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The World of the Unknown
The World of the Unknown: Monsters
Part of Usborne's cult classic 1970s series, back by popular demand for a new generation. Along with Ghosts and UFOs, Monsters was part of Usborne's thrilling 'World of the Unknown' series, a series that holds a special place in the hearts and imaginations of those adults who grew up reading them. The book covers all bases, from Greek and Roman mythology (Cyclops, Sirens), to old English literature (dragons and Beowulf's Grendel), cryptozoological legends (Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster) and real-world dinosaurs - plus a movie-monsters section. For fans of monster fare, this is a well-planned feast!
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 3, 2021
So here is the third and final instalment of the fan favourite "World of the Unknown" series - this one about Monsters. And I have to say that it is just as much fun as it was the first time I read it back in the mists of time while I was at school.
The book itself is little more than a love letter to forgotten days of wonder and excitement when the internet didn't exist and the only way to do discover things were if you went looking for yourself and were lucky enough to find the odd illicit book here and there.
So when this series came along it was amazing - yes the artwork is fanciful, the articles and scant in facts (even more so some 40 odd years later) and the accuracy is obviously a little weak - who cares it still evokes the same thrills and wonders when I first saw it all those years ago.
In the age of people power and crowd funding this is a perfect example of something that has no real benefits apart from being so much fun. All I can say is how do I sign up for the World of Tomorrow series.
The book itself is little more than a love letter to forgotten days of wonder and excitement when the internet didn't exist and the only way to do discover things were if you went looking for yourself and were lucky enough to find the odd illicit book here and there.
So when this series came along it was amazing - yes the artwork is fanciful, the articles and scant in facts (even more so some 40 odd years later) and the accuracy is obviously a little weak - who cares it still evokes the same thrills and wonders when I first saw it all those years ago.
In the age of people power and crowd funding this is a perfect example of something that has no real benefits apart from being so much fun. All I can say is how do I sign up for the World of Tomorrow series.
February 16, 2022
It's A lovely piece of nostalgia with excellent artwork
August 18, 2014
All About Monsters is a basic introduction to mythology and cryptozoological creatures. Completely un-Disneyfied, its illustrations made a huge impression on me as a kid: the gore-soaked, serpent-slaying knight; the bloody-muzzled Minotaur chasing a screaming Medusa; and Grendel from the Beowulf story crushing the life out of a beer hall reveler. Searching for illustrations from this well-remembered book, I came across this page. Good to know others remember this book, too.
November 10, 2022
Slim little book, but comprehensive when it comes to both pictures & text. There are many books unnecessarily big with little to say that could take an example from this one how to use the space on a page!
March 7, 2023
Re-reading this as an adult, I realised that the section on the giant squid started my lifelong fear of sea monsters!
Like UFOs and Ghosts, just a great and nostalgic book.
Like UFOs and Ghosts, just a great and nostalgic book.
March 5, 2023
Part of Usborne's cult classic 1970s series, back by popular demand for a new generation. Along with Ghosts and UFOs, Monsters was part of Usborne's thrilling 'World of the Unknown' series, a series that holds a special place in the hearts and imaginations of those adults who grew up reading them. The book covers all bases, from Greek and Roman mythology (Cyclops, Sirens), to old English literature (dragons and Beowulf's Grendel), cryptozoological legends (Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster) and real-world dinosaurs - plus a movie-monsters section. For fans of monster fare, this is a well-planned feast!
Oh lordy I was thrust back to my childhood self from the very start of the introduction-the mere mention of the horror Top Trumps had me flipped back to the 80's and my dog eared collection, playing in the library during that favourite school time period, 'wet play time'. We lived in Wales so wet play occurred more often than not so in a time where computers and printers were considered almost at the level of the devil's work, Grandma's Garden and Pong were the height of sophistication when it came to gaming, those long long hours could be hell if you didn't have a book, a notepad or a pack of Top Trumps to play with!
The Loch Ness monster as a ghost of a dinosaur? Absolutely on board for that theory, I totally had my mind blown by that, as well as the creaky old movies that seemed to be on every Saturday afternoon, featuring murderous Abominable Snowmen or Bigfoot (Bigfeet?!) , all of these seemed to fit into my mind with absolutely no problem whatsoever. To be fair, I could relate to the whole monster as an allegory of an outsider motif-who doesn't want to believe that we humans are not the top of the food chain? We are doing a pretty awful job of keeping the world in one piece at the moment, so the idea that there are monsters out there which defy conventional logic has always lit my mind up like a fuse!
The definition of what is, or is not, a monster, is debated throughout history, from the creations of 6th century poet, Homer, to the sea beasts Scylla and Charybdis, sirens who would lure sailors to their doom with their swan songs, Minotaurs who needed annual appeasement in blood offerings, all of these are still being picked over and talked about thousands of years later.
