Customer Reviews

Exploring the Darker Side of America... Strange Highways: A guidebook to American mysteries & The Unexplained

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

With "Strange Highways", Jerry Coleman doesn't simply follow in the footsteps of his brother Loren. He steps boldly along the twists and turns of America's paranormal and cryptozoological roadways. "Strange Highways" is the culmination of 30 years of field investigations by one of the sanest men in the often insane world of the unexplained.

Coleman doesn't write to titilate your senses. He doesn't attempt to persuade you to his point of view. Jerry Coleman isn't selling anything. He simply takes a sometimes cynical but open minded approach to some of the mysteries America has to offer. Like others engaged in this field, he brings an inquisitive mind harnessed to good old fashioned common sense. The result is a book that offers sensible explanations where explanations are possible.

The Lawndale, Illinois thunderbird incident is a case in point. Jerry investigated this report personally and shares his field notes with us. While his results may disappoint those hoping for a more sensational ending, Colemen's conclusions underscore his ability to cut through the mythology and weigh the evidence in a meaningful manner.

And for those who demand a little more of the unexplained, there's plenty of that also.

I do find two problems with this book. One is that it is too broad in scope to allow for an in depth discussion of all the topics. I can't help but feel Mr. Coleman has much more to tell us.

The other complaint is minor and has to do with the number of typos. That I think, can be layed at the publisher's feet. Perhaps in Jerry's next book, that problem will be resolved.

And I do hope there is a next one. If there is, it will definitely be on my "Must Buy" list.

I don't usually take the time to write reviews but after reading this book, I felt it warranted one. While reading "Strange Highways" I was continually impressed by the fact that Mr. Coleman utilized scientific methods. He did not research from his armchair but actually travelled to the sites and interviewed the witnesses and the geographical locations where the sighting occurred. Many times he went back to interview the witnesses a second or third time to clarify facts. All the facts are documented with names, locations, details and some re-enactments. The book is written with an unbiased approach which allows the reader to determine how they feel, not the precluded opinion of the writer or witnesses. Mr. Coleman includes only verified facts, no undocumented evidence is precluded as the "truth". There are no allusions made to the paranormal as the "answer" and only answer, leaving no other options as some writers utilize. If Mr. Coleman found a resolution to the case, he resolves it also for the reader. I have found other writters will "leave it open" as to suggest again paranormal tendencies and there are no answers. A very good read, with physically researched facts.

Overall, Strange Highways was a decent read; however I have some problems that bothered me throughout the book.

First of all, this book is deeply in need of a good editor...or at the very least, a decent spellchecker. The book is literally filled with obvious typos and grammatical errors. It really kills the flow of some stories when the eye is continually being distracted by these mistakes. Some sentences don't even make sense when read, so it seems hard to believe anyone actually took the time to proof read the book. Even the table of contents randomly stops listing page numbers half way down the page!

Next, many of the paranormal stories in the book actually revolve around Mr. Coleman's own purported experiences. At first glance, this isn't a bad thing, as it would seem to provide some fresh material for the reader. As I progressed through the chapters however, I became more and more suspicious each time he revealed a first hand experience from some point in his life. I am a believer in at least the strong possibility of paranormal events, and am a regular reader of this type of material. Despite this, I can safely report that I have never actually had any type of paranormal experience, be it cryptozoological, extraterrestrial, ghostly, etc. (Nor have any of my friends, that I know of.) Yet it appears that Jerry Coleman has had these experiences regularly, throughout his life; as have many of his friends. Hardly a chapter in this diverse book seemed to pass without a first hand account! Now I can accept if someone is unusually receptive to ghosts, or believes they've been abducted by aliens, but I find it hard to believe that anyone could experience the diversity of paranormal phenomena Mr. Coleman claims to have experienced. It seems everywhere he went in life a random paranormal occurrence fell upon himself or a friend! I have no reason to call him a liar, but it certainly seemed suspicious after awhile.

My third criticism of the book is that it attempts to be very diverse, yet does not evenly address any of its topics. The entire text is less than 200 pages, despite the fact that many of the topics within have been the subject of thousands to millions of pages of research over the years. It would take a real effort to compress that kind of information into a useful summary of each topic, and unfortunately Strange Highways did not succeed. Topics are simply addressed very unevenly. For contrast, I will use a book I thought provided an excellent overview of various paranormal topics: John Keel's "The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings." In Keel's work one gets a very broad and thorough (although superficial) treatment of all the topics. By contrast, Strange Highways is completely hit or miss. Coleman chooses to skip discussion of the phenomena themselves, and plunge right into his random collection of stories.

Finally, there is a distinct lack of structure or scientific method in the information presented. There is very little done in the way of references for material, or documentary quotes or photographs. When you read some works on the paranormal, they're well documented, as you would expect a scientific report to be. Strange Highways reads more like campfire tales...they may be true, but there's little in the way of proof short of the words themselves.

I will give one upside to this writing: some of the material does seem fresh to me. Since it's based primarily on some of Coleman's own experiences and/or interviews, it makes sense some of these stories are not to be read elsewhere. You don't have to worry about being hit with the same old rehashed tales for the umpteenth time here.

So in summation, there are certainly better books available. If you already have experience with a given topic you'll be better served choosing a book focusing on that topic. If you're new to the paranormal you won't learn much here, as there is much more storytelling than discussion of the actual phenomena. I recommend this book only to pad the collections of avid readers of the paranormal who may be looking for a couple fresh tales.

In this book "Strange Highways" by Jerry D. Coleman many interesting and
provoking thoughts surface as one flies through it's pages. Coleman presents the cases; of ghosts, cryptids, the mind and even the occult (to mention but a few of the topics) in a way and with such legitimacy one feels the experience, has the facts and contemplates the conclusion.

