Vlad the Impaler: The Real Count Dracula Book

Deep in the mountains of Transylvania there once lived a real Dracula.  He was Prince Vlad Dracula, and he ruled with a thirst for blood worthy of a vampire.

Loyalty meant nothing to Vlad Dracula.  He betrayed his friends and befriended his enemies.  When his enemies became friends, he betrayed them too.  He would sacrifice anything to stay in power. 

The most famous vampire in literature may have taken Vlad Dracula's name.  But the real Dracula's life is more shocking than any horror story.

VOYA

One can get teens to willingly read history by focusing on some of history's most wicked characters such as Vlad the Impaler and Tomas de Torquemada in these easy-to-read little books with eye-catching covers. They provide brief biographies as well as an overview of the historical context in which they lived. Although both were involved in violent acts, the context serves to humanize them and avoid over-sensationalizing the events. Vlad, for example, had a violent childhood, was betrayed by others, and spent many years as a prisoner of the Turks. Many of his later atrocities were in retaliation for the cruelty done to his family during his childhood or as a method of attempting to scare off the much larger and more powerful Ottoman Empire. Torquemada genuinely believed that he was doing God's work, and although he approved of torture, he was very devout in his faith, seeing the torment as a way of saving souls. The texts include several visual aides such as maps and chronologies to help understand the events. Also included are historical images and paintings of the people and events in a midsection, although the images are not captioned in the main text and the credits only list copyright and not the artist or creation date. Also included are lists of both further reading and sources, but there are no citations, even on quoted dialogue. Other titles in the series profile Genghis Khan and Rasputin. Reviewer: Teresa Copeland