Here's Nessie! A Monstrous Compendium From Loch Ness – my 24th book, now in
print (© Dr Karl Shuker/CFZ Press)
It is all thanks
to my mother Mary Shuker taking me as a child to the town of Walsall in the West Midlands, England, one afternoon
during the late 1960s that I first learnt of the Loch Ness monster (LNM). For
it was while we were browsing together that day in Walsall's branch of the
books and stationery shop W.H. Smith that Mom bought me a thoroughly amazing,
captivating book entitled Stranger Than People.
Published in
1968, it was packed with lavishly-illustrated spreads documenting mysteries
from the real world, the world of myths and legends, and the world of fiction (which
included some wonderful, specially-written short stories). It is within the pages
of this momentous, life-changing volume, one that profoundly influenced and
nurtured what has become my lifelong interest in mysterious phenomena
(especially of the cryptozoological and zoomythological kinds), that I first
read about such diverse but fascinating subjects as the yeti, the colossus of
Rhodes, Edgar Cayce and telepathy, werewolves and vampires, the kraken, giants,
the minotaur, Von Kempelen's chess player, mermaids, witches and witchcraft, 'deathless'
warriors, aliens, trolls, zombies, leprechauns, feral children, Herne the
hunter, Moby Dick – and, of course, Nessie, the Loch Ness monster (LNM).
With
two wonderful, life-changing books – The Story of the Loch Ness
Monster and Stranger Than People; and with one
wonderful, life-changing lady – my mother, Mary Shuker (© Dr Karl Shuker)
A few years
later, moreover, during a visit to the Warwickshire, England, town of Stratford-upon-Avon (birthplace of
William Shakespeare), Mom bought me my first LNM book, Tim Dinsdale's The
Story of the Loch Ness Monster (1973). An enthralling account of this Scottish
mystery beast's remarkable history, it was justifiably lauded as a Commended
Title in the prestigious Times Educational Supplement Information Book Awards
during that same year.
Needless to say,
I was hooked - and have been in relation to this long-necked aquatic cryptid
ever since – unlike Nessie, conversely, which continues to be just as evasive
today as way back then, over 40 years ago now, but, equally, remains just as
thought-provoking and enigmatic too.
Tim
Dinsdale, to whom my book is dedicated (© Prof. Henry H. Bauer)
Indeed, the LNM is
not only the premier mystery beast of the United Kingdom, it also vies
with the bigfoot or sasquatch as the most famous one anywhere in the world.
Little wonder, therefore, that during my many years as a cryptozoological
researcher and writer I should have documented it and all manner of aspects
relating to it in a wide range of publications.
Now, however,
for the very first time and in direct response to popular demand, the vast
majority of these previously disparate Nessie-themed writings of mine have
finally been brought together, and in expanded, updated form whenever possible
too, to yield my newly-published LNM compendium, covering a fascinating,
extremely broad spectrum of pertinent topics.
Nessie,
is this really you? Artistic reconstruction of what the LNM may look like,
always assuming of course that such an entity actually exists! (© Connor
Lachmanec)
The first two
chapters set the scene by offering a comprehensive review of the history and
controversies associated with this most contentious of aquatic cryptids. The
others that follow them investigate such subjects as some of the most – and
least – plausible taxonomic identities that have been proposed for it; the
closely-linked traditional Scottish folklore of kelpies and other water-horses;
a look at various Nessie-related hoaxes; an extensive survey of less familiar
water monsters reported from other Highland lochs; some reviews of
Nessie-related material; a hitherto-unpublished LNM sighting given to me by
none other than leading Nessie researcher and eyewitness Tim Dinsdale shortly before
his untimely death (and to whom my book is dedicated); Nessie and the noble
hobby of philately; a retrospective devoted to the historic LNM conference
staged by the International Society of Cryptozoology at Edinburgh's Royal
Museum of Scotland in 1987; the abiding paradox of the mystifying Pictish beast
as intricately carved upon numerous ancient symbol stones by Scotland's early
'painted people' the Picts; my very own tribute in verse to Nessie; an
annotated, YouTube-linked listing of Nessie-themed songs and music videos; and
much more too!
Supplementing
these diverse subjects is an equally eclectic selection of illustrations - a
dedicated Nessie gallery containing a dazzling array of spectacular full-colour
LNM artwork, including a number of specially-commissioned, previously-unpublished
examples - plus a wide range of text images, a delightful foreword by veteran
Nessie researcher Prof. Henry H. Bauer, very comprehensive bibliography of
non-fiction LNM books, a listing of current Nessie-themed websites, and a
detailed index.
Smirnoff's
famous, fondly-remembered Nessie-themed magazine advertisement from the 1980s (©
Smirnoff – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis only)
So without
further ado, I hope that you enjoy my latest, 24th book, welcoming
you to the sometimes decidedly weird yet always totally wonderful world of
Nessie - the mystifying but ever-memorable monster of Loch Ness.
My book is
available here on Amazon USA, and here on Amazon UK (the
'temporarily unavailable' notice on the latter site merely relates to its need
to order more stock of it), as well as directly from the publisher, CFZ Press, here.
Peek-a-boo!
– Styxosaurus plesiosaur (© Julian Johnson/Wikipedia CC BY-SA 2DOT0
licence)
Posts
I also had that book by Tim Dinsdale as a kid. At the time, I was quite convinced by the possibility of Nessie. In my adult years, less so. In fact, I thought I'd have little appetite for a new book on the subject. But for such a good price, and from the UK's premier cryptozoologist, how could I resist?
ReplyDeleteIts release coincides with a new Nessie photograph.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/most-convincing-picture-of-the-loch-ness-monster-ever-taken-1-4232092
Seals? Leaping fish? Seals chasing leaping fish?
Thanks Pete, I hope that you enjoy it. Yes, possibly leaping seals, or even a photoshop montage? There is nothing in the photo to confirm that it was even taken at Loch Ness, so I'll reserve judgement on that one, I think.
DeleteCan I quote you on the Fortean Times Message Board? Because those possibilities have been discussed, but obviously not by anyone with your standing in zoology and cryptozoology. Or would you rather your opinions on this wait for a future mention in your column in FT?
DeleteHi Pete, Yes, please feel free to quote me if you wish, that's fine. All the best, Karl
DeleteI'll be getting it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tyler!
DeleteWhen I read Dinsdale's book, many years ago as a teenager, I was struck, not by his Nessie tales, which I immediately discounted by his desperate need to believe. Any story, no matter how far fetched, no matter that there was zero evidential corroboration, no matter that the alleged witnesses might have had an interest in making up stories, struck him as true unless proved otherwise. His own famous Nessie film, of course, has now been shown by image layering to have been a boat, which would have been a terrible blow to hoon had he lives to see it. I always found this tunnel vision on his part more interesting than the fiction of the LNM, since he believed in it enough to abandon a presumably secure and lucrative career to spend decades chasing a myth. Evidently Nessie became, to him, a genuine religion.
ReplyDelete