Download or read book A Monstrous Commotion written by Gareth Williams and published by Orion. This book was released on 2015-11-12 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Loch Ness Monster: a creature that should have died out with the dinosaurs, or a legend built on hoaxes and wishful thinking? Sir Peter Scott, internationally renowned naturalist and president of the World Wildlife Fund, was convinced that the Monster existed. So were senior scientists at London's Natural History Museum and Chicago University; they lost their jobs because they refused to renounce their belief in the creature. For decades, the scientific establishment was determined to quash attempts to investigate Loch Ness - until Nature, the world's greatest research journal, published an article by Peter Scott featuring underwater photographs of the Monster. Drawing extensively on new material, Gareth Williams takes a wholly original look at what really happened in Loch Ness. A Monstrous Commotion tells the story as never before: a gripping saga populated by colourful characters who do extraordinary things in pursuit of one of evolution's wildest cards. Meticulously researched and dazzlingly written, this book will appeal to anyone fascinated by nature and its mysteries - and to everyone who enjoys a beautifully crafted detective story with a strong cast of heroes and villains, plenty of twists and an unexpected ending.

Download or read book River Monsters written by Jeremy Wade and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2011-04-05 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I'm Jeremy Wade, biologist and fishing detective. For twenty-five years, I've explored our planet's remotest rivers and lakes, hunting for monster-sized fish. It's become something of an obsession for me. . . . Called "the greatest angling explorer of his generation" (Independent on Sunday), Jeremy Wade, host of Animal Planet's wildly popular TV series River Monsters, takes viewers where no wildlife program has gone before, revealing the creatures that lurk in the murky depths of our planet's inland waterways. Now, Wade goes truly beneath the surface, disclosing full details of how he tracks down and catches each species while also recounting the off-camera highlights of his extraordinary life. From his arrest as a suspected spy in Southeast Asia to a plane crash in the Amazon, every page of River Monsters is packed with adventure. Each chapter unfolds an enthralling detective story, where fishermen's tales of underwater man-eaters and aquatic killers are subjected to scientific scrutiny. Follow Wade step-by-step as, armed with just a fishing line, he closes in on his prey and separates fact from fiction. From the heart of the Congo, where he wrestles with supernatural goliath tigerfish, to the depths of the Amazon, where the most feared creature is one that could fit in your palm, the results are fish of staggering proportions and terrifying demeanor. Wade also reveals monsters from upcoming episodes, including deadly electric eels, a giant described as a cross between a shark and a chainsaw, and a snake-like beast that truly is the stuff of legend. In the tradition of the most gripping adventure writing, River Monsters shows that there's more to this world than what's visible on the surface. As Wade says, with a fishing line anything is possible--sometimes it can even reveal the future, or at least one possible version of it. In similar fashion, Wade's writings are much more than exhilarating stories: they reveal a vision of the world more awe-inspiring than any individual myth made flesh. Ultimately, River Monsters explores the real mysteries that still exist, capturing the story of one man's obsession -- and his relentless pursuit of the truth.

Download or read book The Loch Ness Mystery Reloaded written by Ronald Binns and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the fiftieth anniversary of the local newspaper report which made the Loch Ness Monster world famous, Ronald Binns published his classic but controversial book The Loch Ness Mystery Solved. Over three decades later it remains both influential and a source of fierce debate. In this new book Binns takes a fresh look at Nessie in the light of later evidence and recent analysis of the classic photographs and film. He considers the relationship between the Loch Ness Monster and the water kelpie tradition of Scottish folklore. He also scrutinises the role played by central figures in the Loch Ness story such as Rupert Gould, Tim Dinsdale and Ted Holiday. Ronald Binns is a former member of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau. He has made numerous visits to the loch in search both of the Monster and a greater understanding of this enduring phenomenon.

