The Essential Guide to the Loch Ness Monster & Other Aquatic Cryptids Paperback – February 10, 2021

In the vast library of non-fiction literature about unknown aquatic animals, it's nice to see the occasional book that is worldwide and comprehensive in scope to serve as a general introduction to people who aren't scholars of the subject. Books such as In the Wake of the Sea Serpents and In Search of Lake Monsters are fine examples. This new book follows in that tradition. A well-written and researched book with lots of new information, what makes it stand out is the endorsement of the relic Archaeocete theory as a potential explanation for a lot of the anomalous data. Some 40 million years ago, the whale family produced a genuine sea serpent to rival anything from the Mesozoic. Basilosaurus looked like a 60 foot conger eel with a crocodile's head, a very scary animal. The theory that our modern water monsters are descendants of these presumably extinct animals has been around since the 19th century, was in vogue for a time in the 1980's and then receded. It is nice to see the theory be given a fresh airing for many younger enthusiasts who might have overlooked it. All the theories that have been put forward all have problems, which are the subject of intense and interesting debate. The Archaeocetes as a group would appear to have many morphological features in common with the animals allegedly sighted today and speculative evolution from what we know from the fossils could account for the differences. A large brained mammal would probably be more clever at eluding detection but would have the disadvantages of being tied to breathing at the surface and feeding a high metabolism. For those of you with open minds, it is a compelling theory worthy of your consideration. I highly recommend this book as something new and different.

i am a believer in some of these cryptic sea and lake "monsters", as they are sometimes called. Probably some form of left over dinosaurs swimming about in lakes, rivers and the ocean environments!

Good info not that many pictures but for a 50 year fan of cryptozoology. It can get difficult to find new stories, I did find this book Refreshing and Thorough And it is a nice complement to my cryptozoology library

My grandson is fascinated with Loch Ness or Nessie and he Loves this book.

Awesome book!

Cryptozoology has a lot of different unknown animals, creatures that run, fly, creep and crawl. This is about those animals that swim, in lakes and oceans worldwide. The most famous of these, Nessie, is given a good bulk of this book, and author Gerhard covers all the classic accounts surrounding the famed cryptid, but also discusses briefly the eDNA study done in 2019 which determined that there were quite a few eels in Loch Ness, but did not reveal any unknown traces. Gerhard also covers other well-known Lake Cryptids, including Champ, Ogopogo and Nahuelito, as well as other Lake Monsters and Sea Serpents. There is even a chapter devoted to carcasses which appeared to be mysterious, but turned out to be more mundane sea creatures. Plus there is an introduction by Nessie hunter Steve Feltham. This is an excellent book, one that I highly recommend for all Cryptid fans and researchers.

Another great collection of monster sightings from one of the best researchers in the field, Ken Gerhard has put out a concise look at the current state of the sea serpert phenomenon, including updates on many mysteries that fascinated me as a child. With his careful, no-nonsense approach, Gerhard leaves lots of room for wonder while always keeping a reader aware of how many times “legends” turn out to be exaggerations or misunderstandings. For people who want fantasy masquerading as fact, this won’t do, but for those in search of the whole truth it is a comprehensive course on what lies beneath the waves. No one takes the world’s unclassified beastiary more seriously than Gerhard, and the field is lucky to have him.

I just finished reading Ken Gerhard's awesome new book "The Essential Guide to the Loch Ness Monster." This is the most complete book on the subject of Nessie and the many sightings that I have ever read and I have read a lot of them. Ken is a true legend tripper and has left no stones unturned in his research of this famous cryptid legend. I'm already a fan of Ken's work but this new book, he hit it out of the ballpark. I can't wait to see what Ken has up his sleeve next. I highly recommend it to all legend trippers and cryptozoology researchers.