In 1949 he earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and moved to California in 1951. He then entered the military and spent World War II as an infantry soldier. The final twist in the tale brings about the realization that Neville, the last human, is now the monster of legend.Born in Allendale, New Jersey to Norwegian immigrant parents, Matheson was raised in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943. As Neville loses his grip on sanity and comes close to giving up, the reader comes to understand what one man can endure if he has to and what happens when he goes too far. Matheson’s calm writing style does nothing to lessen the chill or the impact of Neville’s pain as he describes the death of his wife and daughter. He is totally alone, forced to barbaric slaughter on a daily basis just to survive, hanging on to a life that he does not really want to live any more. The true horror of the story does not lie in the fights with the vampires, but in what the life Neville is forced to lead does to him. Further experiments explain all the “facts” about vampires involving fear of light and garlic, invisibility in mirrors, need for fresh blood, immunity to bullets, susceptibility to wooden stakes, and aversion to religious symbols. By conducting a variety of experiments, Neville learns that the condition has been caused by a bacterium to which he alone is immune. But these are not mythological vampires such as Dracula they include his neighbours and other people he knew.

SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!Īt night, he barricades himself indoors and drinks himself into a stupor while the vampires taunt him and try to break in.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.

100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.

Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.

Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.

Richard matheson's novel i am legend