Covering more medical abnormalities and outdated visuals of nonfictional animals, this is an excellent tome for historians and monster lovers alike. I'm quite fond of medieval style illustrations and the antiquity of the information- it has a charm to it that allows you to appreciate how far we have come in educating and updating ourselves. Birth defects, deformities and mutations are no longer classified as monstrous, but this is only part of that evolution of science this book is about. It includes the accounts of people who lay claim to witness these oddities and was written by a French surgeon. There's a small section on less relevant material like demonic possessions and other outlandish monsters (a lot of the unexplained was simply pegged as god's divine), but remains a must-read for those fascinated by earlier science. A few of the zoology entries are from Pliny's work (since many early scientists and physicians held on to false beliefs despite contradicting evidence out of deep respect for the Ancients) ( )