THE FIRST NESSIE BOOK, AND A COMPREHENSIVE LOCH NESS MONSTER BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Home of the Loch Ness Monster (image supplied to me by Errol Fuller)

It was 80 years ago this year when the pamphlet pictured above in this present ShukerNature blog post was published. A humble, unassuming little offering entitled The Home of the Loch Ness Monster, just 18 pages long, containing only a single illustration, and privately published by its author, a retired British army man named Lieutenant-Colonel William Horsburgh Lane who lived in a house on the shores of Loch Ness, it documented Lane's considered belief that the Loch Ness monster (LNM) may be a giant form of salamander. This particular zoological identity would be revisited and revitalised more than four decades later by Chicago University biochemist and veteran Nessie researcher Prof. Roy P. Mackal in his own much more detailed, highly-acclaimed study, The Monsters of Loch Ness (1976), which remains a standard work on the subject.

Conversely, Lane's very modest contribution to the LNM literature is all but forgotten today and exceedingly rare, making it much sought-after by Nessie aficionados – but not only because if its scarcity. What gives his pamphlet a unique, unassailable, and truly historic place within the cryptozoological canon, and the reason why I am celebrating today its publication in that long-ago year of 1934, is that it was the very first entire, stand-alone work (i.e. book, pamphlet, magazine, as opposed to merely an article in a magazine or a report in a newspaper) devoted exclusively to the LNM.

This, therefore, is where it all began – the trickle that became a stream that became a river that became a veritable ocean of Nessie-themed books published in the 80 years that have followed in the wake of Lane's pamphlet – and what a number there have been, as I am about to reveal.

Nessie conceived as a long-necked seal (© Robert Elsmore)

I recently disclosed on Facebook that I am currently completing a compendium volume that brings together pretty well everything that I have ever written on the subject of the LNM – drawn from my books, articles, and ShukerNature blog posts, expanded and updated as required, and accompanied by a purposefully eclectic selection of illustrations, many of which have never been published before, including a number specially prepared for it by some very talented artist friends of mine.

Entitled Here's Nessie! A Monstrous Compendium From Loch Ness, it will also include what I am hoping will be the most comprehensive bibliography of Nessie-themed non-fiction books ever compiled. As with all such lists, however, no matter how comprehensive it may seem to be to its compiler, there will always be some entries that he will have overlooked, and especially so in relation to foreign–language (non-English) books.

A model of Nessie conceived in classic plesiosaur mode (© Jeff Johnson)

Consequently, in the hope of plugging as many potential gaps in this bibliography as possible, I am presenting below the version that I have compiled so far, and would very greatly welcome any suggested additions from readers (and also any info regarding the few missing places of publication in the list). Please note, however, that I am not looking for books that only contain a single chapter or two on Nessie – all books included in this bibliography must be ones that are devoted entirely to the LNM (or to any other Scottish loch monsters), and they must also be works of non-fiction, not novels or other works of fiction. Thanks very much in advance for any assistance that you may be able to offer me, and enjoy the list!

My very own tartan Nessie! (© Dr Karl Shuker)

My sincere thanks to Errol Fuller for originally bringing Lieut.-Col. Lane's pamphlet to my attention, and for very kindly supplying me with the image of its front cover that opens this ShukerNature blog post.

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NESSIE-THEMED NON-FICTION BOOKS

ANON., They Saw Nessie (Or Thought They Did!): Eye-Witness Sightings of the Monster Over the Years (Northern Books, from Famedram: Gartocharn, 1984).

ABELS, Harriette & SCHROEDER, Howard, The Loch Ness Monster (Crestwood House: New York, 1987).

AKINS, William, The Loch Ness Monster (Signet: New York, 1977).

ARMSTRONG, Edward, Sticking My Neck Out (Privately published: [no place of publication details], 1983).

BAUER, Henry H., The Enigma of Loch Ness: Making Sense of a Mystery (University of Illinois Press: Urbana, 1986).

BAUMANN, Elwood D., The Loch Ness Monster (Franklin Watts: New York, 1972).

BAXTER, Colin, The Loch Ness Monster (Colin Baxter Photography: Grantown on Spey, 2012).

BENDICK, Jeanne, The Mystery of the Loch Ness Monster (McGraw-Hill: London, 1976).

BERTON, Jean, Les Monstres du Loch Ness et d'Ailleurs (France-Empire: Paris, 1977).

BINNS, Ronald, The Loch Ness Mystery Solved (Open Books: Shepton Mallet, 1983).

