Finding unsolved mysteries to be quite interesting, I therefore had to examine and study this title in question, i.e.,Encyclopedia of Strange and Unexplained Physical Phenomena by Jerome Clark. In here one will find out about lost dinosaurs, hair ape like creatures and other odd and mysterious items and unsolved mysteries. Recommended.

If you're into UFOs, physical anomalies, psychic powers, cryptoterrestrials, the reality of myth, the world's most inept hoaxes, or anything else that qualifies as weird, this is your book! Jerome Clark presents more information and research on most of the entries than any other source I've read, and he even has a bit about why some people are believers and some people are skeptics. Many of the entries are of such obscure occurences that even me, the paranormal buff, haven't heard of. Great for amateurs and pros of the field alike.

Although an avid reader on this and related subjects for over 30yrs,I just recently came across this book.Those familiar with the works that combine Coleman/Clark (Creatures of the outer edge,Mysterious America,Cryptozoology A-Z,etc.)will know what to expect;personally I find it the best book of the duo or either of them solo.The kind of book that you don't want to finish because it is so interesting.

Jerome Clark, a respected UFO historian, "takes a break" from UFOs and explores other areas of the paranormal with this book. Clark's two-volume, award-winning "UFO Encyclopedia" is already considered to be the standard reference source on the UFO phenomenon, and with "Unexplained" he provides the same fine writing and thorough research that his readers have come to expect. As the reviewer below mentioned, if you liked the "X-Files" you'll love this book, as it looks at some famous "urban legends" that were explored in episodes of the series. There are sections on the "Jersey Devil", the mysterious "Brown Mountain Lights" in North Carolina, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and other bizarre animals, strange objects falling from the sky on sunny days (jelly, rocks, fish, etc.), and all sorts of other oddities that make our lives a little more creepy. Have planes and ships really vanished in the Bermuda Triangle, or is it just a myth? Are there really mysterious "Men in Black" who try to intimidate UFO witnesses and researchers? Was the "Mothman", which terrified residents of a small West Virginia town in 1966, a real creature, or just a strange coincidence? If you read this well-written, well-researched book you'll find out. True to form, Clark is fair to both the "believers" AND the "skeptics" in each topic - he lists the arguments of both sides and leaves it up to the reader to decide. A great book to read late a night - even if you don't believe these stories, it'll still give you the "chills"! Recommended!

I've been a Jerome Clark fan for years..He always presents a clear concise and objective view of whatever subject he tackles.Mr. Clark presents both sides fairly and attempts to provide a balanced report without the hysterical fanaticism of the "believers" or the rabid negativism of the skeptics. He (and his old partner Loren Coleman) are good examples of the old school reporters who understand the difference between fact and opinion. Mr. Clark is one of the few authors in this area that does not seem to have a pet theory about the mysterious phenomena. This book lists many famous cases with proof both for and against the "experts" explanations. Well researched and written, this book is a must read for any serious (or just curious) reader of unexplained phenomena. You can trust Jerome Clark to always lay out a well researched and balanced view. I do.

Jerome Clark has written what I feel to be the definitive guide to all things paranormal. His book is filled with hundreds of entries that cover all aspects of the paranormal world, If it's paranormal related - you name it.. it's probably in this book.

What made the book a great read for me is that Clark has obviously researched for himself the various topics in his book, this is NOT just another rehash of the same old tired stories. While clark does a lot to dispel some of the myths and urban legends associated with some paranormal events, he also keeps an open mind and relates some of the strangest mysteries of our world with true an accurate details.

This book is by far the best of my paranormal collection, and a valuable tool for all paranormal enthusiasts and investigators. If you want the REAL facts of a paranormal event, then this is the book for you.

I must say, that I am not a proponent of either ufo's or other space realted incidents, however, I do find them to be quite intriguing and therefore I thought it would be the right thing to do (the prudent thing to do, some might say), to examine the following two volume encyclopedia (which both of the volumes deal with mentioned subject) called The UFO Encyclopedia : ThePhenomenon from the Beginning (2 Volume Set) by Jerome C. Clark (Editor). In here a person whom has a knack or an affinity (or might be a ufo fanatic for that matter or manner of speaking) will find evryhing and anything related to ufo's, ufo incidents and people whom have become famous (in their own right one might add) for having had ufo realted experiences. Recommended.