The line between beast and human is a fine line, and in examining what exactly a monster is, it sends a frisson of delight down your spine in tumbling goosebumps. The wickedly bright illustrations pull no punches, the bloodiness of carniverous dragons and dinosaurs are absolutely not going to be conveyed eating knights with napkins around their necks and a set of silver cutlery. This book knows its audience is after nightmare fuel and honesty in its depictions.
Who can blame a harmless yeti for getting annoyed that someone decides to build a ski resaort right where they have existed happily for so long, minding their own business? And who asked knights to go around rescuing maidens from dragons (maidens, it should be said, that were sent to the dragons in an attempt to offer them appeasement yet it could have been absolutely anybody, it was kind of like a medieval Deliveroo, dragon wakes up and finds a human tied to a post, what's he/she going to do except snaffle it up?)
The fuzzy, out of focus pictures of Nessie (The Loch Ness Monster) the classic Bigfoot, the things which are beyond are knowledge yet not beyond our imagination, all of this was fuel to my young mind and if I read this book a 100 times, till it fell apart, it is no exaggeration. I am so thrilled to get to pass this on to my youngest, who finds this trilogy of Uasborne books absolutely fascinating and fuel for her own research-hers, however, is done via the internet rather than a dog-eared pack of cards which I used to scour for the tiniest details and make up stories.
It sparked a life-long love of horror, mystery and monsters and I am currently undertaking a course in Cryptozoology because it is just absolutely fascinating, whether true or false, how we create these narratives of beasts which have endured where other cultural phenomena have fallen by the wayside.
What a book, what a trip back in time, and what a pleasure to pass on to my daughter!
Oh lordy I was thrust back to my childhood self from the very start of the introduction-the mere mention of the horror Top Trumps had me flipped back to the 80's and my dog eared collection, playing in the library during that favourite school time period, 'wet play time'. We lived in Wales so wet play occurred more often than not so in a time where computers and printers were considered almost at the level of the devil's work, Grandma's Garden and Pong were the height of sophistication when it came to gaming, those long long hours could be hell if you didn't have a book, a notepad or a pack of Top Trumps to play with!
The Loch Ness monster as a ghost of a dinosaur? Absolutely on board for that theory, I totally had my mind blown by that, as well as the creaky old movies that seemed to be on every Saturday afternoon, featuring murderous Abominable Snowmen or Bigfoot (Bigfeet?!) , all of these seemed to fit into my mind with absolutely no problem whatsoever. To be fair, I could relate to the whole monster as an allegory of an outsider motif-who doesn't want to believe that we humans are not the top of the food chain? We are doing a pretty awful job of keeping the world in one piece at the moment, so the idea that there are monsters out there which defy conventional logic has always lit my mind up like a fuse!
The definition of what is, or is not, a monster, is debated throughout history, from the creations of 6th century poet, Homer, to the sea beasts Scylla and Charybdis, sirens who would lure sailors to their doom with their swan songs, Minotaurs who needed annual appeasement in blood offerings, all of these are still being picked over and talked about thousands of years later.
The line between beast and human is a fine line, and in examining what exactly a monster is, it sends a frisson of delight down your spine in tumbling goosebumps. The wickedly bright illustrations pull no punches, the bloodiness of carniverous dragons and dinosaurs are absolutely not going to be conveyed eating knights with napkins around their necks and a set of silver cutlery. This book knows its audience is after nightmare fuel and honesty in its depictions.
Who can blame a harmless yeti for getting annoyed that someone decides to build a ski resaort right where they have existed happily for so long, minding their own business? And who asked knights to go around rescuing maidens from dragons (maidens, it should be said, that were sent to the dragons in an attempt to offer them appeasement yet it could have been absolutely anybody, it was kind of like a medieval Deliveroo, dragon wakes up and finds a human tied to a post, what's he/she going to do except snaffle it up?)
The fuzzy, out of focus pictures of Nessie (The Loch Ness Monster) the classic Bigfoot, the things which are beyond are knowledge yet not beyond our imagination, all of this was fuel to my young mind and if I read this book a 100 times, till it fell apart, it is no exaggeration. I am so thrilled to get to pass this on to my youngest, who finds this trilogy of Uasborne books absolutely fascinating and fuel for her own research-hers, however, is done via the internet rather than a dog-eared pack of cards which I used to scour for the tiniest details and make up stories.
It sparked a life-long love of horror, mystery and monsters and I am currently undertaking a course in Cryptozoology because it is just absolutely fascinating, whether true or false, how we create these narratives of beasts which have endured where other cultural phenomena have fallen by the wayside.
What a book, what a trip back in time, and what a pleasure to pass on to my daughter!
April 10, 2023
Se me hace un poco injusto darle el mismo número de estrellas que a Todo sobre fantasmas, porque me parece que está por debajo; mientras que aquel pasaba holgadamente del 4, este no acaba de llegar. A pesar de ser una misma colección, el cambio de autor se nota, así como el cambio de tema. Quizás no había tanto monstruo de donde tirar a la vez que se conserva un enfoque "serio" (la otra cara de la moneda sería la locura de la mítica colección de cromos de Mundicrom) y por eso tenemos hasta dinosaurios. En realidad es más bien un libro de criptozoología, con una introducción mitológica y un corto apéndice en cuanto al cine.
