Customer Reviews

Mysterious America: The Revised Editiion

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It seems impossible that the original "Mysterious America" came out in 1983,it feels like I've had it forever. It is virtually impossible to have any lengthy conversation in Forteana without referring back to Loren's Masterwork. So when I got it,it was to backup a well thumbed copy of the original. What a joy to read all the new material! It's like a brand new book. Mr. Coleman loves lists and his are actually useful,so don't be upset that the last forty pages or so are lists . These will help you get lost in some really strange places and put you in touch with odd people and bizarre events. I speak from experience. Enjoy this book and use it! This book is a tool not just a reference.Loren Coleman is one of the very few full service Forteans still writing and researching all anomalous events.

Review:
Mysterious America: The Revised Edition by Loren Coleman Paraview
Press)2001

If one is to consider Loren Coleman's original release of "Mysterious America" as one of the paramount pieces of literature ever penned that deals with unexplained phenomena, then one should put in parentheses "both editions". Coleman picks up where he left off in his original piece by meticulously delving back into these unexplained mysteries and providing additional details that have emerged over the past two decades. It is akin to a student revising a thesis that had previously been graded with an 'A', only to receive an 'A+'. As an author of many books and news articles dealing with this subject matter, this may very well be his masterpiece.

Among the many unique unexplained events of paranormal phenomena that Coleman diligently investigates in this book, perhaps his new reflection on the "Dover Demon", a bulbous-headed creature encountered by some Eastern Massachusetts teenagers during their school vacation in 1977, is his finest work yet. As one of the pilot investigators of this perplexing mystery, he helped bring global attention to this mystery in his original edition of "Mysterious America".

But why is my opinion different from any other critic's review? Well, having grown up in the vicinity of this strange occurrence and being quite familiar with the region and the circumstances surrounding this event, I had taken a skeptical stance. It developed after I undertook a personal investigation of the account and found one of the witnesses to be less than credible. In this new edition of Mysterious America, Coleman successfully extracts this witness from the others, without tainting their character or testimony. In fact, Coleman takes it one step further by utilizing his skills as a seasoned social worker. He removes the witness from the event, lies him down on a couch and psycho-analyzes him, just as a certified psychiatrist would. He postulates a motive for as to why this witness would perpetuate his account as such, and then points out the inconsistencies in his uncorroborated testimony. All the while he manages to keep the other witnesses' testimony in tact by arriving at a brilliant deduction. He then summarily dismisses the disputing skeptical explanations by exposing their inconsistent methodologies. As one who formerly believed this account to be a hoax, I now must humbly stand down and shrug my shoulders. I can no longer claim to fully understand the Dover Demon Case. I'll leave it to the experts to figure out what happened.

Other gems await mining in this book. You'll be introduced to the Houston Batman, Phantom Clowns, the American Kangaroo and more that can be possibly described in this review. Coleman is also one of the champions of mysterious catamounts. He presents indisputable evidence of the existence of cougars in
areas of the United States where purported wildlife experts claim there are not any viable breeding populations by providing solid testimony from countless witnesses.

Some of the phenomena described in this book may, on the surface, appear to be bordering on the fantastic. But once the
substantive supporting evidence that Coleman provides is taken in by the reader, one will come away with a sense that indeed we are living in a mysterious America.

John Horrigan
Paranormal Pundit

I love the idea underlying this book, and parts of it are quite good. But there are problems. First, Loren Coleman's occasional partner, Jerome Clark, writes on the same subject matter much more effectively. Why not just read him? Second, in "Mysterious America," Coleman devotes too much space to phantom felines and other cryptids. I'm interested in cryptozoology, but there are already several books on the subject, including a decent one by Coleman and Clark, and an outstanding one by Karl Shuker. Third, the lists at the end of the book are helpful, but excessive (arguably gratuitous). Last, but not least, I'm sick and tired of Coleman's massive feelings of insecurity and inferiority, and the resultant overcompensating self-recognition and self-praise. My God, it's a miasma that permeates every book he writes!

Bottom line: "Mysterious America" is O.K., but it's not more than that.

Loren Coleman is the Carl Sagan of the trickster Universe.

This revised edition of "Mysterious America" entertains and frightens in equal measure.

Eschewing the lurid prose so many self-styled paranormal researchers bring to the subject, Coleman takes us on a sober spin of the varied, shape shifting, shadowy characters that tease and taunt us from the gloaming's edge.

Many of these incomprehensible cryptids are familiar - Mothman, The Jersey Devil and Sasquatch, for example. But only Coleman has the depth of knowledge to include the truly beguiling - including the little-known and queerly unsettling Phantom Clowns and Mad Gassers.

Reading a Coleman book is a bit like watching one of the better "monster" episodes of the X-Files. Daylight matters not, and one is just as likely to stumble upon a fairy ring or a phantom clown under the full noonday sun as in the dead dark night.

One suspects that if the high strangeness of the subatomic Quantum dimension could suddenly manifest in the macroscopic world, the result would be something like "Mysterious America." Coleman has written a potent reminder that "reality" is a strange land - malleable, willowy and supple in character. Things are not what they appear to be and sometimes decide to change or "be" something else entirely.

Perhaps, from time to time, other "realities" collide with our own, causing hiccups in our space-time. Or perhaps we have a prodigiously incomplete awareness of what surrounds us, and we cling to what we know like our ancient forebears huddling around the safety of a campfire.

