Mysterious America: the revised edition [Paperback]

Loren Coleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2001

Loren Coleman's highly-praised, 1983 classic work, Mysterious America, has been thoroughly updated for this revised edition. This new edition contains an invaluable, never-before-published index; two completely new chapters, "Giant Catfish" and "Minnesota Iceman"; a new list, "The American Lion," with 141 entries; several extensively rewritten chapters, "A Case Study: The Dover Demon," "The Teleporting Animals and Magnolia," "The Phantom Panthers," "Maned Mystery Cats," "Mystery Kangaroos and Devil Monkeys," "Eastern Bigfoot: Momo and Marked Hominids"; and new material and updates to several chapters, "Devil Names and Fortean Places," "Alligators in the Sewers," "Giant Snakes," "Lake Monsters," "Champ," "The Jersey Devil," "The Phantom Clown."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Loren Coleman is one of the world's leading investigators of the inexplicable and an internationally known cryptozoologist. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject and numerous books, including The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti, and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide and Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature. Coleman appears frequently on both radio and television programs, and most recently has been the senior series consultant for a new series of In Search Of... programs. He has an undergraduate degree in anthropology-zoology and a graduate degree in psychiatric social work. Coleman has been an instructor, assistant/associate professor, and research associate in various academic university settings since 1980.

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Paraview Press; Revised edition (January 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931044058
• ISBN-13: 978-1931044059
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #749,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Surprise, February 16, 2001

By 

James Boyd "The Pooka" (Sabattus, Maine United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Mysterious America: the revised edition (Paperback)

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.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Mysterious America, December 5, 2001

By 

John Horrigan (Eastern MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mysterious America: the revised edition (Paperback)

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

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Disappointing, February 26, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: Mysterious America: the revised edition (Paperback)

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.