Mythic Creatures: And the Impossibly Real Animals Who Inspired Them

by Mark A. Norell (Curator), Laurel Kendall, Richard Ellis

Adapted from the American Museum of Natural History exhibition Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids, this book explores an array of mythological creatures—and the real animals that inspired them. Lush photos showcase rare objects from around the world as well as models of mythical beasts like krakens and Rocs, along with fossils of actual extinct animals such as the six-foot-tall primate called Gigantopithecus and dinosaurs such as Protoceratops, which may have inspired the griffin. Also included are engravings, paintings, maps, and ephemera from the Middle Ages to modern times, all capturing the origins of legendary animals that continue to thrill, terrify, and enchant us.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology, Animals, Dragons, Art

208 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kelleen Thaxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some lovely illustrations of mythic beasts, including photographs of cultural and folk art from around the world and throughout centuries of history. The connections between real occurrences and real creatures and the mythological creatures that likely "evolved" from them were interesting. The writing IMO left a lot to be desired. In many places in the book I was actually distracted from what I was reading by the inanity and tediousness of the text. It was quite put-downable. A nice coffee table or bathroom book, maybe.

[John Valett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great inspiration and provided a lot of background on some of the most famous mythical creatures.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The companion book to the 2016 American Museum of Natural History's exhibition: Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids. Admittedly not very extensive with the historic creatures explanations but exceedingly lavish with pictures and description of origins, time period as well as the legends that migrated across the world. Dragons from the Far East compared to the wurms of Europe. Unicorns in all their variety. Barnum's Feejee mermaids. Sea monsters and giants. Eastern verses Western version of the phoenix. Nagas and griffins and pegasi. And so many more. . . .

Lots of creatures - and even how our ancestors figured these creatures existed even when based on dinosaur bones as well as remains of paleolithic animals (mammoth skull interchanged with a cyclops skull, for example.

It is a beautiful book and anyone who has a love of the monsters and animals of myth would definitely enjoy it and might even want a copy since the exhibit has long ago closed.

2024-008

[Tamara aka SoMysteriousLee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of wonderful pictures, and does a nice job of giving you a bit of information on the how and why some of our more fantastical beasts originated. Nice quick reference book that I consider a jump start for research, and was just nice to peruse on occasion for fun.

[Ember Moto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about mythical creatures and gives possible explanation for how they came to be. Great book for mythology and fantastical creature fans. Was really glad to see the book give some attention to my favorite mythical creature the Kirin.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well put together and interesting without being like a textbook and too long.

[Bessie McAdams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, I was hoping for more from the mythical element. This uses the mythical creatures as an excuse to get back to real historical creatures and things.

[Chance · Rating 4 out of 5]

some pretty cool postcards

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. 194 pages

[Nicollette Winiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough and contained a lot of information and beautiful images

[Ruth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting information, and illustrations that show the incredible artistry that people have used to tell these stories.