Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining (Not Indispensable)
Review: Serious cryptozoologists will perhaps be less than happy with the selection in this book, consisting of serious study subjects such as the venerable and elusive Bigfoot alongside those even more enigmatic entities from the realm of the urban legend and American folklore such as The Hook or the Bogeyman. As the author points out in the introduction, however, he is not a cryptozoologist so much as a "monsterologist" - one who incorporates the rigor of the natural sciences (as a cryptozoologist) with the occult studies of the metaphysician in order to encompass every aspect of any given "monster" case. I am uncertain if this term, "monsterology", is one that is in general use or was coined by Mr. Blackman. In any case, with his field of study thus defined it is not surprising to find in the pages of his encyclopedic tome the mix of mysteries that we do.The book is broken into eight sections as follows: Hairy Humanoids - where we find Sasquatch and his ilk. Lake Monsters and Sea Serpents - Ogopogo, Caddy and others. Flying Monsters - El Chupacabra, Mothman and more. Dwarves and Giants - The Flatwoods Monster and the Sioux Indian Two Faces, for instance. Cryptid Animals - Sewer Gators and Radioactive Frogs! Beastmen and Beastwomen - Goatman and werewolves in general. Supernatural Monsters - the Mexican La Llorona, the Canadian Wendigo. Enigmatic Entities - The Bogeyman and The Mad Gasser of Matoon. Even in the small samples I have referenced above we find representatives from Native American folklore, UFO cases, Urban Legend and cryptozoology. Each entry, given two or three pages and usually accompanied by illustrations or photos, is headed by a "vital statistics" box in which we find information such as the subject's physical dimensions, diet, range and habitat, and behavior. Also included here is a helpful ranking system (using tiny Jersey Devil glyphs as indicators) which illustrates the chances of actually encountering the subject in its native habitat. I admit that I am not entirely sure how serious Mr. Blackman is with this compendium; the above mentioned Jersey Devil ratings, for example, seem rather tongue in cheek to me. Therefore, I cannot recommend this book to all - I think that Cryptozoologists looking for a serious study will be disappointed and possibly annoyed. Nonetheless, it is a very readable book that, at best, will jump-start the imaginations of those unfamiliar with the field of weirdness that is its subject.
Rating: 
Summary: A silly, uninformative, mishmash of a book.
Review: The author mixes information on genuine cryptozoological phenomenona (bigfoot, lake monsters), with chapters on blatantly un-cryptozoological subjects like the Mattoon Gasser (who was either a human assailant or a figment of mass hysteria), the Flatwoods Monster and Mothman (both possibly related to UFO sightings), and, god help the reader, the Boogeyman. The book is very superficial; only a few pages are dedicated to each creature. (The typeface is large, there's plenty of white space on each page, and the book is padded with LOTS of pictures, most of which I have seen published elsewhere.) Adding to the general aura of ditziness, each creature has a numerical ranking telling how likely it is you will encounter it in the wild, information on where it is most likely to be found, and solemn advice on what to do if you DO run across it. This advice, paraphrased, usually amounts to "Don't make any sudden moves, don't get too close, be prepared to run, and remember THEY EAT PEOPLE!" (I'm sorry I can't offer exact quotes from the book; I threw my copy into the trash immediately after reading it.) This book might -- I emphasize MIGHT -- be suitable as a gift for a 10-12 year old who's just getting interested in fortean or cryptozoological material. But it would be a waste of money for an adult, or anyone who is already familiar with the subjects this book covers, to buy it. Spend your money on something by Karl Shuker, Loren Coleman, or Bernard Huevelmans instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST-HAVE REFERENCE TOOL.
Review: This book came in handy on a journey involving myself and 4 old friends last summer. The trip, which lasted a long and harrowing weekend, was spent in the great outdoors consuming large quantities of flavorful malt beverages and searching for such dread creatures as the infamous Skunk Ape -- we saw several, I might add. They were wearing beat-up old orange hunting vests and "Freightliner" baseball caps. Without this book to guide us, we'd probably have mistaken these Skunk Apes for truckers. I give this book a 4 monster rating!! PS- Hey gang, lighten up.
Rating:
Summary: Monsters live!
Review: This book is a fun exploration of monster myth and possibility. I enjoyed reading about my chances of finding the monsters. Well written, easy to read and entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: EXELENT
Review: This book is descriptive and detailed on every known species of monster in North America. This book will guide you to any monster and gives very specific details on monter habitats, diets, size, population, and more. Even if your not into cryptology, this book is great and very interesting. It has details on over 100 North American monsters. It is filled with pictures, facts, everything. I highly incurage anyone with an imagination to read it. *****
Rating:
Summary: entertaining
Review: This book is entertaining in that it's humoristic but it also provides some nice insights into Native American as well as local folklore and decent cryptozoology/paranormal info.No it's not Keel,Coleman,or Sanderson,but it's worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: If you want to know about cryptozoology, don't read this.
Review: This book passes itself off as a large overview of fascinating creatures which are rumoured to exist, yet winds up trudging into the rediculous and silly. While the book does contain some nice references in the form of photos and drawings from actual paranormal cases, it also delves into childishness like boogeymen and jackalopes. Another problem with this book is the lack of good organization. It skips around a good bit and seperates things like Sasquatch and Skunk-apes, which are obviously similar, if not the same thing. In short, I believe this would be a good book for a third grader interested in the unknown, but anyone looking for facts should look elsewhere. Read Grover Krantz's "Big Footprints" or John Green's "Year of the Bigfoot".
Rating:
Summary: inept, silly retread
Review: This takes much of the same information from other books on cryptozoology and deals with it in a pop manner, with silliness and large discussions of movies, again from a popular, capsule review sort of way. That is to say it falls somewhere between _Entertainment Weekly_ and _Weekly World News_, which is not a pleasant combination. There is little in this book that cannot be gleaned from other, better written and less condescending sources.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic book, full of information about the unknown.
Review: To put it simply, this is a good book. I could not put it down once I started reading it. It is divided into catagories, and covers creatures ranging from Bigfoot (Sasquatch) to the boogeyman. It provides clues on how to find these animals (if they do really exist) and rates your chances of encountering it from 1 to 4 (1 being very low, 4 being very high.)
Rating:
Summary: Gives Cryptozoology a Bad Name!
Review: Type in "cryptozoology" at Amazon.com. Now buy any other book than this one. Almost any other book, that is, as you do have to also avoid that fictional thing by the Cryptozoology Society of London. You'll find out 100 times more about the subject by buying something else than you would learn buying this tome. Buyer beware. Heaven help us!
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