Reviews

The Most Wonderful Animals that Never Were by Joseph Wood Krutch

mimihey's review

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informative lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

sakusha's review

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funny informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.0

The author has a conversational way of writing, like a grandfather telling stories by a campfire. The book covers the unicorn, mermaid, phoenix, roc, salamander, dragon, basilisk, werewolf, manticore, loch ness monster, and the abominable snowman. It also talks about some real animals which people have made up stories about, like the pelican, dolphin, ostrich, milksnake, bears, ostriches, etc. 
The author could’ve gone into more depth. The book doesn’t mention that werewolves were thought to have come about from people eating spoiled rye bread which made them hallucinate. The book doesn’t mention the vermillion bird in its chapter about the phoenix. The author doesn’t mention China’s dragon in its chapter on dragons either. Or dinosaurs. It’d be nice if the author had been more specific about all the areas of the world in which each creature was believed in. Still worth reading for anyone who is interested in these creatures.
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