Quite simply, this is THE book to buy if you're interested in learning about the UFO phenomenon. Unlike many UFO books, which are written by true believers with dubious credentials and which have little or no research, Jerome Clark, a respected UFO historian, has packed this encyclopedia with a massive amount of research and plenty of references to back up his arguments. And this is a true encyclopedia - the 273 essays cover, alphabetically, almost every major UFO sighting since the 1890's, as well as the major theories which are used to explain UFO sightings, and biographies of almost every major ufologist and skeptic in the field. Although Clark is a "believer" and tends to side with those who believe that UFOs represent something real and extraordinary, he is fair to the skeptics and debunkers and does include their explanations for each sighting, even though he often disagrees with it. If you want a handy reference book that will answer almost any question you have about UFOs, then this is the only book you'll ever need. And, as a rebuttal to those who believe that UFOs are "nonsense" and not to be taken seriously, Clark's "UFO Encyclopedia" presents a mighty challenge. If you could only buy just one UFO book for your personal library, then the "UFO Encyclopedia" is by far the best choice - I have no doubt that it will be the standard reference book for years, if not decades, to come.

This is a landmark book and a remarkable achievement. The entries are very detailed, balanced and extremely well-referenced. Many of Clark's entries are worth the equivalent of an entire book boiled down to a few pages. I have suggested to several sociology colleagues that they get their libraries to order it. When a case is in doubt, Clark tends to land on the side of possible ET visitation. While I disagree such interpretations and assessments (because I require absolute proof), Clark is certainly within his rights to do so because he bases his views on evidence, and he backs up his argument with quality references and lucid reasoning. No matter where one stands on the UFO debate (and I am a sympathetic skeptic), this 2 volume set clearly stands as the most thorough ever written for the 273 entries covered. Jerome Clark should be congratulated for an almost superhuman effort.

I have many of these types of books in my collection, from small paperbacks to fancier hardcover Reader's Digest-type compendiums, from Rupert J. Gould's _Oddities_ to works by William Corliss and Brad Steiger - themselves no hack journalists of the unexplained - and none of them hold a candle to the sheer pragmatic necessity of this book. An avid cryptozoologist might note, for example, his deliberate separation of the North American Sasquatch, Orang Pendek, the Himalayan Yeti and various other Wildmen into separate entries, yet even still reserving space for more cautionary cryptid accounts such as "Momo" and casting a brief spotlight deservedly upon the issue of de Loys' monkey ("Mono Grande"). Although the sheer scope of the material demands that Clark is efficient with his prose and occasionally miss some things (why, for example, is Momo covered while the Boggy Creek sightings, which spawned several movies, are left out ?) you will be surprised how much substantive information is contained in these pages. The author is meticulous and footnotes extensively, always describing his material with a keen eye for journalistic accuracy and healthy dose of skepticism, all of which makes this a fantastic compendium, reference manual, and all-around eye-opening introduction to the "Borderlands."

Im also happy to report this book seems to have spawned a vastly-expanded second edition. I would suggest hunting that down first before attempting to grab this one second-hand, but any way you can own it, it should be welcome in your library, rabid skeptic and would-be sasquatch hunter alike.

There are few with greater authority to write a book on the topic of anomalous occurrences than Jerome Clark. For over three decades he has written about such events, and has been editor of _Fate_ magazine and of the _International UFO Reporter_. He is the author of several books and many articles on unexplained phenomena. Quantity does not always equal quality, but Clark has always sustained the same high standards in his writing, no matter the specific topic in the field or his theoretical approach. This book is a collection of his research on physical phenomena not accepted by mainstream science. The subjects of this book found here include phenomena as diverse as Thunderbirds, fairies, and entombed animals, to name a few of my favorites. Clark gives each subject a chapter, in which he summarizes the reports and excludes nothing that might be considered a possible explanation of the phenomena. A result of this approach is that he accepts prosaic explanations for cattle mutilations, the Bermuda Triangle, and the moving coffins of Barbados.

As a rule, however, Clark's focus here is to show that not only do we not know everything about the natural world, but that at times our preconceptions prevent us from studying what Charles Fort called "the data of the damned." Such data once included meteors and giant squid, neither of which were accepted by Enlightenment science, but which have now been incorporated into mainstream scientific thought. It is likely that many of the entities and phenomena included herein will someday be accepted by science, but until then, Clark has given them a place to stay, for those interested in such things to find them.

