A Field Guide To Identifying Unicorns By Sound: A Compact Handbook Of Mythic Proportions [Paperback]

Craig Conley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

A pragmatic reference replete with tips and easy-to-digest tidbits from folklore, physics, and literature, this Field Guide is at once a commonplace book, a work of refined playfulness and wit, and ultimately a self-help tool for centering and opening awareness through active listening. Blending the author's signature sensitivity to the awe and magic wrapped up in folkloric phenomena with a tongue-in-cheek bending of scientific principles to his fanciful purpose, this concise book uniquely balances humor, scholarship, spirituality, and imagination. As readers open their ears and awaken their inner senses, they are guided to effortlessly attune to whispers of the soul. Readers may set off in search of hearing a unicorn, but through deep listening they are likely to encounter their higher selves. Dozens of easy-to-grasp, deceptively sensible illustrations expertly marry science and whimsy. Delightful, enchanting, and unique, it is perhaps the ultimate in whimsical zoology.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Craig Conley is a curator, benefactor, philosopher, author, music producer, and documentarian. A former college teacher of writing and literature, he left academia to pursue his research into one-letter words, two-fold deities, and ancient Zen versions of Rock-Paper-Scissors. In addition to his Magic Words: A Dictionary and One-Letter Words: A Dictionary, he has written several educational titles, including four editions of the textbook Human Diversity: A Guide for Understanding, published by McGraw-Hill. His latest documentary, “David Lynch and His Precursors,” traces the avant-garde filmmaker’s influence through time, to movies that predate Lynch’s own body of work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace; First edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438216343
• ISBN-13: 978-1438216348
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CRAIG CONLEY has been called "a true Renaissance man of the modern era, diving headfirst into comprehensive, open-minded study of realms obscured or merely obscure" (Clint Marsh), "America's most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation" (Encarta), a "language fanatic" (Page Six gossip columnist Cindy Adams), and a "cult hero" (Publisher's Weekly). An eccentric scholar, Conley's ideas are often decades ahead of their time. He invented the concept of the "virtual pet" in 1980, fifteen years before the debut of the popular "Tamagotchi" in Japan. His virtual pet, actually a rare flower, still thrives and has reached an incomprehensible size. Conley's ONE-LETTER WORDS: A DICTIONARY is published by HarperCollins, and his MAGIC WORDS: A DICTIONARY is published by Weiser Books.