Cryptozoology A To Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (Paperback)

by Loren Coleman (Author), Jerome Clark (Author)
Key Phrases: lake monsters, nguoi rung, orang pendek, Loren Coleman, Bernard Heuvelmans, British Columbia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The ultimate quest for the world's most mysterious creatures

The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman -- these are the names of the elusive beasts that have caught the eye and captured the imaginations of people around the world for centuries. Recently, tales of these "monsters" have been corroborated by an increase in sightings, and out of these legends a new science has been born: cryptozoology -- the study of hidden animals.

Cryptozoology A to Z, the first encyclopedia of its kind, contains nearly two hundred entries, including cryptids (the name given to these unusual beasts), new animal finds, and the explorers and scientists who search for them. Loren Coleman, one of the world's leading cryptozoologists, teams up with Jerome Clark, editor and author of several encyclopedias, to provide these definitive descriptions and many never-before-published drawings and photographs from eyewitnesses' detailed accounts. Full of insights into the methods of these scientists, exciting tales of discovery, and the history and evolution of this field, Cryptozoology A to Z is the most complete reference ever of the newest zoological science.

About the Author
Loren Coleman, a forty-year veteran of cryptozoological field expeditions and research, has written several books on nature's mysterious creatures, including The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Mysterious America, and Tom Slick and the Search for the Yeti, and has served as both on- and off-camera consultant to NBC-TV's Unsolved Mysteries and A&E's Ancient Mysteries. Coleman is the mission cryptozoologist for the 1999 Nessa Project's search for the Loch Ness Monster, and a consultant to a forthcoming expedition in search of Mongolia's hairy wildmen, the Almas. He is a professor at the University of Southern Maine and lives in Portland.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (August 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684856026
• ISBN-13: 978-0684856025
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars thorough encyclopedia of cryptozoology, March 4, 2001

By	Tim F. Martin (Madison, AL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Cryptozoology, the search for unknown or "hidden" animals, is a strange field, quite legitimate in some cases as researchers bring to the world of scientific knowledge new creatures such as the woodland bison (rediscovered in 1960 after it was presumed extinct), the saola (a large bovid discovered in 1992 in Vietnam), and the okapi, the giraffe relative of the deep jungles of central Africa, dicovered by western man in 1901 after extensive searching and using clues from the local inhabitants in the region. Other creatures such as the giant squid and the pygmy elephant are poorly known and quite enigmatic, but nonetheless real and seem to fall between the shadowy border of "standard" zoology and cryptozoology.

Cryptzoology also as a field includes a host of other strange creatures, many famous such as the sasquatch (or Bigfoot), yeti (or Abomininable Snowman), and the Loch Ness Monster, others fairly obscure such as the waitoreke (an otter-like mammal that may exist in New Zealand), the marozi (the enigmatic spotted lion of East Africa), and the buru (a large unknown monitor lizard of the remote valleys in the Himalayas). To an educated person who prides himself on having read a great many nature and science books, many "cryptids" (animals of interest to cryptozoologists) seem outlandish and improbable, such as the skunk ape of Florida or even the Loch Ness Monster (as the loch in question has been combed over extensively, and any air-breathing monster would have long been discovered and documented). It is with the creatures that *just may* exist, that don't sound so improbable, that gives to me cryptozoology (and this book) its charm. Surely hairy wildmen don't haunt the rain forests of Washington state, but who is to say with absolute certainty the buru or the marozi don't exist?

Coleman and Clark cover the field well, with entries for famous and not-so-famous cryptids, as well as large animals that have come to light in the 20th century. In part, it is these newly discovered animals - the Komodo dragon in 1910, the coelacanth in 1938, the kouprey in 1961 - that help make the science of cryptzoology at least partially legitimate. In addition, they have entries for famous cryptzoologists such as Matthew A. Bille, a leader in cryptocetology (the study of hidden or undiscovered whales) and Bernard Heuvelmans, the "Father of Cryptzoology," whose has written numerous works on cryptozoology, particularly on mysterious hominids such as the yeti.

Whether cryptozoology is a legitimate and cutting edge science or a collection of real animals, folktales, myths, and legends all mixed together is for the reader to decide. Coleman and Clark treat the subject with seriousness and professionalism, and the book is fun to browse through, complete with nice illustrations of cryptids and cryptozoologists. A nice bibliography is included, along with a list of cryptozoology musuems and exhibits, periodicals, and websites.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars too many personalities, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

While I've been appreciative of Coleman and Clark's older works, I felt this book dwelled too much on the personalities involved in the field of cryptozoology. Seriously how many works in similar fields devote so much space to the people active in their fields? Do you open an encyclopedia of meteorology and read about famous (and non-famous) meteorologists? No.

Too much of the book is devoted to cryptozoologists, both famous and rather obscure. There are pictures of virtual unknowns in the book who have virtually no serious scholarly work on cryptids and whose only virtue is having operated a web site and interviewed a few local yokels. These people compare with individuals such as Sanderson and Heuvelmans? No and they don't deserve to share the space.

It's my feeling that a lot of the name dropping in this book is nothing but that, and while the part of the book actually devoted to cryptozoological mysteries is worthwhile, it's sometimes spoiled by the frequent references to Mr. and Mrs. Joe Nobody.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great find, August 13, 2001

By	Bradford Fritz (Long Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is an incredible read, offering valuable insight on a lesser-known science. Loren Coleman is a fantastic chronicler of "cryptids", the names given to these scarce and unusual beasts. Beasts such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the giant anaconda of the Amazon jungles, the giant octopus, the Kraken, Ogopogo, Champ, the Jersey Devil, the Thunderbird, megamouth shark, the Nandi Bear, the megaladon shark, and el Chupacabra. Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals, and recently I have taken a big interest in it upon a sighting of Bigfoot in New Mexico's mountains (no joke).

This science should not be considered very low, and stereotyped as studied by clueless men and women, because it is not. It is a very intelligent science, offering one of the most intriguing searches--that being, the search for the unknown. Albert Einstein once said that the biggest adventure lies in finding things unknown. Hominology is also featured in this book, which is the study of humankind's closest relatives (Bigfoot, Yeti, Abdominable Snowman), besides apes. Hominology is the bridge between anthropology and zoology. This book will startle you with true accounts of some encounters, short bios of the people who are cryptozoologists, and cryptozoology organizations such as the International Society of Cryptozoology, and, of course, the cryptids themselves. Dig in.