BORDER, Rosemary, Loch Ness Monster (Macdonald Phoebus: London, 1979).

BRASSEY, Richard, Nessie the Loch Ness Monster (Orion: London, 2010).

BURTON, Maurice, The Elusive Monster: An Analysis of the Evidence From Loch Ness (Rupert Hart-Davis: London, 1961).

BYRNE, Gerald, Gestalt Forms of Loch Ness (JRP Ringler: Zurich, 2011).

CAMPBELL, Elizabeth M. & SOLOMON, David, The Search For Morag (Tom Stacey: London, 1972).

CAMPBELL, Steuart, The Loch Ness Monster: The Evidence (Aquarian: Wellingborough, 1986; rev. edit., Aberdeen University Press: London, 1991).

CARNEY, James, Loch Ness Monster (Colin Baxter Photography: Grantown on Spey, 2009).

CARRUTH, J.A., Loch Ness and Its Monster (Abbey Press: Fort Augustus, 1945).

CASSIE, R.L., The Monsters of Achanalt (2 vols) (D. Wyllie & Sons: Aberdeen, 1935-36).

COOK, D. & COOK, Y., The Great Monster Hunt: The Story of the Loch Ness Investigation (Grosset & Dunlap: New York, 1969).

CORNELL, James, The Monster of Loch Ness (Scholastic Book Services: New York, 1977).

DINSDALE, Angus, The Man Who Filmed Nessie (Hancock House: New York, 2013).

DINSDALE, Tim, Loch Ness Monster (Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1961; 4th edit., 1982).

DINSDALE, Tim, The Story of the Loch Ness Monster (Allan Wingate: London, 1973).

DINSDALE, Tim, Project Water Horse: The True Story of the Monster Quest at Loch Ness (Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1975).

FLITCROFT, Jean, The Loch Ness Monster [The Cryptid Files #1] (Darby Creek Publishing: Minneapolis, 2014).

GANTES, Rémy, Le Mystère du Loch Ness (Etudes Vivantes: Paris, 1979).

GIBSON, John A. & HEPPELL, David (Eds), Proceedings of the Symposium on the Loch Ness Monster: "The Search For Nessie in the 1980s" (Scottish Natural History Library: Foremount House, 1988).

GOULD, Rupert T., The Loch Ness Monster and Others (Geoffrey Bles: London, 1934).

GRIMSHAW, Roger & LESTER, Paul, The Meaning of the Loch Ness Monster (Birmingham University: Birmingham, 1976).

HAMILTON, W.D. & HUGHES, J., The Mysterious Monster of Loch Ness (Fort Augustus Abbey Press: Fort Augustus, 1934).

HANSEN, Kim M., Mysteriet om Nessie: Søslangen i Loch Ness (Gyldendal: Copenhagen, 1988).

HARMSWORTH, Tony, The Mysterious Monsters of Loch Ness (Precision Press: 1980).

HARMSWORTH, Tony, Loch Ness: The Monster (Peter Gray Ltd: Tillicoultry, 1985).

HARMSWORTH, Tony, Loch Ness, Nessie & Me: The Truth Revealed [vt Nessie Understood] (Harmsworth.net: Drumnadrochit, 2010).

HARRISON, Paul, The Encyclopedia of the Loch Ness Monster (Robert Hale: London, 1999).

HASTAIN, Ronald & WITCHELL, Nicholas, Loch Ness and the Monster: A Handbook For Tourists (J. Arthur Dixon: Inverness, 1971).

HAUF, Monika, Nessie – Das Ungeheur von Loch Ness (Bohmeier Verlag: Leipzig, 2003).

HILE, Lori, The Loch Ness Monster (Capstone Global Library: Oxford, 2013).

HOLIDAY, F.W., The Great Orm of Loch Ness: A Practical Inquiry Into the Nature and Habits of Water-Monsters (Faber & Faber: London, 1968).

JAMES, David, Loch Ness Investigation (Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau: London, 1968).

KALLEN, Stuart A., The Loch Ness Monster (Referencepoint Press: San Diego, 2008).

KIRKPATRICK, Betty, Nessie: The Legend of the Loch Ness Monster (Crombie Jardine Publishing: Cheam, 2005).

KLEIN, Martin, et al., Underwater Search at Loch Ness [Monograph No. 1] (Academy of Applied Science: Belmont, 1972).

LANE, W[illiam].H., The Home of the Loch Ness Monster (Moray Press: Edinburgh, 1934).

MacRAE, Jim, Loch Ness Monster Handbook (John G. Eccles: Inverness, 1974).

