The Unidentified & Creatures of the Outer Edge [Paperback]

Jerome Clark (Author), Loren Coleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 2006

Back in print for the first time in decades! THE UNIDENTIFIED and CREATURES OF THE OUTER EDGE, the classic early works of Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman, now in a special double edition with a new introduction by the authors. "The Unidentified" finds the links that connect supernatural folklore, religious visions, cryptozoology, and modern-day UFO stories. It documents episodes from the fringes of human experience and exposes what they may tell us about ourselves and the strange world we live in, where things - whether fairies, ghosts, divine apparitions, or ostensible extraterrestrials - may be even more mysterious than they seem. "Creatures of the Outer Edge" surveys the cryptozoologically bountiful decade of the 1970s (and more) with accounts of Mothman, Owlmen, Thunderbirds, Phantom Panthers, Devil Dogs, Texas Big Birds, and, yes, of course, Bigfoot. Some of the individually "named" local Bigfoot creatures first appeared in this book, including Momo (Missouri Monster), Lake Worth Monster, Murphysboro Mud Monster, the Enfield Thing, El Reno Chicken Man, Noxie Monster, Navajo's Skinwalkers, and Yukon's Bushman. The book also introduced the now-iconic Dover Demon for the first time to the general public. Jerome Clark is a longtime ufologist and anomalist, who has appeared on NBC, ABC, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and A&E. He has written nearly 20 books, including two Book of the Month Club selections and the award-winning, multi-volume The UFO Encyclopedia, as well as songs recorded by Emmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall, and other country, folk, and bluegrass artists. His most recent book is Unnatural Phenomena. He lives in southwestern Minnesota with his wife, writer and editor Helene Henderson. Loren Coleman is the world's most popular living cryptozoologist. He appears frequently on television and radio, and has even been turned into a fictional character in novels and comic books. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including Bigfoot!; Mysterious America; and Cryptozoology A to Z (with Jerome Clark). His fieldwork has taken him from Scotland's Loch Ness to the rainforests of Mexico, from the Everglades to the Pacific Northwest's Bigfoot country. He lives in Portland, Maine, with his sons.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...masterpieces of deductive reasoning...sure to get your gray matter ticking overtime while having a hoot to boot. Recommended." -- Science a Go Go, August 2006

"...these two books were the vanguard of today's fortean literature. Their writing was savvy, knowledgeable and yet current." -- Fortean Times, August 2006

About the Author

Jerome Clark is a longtime ufologist and anomalist, who has appeared on NBC, ABC, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and A&E. He has written nearly 20 books, including two Book of the Month Club selections and the award-winning, multi-volume The UFO Encyclopedia, as well as songs recorded by Emmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall, and other country, folk, and bluegrass artists. His most recent book is Unnatural Phenomena. He lives in southwestern Minnesota with his wife, writer and editor Helene Henderson.
Loren Coleman is the world's most popular living cryptozoologist. He appears frequently on television and radio, and has even been turned into a fictional character in novels and comic books. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including Bigfoot!; Mysterious America; and Cryptozoology A to Z (with Jerome Clark). His fieldwork has taken him from Scotland's Loch Ness to the rainforests of Mexico, from the Everglades to the Pacific Northwest's Bigfoot country. He lives in Portland, Maine, with his sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 516 pages
• Publisher: Anomalist Books (January 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933665114
• ISBN-13: 978-1933665115
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,439,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mysteries Magazine review, October 28, 2007

By 

Kim Guarnaccia "Editor, Mysteries magazine" (Surry, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unidentified & Creatures of the Outer Edge (Paperback)

It is a sad but inescapable fact of the publishing world that most books, regardless of their quality, eventually pass out of print. For every work immortalized in new editions, thousands fade away to the oblivion of used bookstores, remainder tables, and dusty library shelves. It is a pleasure, then, to mark the reappearance in a single volume of two classic investigative works from the 1970s, penned in concert by renowned Fortean authors Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman. Both writers have prospered since their first collaborations, with 50-odd books published between them, but readers anxious to peruse their maiden efforts during recent years have found the search as arduous as any hunt for Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster.

But no longer.

The Unidentified (1975) describes the UFO phenomenon and related subjects, including fairies and other mysterious entities, hollow-earth theories, men in black, and religious epiphanies. Dedicated to pioneer anomalist Charles Fort, it follows trails blazed by the master and extends them, granting Clark and Coleman room to spread their wings as researchers and authors.

Creatures of the Outer Edge (1978) focuses more narrowly on unknown animals, but once again--as indicated by its dedication to deceased outré theorist John Keel--it wanders far afield from pure flesh-and-blood cryptozoology. Bigfoot and his fellow "manimals" share space not only with elusive cats, the Mothman, and other monsters, but with alien visitors as well.

A new introduction to the omnibus edition explains that the authors have changed their minds (or, at least, their perspectives) on certain subjects covered in these early volumes, but to their credit, they have left the original texts undisturbed and unredacted.

Readers who missed these books the first time around now have a chance to savor "golden oldies" in their pristine form. Both volumes also rate a second look from readers who enjoyed them in their first editions.
Mysteries Magazine

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Believable, September 28, 2007

By 

Kevin Dahlen "Selective Listener" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unidentified & Creatures of the Outer Edge (Paperback)

I actually read Creatures of the Outer Edge back around 1972 or so. I thought it was fascinating. Back then I read lots of books related to the supernatural, UFOs, etc. This book was my favorite. I plan to purchase it and read it again. I highly recommend this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loren Coleman, November 20, 2008

By 

R. Ambrosini "Church of the Painful Truth" (Usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unidentified & Creatures of the Outer Edge (Paperback)

While I have some respect for Loren for the research he has done in his limited travels one thing that does bother me about him in the Paranormal camp is that he is a fortean (paranormalist).
Loren is a paranormalist when it comes to cryptids such as Bigfoot but has an aversion to coming forward being afraid of losing his fan base.
This begs the question, "How can we ever get to the truth with so many pretenders in the field?"
This book was written at a time when Loren was much more honest in his presentations, and research.