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juushikaTitle: The Flight of the Dragons
Author: Peter Dickinson
Illustrator: Wayne Anderson
Published: New York: Harper & Row, 1979
Page Count: 132
Total Page Count: 39,551
Text Number: 113
Read For: my own enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: With this highly-illustrated nonfiction text, Dickinson intends to prove the existence of dragons: gigantic, firebreathing, flying reptiles. Through popular and historical descriptions of the beasts, he theorizes everything from dragon lifecycles, to dragon slaying, to the necessary connection between a dragon's form, firebreathing, and flight. He often draws on quotes from his sources, and Anderson's illustrations provide visual interest and help depict the mechanics of the dragon body and flight. Although Dickinson's arguments are often circular and his evidence is self-serving, the straightforward writing and novel theory make this an interesting and thoughtful read. Although neither fiction nor fantasy, it is also entertaining. This book is faulted, but I still recommend it.
Along with the book's good and bad traits, it was also, personally, a piece of nostalgia. I read this book as a child, and it withstands the test of time: Dickinson's theories are logical, fairly presented, and well-evidenced, and sound reasonable even to an adult reader. Pulling from everything from ancient Chinese myth and the story of Beowulf to modern authors such as J.R. Tolkien and Ursula K. Le Guin, Dickinson pulls his description of vampire behavior and ability direct from historical myth and popular culture. He then uses these excerpts to build and to prove the mechanics of the dragon, everything from lifecycles to flight. His theories on dragonflight (the chemical reactions of dragons blood produced gas, which were stored in huge internal chambers, allowing for flight; dragons belched fire to expel excess gas) is of course the highlight of the book (and the only similarity between the text and the movie of the same name). It is also the most reasonable, scientific, and convincing argument in the book. Here, Dickinson shines: he is well-researched, scientifically-minded, and very convincing.
Unfortunately, these qualities are not universally present. Often, the evidence is selected to fit the facts, or else the arguments are sustained by other arguments, not by evidence. Dickinson discards descriptions that don't fit his theories, instead justifying only what he can reasonably justify, and arguing that the rest is impossible—but never justifying the fact that his sources seem to be both reliable and unreliable in a single breath. He relies heavily on limited, specific sources. In a book of this length, he does not have the space to go into detail assessing any one source, making his choices seem arbitrary. In all, there are various faults and in the research and the proof, and Dickinson's theories are by no means factual, or provable, or even solid.
But what matters in this book is not what Dickinson fails to do, but rather what he manages to achieve. He brings dragons alive: not my vivid descriptions, not by stunning visuals, but by thought, reason, and research. Even though he fails to prove the existence of dragons, he succeeds in proving the possibility. This makes for a fascinating and, in many ways, invigorating read. Dickinson appeals to both imagination and rational thought, and he does so through a text that is easily readable and convincingly argued. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this book, despite all of its faults.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Peter Dickinson
Illustrator: Wayne Anderson
Published: New York: Harper & Row, 1979
Page Count: 132
Total Page Count: 39,551
Text Number: 113
Read For: my own enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: With this highly-illustrated nonfiction text, Dickinson intends to prove the existence of dragons: gigantic, firebreathing, flying reptiles. Through popular and historical descriptions of the beasts, he theorizes everything from dragon lifecycles, to dragon slaying, to the necessary connection between a dragon's form, firebreathing, and flight. He often draws on quotes from his sources, and Anderson's illustrations provide visual interest and help depict the mechanics of the dragon body and flight. Although Dickinson's arguments are often circular and his evidence is self-serving, the straightforward writing and novel theory make this an interesting and thoughtful read. Although neither fiction nor fantasy, it is also entertaining. This book is faulted, but I still recommend it.
Along with the book's good and bad traits, it was also, personally, a piece of nostalgia. I read this book as a child, and it withstands the test of time: Dickinson's theories are logical, fairly presented, and well-evidenced, and sound reasonable even to an adult reader. Pulling from everything from ancient Chinese myth and the story of Beowulf to modern authors such as J.R. Tolkien and Ursula K. Le Guin, Dickinson pulls his description of vampire behavior and ability direct from historical myth and popular culture. He then uses these excerpts to build and to prove the mechanics of the dragon, everything from lifecycles to flight. His theories on dragonflight (the chemical reactions of dragons blood produced gas, which were stored in huge internal chambers, allowing for flight; dragons belched fire to expel excess gas) is of course the highlight of the book (and the only similarity between the text and the movie of the same name). It is also the most reasonable, scientific, and convincing argument in the book. Here, Dickinson shines: he is well-researched, scientifically-minded, and very convincing.
Unfortunately, these qualities are not universally present. Often, the evidence is selected to fit the facts, or else the arguments are sustained by other arguments, not by evidence. Dickinson discards descriptions that don't fit his theories, instead justifying only what he can reasonably justify, and arguing that the rest is impossible—but never justifying the fact that his sources seem to be both reliable and unreliable in a single breath. He relies heavily on limited, specific sources. In a book of this length, he does not have the space to go into detail assessing any one source, making his choices seem arbitrary. In all, there are various faults and in the research and the proof, and Dickinson's theories are by no means factual, or provable, or even solid.
But what matters in this book is not what Dickinson fails to do, but rather what he manages to achieve. He brings dragons alive: not my vivid descriptions, not by stunning visuals, but by thought, reason, and research. Even though he fails to prove the existence of dragons, he succeeds in proving the possibility. This makes for a fascinating and, in many ways, invigorating read. Dickinson appeals to both imagination and rational thought, and he does so through a text that is easily readable and convincingly argued. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this book, despite all of its faults.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