This book is one whose strength is an absence of theory. Usually this approach would result in a pile of meaningless facts, but in this work we at last have a collection of the most representative (if that term means anything in this context) anecdotes of odd phenomena recorded in the modern era. Some phenomena, as I have pointed out, fall prey to the skeptic's knife, but in most cases Clark emphasizes what has been written about the event or entity. His attitude of most of these topics can be summarized by his words regarding the phenomenon known as the hairy biped. In response to questions raised by its possible existence, its ability to become invisible and perhaps even intangible, and its possible connection with UFOs, Clark says only: "We don't know. And we probably aren't going to find out for a very long time." Future researchers will find this work a good source for historical materials pertaining to this and other as-yet unexplained phenomena. Topics included are apparently material cryptozooids such as lake monsters and unknown primates; UFOs and other aerial phenomena; objects falling from the sky; living dinosaurs and other supposedly extinct creatures. There are also those creatures and events which might not be physical phenomena, such as fairies, hairy bipeds, and phantom attackers. Indeed, perhaps the most important point that Clark makes in this book is that most of these phenomena appear sometimes to be material phenomena, and at other times specters that come and go without leaving physical evidence. Clark's goal here is to present as much as the data as is possible in the space given; he does not exclude cases which support either the material or paranormal hypothesis. Except in a few cases, he chooses not to declare one way or another what the phenomena might be (though he does explore many possibilities), remaining instead content with documenting accounts of its existence.

The book is also an enjoyable read, and is furthermore very well organized. Each chapter contains a list of Clark's sources. Numbered footnotes would have been better, and an index also would have been useful, but this book is without a doubt the finest collection of unexplained phenomena I have yet seen. It is one of the few books of this type that I always keep at hand not merely for pleasure, but also for reference.

This book is quite possibly the best documentary of unexplained phenomenon, I have ever read. Jerome Clark details every interesting unexplained piece of information possible from the Mountain Lights to the Jersey Devil. Being the X- File freak I am, nothing interests me more than paranormal activity. If you get a book about the unexplained, I strongly recommend this one.

I like d this book mainly for the fact that it had tons of information, and also that it did not cost a bundle of money. I have been reading about Ufos for some time now, and this one is one of my favorites on the subject. I strongly encourage you to read this book if you enjoy Ufo stuff .

It's a great book. Jerome Clark, as always, do a excellent work showing the alines presence among us since XVI century. Here you can read about the Roswell Incident, aliens authopsys, sightings, close encounters and more... Thi book it's recommended since the "experts" to the "begginers".

Coleman's writing skills are put to test in a vast but rather scanty book that covers almost every aspect of cryptozoology. While Mothman and company are left out, Coleman gives plenty of coverage on phantom felines, out of place and oversized reptiles, and of course, the infamous Bigfoot. Other mystery primates are also covered in this book. This is just a sample of the sort of material you will find inside the pages of Crypto A to Z.

Unfortunatly, if you are looking for vast coverage of specific sugbject, you should look else where. This book serves only as an introduction to the basics on what sorts of mysterious critters are or are not roaming around America and other parts of the world. And just that makes you really question people and books like this one. If there really are huge cats, werewolves, giant ape-men, hairy humanoids, "devil monkies" and sea serpents running around, why have they remained hidden in a modern, scientific world with more than six billion human inhabitants?

In their most recent collaborative effort, "Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature", authors Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark have shed a much-needed light on an often misunderstood field and its personalities.

At once both compelling and fascinating in its detail and broad scope of coverage, "Cryptozoology A-Z" is destined to become the spark which kindles the imagination of a whole new generation of inquisitive minds. With biographies of the giants and not so giant in the field, past and present, as well as descriptions of cryptids both well-known and obscure this book is a fascinating tribute to an often maligned scientific realm.

It will surely be frequently referenced for years to come. Bravo.

An excellent book on Cryptozoology is Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia... by Loren Coleman & Jerome Clark. The book includes, in alphabetical order, creatures we are all familiar with - Loch monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, but along with these more familiar names, we find listings for more rare creatures with sightings from the Americas and around the world.

The book starts out with a clearly defined timeline beginning in 1812 with Baron Couvier's "rash dictum" - "There is," the Baron said, "little hope of discovering new species." The time line ends in 1999 with the blue Timor Monitor, a rare species of lizard.

