I'm just going to lay it all on the line, right here in the first sentence of my review, and say that I have never seen a more complete, extensively researched, or readable investigation into the UFO phenomenon. All of the major cases are here, from the unidentified balloon sightings of the 19th century right up to the most publicized cases of the late 20th century. All of the main players are here, from the Mothman to Whitley Strieber. Then, add to that the fact that there are thousands of other sightings, characters, hoaxes, and theories all alphabetized, cross referenced, and written in a style that any UFO newbie could understand, and you have the ultimate UFO reference work.

This is the second edition of this book, and every attempt has been made to keep it as up-to-date as possible. The inclusion of electronic data resources, such as e-mail addresses and web-sites, adds a whole new element to the work. Each reference contains a list of resources for more research, and cross-references are bolded for easy reference, despite the sheer bulk of the work.

Most interesting to me was the fact that the editor has done an amazing job of staying neutral on the subject, generally asking the authors of each piece to offer both worldly and other-worldly explanations for what has gone on. This book belongs in every scholastic library, and should grace the shelves of anyone interested in the UFO phenomenon. Simply put, The UFO Encyclopedia is just what it sounds like: the ultimate reference book on the subject.

Loren Coleman, the author of this volume, is one of the world's foremost investigators of cryptozoology. (For those of you uninitiated into the world of the unexplained, cryptozoology is the study of animals that should not exist.) He is well known, and respected as an expert in his field. He is also quite a writer, having written one of the best books on the subject I've ever had the pleasure to read.

Books on unexplained phenomenon tend to fall into two camps. The author is either a rabid believer, preaching to convert those he encounters, or a conservative, set out to debunk anything that seems out of his realm of understanding. Fortunately, Coleman is neither of these. In his writing he comes across as a clear, rational thinker, who is brought face to face with evidence that seems to suggest things that simply should not be. He is not afraid to debunk hoaxes, but neither is he afraid to investigate claims that are difficult to dismiss.

A glimpse through the book's table of contents reveals the sheer scope of Coleman's investigation, and it is clear that instead of theorizing in an armchair somewhere, he has gone out, observed the sites, and traveled the country seeking out mysteries. And what mysteries! From lake monsters and maned mystery cats to the "Jersey Devil" and phantom clowns, Coleman explores territory largely ignored by most scientists. While maintaining a keen balance between legend and fact, Coleman also writes an entertaining and compelling narrative. His ultimate conclusions are interesting and disturbing: perhaps there are things afield in our country that scientists simply cannot, or will not, explain.

Simply put, this is the best book I have ever read on the subject of America's mysteries. I simply could not put Mysterious America down, and now that I have finished it, I wish it had been longer. It is a book I will return to again and again, when I want a new glimpse at our reality.
 

With UNEXPLAINED!, Visible Ink Press has managed to do the impossible: write a well-balanced, interesting overview of unexplained phenomenon that could actually be used as the text of a college course. I explained in the first review above that, in my experience, most authors of books on unexplained phenomenon tend to be either rabid believers or conservative debunkers. Jerome Clark, happily, falls into the happy minority (along with Loren Coleman) of people who try to report the facts (or testimonies as they're given), and let the readers make up their own mind.

UNEXPLAINED! offers a brief overview of over 400 different unexplained happenings. Complete with photographs, interviews, and theories galore, this book is the perfect introduction to a wide range of strangeness. The sheer magnitude of content leads to my recommendation that this book is perhaps the best on the market for a broad overview of unexplained happenings. I also recommend that it be read in short bursts, because the sheer volume of stories and oddness has an oddly numbing effect, and one does not want to lose the power of Clark's undertaking. From the downright bizarre (anyone out there ever heard of the Mokele-mbembe?) to the kinds of things one expects in a volume like this (yetis, crop circles), this book is a great one-stop shopping trip of the bizarre.

UNEXPLAINED! gets my highest recommendation for reading on the beach this summer, and I promise that you will get more bang for your buck in the 600 plus pages of this volume than the most recent bestsellers.

all 3 reviews by DJ Anderson