Half Human, Half Animal: Tales of Werewolves and Related Creatures

Rating:
Summary: Equal Opportunity Collector
Review: "Half Human, Half Animal" is a wonderful treat for everyone who is tired of dead white men and Europe getting more than their fair share of everything. It has a whole chapter just for the hyena-men legends of Africa, a whole chapter just for that! And it is a good chapter, too. Wonderful stories of heroism, mystery and tragedy. Even on the werewolf chapter, it travels around the world, avoiding Europe as much as possible. Asia and South America are represented by large chapters covering people who turn into foxes or dolphins. If you like mythology, if you want to raise your household to respect all cultures and think multicultural, then this is a book that does the job. The legends are good, and it explains the beliefs and cultures behind the legends too. They weren't all bloodthirsty monsters. Some were sex symbols, shapeshifting gods, tricksters, or forces that protected nature from invasion.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Try but no cigar
Review: Although the young author appears to have gave it the old college try, it lacked the heart of in-depth, personal research. If you're looking for lists and out of this world shapeshifting assumptions this ones for you.
Nothing was in this book I could not have found on the web or made up, in one form or another. I must say I'm glad I did not purchase the book but received it to be reviewed.
For a fun little read or to save your search engine this book is for you, just don't expect too much out of it, then you'll be pleased.

Rating:
Summary: Especially recommended to students of Metaphysical Studies
Review: Half Human, Half Animal: Tales Of Werewolves And Related Creatures focuses on the human/animal transforming myths that are present in virtually every culture around the world in one form or another. From European werewolves, to weretigers of India, to the snake women of Asia, to the human hyenas of Africa, and more, author Jamie Hall enhances the stories and myths about "shapeshifters" with brief and informative histories butting the tales into an historical perspective for the reader. Also included are guides to books and movies about each species identified, as well as a directory that lists films, comic books, games, television shows, theme restaurants, commercial haunted houses, and other sources of shapeshifter information. From the tribal legends of African antiquity to the 1991 sightings of werewolves near Chicago, Half Human, Half Animal is especially recommended to students of Metaphysical Studies as well as folklore enthusiasts.

Rating:
Summary: A summary of book contents
Review: Hi from the author! Excuse me while I pop my nose in here for a few seconds and comment on my own book. Because of some previous reviews and also certain questions I regularly receive through email, I thought that I might need to clarify what this book is about.
My book is a collection of folklore dealing with werewolves and certain other mythical beings who have a tendency to shift their shapes between human and animal. Werewolves are limited to one chapter. The other six chapters cover topics such as the enchanted dolphins of Brazil, the fox maidens of the Far East, and the hyena men of African lore. Since my book deals with archaic beliefs, it is nonfiction, even though most of the events described within its pages obviously never occurred. It is not a collection of short stories, for those who were wondering; it is a survey of anthropological material, urban legends, hoaxes, religious beliefs and superstition.
Because people often find it difficult to locate novels about human/animal shapeshifters other than werewolves, I have also included fiction resource guides within the book. For example, the werecat section lists 29 novels and 20 movies, with a one-sentence plot synopsis for each entry.
As to the reviews that perhaps made things less clear instead of more clear for those of you trying to decide whether you want to read my book, I'm going to answer those concerns right now. I do not know why one reviewer recommended my book for "metaphysical studies" and I doubt whether anyone who bought my book for that purpose would be satisfied with it. I did go out of my way to dig up urban legends, but my book never endorses a belief in the supernatural. It's just a collection of folklore.
The other reviewer who claimed that my book lacked research and was full of stuff that was either made up or from the Internet was obviously expecting something other than what he got. I went out of my way to slog through obscure, scholarly works for 4 years to dig up the best legends that most people haven't come across. If my book sounds like nothing you've ever heard on this subject before, it's because that was the effect I was trying for. I wanted something truly different, something that poked into hidden nooks and crannies to bring interesting new material to the light of day. My book is not for everyone. If you want a rehash of all the same old legends that can be found in numerous werewolf books in your local library, then my book is not for you.
If that reviewer had looked in the back of the book, he would have found my research notes and could have easily followed them back to the original source books. As to the accusation that the same folktales can be found on the Internet, that is true for several of the most famous fox maiden legends, and also for the book excerpts that I included on my own website, but it is untrue for well over 90% of the legends.
If you have further questions about the book, try a simple web search. At least ten independent reviews will pop up, from great review sites such as Fantastica Daily. My own website includes a very detailed outline, an online index, and other material for those who want to know everything before they decide. Happy book browsing, and I hope I've cleared up your confusion and kept you from buying my book if it isn't what you were looking for.

