Some more reading, if you are so inclined. :-)
When looking for medical books, I suggest getting the simplest guide around. Unless you want to go into the medical terminology of exactly what is wrong with the victim in your story, I would suggest that anything more complex than a High School text is overkill. We're looking for rough ideas (and images we can describe) rather than something to write a thesis with.
- "The American Medical Association Handbook of First Aid and Emergency Care" [Random House, 1990.] Authoritative guide for lay people from leading professional body. Plus, it's bound to have diagrams, which *I* think are things all good rsearch books should have. No matter how many lovely descriptions you have, you won't know exactly what to do unless you have an image of it in your mind.
Okay, so we all know that on certain days someone, somewhere, will try and bring about the apocalypse. But those days mean nothing to us anymore - how do we know why they are special? Simple - we consult a pre-Gregorian calendar.
- "The Calendar", by David Ewing Duncan (ISBN: 1-85702-979-8). This book is a *very* in-depth look at the transition fromt he earliest forms of calendar to the one we use today. It is *so* in-depth, in fact, that for those who only want to find a date on which to destroy the world it is slight overkill. However, if you are interested in time and man's perception of it, have a look-see.
- "The Millenium Primer: The Old Farmer's Almanac" by Tim Clark and the Ed.s of "The Old Farmer's Almanac" (ISBN: 0-7370-0061-9). Or, as the subtitle says, "timeless truths and delightful diversions." This book may not tell you how to avert the apocalypse - but it *will* tell you where the word 'hello' came from, how to interpret the phases of the moon and what the special days in the pre-Gregorian calendar meant. Comes highly recommended for entertainment and educational purposes.
Be it witches, vampires or werewolves, "Buffy" and "Angel" have given us enough denizens of darkness to worry about that we can never venture out of our homes at night without a shiver. But how much is just myth - and how much has a basis in fact?
- "The X-Files: Book of the Unexplained" (Vols. 1 and 2) by Jane Goldman (ISBN Vol 1: 0-684-81633-4, Vol 2: 0-684-81634-2). Even if you aren't a fan of The X-Files, you should get these books. Mainly because, once you get past the title, there isn't a whole lot in there about the show, apart from a few scattered quotes. These books - hardbacks, glossy pictures - are *wonderful* when it comes to various myths and legends. They cover everything from, yes, the vampyros myth, to the succubus to alligators in the sewers. An "X-Files" episode is used as a starting point, but what follows is an in-depth look at various phenomena. Highly recommended.
- "Dictionary of Gods and Godesses, Devils and Demons" by Manfred Luker (ISBN: 0-415-03944-4). Just what the title says. Useful if you want to pick a random demon, or if you want to look something up. Not so useful if you want in-depth information on the life and habits of said demon - this book only lists the name, the culture it comes from, and a few facts about it. Pretty much like a dictionary, really.
