Unicorns I Have Known

by Robert Vavra

A collection of unicorn legends and lore--drawn from such sources as the Bible, myth, art, and literature--enhanced by full-color photographs

Genres: Fantasy, Unicorns, Photography, Art, Horses

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

when i was little, i loved this book. i never owned it, but i would always go visit it in the bookstore. such a pink little girl i was, and baby look at me now...

come to my blog!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review originally appeared on Amazon.com back in January of 1998 and sadly it still applies. Time has not placed any nostalgic gloss on this one:

Can We Lookit the Pretty Horsies Some More?

The photographs are gorgeous, the models used can be recognized galloping about Vavra's true classics of equine behavior Equus and Such Is The Real Nature of Horses, and they only make up less than half of this lead sinker of a book. The rest of the book has some wonderful line drawings, a fictional quest for a unicorn and a rehashing of all known unicorn lore since times before Christ... unfortunately, just not that well-written. The photos are the stars of any Vavra photo book, and this one would have fared so much better if it had more photos and less textbook. Not worth the money.

[Brandon Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

My uncle bought me this book when I was seven, almost sixteen years ago. I adored it as a child and I still completely enjoy looking through it now. It is singularly the best book I have ever seen about unicorns, and I have spent an extensive amount of time looking. The pictures are completely realistic and lavish. They carry you away into a world that you can only dream about. Not one page of this book is wasted--from the pictures to the details and data about unicorns in the back of the book. If you are intrigued by unicorns, this book is a must have; you will not regret buying this, or if you know someone who loves unicorns, you could not get them a better gift. It is a work of art from cover to cover.

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

The quotes are fun, but the real gem of this book are the authors note on unicorns in the back

[Beatriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Más bien un 3.5

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Believing is often the key to enjoying and experiencing some of the most fascinating and lovely mysterious of the world."

Found this in my shed left over from when I was young - beautiful photography of "unicorns."

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

To regard the unicorn as wholly fabulous and a product of fancy is an absurd and arbitrary position, and we do well to remember that if the elephant and giraffe and camel should once die out they too, on account of their strange forms, would be thought fabulous." - Joseph Russegger, 1843

I have been obsessed with unicorns pretty much my entire life, and I really wish I had known about this book as a child. The artwork in here was so beautiful! It featured unicorns in the wild, and the pictures were so well-done you could almost believe they were real. I would have loved this book as a kid, but the inner child in me was still absolutely enchanted by it.

5 stars for the gorgeous pictures alone. I also loved the poems and quotes that accompanied the photos, with my favorite quoted above.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a teenager, I saved my money and purchased the hardcover copy of this book when it first came out. In fact I remember having to special order a copy at the bookstore, as they did not have it in stock. Oh, I LOVED this book. The photos are so beautiful, the text was enchanting, and it was so perfect to me that it made me feel like it was actually real...that yes, there were really unicorns.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

as a child growing up with your head always in the clouds and your nose in a book this one was a great treasure to find, allowing you to say, "i told you unicorns were real." thrusting you and your childhood friend into a wondrous adventure in search of your own unicorn...

[boekverslaafde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible realistic photos with a wonderful story to go with it.
I grew up with robert vavra's books and it's because of these books, and the amazingly real photos, that I honestly expected to see a unicorn just like these in the book anytime I went into a wooded area or open meadow!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures are beautiful, and another person gave it 5 stars, so I did too. I read it when I was 10, but I really don't get it. ARe they truly Unicorns?

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The field notes/sketches at the end with the Unicorns "Mating", fucking amazing!

[Girly · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone knows of a copy floating around let me know. This book is out of print and one of the most gorgeous books I've seen.

[Alexa Cascade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who says there's no such thing as unicorns? See this book and you'll be a believer. These photos come straight out of our dreams. Vavra is a poet with camera.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh the poems with pictures in this are so neat.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite!

[Meltha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very lovely photographs... though interstingly the unicorns in Greece seem to occasionally be the same ones in Turkey. Huh. ;)

[Kcastro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could almost make me believe. Beautiful photography.

[San Dei (GoldenEagle) English-Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowzie Wow Wow!

[Rachel Schieffelbein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this as a young girl and now I can't wait to share it with my children. It is truly full of beauty and magic.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, none of the unicorns I know were featured in this publication. You know who you are!!!

[Jeannine Winkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for all lovers of unicorns, I have never seen such a detailed book about unicorns and the photos and drawings are very beatiful as well.

[Sherry Hays · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this photo art book since I was a child. I love it more than I can say.