Download or read book Monstrous Kinds written by Elizabeth Bearden and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2019-01-04 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monstrous Kinds is the first book to explore textual representations of disability in the global Renaissance. Elizabeth B. Bearden contends that monstrosity, as a precursor to modern concepts of disability, has much to teach about our tendency to inscribe disability with meaning. Understanding how early modern writers approached disability not only provides more accurate genealogies of disability, but also helps nuance current aesthetic and theoretical disability formulations. The book analyzes the cultural valences of early modern disability across a broad national and chronological span, attending to the specific bodily, spatial, and aesthetic systems that contributed to early modern literary representations of disability. The cross section of texts (including conduct books and treatises, travel writing and wonder books) is comparative, putting canonical European authors such as Castiglione into dialogue with transatlantic and Anglo-Ottoman literary exchange. Bearden questions grand narratives that convey a progression of disability from supernatural marvel to medical specimen, suggesting that, instead, these categories coexist and intersect.

Download or read book The Rats in the Walls written by H.P. Lovecraft and published by SAMPI Books. This book was released on 2024-07-23 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "The Rats in the Walls" by H.P. Lovecraft, a man restores his ancestral estate in England, only to be haunted by mysterious noises within the walls. As he investigates, he uncovers horrifying secrets about his family's dark past and the ancient horrors lurking beneath the mansion.

Download or read book Monsters in the Closet written by Harry M. Benshoff and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 1997-11-15 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monster in the Closet is a history of the horrors film that explores the genre's relationship to the social and cultural history of homosexuality in America. Drawing on a wide variety of films and primary source materials including censorship files, critical reviews, promotional materials, fanzines, men's magazines, and popular news weeklies, the book examines the historical figure of the movie monster in relation to various medical, psychological, religious and social models of homosexuality. While recent work within gay and lesbian studies has explored how the genetic tropes of the horror film intersect with popular culture's understanding of queerness, this is the first book to examine how the concept of the monster queer has evolved from era to era. From the gay and lesbian sensibilities encoded into the form and content of the classical Hollywood horror film, to recent films which play upon AIDS-related fears. Monster in the Closet examines how the horror film started and continues, to demonize (or quite literally "monsterize") queer sexuality, and what the pleasures and "costs" of such representations might be both for individual spectators and culture at large.

Download or read book And The Ocean Was Our Sky written by Patrick Ness and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-09-04 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Monster Calls comes a richly illustrated and lyrical tale, one that asks harrowing questions about power, loyalty, obsession, and the monsters we make of others. With harpoons strapped to their backs, the proud whales of Bathsheba's pod live for the hunt, fighting in the ongoing war against the world of men. When they attack a ship bobbing on the surface of the Abyss, they expect to find easy prey. Instead, they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself... As their relentless Captain leads the chase, they embark on a final, vengeful hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of both whales and men. With the lush, atmospheric art of Rovina Cai woven in throughout, this remarkable work by Patrick Ness turns the familiar tale of Moby Dick upside down and tells a story all its own with epic triumph and devastating fate.

Download or read book Unravelling the Double Helix written by Gareth Williams and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unraveling the Double Helix covers the most colorful period in the history of DNA, from the discovery of "nuclein" in the late 1860s to the publication of James Watson's The Double Helix in 1968. These hundred years included the establishment of the Nobel Prize, antibiotics, x-ray crystallography, the atom bomb and two devastating world wars—events which are strung along the thread of DNA like beads on a necklace. The story of DNA is a saga packed with awful mistakes as well as brilliant science, with a wonderful cast of heroes and villains. Surprisingly, much of it is unfamiliar. The elucidation of the double helix was one of the most brilliant gems of twentieth century science, but some of the scientists who paved the way have been airbrushed out of history. James Watson and Francis Crick solved a magnificent mystery, but Gareth Williams shows that their contribution was the last few pieces of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle assembled over several decades.The book is comprehensive in scope, covering the first century of the history of DNA in its entirety, including the eight decades that have been neglected by other authors. It also explores the personalities of the main players, the impact of their entanglement with DNA, and what unique qualities make great scientists tick.