Secondly, and most important to me, Coleman then leaves the conclusion up to the reader, openly laying out the facts, theories and events in such a manner as never before seen in the Cryptozoological or Paranormal field.

Documented testimony and in-depth, repeated interviews are offered. Logic over hype, where the `truth is stranger than fiction' quickly floats to the surface in this book! This is not a fact filled boring book with outrageous claims, undocumented witnesses or credulous theories. No. This is a book the Cryptozoology buff and Paranormal fan has been waiting for!

But you be the judge, I think this is what Jerry D. Coleman would request of you.

A-plus research and investigations!

Dr. Benjamin

Strange scary creatures, ghosts and shadows in the night in 14 chapters it's all here! "STRANGE HIGHWAYS" A Guidebook to America Mysteries & The Unexplained! Exploring the Darker Side of America.
Ch.1 HOMO ANOMALOUS - beastly bipeds & Road Trolls
Ch.2 Y-CREATURES - erratic animals, weird but known
Ch.3 THUNDERBIRD - Lawndale case study, 25 years in the making
Ch.4 PHANTOM PANTHERS - Investigations & evidence
Ch.5 BIGFOOT OR BIGFAKE - Sightings & survey
Ch.6 UFO's - First person sightings
Ch.7 GHOSTS - Haunted places & people
Ch.8 GLIMPSES - Witnesses to the paranormal & strange critters
Ch.9 WITCHCRAFT - first hand encounters and interviews
Ch.10 JERSEY DEVIL & MOTHMAN - new evidence, new thought
Ch.11 INNOCUOUS ENCOUNTERS - weird & surreal events
Ch.12 PHANTOM ATTACKERS - mad gasser & murder monsters
Ch.13 OCCULT - Ouija boards, superstitions & dreams
Ch.14 CAMPFIRE CONVERSATIONS - a look down the strange highway of the past, present and future.

I plain could not put the book down. Truth, logic and excellent research made this my best buy in years!!! Thank you Mr. Coleman, GREAT work!! (Please check out these authors too, Lee Murphy, D.L.Tanner, Troy Taylor and Robert Coppen). Tammy

I have never written a review but after reading another review that resembled an attack rather than a book review I was compelled to do so. Moreover, I'm not one to speculate about topics and dare I say, would not put it in writing for all to see before verifying a few facts.

The title is plainly on the book explaining the contents: Exploring the Darker Side of America "Strange Highways" A guidebook to American Mysteries & The Unexplained. Metaphorically speaking was my understanding. Is "Stars Wars" stars battling? And if a title confuses one, may I suggest taking a moment to read the reviews before making that next purchase.

I then took it upon myself to contact the author as well as the publisher to get my answers from the horses mouth as they say . The author I must say amazingly wrote me back not once but twice and did acknowledge the presence of typo's however the problems were more along the lines of a glitch in the Ingram Press computer system than the fault of the author or Whitechapel. The problem was immediately addressed and Ingram if anyone should be pointed out as the source to such errors as; 200 instead of 2000, repeated words or sheep being in print rather than sheet. Oh, and by the way the author's e-mail's had no spelling error's!

The bottom line to those who have read up on Cryptozoology and paranormal investigations have found a gapping void and redundant information in recently processed material. "Strange Highways" offers and deliveries a sensible study coupled with unique tales, many of which have never been in print before or the ones that have brings research never disclosed or tackled. So to suggest these stories were no more than magazine articles proves some have no real knowledge of this field.

"Strange Highways" highly recommended.

please???

I have read many books published by Whitchapel Productions and I have the same complaint about each one. They hurt my eyes, with their unprofessional-looking mishmash of clashing fonts, and they are full of typos that any cursory proof-reading should have caught. This lack of attention to detail seriously detracts from the quality of the contents of their books, in my opinion. I would like to urge them to please upgrade their quality control, so the subjects of their publications receive all the respect they deserve.

Now that I have that out of the way, I did enjoy this book. However, I felt it got off to a slow start and didn't really pick up until about a third of the way through. Then, it suddenly seemed to become more tightly written and more involving. Anyone who enjoys reading about Fortean subjects should enjoy this book - it contains lots of scary stuff that the author either experienced himself or collected from people who did experience it, and I'm glad he put it all together.

Unlike the majority of the cryptozoologically oriented books that I've read, this one is fair and balanced. No wishful thinking dreamer is Mr. Coleman, but an objective and realistic observer. And a darned good interviewer.

Written for the layman, yet chock full of pertinent info, this is a must read for anyone who's interested in this field. And, even if you're not, it's a good overview of American myth and legendry, mixed with what may very well be reality.

One of the things I really like about this book is that it's non-partisan, without any real cause or prejudice. Mr. Coleman gives us the facts, interviews the people, and lets us draw our own conclusions, without any pomposity or pretense as to his knowing all the answers. Insightful, yet objective, from Thunderbirds to Bigfoot to the Jersey Devil to. . . ., this one's a keeper.

And a breath of fresh air.

"Strange Highways" Indeed ! Power packed, revealing, and obviously over thirty years of research as the author claims.
A delight to read was this one, easy, interesting and not crazy far out. I felt any of the events and encounters told in this book are quite possible.
I've read other Cryptozoological books and scores of paranormal books as well, but "Strange Highways" had me looking twice at shadows and listening harder at those noises in the night.
I honestly, truly, enjoyed this book and look forward to reading it again very soon.

Outstanding written book on the unexplained. Author Jerry D. Coleman did not write this book in a way that it was over my head. I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. That's how good it was.