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

Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark's _Cryptozoology: A to Z_ (1999) is a jumbo-sized encyclopedia of various "lost" or "hidden" creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, Chupacabra, Mokele Mbembe, and the coelacanth. The organization of the book is alphabetical, from the Abominable Snowman to the Zulyo-maru Monster (which the authors belatedly identify as a giant basking shark). There are several hundred entries in between. The authors have the general reputation of being fairly respectable figures connected with cryptozoology, and the level of their writing is generally high and entertaining. If, like Fox Mulder on the X-Files, you believe that Something is Out There, you just may enjoy this book. Alas for Romance! I do not believe for one Mili microsecond that cryptozoology is either a legitimate branch of science or a borderline area of scientific inquiry. It is a pseudoscience rooted more in mythology and wishful thinking than hard, critical thinking. Most of the assertions made about most "hidden" creatures have no real evidence to support them. In over 70 years, there has been no solid evidence to support the existence of Bigfoot (Radford, 2002, 2008, 2024), though there have been a multitude of hoaxes. The same may be said of the Abominable Snowman (Laxton and Prothero, 2013). No expedition has ever uncovered the Loch Ness Monster (Binns, 1984), nor have similar prehistoric creatures been discovered in North American lakes (Radford and Nickell, 2006). Though several exploratory expeditions have been sent to Africa, none of them have ever found Mokele Mbembe, or any other living dinosaur in the African jungle (Loxton and Prothero, 2013). (The authors triumphantly assert that in places where Mokele Mbembe was reported to be, there is a shortage of hippopotami, which the dinosaur reportedly dislikes.) While Coleman is said to disapprove of the pseudoscience label being attached to cryptozoology and insists that the field is loaded with its share of skeptical thinkers, he has been criticized by some (Hill, 2012) as being a bit too accommodating of self-claims of others and of "having a reverence for self-appointed experts" (3), the majority of whom "are amateurs without scientific training" (2). Recommended, with reservations. _References_: Binns, Ronald. _The Loch Ness Mystery Solved_. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1984. Coleman, Loren and Patrick Hughe. _The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents_ and other mystery denizens of the deep. New York, NY: J.P. Tarcher, 2003. Loxton, Daniel and Donald R. Prothero. _Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids_. New York, NY: Columbia, UP, 2013. Radford, Benjamin and Joe Nickell. _Lake Monster Mysteries_. Lexington, KY: UP of Kentucky, 2006. Radford, Benjamin. "Bigfoot at Fifty". The _Skeptical Inquirer_ (March, 2002), 29-32. _______________. "Georgia Bigfoot Hoax Draws Global Attention". The _Skeptical Inquirer_ (July/August, 2008). ________________. "Is Bigfoot Dead?" The _Skeptical Inquirer_ (Jan./Feb., 2024), 31-38. Hill, Sharon A. "Cryptozoology and Pseudoscience". The _Skeptical Inquirer_ (May, 2012).

This book is truly an amazing cryptozoological resource. I recommend it for anyone who is even mildly interested in cryptids or hidden creatures. A must have.

I recommend this book for anyone who is newer to cryptozoology or to people who would like to expand their knowledge within this subject.

This book, released in 1999 by authors Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark, is one of the best ones out there, especially for the serious study of Cryptozoology. Just about every cryptozoological creature you can think of is in here-Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabras, Champ-but there are also several lesser-known cryptids, such as Napes (North American Apes), Queensland Tiger, Thylacine (of which there have been recent sightings), Ucu and Waitoreke. The book is an encyclopediaq of hidden or unknown animals, but that's not all-several crypto-personalities are also profiled, including Tom Slick, John Green, Rene Dahinden, Dr. Grover Krantz, Bernard Heuvelmans, Ivan T. Sanderson, Mark A. Hall and other personalities in the crypto-field. This is a highly-recommended book, full of great info and done in a comfortable writing style which makes the reader feel like two old friends are discussing cryptozoology. Get this book!

An excellent book whether you're just discovering Cryptozoology or have been fascinated by tales of mysterious creatures for years. I especially liked the inclusion of biographical material on some researchers (I get tired of seeing names bandied about on web sites and in articles with little idea of who these people are). My biggest complaint is that since I couldn't put the book down it ended all too quickly. What I liked most about the book is that such a large list of possible animals thrown at you so quickly tends to jolt you out of your complacency - the world is not the neat little well-catalogued, easily-explained place most people tend to think it is. This book along with works by Jaques Vallee and Colin Wilson should alter your view of this world forever.

BOOK OF THE MONTHFortean TimesNovember 1999Issue No. 128Page 55The Compleat CryptozoologistComprehensive, invaluable "beginner's guide" to the study of mystery animalsCryptozoology A to ZLoren Coleman and Jerome ClarkReviewed by Darren NaishThis new volume is an excellent introduction to the study of mysteryanimals. With nearly 200 entries arranged alphabethically, topics rangefrom the universally popular to the arcane.The authors do a good job of presenting both sides of a debate, and some ofthe sillier speculations made by cryptozoologists (eg about pterosaursurvival) are played down.Their approach is open-minded and not as credulous as that often seen incryptozoological texts. I see it as a sort of "beginner's guide."Never before has so much biographical information been published oncryptozoologists themselves, and this alone makes the volume invaluable. There are omissions - particularly of UK and Australian researchers - butthese are the results of heavy editing by the publishers, though theinclusion of some virtual unknowns is weird.* * *Fans of Coleman's writing will welcome new insights into his theories aboutAmerican lions and merbeings Ieven if they don't agree with them) andinformation on certain lake monsters and other subjects is presented herefor the first time.

JOIN THE ULTIMATE QUEST FOR THE WORLD'S MOST MYSTERIOUS CREATURESDid you know that in 1992 a new species of quadruped called the saola, the largest mammal to be discovered since 1937, was found in the Vu Quang Forest of Vietnam? Did you know that until New York socalite Ruth Harkness brought Su Lin out of the jungles of Tibet to the United States in 1937, that the existence of the giant panda still remained a mystery? Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, 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" as well as an increase in the numbers of sightings has elevated these creatures, and many others like the saola and the giant panda, from the shadowy world of legend and footnotes in travelogues to the subjects of cryptozoology-the study of hidden animals.Cryptozoology A to Z, the first encyclopedia of its kind, contains nearly 200 entries of 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, esteemed editor and author of several encyclopedias, to provide many never-before-published entries, drawings and photographs from eyewitness' detailed accounts. Full of insight 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.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. He is a university professor in Maine and lives in Portland. JEROME CLARK, author of several respected encyclopedias on the history of natural phenomena, including the award-winning Unexplained! He lives in Canby, Minnesota.