Rating:
Summary: Shapeshifters Galore! Excellent Resource!
Review: I'd always been interested in myths and legends about shapeshifters, but most books about them tend to focus more on werewolves than any other kind. Therefore, it was a delight to find this book which covers shapeshifters of many kinds, from a wide range of cultures, past to present. Of course, werewolves are thoroughly discussed, but the author also presents a huge amount of material on were-cats, kitsune, were-dolphins, snake-people, "human hyenas", and even some stories about shapeshifting herbivores such as deer, donkeys, and boar.

I really liked the book's organization (each chapter presents a different group of shapeshifters), and at the end of each chapter there is a listing of books and movies relevant to the section; each chapter begins with an illustration as well. In addition, there is a massive resource guide at the end of the book, listing relevant movies, TV shows, comics, web pages, books, and more, with a special section devoted entirely to werewolves; it made for a lot of fun browsing. The author's writing is pleasant to read, yet thorough; I really enjoyed this book! Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Hats off to a well-rounded book
Review: In this age, it seems to be popular to sensationalize topics such as werewolves and vampires. Authors love dragging the subject into the gutter by clinging to cliches ... trying to connect everything to demons and witchcraft ... or pretending that everything from mythology is just like it is presented in the latest horror movies. Jamie Hall bucks these trends and delivers a well-rounded look at werewolves, werecats, werefoxes and others. He reveals that every culture has some kind of cousin of the werewolf. He traverses haunted, abandoned temples of ancient Japan ... the sheep pastures of American pioneers ... even modern legends like that of "White Wolf Woman" who saves travelers who get lost in snowstorms. You can meet a bloodthirsty snake-demon in the form of a handsome young man ... an African hyena-man who works hard to bring meat home to his hungry family ... or a werewolf who defends a saint's severed head. Jamie Hall maintains a certain distance from the legends, never gushing out an annoying "could this be true?" or launching into a dry lecture about exactly why we should not believe in werewolves. He seems intent on holding up this bauble of mythology to the light and showing us all angles of it ... from the oldest mythology around to urban legends just a few years old ... from lions and foxes to deer and rats. If you like mythical creatures or really good folklore books, get it. In a genre that often spits out the same few legends and is often hopelessly misinterpreted, this is a new ray of light.

