The Beasts That Hide from Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals

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Summary: Unique and inherently fascinating reading
Review: Cyptozooly is the study of hidden animals-- those lifeforms that were so unseen as to often be thought of as mythical creatures. In The Beasts That Hide From Man: Seeking The World's Last Undiscovered Animals, Karl P.N. Shuker (Scientific Fellow, Zoological Society of London) draws upon his many years of experience and expertise in zoology, cryptozoology, animal mythology, and wildlife anomalies to provide his readers with amazingly accessible and "reader friendly" accounts of such diverse fauna as the "dobhar-chu" (Ireland's murders master otter); Mongolia's "death worm" (which is reported to electrocute its victims); Ethiopia's blood-drinking "death bird"; the "tzuchinoko (a bizarre Japanese snake); as well as sea serpents, hairy reptiles, furry fish, living unicorns, and a great deal more. Strongly recommended to the attention of zoology students as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in wildlife and animal-related mythos, The Beasts That Hide From Man is unique and inherently fascinating reading from cover to cover!

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Summary: Great book on some of the lesser known Mysterious Beast
Review: Great book. Good and easy to read. Excellent info on Mysterious Beasts around the world. Here you find info on some lesser known animals of Cryptozoology and some of the popular animals that are out there. Such as the Mongolia's Deathworm to the Crypto Bats and the Brazilian Black Panthers. Also a great feature of this book is the Supplemant and updated Cryptozoological Checklist of Animals from Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans. " The GodFather of Cryptozoology"
DR. Karl Shuker is a great writer and person on the subject of Cryptozoology. He is very informative and his view's on this subject are straight forward and to the point.
If you enjoyed his other books which are also great or just a fan or cryptozoology you'll love this book. Can't wait for his next one.

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Summary: Highly Recommended - Fascinating!
Review: Karl Shuker continues to stake a claim as the preeminent popular writer in the field of cryptozoology, the science dealing with animals whose existence has not been formally accepted. As Shuker demonstrates with skill, cryptozoology includes more than Nessie, Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman; he does an excellent job at introducing such exotic rumored creatures as the Mongolian Death Worm and a Japanese horned snake. Accounts of such beasts are not accepted uncritically; rather, following in the footsteps of the father of cryptozoology, Bernard Heuvelmans, Shuker presents the evidence or lack thereof objectively, before drawing reasonable conclusions that sometimes debunk, rather than endorse the legend. An excellent introduction for newcomers to this field and a good source of new information for veterans.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended - Fascinating!
Review: Karl Shuker continues to stake a claim as the preeminent popular writer in the field of cryptozoology, the science dealing with animals whose existence has not been formally accepted. As Shuker demonstrates with skill, cryptozoology includes more than Nessie, Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman; he does an excellent job at introducing such exotic rumored creatures as the Mongolian Death Worm and a Japanese horned snake. Accounts of such beasts are not accepted uncritically; rather, following in the footsteps of the father of cryptozoology, Bernard Heuvelmans, Shuker presents the evidence or lack thereof objectively, before drawing reasonable conclusions that sometimes debunk, rather than endorse the legend. An excellent introduction for newcomers to this field and a good source of new information for veterans.

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Summary: decent crypto book
Review: What can you say about a book that includes chapters on "hairy reptiles;" "terror birds;" "living unicorns;" "crypto-bats;" and "furry fish"? Well, actually, you can say a lot and all of it good! From the examples I selected above, you might think that the book is somewhat of a sensationalized title. But that's far from being true. Karl Shuker's The Beasts That Hide From Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals, is a noteworthy and very welcome addition to the world of monster hunting and the creatures that continue to live alongside us in relative secrecy and obscurity. A scientific fellow of the Zoological Society of London, Shuker is the author of numerous books on wildlife oddities and unknown animals and his latest book never disappoints. For me, the most fascinating sections were those on (a) the Mongolian Death Worm and (b) man-eating trees and "vampire plants." The former is a bizarre worm-like creature that reputedly spits acid-like venom at its victims (and if that isn't enough it also - allegedly - has the power to electrocute them!); while the latter have been reported on a surprisingly regular basis from the darkest corners of the globe. Sounding like something conjured out of the imagination of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and not unlike the famous Venus Flytrap plant, these critters (can a plant be considered a critter?) are much bigger and badder than their fly catching cousins and have their sights set on far tastier morsels - us! Shuker's book is a first-class look at some of the real and sometimes monstrous oddities that live among us.

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Summary: The Beasts That Hide From Man-Darwinian Zoology Today!
Review: Would you like a unique experience of the kind only 18th century explorers could imagine,seeking new,lost,and extinct animal species?
Then hop aboard the crypto-safari that will be the one of a kind reading experince that can only be found within the pages of Dr.Karl P.N.Shuker's books.
For the pioneering spirit of 18th century discovery where there were still many white areas on maps and hidden or undiscovered (i.e.undescribed by zoology)animal species is to be found within his latest tome The Beasts That Hide From Man.
As a qualified Ph.D.zoologist,Karl Shuker is himself a rare enigma found wihin a young discipline of zoology founded by Bernard Heuvelmans,himself a very capable zoologist in the late 1950's.
Unfortunately,cryptozoology has constantly come under attack from it's critics as any new discipline or science will.But cryptozoology has drawn constant fire because of some of it's practitioners association with occult,new age,and outlandish methodologies,field work,and sloppy conclusions!
This is certainly not the case with Dr.Shuker,with his solid foundation in zoology,mastery of several foreign languages,and experience of having written several excellent similar themed books,he is more than qualified to take the reader to the limits of human knowledge and back!
Check out the blood drinking death birds of Ethiopia if you dare!Have you ever heard of a jumping snake?It's case file is in this book!I could go on,but I think you get the picture.
And speaking of pictures,the cover has an illustration of a putative "death worm."The rest of the book is illustrated with a variety of beautiful illustrations including pre-20th/21st century engravings!
Finally,the book also contains a useful bibliography,an index of wildlife names,and the best of all,a supplement to Dr Bernard Heuvelman's 1986 "Annotated Checklist of Apparently Unknown Animals With Which Cryptozoology Is Concerned."
All in all,Karl Shuker's books tend to get progressively better.For those in want of high adventure of the real flesh and blood Indiana Jones kind,a genuine curiosity of some "lost world" animals which perhaps may still exist,or just want a good read,then surely The Beasts That Hide From Man will not disappoint!