The zombie book The encyclopedia of the living dead

Between them, Redfern and Steiger have explored monsters, the paranormal, and the uncanny in dozens of books and numerous articles and via multiple radio and television appearances. The authors are uniquely qualified to discuss zombies as they have appeared in myths, legends, folklore, and popular culture. Though the mythical/historical background of zombies receives admirable coverage in this wonderfully researched and readable encyclopedia, most readers raised on film and television depictions of the "living dead" will gravitate to entries such as Bela Lugosi's 1932 Haitian voodoo classic White Zombie and the film that essentially created the modern genre, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), and its various "sequels." However, zombies today mean largely one thing-The Walking Dead, a worldwide phenomenon and the most popular television program in cable history. The authors trace the show from its beginnings as a comic book in 2003 to its premiere on AMC on Halloween night 2010 and beyond in a fun, informative, and readable writing style that they sustain in some 250 entries. The work includes numerous photographs and cross-references and a detailed bibliography. This gem of a book will appeal to casual readers, students, and researchers alike. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. --David K. Frasier, Indiana University--Bloomington

Well known for their books on aliens and monsters, Redfern (Monster Files) and Steiger (Conspiracies and Secret Societies) present a collection of zombie information that includes a wide variety of facts and stories from history, movies, and literature. Intriguing tales include that of a scientist who toured Europe in the 1800s shocking dead human bodies with electricity to show how lifelike the dead could appear; ants that behave like zombies when infected with a certain type of fungus; zombies that appear in Chinese folklore; and voodoo rituals. It's an amazing anthology that shows how zombie myths have grown throughout history and around the world. Each entry contains at least one paragraph and most are close to a page in length. The book is indexed and contains a lengthy bibliography and alluring illustrations. VERDICT A fascinating, informative collection that anyone interested in the history of zombies will want to read. It's funny, scary, and sometimes shocking.-Mary E. Jones, Los Angeles P.L. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.