History S Monsters

Pete Von Sholly's History of Monsters is a glorious look at the phenomenon of monsters as they figure in pop culture as well as from the anthropological, psychological and societal angles. This unprecedented illustrated pageant, presented as an accordion folded hardcover book, shows the actual history of monsters from man's earliest fears of the darkness beyond the fire to today's nightmares to see how these terrors found expression in myth, legend, and entertainment. But whatever the time or medium it's always in the unknown where the monsters lurk and fester and wait. Step into Pete Von Sholly's History of Monsters and experience the story as never before. "This astounding work traces the evolution and proliferation of monsters through all human history and many cultures, with over 1,100 different examples intertwined into a colorful, informative and fascinating book on a scale that has never before been attempted. Take a guided tour through the dark side of legend, myth, superstition, fiction, animation, film, television and even cryptozoology, and meet every monster that has haunted your nightmares - and quite a few that haven't (yet) - in this fantastic panorama wrought with the skills of a mature master of the genre." - Richard Milner, former editor of Natural History magazine and author of Charles R. Knight - The Artist Who Saw Through Time and Darwin's UniverseZ

From pre-Columbian legends to modern-day eyewitness accounts, this comprehensive guide covers the history, sightings and lore surrounding the most mysterious monsters in America—including Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, and more. Bigfoot, the chupacabra, and thunderbirds aren’t just figments of our overactive imaginations—according to thousands of eyewitnesses, they exist, in every corner of the United States. Throughout America’s history, shocked onlookers have seen unbelievable creatures of every stripe—from sea serpents to apelike beings, giant bats to monkeymen—in every region. Author, investigator, and creature expert Linda S. Godfrey brings the same fearless reporting she lent to Real Wolfmen to this essential guide, using historical record, present-day news reports, and eyewitness interviews to examine this hidden menagerie of America’s homegrown beasts.

In ancient China a monster called Taowu was known for both its vicious nature and its power to see the past and the future. Since the seventeenth century, fictive accounts of history have accommodated themselves to the monstrous nature of Taowu. Moving effortlessly across the entire twentieth-century literary landscape, David Der-wei Wang delineates the many meanings of Chinese violence and its literary manifestations.

In ancient China a monster called Taowu was known for both its vicious nature and its power to see the past and the future. Over the centuries Taowu underwent many incarnations until it became identifiable with history itself. Since the seventeenth century, fictive accounts of history have accommodated themselves to the monstrous nature of Taowu. Moving effortlessly across the entire twentieth-century literary landscape, David Der-wei Wang delineates the many meanings of Chinese violence and its literary manifestations. Taking into account the campaigns of violence and brutality that have rocked generations of Chinese—often in the name of enlightenment, rationality, and utopian plenitude—this book places its arguments along two related axes: history and representation, modernity and monstrosity. Wang considers modern Chinese history as a complex of geopolitical, ethnic, gendered, and personal articulations of bygone and ongoing events. His discussion ranges from the politics of decapitation to the poetics of suicide, and from the typology of hunger and starvation to the technology of crime and punishment.

From the deepest, darkest depths of the Atlantic Ocean to the cacophonous canopies of the Amazon rainforest, Basher History: Legendary Creatures brings to life the weirdest, creepiest and most amazing beasts rumoured to have roamed our planet. Featuring well-known creatures like Bigfoot, Mermaids, and Vampires, Legendary Creatures invites you to journey to the forests of Uganda to discover the fierce Ndalawo, a leopard with a hyena-like cry, or to travel through Mayan ruins to meet the ominous Camazotz, a night-flying hybrid of man and bat. Basher’s distinctive, colourful illustrations bring these magical mythological beings to life, all the while keeping kids in-the-know about the diverse range of folklore across the world. For fans of mythical creatures, also check out Basher History: Myths and Legends and the rest of the Basher History series!

Celebrated photographer Rosamond Purcell delves into squeamish subjects such as conjoined twins, hairy people, albinos, and humans with animal heads. Sure to capture the imagination of artists, historians, and anyone with a taste for the perverse, Special Cases is a clever visual history whose pages and pictures reveal the flipside of what we call normal.