Download or read book The Water Horses of Loch Ness written by Roland Watson and published by . This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Back in the 1930s the Loch Ness Monster exploded onto the scene and sent tourists and journalists northwards in their droves to catch a glimpse of this new sensation. But before the Loch Ness Monster there was the Loch Ness Water Horse. Before Nessie there was An Niseag - a devilish creature of notoriety feared and talked about in hushed tones by local people and whom none would dare cross paths with.Today people deny that any such creature ever existed or was known about before the media circus of the thirties began. But the literature of the time says "No" to this and this book sets out to prove the telling of a centuries old story. In this new book, the landscape of the ancient and supernatural Highlands is surveyed and its most feared inhabitant of all - The Water Horse - is unveiled as well as the various haunts in which it lay in wait for its victims. The investigation then begins to home in on the "Each Uisge" of Loch Ness and discovers that its reputation preceded it then as it does now in the realm of lake monsters.Old and forgotten stories of the Kelpie of Loch Ness are found and analysed as well as surprising parallels to how people reacted to the Water Horse then as they do now in disbelief, imagery and both modern and ancient folklore.Finally, the old Highlanders' belief in the supernatural origin of this beast is explored and that thread of belief is traced right through to the modern age with those who continue to think that there is more to the Loch Ness Water Horse than just flesh and blood.

Download or read book My Beloved Brontosaurus written by Brian Switek and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Hudson Booksellers Staff Pick for the Best Books of 2013 One of Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Spring Science Books A Bookshop Santa Cruz Staff Pick Dinosaurs, with their awe-inspiring size, terrifying claws and teeth, and otherworldly abilities, occupy a sacred place in our childhoods. They loom over museum halls, thunder through movies, and are a fundamental part of our collective imagination. In My Beloved Brontosaurus, the dinosaur fanatic Brian Switek enriches the childlike sense of wonder these amazing creatures instill in us. Investigating the latest discoveries in paleontology, he breathes new life into old bones. Switek reunites us with these mysterious creatures as he visits desolate excavation sites and hallowed museum vaults, exploring everything from the sex life of Apatosaurus and T. rex's feather-laden body to just why dinosaurs vanished. (And of course, on his journey, he celebrates the book's titular hero, "Brontosaurus"—who suffered a second extinction when we learned he never existed at all—as a symbol of scientific progress.) With infectious enthusiasm, Switek questions what we've long held to be true about these beasts, weaving in stories from his obsession with dinosaurs, which started when he was just knee-high to a Stegosaurus. Endearing, surprising, and essential to our understanding of our own evolution and our place on Earth, My Beloved Brontosaurus is a book that dinosaur fans and anyone interested in scientific progress will cherish for years to come.

Download or read book Beasts of the Deep written by Jon Hackett and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2018-01-10 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beasts of the Deep: Sea Creatures and Popular Culture offers its readers an in-depth and interdisciplinary engagement with the sea and its monstrous inhabitants; through critical readings of folklore, weird fiction, film, music, radio and digital games. Within the text there are a multitude of convergent critical perspectives used to engage and explore fictional and real monsters of the sea in media and folklore. The collection features chapters from a variety of academic perspectives; post- modernism, psychoanalysis, industrial-organisational analysis, fandom studies, sociology and philosophy are featured. Under examination are a wide range of narratives and media forms that represent, reimagine and create the Kraken, mermaids, giant sharks, sea draugrs and even the weird creatures of H.P. Lovecraft. Beasts of the Deep offers an expansive study of our sea-born fears and anxieties, that are crystallised in a variety of monstrous forms. Repeatedly the chapters in the collection encounter the contemporary relevance of our fears of the sea and its inhabitants – through the dehumanising media depictions of refugees in the Mediterranean to the encroaching ecological disasters of global warming, pollution and the threat of mass marine extinction.

