 100 characters from TV, films, literature, video games, etc. who have enriched our lives in one way or another. You can read it from cover to cover or just jump in at a random page and enjoy.

Mike O. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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Interesting and different. ( )

NOTE: Not the hardcover Collectors' Edition but the softback/paperback/magazine edition.

Okay, the title pretty much tells you what the book is about, but like all books of lists the main point of interest is just as much who is left out as is who is included.

For example, we have the villain of the (original) Star Wars films, Darth Vader, but none of the heroes: Luke Skywalker, Han Solo or Princess Leia. Isn't Luke's swing across the chasm inside the Death Star in Episode IV, or Han Solo's freezing in Carbonite in Episode V, or Leia infiltrating Jabba The Hut's palace to rescue Han in Episode VI the most memorable scenes? Then again, you could say that Darth Vader is the more important character because when it comes down to it the most important story in the original trilogy isn't the downfall of the Empire, but the redemption of Darth Vader?

You can also argue that with the influence of The Lord Of The Rings books, movies etc. in recent years, why isn't Aragorn, Frodo or Sam included?

Each person included can be argued for and against, but that is the point. The book is not so much a definitive list, but the starting point for thought and discussion.

Highly recommended.

From amazon.com:

"We know them better than we know our friends: brilliant Sherlock Holmes; stingy Ebenezer Scrooge; the idealistic Don Quixote; the obsessed Captain Ahab. Hamlet is indecisive and world-weary; Romeo and Juliet are young, lusty and impulsive; Indiana Jones is dashing, learned and courageous.

We speak of men with Oedipus Complexes or Peter Pan Syndromes. We know women who dream of being Cinderella-or Madame Bovary. We fear Orwell's Big Brother, Bram Stoker's Count Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein's Creature. And we marvel at odd couples: Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. D'Arcy; Huckleberry Finn and Jim; Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock; Humbert Humbert and Lolita.

Yet all of these unforgettable icons-who have shaped civilization and embodied our deepest archetypes-are not human: they are fictional constructs, some created by great authors, others by long processes of folklore and myth.

Now TIME has enlisted a host of brilliant authors to ponder the impact of these remarkable figures. Imagine Paul Ryan saluting Ayn Rand's heroic individualist, John Galt. Think David Sedaris sizing up the Marlboro Man, Gloria Steinem dressing down the Barbie doll, and Chris Rock ripping the reign of Jim Crow. Join TIME for a brisk, enlightening exploration of the almost-lives and almost-times of the most influential characters who never drew a breath.

PRODUCT DETAILS
Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Time (September 17, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1618930710
ISBN-13: 978-1618930712
Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds" ( )