Robert Deis

Great collection of 13 articles from the men's adventure magazines of the mid 20th century. For what they represent they are great, with excellent pulp illustrations. Like the author, I got my cryptic fix from True, Saga, and Argosy, though not from the lesser of the pulp genre where they made up stories. In the 60s there just weren't that many books or magazines on cryptids out there. By my count, there are two solid pieces by Loren Coleman and Ivan T. Sanderson, one short story by Arthur C. Clarke, and seven I Found Yeti fabrications, shored up with a few references from cryptic lore, especially regarding the Yeti of the Himalaya. Actually, the one thing I admire about the fiction stories is the research. That holds true for the stories the cheaper magazines specialized in, made-up tales of discovery of lost Amazonian tribes and attacks on Nazi bordellos in France, all involving lovely young appreciative women. Deeply appreciative. I know that the offices that Mario (Godfather) Puzo and other pulp writers worked in must've been messy ones with stacks of paper that I worked in, but what was their research section look like? The facts they used to make their pulp tales so believable are impressive. The pulps, aimed at a male, postwar readership, died in the middle 70s with the rise of Hustler and it's knock-offs filled with graphic nudity and aimed at a younger readership coming into their maturity. Since that time publishing has discovered the field of cryptozoology as researchers have thrived and multiplied and TV has gone from In Search Of....to numerous slick TV series that promise an update and chase if not capture. Great book for fans of the men's adventure pulps of a past era.… (mais)