The has to be the most comprehensive look at the Creature from the Black Lagoon currently in existence. With almost 400 pages of content the level of detail and geekiness is unbelievable - this is one of those books that belongs in every Creature or Universal Monster library. There's great quality black-and-white photographs throughout and an introduction by Julie Adams. I particularly liked the pre-production modeling and approach to the Creature's design and ultimately the engineering that went into the suit's production.

You need this book! ( )

The Creature Chronicles is a serious — very serious — look into the making and marketing of Universal Studios’ Creature from The Black Lagoon and its two sequels. As usual with the monster films of this era, a lot of love and effort went into the creating of the original film and much less effort and creative energy was expended on the follow-up films.

This book includes it all — an in-depth look at the making of the screenplay, costume creation, soundtrack, filming and marketing. It was the golden era for the Hollywood monster film and this book lovingly takes you thru all aspects of what it was like to work in that environment and what it took to produce such a film. An introduction by Julie Adams, a star of the original Creature from the Black Lagoon, is a nice bonus. Hundreds of production photos of all the Creature films helps make this an accessible, and strictly non-academic, labor of love. ( )

This is definitely a book for the serious movie buff, or series fan of the Creature movies. The sheer depth of knowledge and trivia in this book is mind boggling, the author clearly knows this topic from front to back and his love of the Creature movies shines through on every page.
There are behind the scene stories, histories of all of the major players both before, during and after the movies were filmed, many, many photographs, detailed descriptions of the filming and reactions to the films. This is an incredible all inclusive look at not just The Creature From The Black Lagoon movies but at Hollywood at the time they were made as well.

While I say that this book is for the serious movie fans that does not mean it isn't accessible to the casual movie history fan as well. The writing is very engaging and inviting and never feels stuffy or elitist, like it was written only for knowledgeable film fans, just the opposite, it felt as though this book was written to appeal to as many as possible to better spread the authors enthusiasm and love for the topic. And overall it works very well. There were a few sections that felt a bit overwhelming, the section on how the first movies score was created and how Universal reused music from movie to movie got to be a bit of a challenge to get through and once in a while I did feel as if I was being given to much information but overall this did not detract from the rest of the book.

I haven't seen any of these movies since I was a child and I deliberately decided to not watch any until after I had read the book to see how well this would hold of up someone who wasn't a major fan and it held up quite well, in fact it made me even more interested in seeing these movies and it gave me a deeper respect for the work and creativity that went into these movies. ( )

If you long for the nostalgic days of the Universal Monsters, then The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy by Tom Weaver is a must for your library.

Though the Creature movies came well after such staples as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolf Man, fans have always held a special place in their hearts for that misunderstood scaly Gill Man from the ancient world. And what The Creature Chronicles does is give you deeper insight into the entire production of each of the three movies. From production notes to filming schedules to insider looks at the actors, The Creature Chronicles is a historical step-back that will make you feel as if you were there when each movie was being filmed. There is also an introduction by Julie Adams, who starred in the original film, “The Creature From the Black Lagoon,” and even detail about the movie soundtracks.

McFarland books went all out for this 408 page coffee-table hardcover by giving it a beautiful book jacket loaded with fantastic art and 295 pictures. While the price is high, if you are a Universal Monster lover, you won’t be able to resist and will be wanting a volume just like this for Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the rest of their pals. ( )

One word can describe this book, awesome. I grew up watching the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I really remember it in 3d no less. This book is about as comprehensive as a book could be bout the beast. Gorgeous photos and painstaking research. All in all, a true five star book. ( )