The encyclopedia begins with the well known "Abominable Snowman" and goes on for over 200 pages of delightful and intriguing descriptions, ending with Zuiyo-Maru Monster, a monster fished out of the sea off the shores of New Zealand.

The encyclopedia also includes an extensive appendix featuring museums, periodicals and websites.

Like your average conspiracy theorist, Jerome Clark refers mostly to other crackpots for his "information". What you're left with is a tangled web of hearsay and pseudoscientific speculation. Just because he lists a lot of sources, it doesn't mean they have any value.

One source used over and over is the MUFON UFO Journal. Case in point, the Gulf Breeze sighting. According to James Moseley (former MUFON member), the contradictory evidence was swept under the rug in favor of a more sensational story, even after a fake UFO model (used to hoax pictures) was discovered in Ed Walters' house. Mr Clarke's own organization, CUFOS, stubbornly supports the Roswell crash, which has been proven to be a Project Mogul balloon-- ironically, Clarke mentions none of the skeptical literature by Klass, Korff, or Pflock concerning Roswell. He must've decided to gloss over any "crashes" in his book, otherwise he might've had to admit that everything was a balloon, falling satelite, meteor, or other space debris. At CUFOS's website they don't recommend any skeptical authors such as Klass, Sheaffer, Korff, or Menzel. Therefore, is Jerome Clark and CUFOS fair to both skeptic and believer? Absolutely not. The author tries to make his book look "skeptical", but in reality him and the group he belongs to are hard-line believers. They cling tightly to their Roswell cash-crop, otherwise they'd without money for selling 35 year old "research" papers and other garbage.

In the section about airship sightings in the 19th century, again no references to Menzel, Klass, Korff, Oberg, Peebles, or Sheaffer. Fair to both sides? No.

In the section about the Ken Arnold sighting, no mention of any skeptical literature. Just more MUFON nonsense. What isn't mentioned here is that researcher Brad Sparks has determined that June/July was the peak season for meteor showers, and in 1947 it was one of the biggest years ever. Needless to say, what Arnold described wasn't a metal saucer, but something which appeared to move like it was skipping on water. From a long distance meteors would certainly look weird, or maybe it was birds, either way it wasn't a spaceship. But thanks to more sensational pseudoscience courtesy of Ray Palmer (lost continent of Atlantis charlatan), everyone in America started to believe that actual flying saucers were in the sky. It was the birth of a modern myth.

For the Cash Landrum case the only sources are from MUFON and CUFOS. If this case was so important, then why hasn't any other researcher corroborated the proof, or investigated medical records. Only thing you can trust is MUFON's word, and we already know they're not above distorting the facts.

The Chiles-Witted sighting. Again no references to the skeptical literature. No Klass, Menzel, Peebles, Sheaffer, Oberg, Korff. Fair to both sides, No.

The Colusa sighting. No mention of skeptical authors. Fair to both sides? No.

The Dr. X case. Supposedly he was burned/attacked by a UFO. The only source is Jacques Vallee. Did it ever cross anybody's mind that he could burn himself with an iron? Because it looks exactly like that, as if you took a hot iron to yourself and ended up with a triangular red spot. Wow! Proof of aliens attacking people!

When describing the famous "estimate of the situation" he mention none of the skeptical literature. Fair to both sides? No. Curtis Peeble's book has the other side of the story.

The Exeter case. No skeptical authors. Fair to both sides? No.

The Falcon lake case. Another instance of someone burning themselves. Oh, the Martians are invading!

The Father Gill sighting. No mention whatsoever of skeptical authors: Klass, Menzel, Peebles, Korff, Sheaffer, Oberg. Fair to both sides? No.

Green Fireballs/Project Twinkle: again no input from the
"debunkers." Curtis Peebles' book has the other side of the story not mentioned here.

The Kentucky "abduction" case: no mention of the skeptical authors. Fair to both sides? No.

The Valensole case was another one from Jacques Vallee and a French organization. No sketpical literature referenced. Fair to both sides? No. According to Klass' newsletter, no conclusive evidence. Thinking rationally is too hard for Mr. Clark, instead it's more evidence of aliens, based soley on single report from France... which he probably investigated on the telephone.

