Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and fun read
Review: Well most of know that Santa started out as St. Nicholas, a bishop from Asia minor and of course we know he ended up at the North Pole as the man we know today.But, what happened in between? How did Nicholas start his gift giving and how did he get to where he is today? Jeff Guinn attempts to explain all of that in this delightful book. Read how Santa started out and met the future Mrs. Claus. His travels throughout the world and his eventually settling at the North Pole. Guinn takes know facts about the actualy St. Nicholas and weaves them into the Santa Mythology we are all familiar with. Fun book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Great fun with myth and history
Review: You can tell that the author is a journalist. Each chapter
has elements that challenge the traditions that we accept
without really thinking about them. Aside from St. Nick
himself, and his liberated and practical wife, there are
many characters from our vaguely understood past that
the book gives us with a fresh view.
Sure, I know Atilla the Hun was a barbarian who raided
civilized people... but wouldn't you get tired of that after a
while? He didn't do it all by himself, too -- what about all
those other guys that were looting and pillaging? What
do I actually know about him, at all?
This is a great book for critical thinkers with curiosity about
our cultural roots. It presents a (probably) well-researched
amount of factual information about the characters,
combined with each main character's befuddlement about
the way history and/or myth has made up somebody that
was not the person that actually lived.
It is also really charming in the Christmas message that
flows through all of the chapters. This is a guy that has
a mission to give, but he didn't even start out giving on
Christmas -- he had to do it then because that was what
the myth became. It is what he continues to do, though,
despite challenges like teaching reindeer how to fly,
introduced by another myth.
It's a really fun book to read, and I recommend it for everyone
who feels like there is some reason for their existence, but
maybe the rest of the world has seen them differently than
they see themselves. If you liked The Incredibles, you will
like this book.
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