The Great New England Sea Serpent: An Account of Unknown Creatures Sighted by Many Respectable Persons Between 1638 and the Present Day (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Is it a strange mammal related to the seals, a descendant of a prehistoric reptile, or a new, unidentified animal? Whatever it is, or was, the witnesses call it a sea serpent. Remarkably similar descriptions of a creature with a long body, undulating motion, and horse-sized, snake-like head have left a trail of clues and controversy going back three centuries. In "The Great New England Sea Serpent," J.P. O'Neill draws on the historical record as well as previously unpublished first-hand accounts to chronicle more than 230 sightings of the mysterious marine creatures inhabiting the Gulf of Maine. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Down East Books; 1 edition (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892724617
• ISBN-13: 978-0892724611
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,720,999 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A ground-breaking history book!, October 12, 1999

By A Customer

June O'Neill's simple journalistic approach of building suspense by listing sighting after sighting throughout the centuries is thoroughly convincing! I kept this book on my nightstand and read it through in less than a week! She touches on the peoples' lives it touched and threatened to ruin (to say you've seen a sea monster is to label yourself as a nut...) How can you deny the existence of SOMETHING in the New England waters with so many reports from so many reputable people? She caps the book with a terrible possibility. Have these marvelous creatures become extinct due to mankind's overfishing of their food supply or pollution of their oceans? This is a must-read, a document that proves that Nessie, Champ, and OTHERS exist! A groundbreaking history book!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of its kind, June 25, 2001

By	Matthew A. Bille (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

June O'Neill has pulled off the very difficult feat of writing a book on a cryptozoological subject and making that book balanced, readable, and highly entertaining. This thoroughly researched examination of the New England "sea serpent" story - not just the celebrated events of 1817, but all sightings, from Colonial times through the present day - is enough to make even the most hardened skeptic gaze out to sea and ponder whether we may have overlooked a spectacular discovery. O'Neill doesn't try to argue the case for a large, unknown animal. She lets the witnesses speak for her and lets the reader draw the conclusions. Bottom line: This is a marvelous book. No one with an interest in marine life, cryptozoology, or the magic and mystery of the oceans should pass it by.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating compilation of sightings to make you wonder., October 20, 1999

By A Customer

I read this book on the train to and from work one week and found the stories Ms. O'Neill told fascinating. She made no judgments, but only compiled hundreds of years of sightings and stories in a well-written and interesting form.A very well researched chronology of the sightings of the serpent.