A Natural History of the Unnatural World: Discover What Cryptozoology Can Teach Us about Over One Hundred Fabulous and Legendary Creatures That Inhabit Earth, Sea and Sky [Hardcover]

Joel Levy (Author), Cryptozoological (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There is no Cryptozoological Society of London, nor are there (as far as science knows) unicorns, kobolds, sphinxes, werewolves, batlike Japanese demons or man-eating horses, which the society purports to study. Since there isn't, and aren't, Levy and his band of photographers, artists and library researchers have produced a profusely illustrated coffee-table hoax, one that doubles as a multicultural reference book about mythical creatures. Levy and friends' achievement amounts to great fun, full of documents, detailed sketches and inventive reports of legendary fauna. Take, for example, the basilisk (Ophidiogallus basiliscus), whose mere glance kills all animals except weasels: "Everyone who observed the basilisk perished, so its appearance has always been in dispute." Men wearing suits made of mirrors freed Europe of the beasts in the 16th century, we're told, and its present-day range is confined to the Near East and Africa. Reproduced field notes show how the society teamed up with the "Balkan Werewolf Committee" to find Lyc-V, the HIV-like retrovirus that causes lycanthropy; a two-page article from Science Today explains how both HIV and Lyc-V work. The authors devote a few pages to amazing, but actual, animals, such as the giant squid, treating them just as they treat leprechauns, and many more pages to arguably more legitimate cryptozoological quarry, such as Bigfoot and living dinosaurs. Present and future zoology buffs may learn plenty of real science from the farfetched essays: folklore fans will learn even more. The volume's appeal may well prove wider still: think of this as the illustrated text from Harry Potter's biology class. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Joel Levy is a writer on history, the paranormal and science. He is the author of several books, including the Kiss Guide to the Unexplained, a beginner's guide to historical secrets and mysteries, the paranormal and supernatural. He lives in London, England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (January 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312207034
• ISBN-13: 978-0312207038
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,086,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books on folklore, March 21, 2000

By 

Morgan Churchill (Laramie, Wyoming) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Natural History of the Unnatural World: Discover What Cryptozoology Can Teach Us about Over One Hundred Fabulous and Legendary Creatures That Inhabit Earth, Sea and Sky (Hardcover)

I think a lot of people are getting steamed about this book. It is not a book on cryptozoology, but rather folklore, set up the same way as The Flight of Dragons, another very good book. It contains a ton of excellant info, on both well known and lesser known creatures, and has some excellant information. However, I could not give it a 5, since it has no real disclaimer that it is not a real crypto book. However, I think most people who have read more than a few articles on cryptos will realize right away that the book is not to be taken as serious research. My favorite sections were probably the fake journal entries, as they gave the most info, while I thought many of the personal logs got kinda of boring. So, to sum it up, If you like fantasy, mythology, ect., you will probably like this book, but if you want a serious indepth discussion on cryptos, look elsewhere, because it only skims over them.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Irreverent, slightly amusing and marginally educational, November 27, 2001

By 

Cartimand (Hampshire, UK.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Natural History of the Unnatural World: Discover What Cryptozoology Can Teach Us about Over One Hundred Fabulous and Legendary Creatures That Inhabit Earth, Sea and Sky (Hardcover)

It's not easy to review a book like this. Anyone with a genuine interest in cryptozoology will certainly be disappointed at the whimsical and irreverent tone, which pokes fun at the visionary pioneers who have conducted scientifically painstaking research into the likes of Nessie, Mokele m'bembe and Bigfoot. A layperson however, will probably find much to amuse them and just possibly enough material to cultivate an interest in this most fascinating of topics. Amongst the silly stuff are some real facts about cryptids. The Chupacabras in particular is fairly well described and depicted. Separating fact from fancy and blatant fabrication however is not always easy and the running gag about some fictional crusty old gentlemens' club (the address given is actually the Royal Academy of Arts) does wear a bit thin after a while. If you are seeking genuine and scientifically researched material about cryptids, you would do far better by starting with Bernard Heuvelmans's seminal work or even dredging the Internet's many cryptozoology sites for references. In that respect, I would only give this book one star. If, however, you are looking for a book to foster an interest in mystery animals in a young relative or friend (my 11 year old son thought it was "cool"), then you could do a lot worse than this. My overall rating reflects the response from both extremes of potential customer.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Natural History of the Unnatural World, August 4, 2001

By 

G. A Siessel (Leesburg, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Natural History of the Unnatural World: Discover What Cryptozoology Can Teach Us about Over One Hundred Fabulous and Legendary Creatures That Inhabit Earth, Sea and Sky (Hardcover)

If you are a dyed-in-the-wool cryptozoologist then it is best to leave this book on the shelf. This is more of a New Age encyclopedia of fanciful creatures and reports that sound like they belong in a fairy tale. The illustrations are quite impressive but the info is not scientifically sound. You are better off with Costello's "The Magic Zoo" or Ley's "Exotic Zoology". If you are into Mythology then this book is definitely for you.