If the latter, we are lucky. Loren Coleman is a gifted campfire storyteller.

From start to finish, Loren Coleman's MYSTERIOUS AMERICA the revised edition takes the reader on a truly wonderful, inspiring journey thru cryptozoology. His vast knowledge of the mysterious and unknown is truly remarkable. Each subject is well researched and keeps you interested and amazed at the same time. It is nice to read a book that is up to date and fresh. This is not one of those books that lure the reader into the first few pages and then the rest of the book is the authors own theories, it is one of facts and details and well researched stories. This book is an essential tool for those interested in going into the field of cryptozoology and is a truly enjoyable book for those who are interested in the monsters, myths, and unexplained phenomena that makes up our "Mysterious America".

Loren Coleman's "Mysterious America" has become a classic. It is a book that explores such fascinating mysteries such as Bigfoot, Champ (America's version of the Loch Ness Monster) Big Cats, etc.
My favorite part of this book was the part where Loren discusses the "Dover Demon" mystery. You feel as if you yourself are looking these mysterious creatures in the eyes, as Loren meticulously discusses the mystery and fascination that America has for these Creatures.
You will want to read this book again and again, on Summer Picnics, laying by the Winter Fireplace, or in your favorite easy chair.
And mark my words, this book will one day be applauded for being very accurate, if / when we finally solve these many mysteries.

My library has a copy of the 1983 "Mysterious America" I have read it three or four times and I am always impressed with Mr. Coleman's painstaking research and the excellent documentation he provides. I had tried to find a copy of the original book for nearly three years with no offers at all. People who were lucky enough to get a copy were hanging on to them. I was pleased to find out that a new revised edition of "Mysterious America" would be released. I hoped it would stay true to the original format but updated with new discoveries since 1983.

When I received my copy I couldn't have been more pleased. It was the best of the old with nearly twenty years worth of new material included. There were some small corrections, some completly new materal, and a few exciting new categories! The last several pages are lists of places, books, people, and events indexed into regions that is worth the price of the book alone for anyone interested in researching. I'm primarly interested in Bigfoot and have tried to limit my research in unexplained phenomena to that general area. However, when I read "Mysterious America" I was blown away by the sheer number of baffling events that go on all around us. To get a general overview of how "mysterious" America really is I believe Mr. Coleman has written the best book one could hope for.

As usual, he is generous in giving much credit to others who's research and ideas have assisted him in updating this great book. I gave it five stars because I couldn't give it a dozen!

Monte Ballard

This book, originally released in 1983, was revised in 2001 (which is the volume I am reviewing) and it's a great one. Coleman explores some of the usual cryptozoological anomalies (Bigfoot, lake monsters, et al.), but he also profiles other anomalous happenings, such as the Dover Demon, the Jersey Devil, the "Little Men of Kelly," black panthers, African lions in the U.S., strange kangaroos and "devil monkeys" and other strange or out-of-place animals and anomalies. Strange weather is also profiled, such as the "raining fish" and "raining frogs" phenomenons. Coleman also gives his own thoughts to all anomalous happenings in America and even discusses strange names and coincidences related to the strange and unusual. There are lists at the end of the book which profile different areas of the U.S. and the strange happenings that occur in those areas. This book is recommended highly to all who are interested in the unusual, not just for the cryptozoological information, but for all strange anomalous happenings in the U.S.

About 5 or 6 years ago, I ordered this book, the first of a good number of Loren's books that I've ordered. When I read the section about Thunderbirds and the experience of the Lowe family, I was hooked on T-birds from then on out, in spite of the Bigfoot junkie that I am. And since Texas seems to be a hot spot for T-birds (not to mention pterosaur sightings too), I started researching them and engaged in lengthy e-mail correspondence with a couple of actual witnesses. I also struck up a friendship with another of my now favorite authors, novelist and crypto researchers D. L. Tanner (who incidentally is one of Loren's biggest fans), whose first novel was about that very thing, and learned a tremendous amount of T-bird history from him as well.

Loren is one of the most readable writers in the world--you don't have to have a degree in zoology to absorb and enjoy the information he offers in every book he writes. MA-R is one of his best endeavors, and I recommend it even to those who are not into crpyptozoology. This book may well get you hooked on it.

I've read other book by Mr. Coleman, and if nothing else they've all been helpful tools in researching cryptozoology and the unexplained. This book is no different. It contains excellent reviews and overviews of many sightings of mysterious, unexplainable creatures, and strange phenomena around the country. As a resource for one interested in Forteana this book is worth it's weight.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in Fortean mysteries. It is well written, with Loren's trademark light humor and forthrightness. Loren even helps the reader understand what many writers and researchers interested in the paranormal, UFOlogy and Cryptozoology, have to put up with.

Not everyone takes this stuff seriously, so to take it seriously and write about it requires resolve, and a certain amount of courage. Writers of books like these inevitably encounter their share of cinicism and jesting at the hands of the media and others they may encounter.

Loren helps us to understand the writers point of view, and clarifies the notion of "belief" in the unexplained. It's more about open-mindedness and willingness to accept the possibility that there is something going on that could be causing these strange experiences and creature sightings. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and in fact, something that we can have great fun with while we explore the mysteries of our world, for there are many.

The last portion of this book contains listings of mysterious happenings around the country, giving the reader an opportunity to find strange sidetracks in their area to explore.

Mysterious America will remain on my shelf as a reference for my own research and entertainment.