Dr. Karl P. N. Shuker
Paperback, 2020 Anomalist Books, 414pp.
Dr. Karl Shuker’s well-researched Mystery Cats of the World (Robert Hale, 1989) instantly became the top reference (for many cases, the only one) for those interested in that topic. It's very hard to find now: I'm fortunate to have a copy.
Shuker adds a great deal of information and countless new illustrations in Revisited, so it's far more than just a revised edition. It's the NEW definitive reference for zoologists as well as cryptozoologists. Nothing, from the mysterious Iriomote wildcat to the strange-looking woolly cheetah to odd-looking cats in ancient art, is outside Shuker's interest. The cryptozoological mysteries are here, too. What is a "water-leopard?" Could saber-tooth cats have survived? Ahd what do we know of my favorite mystery, the Queensland tiger-cat or yarri? Shuker writes well, and his background as a trained zoologist shows in his analysis of the cats and their potential origins or plausibility. As usual for a Shuker book, the sources are well-cited (if uneven in their reliability) and a ton of reference material is there for the more dedicated student of pussycat puzzles to pursue.
Bill Rebsamen, as always, provides some great artwork. The very thin paper makes some of the photo-illustrations less impactful than they might be. If I haven't mentioned it enough already, this is the best book ever published on such cats, and is unlikely to be dethroned in the coming decades.
1 comment:
Nice review. The book sounds interesting.
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