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| Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep | 
 enlarge | Authors: Loren Coleman, Patrick Huyghe, Harry Trumbore (illustrator), Mark Lee Rollins (illustrator)
Publisher: Tarcher
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95 (39.90 RON)
Buy New: $11.53 (27.14 RON)
You Save: $5.42 (12.76 RON) (32%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 491341
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 380
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 1585422525
Dewey Decimal Number: 001.944
EAN: 9781585422524
ASIN: 1585422525
Publication Date: October 27, 2003
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 | | NEXT » |
 truly interesting read April 11, 2008
This book is a great introduction to the mesteries of the deep. Coleman gives the reader a good history of the Jurassic animals - sea turtles, marine crocodiles, sea centipede's, giant sharks, monitors, giant beavers, dinosaurs, salamanders. Etc.
Some of them lasted until present time. Now how about Lake Monsters and Sea Serpents? There is of course no proof of their existence, but they are certainly intriguing... Overall is a truly interesting read. Check also How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself, Revised Edition
 A lack of evidence is not proof of existence November 2, 2007
Depending on what you mean by sea monsters Coleman and Huyghe's Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep is an adequate introduction into the realm of mysteries of the deep. Starting with the history of these beasts carrying on to modern times introducing the reader with monsters such as sea centipede's, marine crocodiles, giant sharks, sea turtles, octopi, giant beavers, monitors, dinosaurs, and salamanders. Certainly the Jurassic seas were filled with all kinds of marine reptiles that if they were alive today would fit the description of a sea serpent. However, these creatures seemed to have disappeared about the same time the dinosaurs met their end roughly 65 million years ago. More recently the zeuglodon, a primitive form of whale, might easily be mistaken for a sea serpent if it had been alive today, though it is a mammal, not a reptile.
In the 19th century an unscrupulous promoter actually cobbled together several zeuglodon skeletons and exhibited them as an extinct sea serpent. Zeuglodons are found in the fossil record as recently 37 million years ago. Can we find more recent fossil evidence for sea serpent-type creatures? It will be hard. The best place to find ancient sea creature fossils are in ancient sea beds. The geology of the planet changes so slowly that most of the more recent sea beds, where we would expect to find evidence for any sea serpent-like creature that has developed over the last few million years, are still at the bottom of the oceans and inaccessible to us. A lack of evidence is not proof of existence, of course, so what we have in Monsters Sea Serpents Other myst Denizens Deepare is simply tantalizing stories. Suggestive and intriguing, but until somebody comes up with a well-preserved body, there is no proof.
Really Great Book!!! June 12, 2007
I have had this book for a few years now and have pulled it out on many an occasion out of curiosity of places I've been to or heard about.
It is written in an easy to read format and the general illustrations of the many beasts are helpful to picture what people have seen in the mind's eye. The maps are also helpful if you visit these places so you can pinpoint the main areas of sightings.
The book could have been a little better if the author had included at least one photo or drawing of each creature from the witnesses, but otherwise it is an excellent book.
I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the mystery creatures that swim the deeps of this world!
Lake Monsters January 20, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a fine book on underwater crytids. It is not straight narrative, but reads more like detailed scientific reports. Whether your interest is Nessie or giant squids, this one's for you. Excellent in all respects.
Sea Serpents, Lake Monsters and Other Beasts from the Deep May 22, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
From the authors of "The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide", this book tackles the various sea serpents, lake monsters and other aquatic cryptids in the same manner. It's not exactly an in-depth scientific survey, but it is a pretty good introduction to the phenomena, and it does try to cover a vast array of hypothetical species. We begin with a history of the sea serpent, going through important historical sightings, early studies of sea serpents, the discovery of the giant squid, and Heuvelmans attempted categorization. In these sections the book reads pretty much as a general history of Cryptozoology, so most readers will probably be familar with the material.
The real meat of the book comes in from the "species profiles", in which Coleman and Huyghes showcase the different cryptids they came up with in their system. Some come from Heuvelmans' studies (with a new look at the "supper otter") while others are entirely new. Each write-up includes an illustration, maps, an overview of the creature and it's habitats, range and behavior, and a few brief sightings. All in all, over a dozen species are covered. We are presented with the familar "classic sea serpent", the "water horse" (maned, long necked seals according to the authors), Heuvelman's "sea centipede" (a multi-finned whale), marine crocodiles and giant sharks, sea turtles and octopi. More exotic sea creatures mentioned included the Trinty Alps giant salamander, Mokole-Mbembe (a surviving dinosaur said to dwell in the Congo), the Buru (a possibly extinct monitor lizard from the Himalayas), surviving populations of Steller's sea cows, a giant beaver seen in Utah's Salt Lake and unidentified species of manta rays and whales.
Obviously some cryptids are more believable than others, but all are given a good amount of space, along with the authors attempts at finding a scientific explanation for them. In the back of the book, we are given some interesting material such as an essay about the latitudes in which lake monsters are found, some accounts about "globsters" and other unidentified carcasses that have washed ashore, and a list of locations around the world in which sea, lake and river monsters can be sighted. On small comment is that several of the creatures mentioned in this list aren't mentioned at all in the text, but thats a small gripe.
Ultimately, this is a fun little book, especially for the lay reader who wants to know whether or not there is any possibility of discovering sea monsters in this day and age. Obviously some of the claims need to be taken with a grain of salt, but this book still provides a fun and interesting read. However, for the reader with a serious interest in cryptozoology, this book isn't going to replace Heuvelmans' monumental "In the Wake of Sea Serpents". Its still worth including in your personal library, but it's not the be-all, end-all word on marine cryptids.
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