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The 101 most influential people who never lived : how characters of fiction, myth, legends, television, and movies have shaped our society, changed our behavior, and set the course of history / Allan Lazar, Dan Karlen, and Jeremy Salter.

Van Pelt Library E169.1 .L45 2006
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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Lazar, Allan, 1931-
Contributor:
Karlan, Dan, 1951-
Salter, Jeremy, 1952-
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Legends.
Mythology.
Fictitious characters.
Civilization.
United States--Civilization--Miscellanea.
United States.
National characteristics, American--Miscellanea.
National characteristics, American.
Popular culture--United States--Miscellanea.
Popular culture.
Fictitious characters--Miscellanea.
Mythology--Miscellanea.
Legends--Miscellanea.
Genre:
Trivia and miscellanea.
Physical Description:
xiii, 317 pages ; 21 cm
Edition:
First edition.
Other Title:
One hundred one most influential people who never lived
One hundred and one most influential people who never lived
Place of Publication:
New York : Harper, [2006]
Summary:
From Santa Claus to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from Uncle Sam to Uncle Tom, here is a compelling, eye-opening, and endlessly entertaining compendium of fictional trendsetters and world-shakers who have helped shape our culture and our lives. The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived offers fascinating histories of our most beloved, hated, feared, and revered invented icons and the indelible marks they made on civilization, including: # 28: Rosie the riveter, the buff, blue-collar factory worker who helped jump-start the Women's Liberation movement, # 7: Siegfried, the legendary warrior-hero of Teutonic nationalism responsible for propelling Germany into two world wars, # 80: Icarus, the headstrong high-flyer who inspired the Wright brothers and humankind's dreams of defying gravity ... while demonstrating the pressing need for flight insurance, # 58: Saint valentine, the hapless, de-canonized loser who lost his heart and head at about the same time, # 43: Barbie, the bodacious plastic babe who became a role model for millions of little girls, setting an impossible standard for beauty and style.
Contents:
Beginnings: How We Got into Writing This Book 5
The 101 in Rank Order 9
1 Greek and Roman Myths 13
Prometheus-#46 14
Apollo and Dionysus-#23 16
Venus and Cupid-#45 18
Pandora-#47 20
Helen-#59 22
Odysseus-#24 24
Midas-#29 27
Pygmalion-#88 29
Icarus-#80 31
Hercules-#76 33
2 Folktales 37
Santa Claus-#4 38
The Pied Piper-#69 40
The Wandering Jew-#92 43
Hansel and Gretel-#52 45
Cinderella, A Rebuttal-#26 47
Lilith-#99 50
Saint Valentine-#58 51
King Arthur-#3 53
Robin Hood-#12 56
William Tell-#42 58
Don Juan-#40 61
Interlude: How We Did It-The Ranking Method 65
4 Monsters 71
Dr. Frankenstein's Monster-#6 72
Loch Ness Monster-#56 74
King Kong-#74 77
Godzilla-#38 78
5 Stereotypes 81
Prince Charming-#20 82
Jim Crow-#13 85
Mammy-#81 88
6 Adventure 93
Sindbad the Sailor-#82 94
Robinson Crusoe-#22 96
Buck-#94 98
Tarzan-#49 100
Luke Skywalker-#85 103
Interlude: Categories 107
7 Crime 109
Sherlock Holmes-#8 110
Batman-#60 112
Hans Beckert-#90 116
Dick Tracy-#77 117
8 Americana 121
Uncle Sam-#61 122
Uncle Tom-#11 124
Hiawatha-#71 127
The American Cowboy-#19 130
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn-#65 133
Paul Bunyan-#101 136
Amos 'n' Andy-#83 138
G.I. Joe-#48 143
John Doe-#100 146
9 Literature 149
Don Quixote-#17 150
Ivanhoe-#97 152
Ebenezer Scrooge-#16 154
Captain Ahab-#53 156
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-#10 160
The Great Gatsby-#93 161
Interlude: The Writing Process 165
10 Children's Literature 169
The Little Engine That Could-#31 170
The Ugly Duckling-#55 172
Alice-#34 173
Peter Pan-#70 176
The Cat in the Hat-#79 179
11 Theater 183
Oedipus-#14 184
Romeo and Juliet-#9 186
Hamlet-#5 188
Othello-#72 190
Shylock-#27 192
Figaro-#37 193
Faust-#36 195
Madame Butterfly-#89 197
Siegfried-#7 199
Willy Loman-#95 203
Interlude: Who Met Whom? 205
12 Movies 207
The Little Tramp-#73 208
Dracula-#33 211
Dorothy Gale-#91 214
Sam Spade-#68 217
Citizen Kane-#35 219
Richard Blaine-#54 222
Elmer Gantry-#98 224
Norman Bates-#75 226
Dr. Strangelove-#87 229
Bond, James Bond-#51 231
Atticus Finch-#57 234
HAL 9000-#66 236
13 Women's Liberation 241
Hester Prynne-#30 242
Nora Helmer-#25 244
Lady Chatterly-#15 245
Nancy Drew-#62 247
Mary Richards-#39 250
Buffy the Vampire Slayer-#44 253
Interlude: Who's Fictional? 257
14 Comics and Animation 261
Mickey Mouse-#18 262
Betty Boop-#96 264
Buck Rogers-#84 266
Superman-#64 268
Bambi-#41 272
15 Commerce 275
The Marlboro Man-#1 276
Barbie-#43 278
Joe Camel-#78 281
16 Propaganda 285
Smokey Bear-#21 286
Rosie the Riveter-#28 289
Big Brother-#2 292
17 Television 295
Perry Mason-#86 296
Archie Bunker-#32 299
Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock-#50 302
J. R. Ewing-#63 305
Kermit the Frog-#67 307
Appendix Also-Rans and Near-Misses 313.
ISBN:
0061132217
9780061132216
OCLC:
65521592
Publisher Number:
9780061132216

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