Daniel Loxton

[b: Abominable Science!|12930972|Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids|Daniel Loxton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328013950s/12930972.jpg|18086760] is one of two books that my library has classified under the cryptozoology header. Books for adults, I mean. Apparently there's a fairly vast number of children and YA books dealing with the subjects, the bulk of them fiction. Looking for some more in depth writings on the topic was what lead me to this book, and man, it was a delight to read. This book is divided up into a number of sections, each focusing upon a single cryptid. All the big ones are represented: Bigfoot, Yeti, Sea Serpents, the Loch Ness Monster, Mokele Mbembe - and it is all wrapped up in a final section that details why people believe in these creatures. The final section, to me, was actually the most interesting - just about everything in it was unexpected.

The bulk of the book is fairly kind to cryptozoologists. While the authors both take severe issue with the lack of scientific rigor in the field, it's evident that for the most part they want things so wondrous and strange to exist. The problem isn't necessarily with cryptozoology on the whole, just with the hoaxers and the people's lack of desire to be forthcoming about how much of accepted data was likely manufactured by hoaxers. Cryptozoology needs a wake up call, and it needs more people to be more critical of certain aspects of what has been seen, documented, believed.

All in all, this is a pretty great book that does good service to folklorists and the public at large. The final section, however, is the most important... Why cryptozoology is a good thing, why it is a bad thing, and what it means for the public that it endures as it does. In summation? It's fine to believe in the esoteric and the strange, just so long as you don't let your mind be so open that your brains end up falling out. Scientific rigor matters, and scientific literacy matters even more. Don't let your belief (or desire to believe, Mulder) in the strange erode either too much.… (meer)

Not gonna lie, I *definitely* had a paranormal/cryptid phase as a tweenager (likely fueled by Disney Channel's "So Weird" show), and I do own Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe's [b:The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep|98779|The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep|Loren Coleman|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347743356s/98779.jpg|95224].

That being said, I'm aware that most places that supposedly house a number of plesiosaurs or hominids either a) don't actually have the resources to support a huge population and b) have never ever had tangible carcasses recovered. Still, I love the idea of cryptids being out there though I now take it with a heavy dose of skepticsm.

Loxton and Prothero take a skeptical look at the cultural origins of several popular cryptids (Bigfoot, the Yeti, Nessie, sea serpents in general, and Mokele-Mbeme [the Congo dinosaur]) and why they persist in our imaginations. I found it curious that most Mokele-Mbeme supporters today are actually creationists attempting to undermine evolutionary teaching by proving that nonavian dinosaurs still exist- something that never occurred to me (though little or no scientific training would explain why such explorers think a sauropod could hibernate in tiny holes on river banks).

The book itself is excellent, printed in full color with illustrations and end notes color coded to the chapter. A solid read for anyone who still wonders what mysteries could be lurking in nearby bodies of water (though let's be real: it's probably full of marine viruses).… (meer)