Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers

by Michael Newton

On every continent and in every nation, animals unrecognized by modern science are reported on a daily basis. People passionately pursue these creatures - the name given to their field of study is cryptozoology. Coined in the 1950's, the term literally means the science of hidden animals. When the International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC) was formed in 1982, the founders declared that the branch of science is also concerned with the possible existence of known animals in areas where they are not supposed to occur (either now or in the past) as well as the unknown persistence of presumed extinct animals to the present time or to the recent past...what makes an animal of interest to cryptology is that it is unexpected. Presenting a flesh and blood view of cryptozoology, this reference work excludes discussion of mysterious zoological phenomena. Here, 2,744 entries are listed, the majority of which each describe one specific creature or type of creature. Those entries cover creatures that have been reported from an extremely wide variety of locations worldwide, and throughout recorded history. Other entries cover 742 places where unnamed cryptids are said to appear; profiles of

Genres: Cryptozoology, Nonfiction, Monsters, Nature

584 pages, Hardcover

First published January 6, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

From Wikipedia:
"Michael Newton (born 1951) is an American author best known for his work on Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan series. Newton first began work on the Executioner series by co-writing "The Executioner's War Book" with Don Pendleton in 1977. Since then he has been a steady writer for the series with almost 90 entries to his credit, which triples the amount written by creator Don Pendleton. His skills and knowledge of the series have allowed him to be picked by the publishers to write the milestone novels such as #100, #200, and #300.

Writing under the pseudonym Lyle Brandt, Michael Newton has also become a popular writer of Western novels. He has written a number of successful non-fiction titles as well, including a book on genre writing (How to Write Action Adventure Novels). His book Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan in Florida won the Florida Historical Society's 2002 Rembert Patrick Award for Best Book in Florida History. Newton's "Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology" won the American Library Association's award for Outstanding Reference Work in 2006."

Pen names: Lyle Brandt, Don Pendleton, Jack Buchanan

Bibiliography available here.

Reviews

[Deren Kellogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cryptozoology is the "science of hidden animals." "Hidden animals" in this context refers to creatures that may be folkloric or may be real; the most famous examples are the Yeti of the Himalayas, Bigfoot or Sasquatch of the US Northwest and Canadian Pacific, and the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland. Cryptozoologists also study animals allegedly sighted outside their native areas (i.e. cougars in Great Britain, kangaroos in the US), or reports of sightings of supposedly extinct animals (i.e. sauropod dinosaurs in central Africa). Cryptozoology is not a recognized branch of science; you can't go to college and get a degree in it, for instance, but there is a large community of people who are interested in it.

Which brings me to the point: I really enjoyed this book. I am basically a skeptic, but I really enjoy cryptozoology as folklore, and as a suggestion that there may be natural wonders yet to be discovered. This book is exactly what it says it is; an encyclopedia listing hidden animals ("cryptids"), sightings, people (cryptozoologists), and locations that are supposed to harbor cryptids. The author, Michael Newton, is relatively even-handed compared to many writers on this topic. He's at his most annoyingly strident when he tries to debunk the debunkers, but this occurs only a few times in this massive book. He is not afraid to point out the errors of other cryptozoologists or to discuss more prosaic explanations for sightings, such as known species being mistaken for unknown animals. I longed for this book for years: it was originally available only in hardcover for upwards of $90 for a used copy. Gradually, the price dropped and, when a Kindle edition came out, it was finally within my means to purchase. I was not disappointed. Even if you don't believe cryptozoology is really science, the book is a great guide to legends and folklore.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read for lovers of cryptozoology.

[James Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Cryptozoology books I've ever read. If you want a book with everything your in the right place.

[Charles A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

great but Voyage is wrong

Great book but the entry on the TV show VOYAGE is wrong on many counts. There are too many to cite here but many of the monsters are misrepresented. Secret of the Loch does not have a sea monster in it at all. Night of Terror has one dinosaur. Some as in Doomsday Island are aliens. Others as in the second Creature are made by mad doctors. Many omissions aa well. Not well researched by Voyage to the bottom
Of the sea standards. Everything else is okay but XFiles seems have a far too small entry too.

[RUSA CODES · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was selected as an Outstanding Reference Source for 2006. For the complete list, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rus...