The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters

This book is great because it doesn’t trust give you the regular run of the mill cryptids everyone knows about. I learned about so many I have never even heard of before. Amazing book!

This is in 4 sections, The Northeast, The South, The Midwest, and The West, with a mix of well known and obscure cryptids. The first section has the well known The Jersey Devil, Champ and The Dover Demon with more obscure ones such as Wampahoofus, Snarly Yow, Snallygaster, Glawackus, and Albatwitch. Albatwitch, you wonder? They are 4 foot tall hairy hominids, and, yes, the better known little people, the Pukwudgie, are also in this section. The second has the Fouke Monster, Mothman, Skunk Ape, Lizard Man, Flatwoods Monster, Minnesota Iceman, Chupacabra as well as the less covered a lot Altamaha-ha, Woodbooger, and Rougarou. Part 3 has the expected Piasa Bird, Beast of Busco, Dogman, Thunderbird, Wendigo, Beast of Bray Road, Hodag, and the not as well known Nain Rouge, Underwater Panther, and Rhinelapus. Part 4 has the Menehune of Hawaii (well, it IS the Aloha State), Jackalope, Skinwalker, Batsquatch, Skunka Warak'in, and even the Fresno Nightcrawlers. By my own count, 72 cryptids get chapters, and there are good illustrations to boot. A great read, and even the ones that are covered to death elsewhere are written about in an entertaining and informative fashion.

I've really liked reading this book from the writers adventures of learning about the different cryptids. The only reason I gave this a 4 is it would have been nice to have a pic of each of the cryptids (instead of just some of them). Other than that, this book is super cool, well binded, and well priced.

To read a J.W. Ocker nonfiction book is the printed equivalent of sitting with the author in a bar, chatting over beers. The style is casual and the prose is conversational (not surprising after his years of writing his Odd Things I've Seen blog). His views are never evident - what he thinks of a Montana Hyena or ta Gloucester Sea Serpent is never on display. Never dismissive, never flippant, occasionally gleeful, this is a guy discussing material he has come across and want to share. So grab another beer and sit back - it's time for another cryptid...

J.W. Ocker has hit the spot with this one! If you're a fan of cryptids, travel, or US weird history this is the book for you. Ocker goes across the US and shares some of the most celebrated Cryptid towns. While this is in no way a deep dive into any particular cryptid, it showcases the towns that have made a name for themselves (or just have a fun story) for their history with certain unidentifiable creatures that are without scientific proof.Each chapter is a bite size story of a cryptid, how it became known in the town, and what that town does to celebrate it today broken up into 4 regions of the US. His writing style is so easy to read and entertain. This would be perfect for people that don't know much about cryptids and just want a brief breakdown or those that are die hard cryptid fans and may want to add some vacation spots to their travel list.