MACKAL, Roy P., The Monsters of Loch Ness (Macdonald and Janes: London, 1976).

MARTIN, David & BOYD, Alistair, Nessie: The Surgeon's Photograph Exposed (Martin and Boyd: East Burnet, 1999).

MEREDITH, Dennis L., The Search at Loch Ness: The Expedition of the New York Times and the Academy of Applied Science (Quadrangle: New York, 1977).

MILLER, Connie C., El Monstruo del Lago Ness: El Misterio Sin Resolver / The Loch Ness Monster: The Unsolved Mystery (Blazers Bilingual: North Mankato, 2009).

MUNRO, Donald J., Loch Ness Mystery (Privately published: [no place of publication details], 1937).

OUDEMANS, A.C., The Loch Ness Animal (Leyden: London, 1934).

OWEN, William, Loch Ness Revealing Its Monsters (Jarrold: Norwich, 1976).

OWEN, William, The Loch Ness Monster [vt Scotland's Loch Ness Monster] (Jarrold: Norwich, 1986).

PARKS, Peggy J., The Loch Ness Monster (KidHaven: Farmington Hills, 2006).

PERERA, Victor, The Loch Ness Monster Watchers (Capra Press: Santa Barbara, 1974).

PICKNETT, Lynn, The Loch Ness Monster (Pitkin Pictorials: Andover, 1993).

RINES, Robert H., et al., Underwater Search At Loch Ness (Academy of Applied Science: New York, 1972).

RUSSELL, Jessie & COHN, Ronald (Eds), Loch Ness Monster in Popular Culture [a hard-copy compilation of Wikipedia articles] (Bookvika Publishing: Moscow, 2012).
 
RUSSELL, Jessie & COHN, Ronald (Eds), Loch Ness Monster [a hard-copy compilation of Wikipedia articles] (Bookvika Publishing: Moscow, 2012).

SAN SOUCI, Robert D. (Ed.), The Loch Ness Monster: Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven Press: San Diego, 1989).

SCHACH, David, The Loch Ness Monster (Torque Books: Minneapolis, 2010).

SEARLE, Frank, Nessie: Seven Years in Search of the Monster (Coronet: London, 1976).

SEARLE, Frank, The Story of Loch Ness (John Eccles: Inverness, 1977).

SEARLE, Frank, Around Loch Ness: A Handbook For Nessie Hunters (John Eccles: Inverness, 1977).

SENSICAL, Benjamin, Loch Ness: An Explanation (Privately published: [no place of publication details], 1982).

SHINE, Adrian, Loch Ness? (Loch Ness Project: Drumnadrochit, 2006).

SHUKER, Karl P.N., Here's Nessie! A Monstrous Compendium From Loch Ness (CFZ Press: Bideford, 2016).

SIEVERT, Terri, The Unsolved Mystery of the Loch Ness Monster (First Fact Books: North Mankato, 2013).

SNYDER, Gerald S., Is There a Loch Ness Monster? The Search For a Legend (Julian Messner: New York, 1977).

THORNE, Ian, The Loch Ness Monster (Crestwood House: New York, 1978).

TROUPE, Thomas K., The Legend of the Loch Ness Monster (Picture Window Books: North Mankato, 2011).

VIBE, Palle, Gaden I Loch Ness (Rhodos: Copenhagen, 1970).

WALLACE, Holly, The Mystery of the Loch Ness Monster (Capstone Global Library: Oxford, 2006).

WATSON, Roland, The Water Horses of Loch Ness (CreateSpace: London, 2011).

WELSH, Lily (Ed.), Monsters and Myths: Loch Ness and the Monster [a hard-copy compilation of Wikipedia articles] (Webster's Digital Services: 2010).

WHYTE, Constance, The Loch Ness Monster (Headley Brothers: London, 1951).

WHYTE, Constance, More Than a Legend: The Story of the Loch Ness Monster (Hamish Hamilton: London, 1957; rev. 1961).

WITCHELL, Nicholas, The Loch Ness Story (Terence Dalton: Lavenham, 1974; 3rd edit., Corgi Books: London, 1989).

WITCHELL, Nicholas, Loch Ness and the Monster (J. Arthur Dixon: Newport, 1975).

My little collection of Nessie figurines (© Dr Karl Shuker)

This Loch Ness monster bibliography is excerpted from my forthcoming book, Here's Nessie! A Monstrous Compendium from Loch Ness, which will be published in 2016 by CFZ Press.