Books That Influenced Me The Most

[Pertinax]

On the Track of Unknown Animals (Bernard Heuvelmans; English Translation, 1958)

Reading this book inspired my childhood interest in mystery animals and the hope that there were still exciting species awaiting discovery. Sadly these days I am much more sceptical about the existence of most cryptozoological animals ……….

The interesting thing is that when I first read it( I still have it) as probably a teenager, I was immediately sceptical of many of the claims, though a few examples like the Atlas Bear for example, did seem more plausible. My views have not changed that much.

 

[Jurek7]

On the Track of Unknown Animals I liked that book. But 60 years later, none of animals in Heuvelmans book turned to exist, and all actually discovered new animals were not in that book. In the last 10 years, cameras in mobile phones killed the possibility of seeing an unknown animal and not providing a photo proof.

Jeremy Cherfas, Zoo2000.
https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-2000-Look-Beyond-Bars/dp/0563202815
It was the only book about zoos in the local library, and first hint that zoos are something to be interested in. Although at that time I could not quite understand the difference between originality of animals and nature and fakeness of zoo exhibits.

Robert Mash: How to Keep Dinosaurs
https://www.amazon.com/How-Keep-Dinosaurs-Robert-Mash/dp/0297843478
It would fit perfectly the 'fantasy zoo' threads. However, it is satire, not zoology. All dinosaurs are completely unsuitable as pets or livestock. Most of the books humor is description of complicated ways to make dinosaurs semi-manageable and disasters falling on would-be keepers: from geeks to publicity-hunting celebrities.

All Yesterdays, Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals by John Conway, C. M. Kosemen and Darren Naish.
https://www.amazon.com/All-Yesterdays-Speculative-Dinosaurs-Prehistoric-ebook/dp/B00A2VS55O
For the contrast, science-based imagination: dinosaurs like imagined in the 2010s, not in Spielberg movies.

 

[Pertinax]

On the Track of Unknown Animals I liked that book. But 60 years later, none of animals in Heuvelmans book turned to exist, and all actually discovered new animals were not in that book. In the last 10 years, cameras in mobile phones killed the possibility of seeing an unknown animal and not providing a photo proof.

That's true- none of the featured animals in the book have since been proved to exist, while none of the species new to science that have been discovered were mentioned either...