Cryptozoology A - Z
Loren Coleman & Jerome Clarke
Fireside (Simon & Schuster)
Nonfiction, Cryptozoology
****
DESCRIPTION: What animals do we really share this world with? Modern zoology tends to think that, aside from the deep seas and a few inaccessible regions, we have a complete log of Earth’s wildlife, but many eyewitnesses beg to differ, reporting encounters with everything from giant ape-men to saber-toothed tigers and all sorts of creatures in between. Cryptozoologists track and study these creatures. Some prove to be nothing more than misunderstandings, but others are far less easy to dismiss, every so often leading to a new discovery that shocks the traditional zoological world. This book offers an A to Z listing of many cryptids (animals of interest to cryptozoologists, known from sightings but not yet officially studied or classified) past and present, as well as the researchers themselves.
REVIEW: I got this at Half Price Books, and read it in under 24 hours. It seems to be fairy complete, though naturally the format doesn't lend itself to extensive discussions of the creatures or controversies. I would have liked a few more illustrations or pictures, just because it was sometimes hard to visualize some of the cryptids described. I still liked it, and only wish I could find more good books on cryptozoology and related fields; I seem to have a hard time finding good, up to date books in the local bookstore.
You might also enjoy:
The Encyclopedia of Monsters (Daniel Cohen, Nonfiction - Cryptids, tall tales, hoaxes, and more)
Strange & Unexplained Phenomena (Jerome Clarke and Nancy Pear, Nonfiction - Cryptids, UFOs, and more)
Monsters: An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings (John Michael Greer, Nonfiction - An alternative approach to unexplainable phenomena)
A Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings (John Keel, Nonfiction - Many unexplained mysteries discussed)
Mysteries of the Unexplained and Reader's Digest Facts and Fallacies (Reader's Digest, Nonfiction - Unsolved mysteries, historical peculiarities, frauds and puzzlers from the ages)
The World's Most Incredible Stories: The Best of the Fortean Times (Adam Sisman, editor, Nonfiction - Articles from the long-running periodical about the unusual and unexplained)
Mysterious Places (Jennifer Westwood, editor, Nonfiction - Historic and prehistoric places that defy explanation)
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved and Unsolved Mysteries: Past and Present(Colin Wilson and Damon Wilson, Nonfiction - Articles on unusual phenomena and unexplained events)
Return to Top of Page - Return to Book Review List
Return to Brightdreamer Books Home
Brightdreamer Books is created and maintained by TBW, a.k.a. "Brightdreamer."
E-mail: tbweber AT comcast DOT net. (Remove spaces, replace AT with "@" and DOT with "." - please put "Brightdreamer Books" in the subject line, or your e-mail may be deleted as
spam! Thank you!