In a book with over 700 pages, Jerome Clarke mentions roughly 25 cases or so, half of which are so ludicrous and old you have to wonder why he even mentions them. Unless, of course, he's hoping that gullible readers haven't heard them before. The other half are misrepresented, it's mostly propaganda that attempts to look skeptical.

Finally, what investigation has Jerome Clark done? Phil Klass (while NOT sitting in his armchair) discovered that people within the area of the Soccoro didn't report hearing noise from a supposed spaceship blasting off, contrary to Zammora's testimony. Isn't that a discrepancy worth noting, Mr Clark? How come that isn't mentioned here? Phil Klass was in Soccoro, not in his armchair! Same with the Walton "abduction". Suprise, Klass wasn't in his chair!

In conclusion, if you're looking for the best book about distorted facts, bias, and poor research, then you've found a real bargain. It's full of every rehashed case from before 1975-- back when people entertained themselves by throwing hubcaps in the air and snapping pictures, or winning prize money for "best UFO picture of the year, or photographing frizzbees. And Jerome Clark even uses the National Enquirer as material. What's next, an encyclopedia on Batboy or Elvis sightings?

This book, which is an abridged version of Jerome Clark's award-winning "UFO Encyclopedia", is simply the best single-volume reference book on UFOs in print. Clark is fair to both the believers and the skeptics, and that fair-minded attitude is extremely rare in this field of study. And...I find it amusing that both UFO "believers" AND "debunkers" use this book as a reference source, so it's obviously still relevant to the modern UFO debate. Also, people DO report UFOs in present-day America - and if you don't believe me, then just visit the National UFO Reporting Center website. And, even if people weren't reporting UFOs, that still wouldn't make the unsolved UFO cases from previous decades irrelevant. As for UFO debunker Phil Klass, his "prosaic" explanations are all researched over the phone from his office in Washington DC, and his "explanations" all originate from the comfort of his armchair. The fact that Klass is somehow able to "explain" all UFO sightings without doing any "on-site" research, directly interviewing UFO witnesses, and generally ignoring any evidence which contradicts his theories, makes a mockery of any notions that he represents "science and logic". In 1983 Klass even tried to shut down a UFO conference at the University of Nebraska by telling a U of N administrator that people who believe in UFOs were supporting Communism by questioning the integrity of the US government...yep, now there's a guy who represents logic, reason and science at its finest! As to the charge that this book is too "flimsy" and only rehashes "old" cases - the "UFO Book" contains nearly 100 entries, including dozens of still-unexplained UFO sightings and incidents, and it is extensively referenced and footnoted - something which is rarely done by UFO believers or skeptics. If you want to learn more about the UFO phenomenon, then this is the best and most balanced reference book (pro-or-con) that you're likely to find.

Contrary to what a previous reviewer wrote, Jerome Clark's "UFO Book" is neither biased nor too "thin" to be a superb reference source for someone who wants to learn more about the UFO phenomenon. While Clark is a "believer" in the sense that he believes that not every UFO sighting can be be dismissed as swamp gas, stars, weather balloons, or (failing all else) hoaxes, he is fair to the skeptics and debunkers and does include the explanations they have given for each of the sightings he discusses. And, given the negative publicity that this topic constantly recieves, it is refreshing to read a thoroughly-researched, well-written account of UFOs that at least tries (and usually succeeds) to be fair and balanced. Unlike many UFO books which are written by "true believers" who do little research and who see every UFO sighting as "proof" that we are being visited by aliens, or books by so-called UFO "skeptics" who actually twist or ignore the evidence in order to debunk every UFO sighting and dismiss the topic as "nonsense", Clark openly states in the prologue that both sides need to adopt a little-used three word phrase when dealing with the UFO phenomenon: "We don't know". This book is actually an abridged version of his much longer and more in-depth "UFO Encyclopedia". The "Encyclopedia", which has 273 entries, comes in two volumes, and costs about $(...), is designed for the more serious researcher or ufologist. The "UFO Book" contains some 90 entries from the "UFO Encyclopedia", yet it still covers, alphabetically, almost every major UFO sighting in America since the UFO phenomenon started in the summer of 1947. It also looks at the major theories used to explain UFO sightings and has brief biographies of most of the leading ufologists AND skeptics in the field. If you're a reader with a casual interest in UFOs, or you simply want to purchase a UFO book for your personal library that will give you a good overview of the subject, then the "UFO Book" is simply the best work that's been published...and it will probably remain so for a very long time.