Mythic Creatures: And the Impossibly Real Animals Who Inspired Them
Richard Ellis, Laurel Kendall, & Mark A. Norell
Sterling Signature
Nonfiction, Mythology
Themes: Avians, Bestiaries, Cryptids, Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Beasts, Dragons, Equines, Gryphons, Merfolk
****+
Description
Birds large enough to carry off full-grown elephants, hybrid lion-eagles hoarding gold in the Gobi desert, monstrous serpents from beneath the seas... Humans have imagined all manner of wondrous and dangerous beasts and beings since long before history. Some were meant to be allegories or religious symbols, some were cases of mistaken identity or traveler tales, but all have inspired storytellers and artists for generations and continue to do so today. From a special exhibit by the American Museum of Natural History, explore mythical animals of the world.
Review
This would've been a great exhibit to see in person, but this book - full of many full-color photographs and reproduced images - is the next best thing. It covers a wide range of animals, venturing slightly beyond the "usual suspects" of mythological bestiaries, though in varying degrees of depth. It also seems to gloss over a few key traits (unicorns, for instance, had rather fierce roots - the embodiment of the intractable wilderness - before being" tamed" as a Christian symbol, for instance), though I suppose they had to pick and choose details to present unless they wanted to write a full-blown mythical encyclopedia set instead of one volume. Many of the images are new to me (some pictures get reproduced ad nauseum if you read enough books on mythical animals), and all are interesting, earning this book an extra half-star. It's a clearly-written and enjoyable addition to any library of mythical beasts and beings.