Aun así, sigue siendo un libro muy disfrutable, y una vez más el resultado es un libro para niños que no los trata como a idiotas, y que les da material para imaginar sin engañarlos y exponiendo todo lo que es incierto o falso. Probablemente, de haberlo leído de pequeño, me habría encantado.
Y personalmente, me quita la duda que tenía desde niño al verlo siempre en la contraportada del antes mencionado libro de fantasmas pero nunca tenerlo; por fin sé lo que contiene. Así pues, gracias a la gente de Diábolo, aunque no sin un pequeño tirón de orejas: no sé si se habrá subsanado en posteriores tiradas, pero en la primera edición hay algunos pequeños fallos (p.ej. en la página 4 falta la descripción bajo la imagen junto a la del dientes de sable; en la 5 la imagen de la flechita bajo la sirena no se encontró y aparece una X; en la 28 se aplicó la cursiva a "Frankenstein" pero se le quitó la negrita).
Aun así, sigue siendo un libro muy disfrutable, y una vez más el resultado es un libro para niños que no los trata como a idiotas, y que les da material para imaginar sin engañarlos y exponiendo todo lo que es incierto o falso. Probablemente, de haberlo leído de pequeño, me habría encantado.
Y personalmente, me quita la duda que tenía desde niño al verlo siempre en la contraportada del antes mencionado libro de fantasmas pero nunca tenerlo; por fin sé lo que contiene. Así pues, gracias a la gente de Diábolo, aunque no sin un pequeño tirón de orejas: no sé si se habrá subsanado en posteriores tiradas, pero en la primera edición hay algunos pequeños fallos (p.ej. en la página 4 falta la descripción bajo la imagen junto a la del dientes de sable; en la 5 la imagen de la flechita bajo la sirena no se encontró y aparece una X; en la 28 se aplicó la cursiva a "Frankenstein" pero se le quitó la negrita).
June 16, 2024
A fine gateway drug into cryptozoology and the world of the FORTEAN TIMES. ALL ABOUT MONSTERS was a towering classic from my childhood: an exceedingly brief and beautifully illustrated guide to some of the most famous and terrifying mythical creatures from around the planet, taking in Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, dragons and sea creatures. Looking back at it today, I can see that the gruesome illustration of the Lambton Worm was what suckered me into gory entertainment, while the accompanying text is illuminating throughout. I don't think the section on film monsters and the lengthy bit on dinosaurs are entirely relevant, but nevertheless this is an imagination-piquing classic for children.
December 25, 2023
This book would be one of my favorites, if I had first read it when it was published in 1977. I was a regular viewer of the TV series "In Search Of" back then.
I still found the illustrations and bits of information about mysterious creatures entertaining. I appreciate that the author encouraged young readers to start a scrapbook of newspaper and magazine articles about strange creatures.
I still found the illustrations and bits of information about mysterious creatures entertaining. I appreciate that the author encouraged young readers to start a scrapbook of newspaper and magazine articles about strange creatures.
March 18, 2024
A fantastic dose of nostalgia, I used to spend hours reading and rereading this book as a young 'un. Some of the information has not dated well, but let’s be honest, you’re not going to be reading this for its scientific accuracy. The artwork is stylish and charming, and the writing engaging. I very much doubt this will be the last time I return to this little gem!
October 7, 2023
Some great illustrations.
April 25, 2025
A great book and I have read the Indonesian version of the book.
November 9, 2025
4 stars for nostalgia. Fun.
November 23, 2022
Segundo de los libros recuperados por Diábolo Ediciones que hicieron las delicias de aquellos niños que fuimos. En este caso, no conservo una copia de aquellos tiempos, pero mi memoria ha revivido volviendo a deleitarse con este catálogo de cripzoólogo principiante donde caben desde el Yeti a los Dinosaurios pasando por las serpientes marinas o el mito de los monstruos lacustres. Una época con menos censura, menos vergüenza y mucha más apertura mental que ahora. Se trataba, cierto, de datos breves y imprecisos, pero servía como trampolín para interesarse por la mitología y la literatura o, incluso, la paleontología desde una perspectiva científica ya que siempre aparentaba tratar con rigurosidad científica los datos que aportaba. Las ilustraciones, intensas, detallistas y de gran plasticidad son de las que dejan una impronta. Recomendado para todo nostálgico que quiera recuperar su niño interior o regalarlo a una nueva generación ya que hay algo en esta colección que la ha mantenido viva, un encanto poderosísimo al que resulta muy complejo resistirse.
December 26, 2021
I have to admit that I didn’t like this one as much as the other two in the series that the publisher reissued. This was mainly due to the fact that they included dinosaurs, which to me, don’t really count as monsters. Mythical creatures and cryptids? Yes. But dinosaurs?
June 22, 2024
I had this when it was new in the 70's and still remember stuff from this book!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews