It
was way back in 1991 when Dr Karl Shuker's second book, Extraordinary
Animals Worldwide, was published. Containing accounts of lesser-known
mystery beasts and scarcely-known mainstream creatures, and plentifully
supplied with exquisite antiquarian chromolithographs, engravings, and other
vintage illustrations wherever possible, it purposefully recalled a bygone
generation of natural history books, dating predominantly from the 19th
and early 20th Centuries, whose subject matter, generally a deft,
eclectic interweaving of speculative zoology, the history of animal discovery,
and wildlife mythology of the ancients, was popularly referred to by its
authors and readers alike as romantic zoology.
Such
was the enduring appeal of Dr Shuker's book's modern-day contribution to this
now all-but-lost subject – indeed, eventually gaining a cult status among
mystery beast aficionados in particular – that he was encouraged to prepare a
much-expanded, updated edition, entitled Extraordinary Animals Revisited,
which was published in 2007 by CFZ Press. Updating some of the most popular
chapters from the original book and also adding many new ones, it went on to
attract an even greater following than its predecessor, and remains in print
today.
By
'mixing and matching' cryptozoology (the scientific study of mystery animals) with
mainstream zoology, these two books enabled Dr Shuker to include within a
single volume a uniquely diverse array of creatures. Consequently, it would
only be a matter of time before he gave into temptation and compiled a third
compendium of extraordinary animals - and here it is.
So,
welcome one and all to Dr Shuker's Menagerie of Marvels! Where else would you
encounter fairy armadillos and go-away birds, roc feathers and a werewolf paw,
a park of monsters in Italy and mystery beasts in the Vatican, whale-headed
pseudo-pterodactyls and hammer-headed lightning birds, beech martens in Britain
and winged toads in France, an invisible catfish and a dicephalous kestrel,
reverse mermaids and the music of Ogopogo, earth hounds, moonrats, kinkimavos,
lavellans, nandinias and Nandi bears, ajolotes, bristle-heads, mammoths,
hoopoes, gorilla-sized man-eating baboons and giant rhino-eating terror birds,
lake monsters and sea serpents, leopons and lizard cryptids, vermiform
rock-slicing laser gazers, and so much more too, all within the scenic yet
comfortingly-secure confines of a single book?
Enjoy
your visit, and return whenever you wish – Dr Shuker's unique collection of
extraordinary zoological esoterica and inexplicabilia will always be here to
mystify and mesmerise you anew. You have only to open the book, turn the page,
and step inside...if you dare!
Born and still living in the West Midlands,
England, Dr Karl P.N. Shuker graduated from the University of Leeds with a
Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in pure zoology, and from the University
of Birmingham with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in zoology and comparative
physiology. He now works full-time as a freelance zoological consultant to the
media, and as a prolific published writer.
Dr Shuker is currently the author of 21 books
and hundreds of articles, principally on animal-related subjects, with an
especial interest in cryptozoology and animal mythology, on which he is an
internationally-recognised authority, but also including a poetry volume. In
addition, he has acted as consultant for several major multi-contributor
volumes as well as for the world-renowned Guinness Book of Records/Guinness
World Records (he is currently its Senior Consultant for its Life Sciences
section); and he has compiled questions for the BBC's long-running cerebral
quiz 'Mastermind'. He is also the editor of the Journal of Cryptozoology,
the world's only existing peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted to mystery
animals.
Dr Shuker has travelled the world in the
course of his researches and writings, and has appeared regularly on television
and radio. Aside from work, his diverse range of interests include motorbikes, travel,
quizzes, poetry, the life and career of James Dean, Sherlockia, collecting masquerade
and carnival masks, philately, world mythology, and the history of animation.
He is a Scientific Fellow of the prestigious
Zoological Society of London, and a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.
He is Cryptozoology Consultant to the Centre for Fortean Zoology, and is also a
Member of the Society of Authors.
Dr Shuker's personal website can be accessed
at http://www.karlshuker.com and his extremely popular mystery animals blog,
ShukerNature, can be accessed at http://www.karlshuker.blogspot.com
His poetry blog can be accessed at http://starsteeds.blogspot.com
and his Eclectarium blog can be accessed at
http://eclectariumshuker.blogspot.com
There is also an entry for Dr Shuker in the
online encyclopedia Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Shuker and a
Like (fan) page on Facebook.
AUTHOR BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mystery Cats of the World: From Blue Tigers
To Exmoor Beasts (Robert
Hale: London, 1989).
Extraordinary
Animals Worldwide (Robert
Hale: London, 1991).
The Lost Ark:
New and Rediscovered Animals of the 20th Century (HarperCollins: London, 1993).
Dragons: A
Natural History (Aurum:
London/Simon & Schuster: New York, 1995; republished Taschen: Cologne,
2006).
In Search of
Prehistoric Survivors: Do Giant 'Extinct' Creatures Still Exist? (Blandford: London, 1995).
The Unexplained:
An Illustrated Guide to the World's Natural and Paranormal Mysteries (Carlton: London/JG Press: North Dighton, 1996;
republished Carlton: London, 2002).
From Flying
Toads To Snakes With Wings: From the Pages of FATE Magazine (Llewellyn: St Paul, 1997; republished
Bounty: London, 2005).
Mysteries of
Planet Earth: An Encyclopedia of the Inexplicable (Carlton: London, 1999).
The Hidden
Powers of Animals: Uncovering the Secrets of Nature (Reader's Digest: Pleasantville/Marshall
Editions: London, 2001).
The New Zoo: New
and Rediscovered Animals of the Twentieth Century [fully-updated, greatly-expanded, second
edition of The Lost Ark] (House of Stratus Ltd: Thirsk, UK/House of
Stratus Inc: Poughkeepsie, USA, 2002).
The Beasts That
Hide From Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals (Paraview: New York, 2003).
Extraordinary
Animals Revisited: From Singing Dogs To Serpent Kings (CFZ Press: Bideford, 2007).
Dr Shuker's
Casebook: In Pursuit of Marvels and Mysteries (CFZ Press: Bideford, 2008).
Dinosaurs and
Other Prehistoric Animals on Stamps: A Worldwide Catalogue (CFZ Press: Bideford, 2008).
Star Steeds and
Other Dreams: The Collected Poems (CFZ
Press: Bideford, 2009).
Karl Shuker's
Alien Zoo: From the Pages of Fortean Times (CFZ Press: Bideford, 2010).
The
Encyclopaedia of New and Rediscovered Animals: From The Lost Ark to The New Zoo
– and Beyond [fully-updated,
greatly-expanded, third edition of The Lost Ark] (Coachwhip
Publications: Landisville, 2012).
Cats of Magic,
Mythology, and Mystery: A Feline Phantasmagoria (CFZ Press: Bideford, 2012).
Mirabilis: A
Carnival of Cryptozoology and Unnatural History (Anomalist Books: New York, 2013).
Dragons in
Zoology, Cryptozoology, and Culture
(Coachwhip Publications: Greenville, 2013).
The Menagerie of
Marvels: A Third Compendium of Extraordinary Animals (CFZ Press: Bideford, 2014).
Consultant and also Contributor
Man and Beast (Reader's Digest: Pleasantville, New York,
1993).
Secrets of the
Natural World (Reader's
Digest: Pleasantville, New York, 1993).
Almanac of the
Uncanny (Reader's Digest:
Surry Hills, Australia, 1995).
The Guinness
Book of Records/Guinness
World Records 1998-present day (Guinness: London, 1997-present day).
Consultant
Monsters (Lorenz: London, 2001).
Contributor
Of Monsters and
Miracles CD-ROM (Croydon
Museum/Interactive Designs: Oxton, 1995).
Fortean Times
Weird Year 1996 (John Brown
Publishing: London, 1996).
Mysteries of the
Deep (Llewellyn: St Paul,
1998).
Guinness Amazing
Future (Guinness: London,
1999).
The Earth (Channel 4 Books: London, 2000).
Mysteries and
Monsters of the Sea
(Gramercy: New York, 2001).
Chambers
Dictionary of the Unexplained
(Chambers: Edinburgh, 2007).
Chambers Myths
and Mysteries (Chambers:
Edinburgh, 2008).
The Fortean
Times Paranormal Handbook
(Dennis Publishing: London, 2009).
Plus numerous
contributions to the annual CFZ Yearbook series of volumes.
Editor
Journal of
Cryptozoology (the world's
only peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted to cryptozoology, published by
CFZ Press).
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