Rating:
Summary: New Tome Examines the Unexplored Niches of Worldwide Lore
Review: Jamie Hall's goal is clear from the start of 'Half Human, Half Animal'. He intends to bring up every aspect of werewolves and shapeshifters that has habitually been ignored by authors writing werewolf books for general audiences. In this respect, he certainly succeeds. Many topics in this book will be completely new to most readers. Seasoned intellectuals and folklore specialists will recognize a number of topics that have previously been covered in academic articles and obscure books published mainly by university presses, but which are seldom seen outside those venues. Jamie Hall manages to filter these academic treatises for a lay audience with remarkable finesse. He leaves the dry theorizing aside to present one interesting folktale or curious custom after another, with just enough background information for readers to appreciate the cultural significance and not get lost. The density of material is surprising. Few writers can manage to include so many legends, anecdotes and details of various sorts in just 300 pages without seeming rushed or jumbled, but Jamie Hall manages to avoid this problem.
He steers the reader through a whirlwind of cultural bogey-men, pranksters, monsters and heroes. The breadth and depth of this book clearly distinguish it from peer works, and should guarantee a place for it on library shelves. It will complement, not compete with, other books on the same topic.
The subject of this book is worldwide legends and lore about people who could change into animals or, in some cases, animals who could change into people. It contains folktales about the more usual animals, such as (were)wolves, cats and foxes, along with more exotic specimens of the shapeshifter archetype, such as dolphins, snakes and hyenas. Not content with a focus on the various species of shapeshifter that are usually ignored, Hall trumps other werewolf books by also having a truly worldwide, multicultural depth and by examining werewolf legends of several obscure types. He looks at American werewolf legends in some detail, including the discipline of urban legends.
Hall is also keenly interested in werewolf fandom and seems to be a dedicated fan himself. He knows a great deal about werewolf fiction, and includes a gigantic appendix of novels, movies, television shows, video games and everything else. The only item I see lacking is plays, but I suppose we can do without a list of the greatest werewolf plays. As the back of the book reads, there are "over 250 films and more than 500 books" in these fiction guides. Not only are these lists longer than most I have encountered online or in books such as those by Leonard R. N. Ashley or Brad Steiger, but they are also more helpful. Rather than just including a title and author, Hall includes a remarkably succinct description for each work of fiction, getting right to the point of what the novel or movie is about and exactly what part a werewolf or shapeshifter plays in it.
This is a thoroughly delightful book, romping through history, anthropology, and the realms of fiction, all seen through werewolf-colored glasses. I recommend it heartily to most readers, with one reservation. The book's sole problem is Hall's desire to make it much different from other books about werewolves. The same characteristics that lead us into so many exotic, little-explored niche areas of mythology will leave some readers high and dry. Hall forgets to include some of the basics. Legends that have made it into nearly every werewolf book ever published are curiously absent from Hall's work. He reduces the entire craze of Medieval werewolf trials to a three-paragraph summary that is rather dismissive because, as Hall states, the trials are boring, repetitive and chock full of ideas that came directly from convoluted theological teachings that were not understood by the average peasant, the source of most legends. Therefore, the trials did not have much to do with the legends, and since Hall's book is about legends, it ignores these trials. This line of reasoning allows the author to leave out what should be a basic part of every werewolf book. Another area of lack is the explanations for why people have believed in werewolves, kitsune, human hyenas and the like throughout history. Most books include copious material on this subject, but Hall only includes enough to get by. In his case, each explanation is tied to a legend or custom that has just been told. It is enlightening to see explanations presented in this way, but the book really needs a large section devoted just to these explanations, especially since Hall's mind has come up with some unique, clever, yet simple explanations that people should have thought of years ago. I would wish to hear more about them. The only other complaint I have is that it is a paperback. This book is the sort that will be consulted again and again, and paperbacks simply can't stand up to long-term abuse like hardcovers can.

Rating:
Summary: very diverse legends!
Review: Not only does this have a great resource for shapeshifter movies and books but lots of legends from all over the world! This book focuses on all kinds of shapeshifting legends not just werewolves.The creatures are described as good and evil depending on the legend unlike many werewolf books that paint them as evil or tragic.
I have read tons of material on this subject and am very pleased with this book.Most books about werewolves tell the same legends over and over but this one gets into some that I have never come across.The language used is simple and effective. This is a solid book.

Rating:
Summary: someone finally got it right
Review: This book I thought was so cool when I opened it and saw a whole chapter on werecats, my favorite most fantasy creatures of all time. It doesn't just have one or two legends like other werewolf encyclopedias, it has it all right there. Like, it explains how the African werecat legends are related to mythology about leopard gods. If a leopard god was doing your grandmother on the side, then you might be born with some of the same powers. There is a lot more. Everyone had different beliefs, and this book goes over everyone's beliefs, no matter where they lived in the world, even modern beliefs held by crackpots. There is a lot of detail. The book always tries to show you both sides of an issue. It talks about how so many of these werebeast legends were actually made according to what people believed about real animals. When people living in a certain country thought that wolves were bloodthirsty, evil man-eaters, then their werewolf legends were all the same way. If people thought that wolves were kind of sneaky and rogueish but not really that bad, then the werewolves would be thieves, not killers. If people, such as Native Americans, worshipped wolves and thought they were good, then werewolves would be good, and they would be more spirit than human in addition to being good. Everything depended on people's views about real animals. Every sort of legend is included. We get to see the werewolf good guys and bad guys in equal portions. We also get to hear about all sorts of interesting cousins of the werewolf, such as shapeshifting vampire-cats, lamias, nagas, human hyenas, deer people, dolphin people, rat people, sheep people and even a kangaroo, and of course plenty of werecats, including lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars and everything.