{"title":"Paul Barber","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaul Barber\u003c\/strong\u003e offers incisive explorations into themes of mortality, ritual, and the supernatural. His works delve into cultural and historical perspectives on topics such as vampires and burial practices, providing readers with thoughtful analysis grounded in education and reference.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders interested in the intersections of folklore, death, and societal beliefs will find Barber's writing both informative and engaging. His approach combines scholarly insight with accessible prose, making complex subjects approachable for a broad audience.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"vampires-burial-and-death-by-paul-barber-9780300164817","title":"Vampires, Burial, and Death","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this engrossing book, Paul Barber surveys centuries of folklore about vampires and offers the first scientific explanation for the origins of the vampire legends. From the tale of a sixteenth-century shoemaker from Breslau whose ghost terrorised everyone in the city, to the testimony of a doctor who presided over the exhumation and dissection of a graveyard full of Serbian vampires, his book is fascinating reading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis study's comprehensiveness and the author's bone-dry wit make this compelling reading, not just for folklorists, but for anyone interested in a time when the dead wouldn't stay dead.\u003c\/em\u003e - \u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBarber's inquiry into vampires, fact and fiction, is a gem in the literature of debunking [and] a convincing exercise in mental archaeology.\u003c\/em\u003e - Roy Porter, \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA splendid book about the undead, illuminated by the findings of morbid anatomy. The main value of this most interesting book is to remind us how far we have come in our ability to explain the world and how this has released us from at least some terrors.\u003c\/em\u003e - Anthony Daniels, \u003cem\u003eSpectator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis book is fascinating reading for physicians and anthropologists as well as anyone interested in folklore.\u003c\/em\u003e - R. Ted Steinbock, M.D., \u003cem\u003eJournal of the American Medical Association\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA fascinating and painstaking (sorry!) thesis, which welds together folklore, epidemic panic, communal stupidity, and forensic and funereal science.\u003c\/em\u003e - Huw Knight, \u003cem\u003eNew Scientist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47464763031788,"sku":"9780300164817","price":42.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780300164817-vampires-burial-and-death.jpg?v=1775053546"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/paul-barber.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}