The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings

Rating:
Summary: Great book of mystical creatures!!!
Review: I found this book in the library, and it was so good that I coundn't read it at night. Some books are like that. And if you like the X-files, you're gonna love this book. It's right up that alley!

Rating:
Summary: the essential Keel
Review: I own a copy of every book written by Mr.Keel and this is my favorite.There is NO book comparable with this one when it comes to strange creatures.BUY IT.

Rating:
Summary: Sheesh!
Review: If you're interested in bizarre phenomena, then by all means read Jerome Clark, Karl Shuker, and even Loren Coleman. But avoid John Keel like the plague, particularly this book. "The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings" is anything but. Rather, it is a tendentious polemic; a synopsis of Keel's own peculiar brand of existentialism and nihilism.

What to make of an "investigator" whose theories regarding strange phenomena are far weirder than the happenings themselves? What to make of this self-annointed pedant who sneers at established belief systems, the most elementary tenets of which he can't even grasp? On page 209, for example, Keel writes: "According to tradition, an angel named Gabriel impregnated Mary." Indeed? And what tradition might that be? Keel's ignorant (or is it deliberate?) blasphemy regarding the Annunciation is mind-boggling. As for the rest of the book, it's merely mind-numbing.

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Book, but Not Recommended
Review: If you're looking for out-of-this-world theories, shambling writing, and freakishly inept research, by all means, buy this book. However, if it's a truly objective guide to mysterious beings you want, you'd be better off turning to something like 'Cryptozoology A to Z."

John A. Keel (who's this mysterious 'we' he keeps talking about?) claims in this book to be objective, presenting only the facts of the cases concerned so that the readers may draw their own conclusions. He then proceeds to outline his explanation for many of the occurrences, which, by the way, has something to do with an inter-dimensional 'something' using feeble human minds to mess with our lives and our planet. His style of writing seems to indicate that he believes that the phenomena and creatures mentioned don't really exist at all, and are all a part of the massive hoax being portrayed by something not of this Earth.

Not only is his account subjective, it is patchy and uncoordinated, jumping from topic to topic with no apparent connections between them. It's as if he's written this book just to show off the sheer amount of stuff he knows as it comes to mind, without really attempting to organize it logically. In fact, his writing (which is somewhat amateurish and downright insulting at times) gives the impression that all he really wants to talk about is the Mothman of West Virginia, and he has to include these other phenomena just to justify the book's existence. Many of the facts not directly concerning the chornicled phenomena are inaccurate, including some of the biblical references, the dates, and the fact that he repeatedly asserts that the Mesozoic period ended a mere 9 million years ago...it was 65 millions years, sir. I'm sorry to disillusion you.

In fact, the only saving grace of this book that I can detect is the sheer numbers of cases he records. His theories may be confusing and more than a little off-the-wall, but at least he masses the 'evidence' to 'support' them. It's a good resource to check when looking for accounts of the appearance of the phenomena, and I would recommend for that reason and that reason only.

Keel, why don't you stick to the Mothman, huh?

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Book, but Not Recommended
Review: If you're looking for out-of-this-world theories, shambling writing, and freakishly inept research, by all means, buy this book. However, if it's a truly objective guide to mysterious beings you want, you'd be better off turning to something like 'Cryptozoology A to Z."

John A. Keel (who's this mysterious 'we' he keeps talking about?) claims in this book to be objective, presenting only the facts of the cases concerned so that the readers may draw their own conclusions. He then proceeds to outline his explanation for many of the occurrences, which, by the way, has something to do with an inter-dimensional 'something' using feeble human minds to mess with our lives and our planet. His style of writing seems to indicate that he believes that the phenomena and creatures mentioned don't really exist at all, and are all a part of the massive hoax being portrayed by something not of this Earth.

Not only is his account subjective, it is patchy and uncoordinated, jumping from topic to topic with no apparent connections between them. It's as if he's written this book just to show off the sheer amount of stuff he knows as it comes to mind, without really attempting to organize it logically. In fact, his writing (which is somewhat amateurish and downright insulting at times) gives the impression that all he really wants to talk about is the Mothman of West Virginia, and he has to include these other phenomena just to justify the book's existence. Many of the facts not directly concerning the chornicled phenomena are inaccurate, including some of the biblical references, the dates, and the fact that he repeatedly asserts that the Mesozoic period ended a mere 9 million years ago...it was 65 millions years, sir. I'm sorry to disillusion you.

In fact, the only saving grace of this book that I can detect is the sheer numbers of cases he records. His theories may be confusing and more than a little off-the-wall, but at least he masses the 'evidence' to 'support' them. It's a good resource to check when looking for accounts of the appearance of the phenomena, and I would recommend for that reason and that reason only.

Keel, why don't you stick to the Mothman, huh?

Rating:
Summary: The best book about mysterious creatures that you can find.
Review: This book is full of information on any type of creature that you can imagine. It grabbed my attention from page one and I couldn't put it down. If you've ever wondered what it is like to encounter bigfoot or be abducted by aliens this book explains it all, from Mothman to the Loch Ness Monster. I've been reading books on the unknown for years and the only one that could grab my attention and still be so informative is this one. If you're interested in mosters or a sci-fi buff you'll love this book!