Drake's Comprehensive Compendium of Dragonology by Dr. Ernest Drake (Oct 27 2009)

I honestly never thought I'd want another Dragonology book after I read through the majority of the older texts and had them mostly memorized (the original book, the handbook and assorted others). After seeing this installment at my library and flipping through it, however, my opinion was changed completely. Unlike the main Ology books, there are no inlaid gems in the cover and the pages are thick and parchment-like, not shiny cardstock. Despite that minor change, very few illustrations are reused from the original and adds several dragons and pseudo-dragons to the usual fare presented thus far. In terms of content removal, it only contains the original dragon runes seen in the first Dragonology and is missing the sections on dragon magic altogether. While from a publishing perspective repeating that much material is unnecessary, I feel it removes an interesting aspect from the world of Dragonology present in the other books. Even so, the addition of new dragons and fresh artwork can make even a long-time, older fan's interest become renewed. I can happily say this book will not be donated to my cousins as the others have. Pros: -New artwork -New dragons -Recaps and collects important parts of older works -High quality paper and beautiful canvas cover -Has a built-in ribbon bookmark Cons: -Expensive! It's most likely out-of-print, but makes a good gift for collectors and fans of Dragonology -Big, thick book, may be intimidating to smaller children -Lacks interesting (but minor) content from other Dragonology books

Fantastic, detailed, and well-illustrated look into the world of dragons. Biology, social customs, all of these and more are included; a great read for anyone interested in the topic. Got it for a friend, but am sorely tempted to get another copy for myself

My daughter brought this book home from the library and after a week, we all decided we needed a copy for ourselves. It's amazing how much detail went into creating Drake's Compendium - detailing each kind of dragon, their habits, their temperaments, prey, habitat, diet, language, alphabet, bone-structure. Even their dung. It has a tremendous amount of humor in addition to drop dead gorgeous illustrations. I now know more than I ever thought I would about the European, Knucker, Ryu, Lung, American and Mexican Amphithere dragons (plus all the psuedo-dragons). The whole family loves this books and looks forward to more compendiums of mythical beasts by the publisher.

I haven't had a chance to read this book yet, but I've flipped through it, and I can tell that it's going to be amazing and informative and a joy to read! All the pictures and diagrams are awesome! It has the look and feel of a text book, and it would make an excellent addition to any dragonologist's library! I love it and I haven't even read it yet! I highly recommend it to anyone who loves dragons, and wishes to further their knowlege about them! :D

My granddaughter loves dragons and thinks they are real! This book made sure that she does not loose her imagination. Thank You!

My granddaughter has spent hours with the Public library and has checked it out since shewas about 12 years old and so wanted a copy of her own. Thanks so much for a good used one that I could afford. I believe that she will be thrilled on Christmas day.

I orignally bought this book for a friend. When I received it I couldn't put it down. So many interesting dragons and mythology in it. I ended up giving her a different gift. It is a great coffee table book. Infact my father loves dragons also and found he had a difficult time putting it down also. I found my favorite dragon was the Frost Dragon. The book goes way beyond just decribing the dragons but also about the ones that were decended from dinosaurs. Very entertaining.

This book (though not a replacement) is an excellent suppliment to the original Dragonology book. It repeats some of the facts contained in the previous book but also features plenty of new information on both old and new dragon species as well their close relatives. The illustrations are fantastic and (if you have a webcam) can also come alive with awesome 3d images. Overall, I strongly recommend this book to dragon fans. It will be a worthwhile addition to your collection even if you prefer not to collect all the dragonology books just because of the insane amount of work that went into this book.

Davvero un bel libro, pieno di bellissime illustrazioni e di pittoresche descrizioni, completo di qualsiasi cosa riguardi i draghi ! Sicuramente consigliato !

Drakes books are great to have they have all kinds of info about Dragons they're great to read and look at for every one that likes Dragons.

My kids almost believe dragons are real after reading this book. It is beautifully illustrated and written with authority on a subject that is entirely made-up. Very fun.

An awesome read,I just love dragons...

My daughter loves dragons and this is a very good encyclopedia of dragons. It has great facts and fabulous pictures. She loves it.