Download or read book The Musical Brain And Other Stories written by César Aira and published by New Directions Publishing. This book was released on 2015-03-03 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A delirious collection of short stories from the Latin American master of micro-fiction. A delirious collection of short stories from the Latin American master of microfiction, César Aira–the author of at least eighty novels, most of them barely one hundred pages long–The Musical Brain & Other Stories comprises twenty tales about oddballs, freaks, and loonies. Aira, with his fuga hacia adelante or "flight forward" into the unknown, gives us imponderables to ponder and bizarre and seemingly out-of-context plot lines, as well as thoughtful and passionate takes on everyday reality. The title story, first published in the New Yorker, is the creme de la creme of this exhilarating collection.

Download or read book The Tent Dwellers written by Albert Paine and published by Litres. This book was released on 2022-05-15 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Paranorthern written by Stephanie Cooke and published by Etch/Hmh Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2021 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this middle-grade graphic novel, a witch named Abby and her three friends-a wolf-girl, a ghost, and a pumpkinhead-band together to try and save their supernatural town from an invasion of rabid (but adorable) chaos bunnies"--

Download or read book Of Books and Beasts written by Matt Bille and published by Hangar 1 Publishing. This book was released on 2021-12-02 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the controversial field of cryptozoology, plagued by long-lost accounts and internet fantasies, the essential core of usable information is largely maintained in books. Science writer and cryptozoology researcher Matt Bille offers 400 reviews of significant books in cryptozoology, supporting sciences like biology, and cryptozoological fiction. Matt’s selections, based on 45 years of reading and writing on zoology and cryptozoology, favor reliable science and history, providing an essential foundation for enthusiasts and skeptics alike. The search for unknown animals starts here. "Looking for a concise but reliable survey of the most noteworthy cryptozoological books past and present? Look no further - here it is!" - Dr. Karl P. N. Shuker, Zoologist

Download or read book Gulls Simplified written by Pete Dunne and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A simpler and more user-friendly visual approach to gull identification This unique photographic field guide to North America’s gulls provides a comparative approach to identification that concentrates on the size, structure, and basic plumage features of gulls—gone are the often-confusing array of plumage details found in traditional guides. Featuring hundreds of color photos throughout, Gulls Simplified illustrates the variations of gull plumages for a variety of ages, giving readers strong visual reference points for each species. Extensive captions accompany the photos, which include comparative photo arrays, digitized photo arrays for each age group, and numerous images of each species—a wealth of visual information at your fingertips. This one-of-a-kind guide includes detailed species accounts and a distribution map for each gull. An essential field companion for North American birders, Gulls Simplified reduces the confusion commonly associated with gull identification, offering a more user-friendly way of observing these marvelous birds. Provides a simpler approach to gull identification Features a wealth of color photos for easy comparison among species Includes detailed captions that explain identification criteria and aging, with direct visual reinforcement above the captions Combines plumage details with a focus on size, body shape, and structural features for easy identification in the field Highlights important field marks and physical features for each gull

Download or read book The Unidentified written by Colin Dickey and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-07-21 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Absolutely perfect for the current moment." --Buzzfeed America's favorite cultural historian and author of Ghostland takes a tour of the country's most persistent "unexplained" phenomena In a world where rational, scientific explanations are more available than ever, belief in the unprovable and irrational--in fringe--is on the rise: from Atlantis to aliens, from Flat Earth to the Loch Ness monster, the list goes on. It seems the more our maps of the known world get filled in, the more we crave mysterious locations full of strange creatures. Enter Colin Dickey, Cultural Historian and Tour Guide of the Weird. With the same curiosity and insight that made Ghostland a hit with readers and critics, Colin looks at what all fringe beliefs have in common, explaining that today's Illuminati is yesterday's Flat Earth: the attempt to find meaning in a world stripped of wonder. Dickey visits the wacky sites of America's wildest fringe beliefs--from the famed Mount Shasta where the ancient race (or extra-terrestrials, or possibly both, depending on who you ask) called Lemurians are said to roam, to the museum containing the last remaining "evidence" of the great Kentucky Meat Shower--investigating how these theories come about, why they take hold, and why as Americans we keep inventing and re-inventing them decade after decade. The Unidentified is Colin Dickey at his best: curious, wry, brilliant in his analysis, yet eminently readable.