Tracking the Man-Beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More

Nickell (Crime Scene: Methods of Forensic Detection), a foremost expert in paranormal investigation, spends more time hunting down legendary monsters than he seems to in compiling his findings. Nickell is uniquely qualified to write about our mythic beasts, but his repetitive accounts and slim histories repeat and strain in the effort of filling even this short book-length attempt at verifying the authenticity of the myriad "creatures of our prolific imagination." The takeaway? They're not authentic; they don't exist. Nickell presents minor histories into creatures as disparate as Siamese twins and Louisiana swamp monsters, followed by research into why these creatures don't exist, have ever existed. Comprehensively he debunks every one of the phonies. This could have been an absorbing study into legend; instead, wafer-thin chapters breed repetition and tedium. Nickell is a knowledgeable guide into folklore and myth-making; a few more tall tales and a careful editor would have made this a keeper. (Mar.)