Vampires: A Handbook of History & Lore of the Undead

First impressions: It's a beautifully illustrated book on vampires! Stunningly designed and well crafted. I love the page coloring, stock and layout. Overall, it almost looks like an untouched antiquity! Content: There's a trove of information packaged within! So, there is opportunity to recap or learn something new. It covers a lot of ground from various cultures, historical evidence, folklore, and times of modernization, while never feeling daunting! But from skimming, I feel it misses some information, which I guess is to be expected. In some ways it is a rehashing of various texts but when discussing certain popular topics that's bound to happen. It's very well organized nonetheless. I'm truly glad, thrilled even it acknowledges Lilith (and associates, similar entities) in the realm of vampire lore (I always look for that), because other books I've read usually skip over or minimize her presence. It is a substantial bit included too but at the same time (and this is probably my nitpicking) the author's stance on certain aspects of Lilith's Jewish folklore & mythology feels slightly vague or indirect, but she does acknowledge how prolific the material is, so maybe it's my own bias. Also, some information related to the Jewish legend was incorrectly described (i.e. 100 babies a day, etc)... Also, no Varney the Vampire mentioned! I felt that penny dreadful had a significant impact on many modern vampire attributes and attitudes. So, as much as I'm loving this incredible book, it's a little imperfect, so 4.5 stars but I rounded to 5. Regardless, as personally having a passionate affinity for vampires I can tell Hollyhock does truly respect us creatures of the night.