The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula

by Eric Nuzum

Book Overview

The Dead Travel Fast is about vampires, death, chickens, fear, things that smell bad, the love of a good woman, and germs... but mostly it's about vampires. The undead are everywhere. They're not just in movies and books, but in commercials, fetish clubs, and even in your breakfast cereal. If you look, you'll discover that bloodsuckers have gone from guest spots in rural folk tales to becoming some of the most recognizable bad guys in the modern world...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031237111X
• ISBN13: 9780312371111
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Taking a Bite Out Of Vampire Lore

The Dead Travel Fast surprised me in many ways. Who doesn't have at least a passing curiosity about vampires and those who emulate them (I ride the bus with the latter)? But to read a whole book about them? Well, if you read only one vampire book in your lifetime, this is it. The sign of any good writer (by my humble definition) is to make any topic interesting, even the ones which may not interest us that much. This Nuzum does in a dedicated, intelligent manner, even employing Gonzo journalism techniques (he drank his own blood) to bring himself closer to the subject. Like all fine books, The Dead Travel Fast is about more than just its stated topic. Nuzum places the vampire metaphor in a contemporary context that current readers will find fascinating and does not dwell on well worn academic and cliched comparisons. I especially liked the background on Bram Stoker's life and his association with Walt Whitman. This makes me regard them both in a different light. Also curious was his infiltration of vampire conventions and mingling with those who frequent them. I'm glad he did it so I don't have to. This is living dead history at its best. Kudos to Eric

A fast fun read

I heard the author on the Mark and Brian radio show just before Halloween. I was instantly interested in the book. I'm a fan of vampires anyway but this was a quick look through the world of vampires, from the origins to Bram Stocker's book to the people who say they are vampires. The author does a great job and explaining historical and cultural ideas of the vampire. I highly recommend this book.

Boobies and blood and bats.. OH MY!

Its that time of year again where people get in the Halloween mood, and I could see how the readership of this book might peak during the month of October, but in all truth this is a wonderful read for any time of the year. While I can't say that I am a vampire enthusiast in anyway, Nuzum raises a good point when he says that vampire culture surrounds us and has permeated pop-culture entirely. The author never seems romanced or caught up in the culture himself, which is what I was half expecting go into reading it. Instead, he conducts borderline Gonzo-style journalistic research and pokes fun at silly goth kids in black robes just as frequently as he takes comical stabs at himself. Its a funny, refreshing book that flips back and forth between comical interludes of his trials and tribulations when hunting down creatures of the night, and insightful narratives about vampire appearances throughout history. Great read!!

vampires suck; this book doesn't

You'd think that when a guy writing a vampire book drinks his own blood in the opening pages, the rest of the story would pale. Not true here. This book is surprising in so many ways -- it's academic without being boring; it's hilarious without being condescending; and it's heartfelt without being sentimental. The yarn about taking a road trip to Transylvania with "celebrity host" Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster, now 50-something and vaguely indifferent re. the whole Dracula thing) is itself worth the price of the book.

Great book. Well researched and very entertaining.

Excellent book. From the first chapter it sucks you into the world of vampires. Not only is the book well-researched, but the book is written in a way that you feel you are with the author as he travels to Transvylvania, Las Vegas, and other travels in search of the truth about vampires. The book would be entertaining even if you knew little or nothing about vampires. A must read.