(Skeptical.) The American edition of this best-selling British book is
published by Prometheus Books, which tells us immediately that no real monster
is going to be found.
What impresses us, however, is the sheer volume of data packed into
this slim volume. Virtually every photograph, film, videotape and
sonar record of the purported "Nessie" is described and analysed
here, including above- and below-water
photographs from the best known cases.
Every known book on the subject appears in the bibliography,
and countless periodical references are listed in the footnotes.
In short, this appears to be the best one-volume source for
information on the world's best known sea monster and the lake
in which he resides.
(One chapter also reviews other claimed lake monsters around
the world.)
There is relatively little ideology on these pages: just facts,
history, charts and detailed analysis of each exhibit.
Of course, for each photograph and sighting that seems to "prove" the
existence of Nessie, there is an alternative prosaic explanation,
but that will never dim the mystique of the loch.
As with Area 51, Roswell and every other place of mystery,
Loch Ness is just murky enough to hold any creature you
choose to imagine.
-- Glenn Campbell
By Steuart Campbell
