The Science of Monsters: The Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear - Softcover

Kaplan, Matt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 145166799X ISBN 13: 9781451667998

Publisher: Scribner Book Company, 2013

Synopsis

Featured on NPR's Science Friday, an "ingenious" (The Wall Street Journal) and insightful guide to history's legendary and frightening monsters and the science and culture that created them.

We all know "there's no such thing as monsters," but our imaginations tell us otherwise. From the mythical beasts of ancient Greece to the hormonal vampires of the Twilight saga, monsters have captivated us for millennia. Matt Kaplan, a noted science journalist and monster-myth enthusiast, employs an entertaining mix of cutting-edge research and a love of lore to explore the history behind these fantastical fictions and our hardwired obsession with things that go bump in the night. The Science of Monsters tackles the enduring questions that arise on the frontier between fantasy and reality. Did dragons really exist? What inspired the creation of vampires and why are we so drawn to them? Are we close to making Jurassic Park a reality by replicating a dinosaur from fossilized DNA? Kaplan takes readers to the forefront of science, where our favorite figures of horror may find real-life validation.

About this title

Review:

"Introduces many questions that readers will find valuable to the study of what people fear and why they fear it."--Library Journal

"Lively and compelling... such a guilty pleasure."--The Telegraph (UK)

"Ingenious"--The Wall Street Journal

"Delightfully serious!"--Kirkus

"An organizational marvel...exceedingly though-provoking."--School Library Journal

"Ingenious."--The Wall Street Journal

"A fascinating read."--The Independent (UK)

"In this insightful guide to mythic monsters, Matt Kaplan not only tracks the likely ancient origins of terrifying beasts but predicts how these nightmarish creatures are evolving today and might manifest themselves in our future."--Adrienne Mayor, author of The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths and Myth in Greek and Roman Times

"Kaplan merges his incisive wit and clever pen into what can only be described as a delightfully seductive little monster."--Eli J. Finkel, Ph.D., professor of social psychology, Northwestern University

"A wonderful read for movie and history buffs that will leave you believing monsters are real!"--John Carls, producer of Where the Wild Things Are

About the Author:

Matt Kaplan is a science correspondent with The Economist. He has also contributed to National Geographic, New Scientist, Nature, and The New York Times. He is the author of the book The Science of Monsters. In 2014, Kaplan was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship which he used to study the sciences at MIT and folklore at Harvard.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 145166799X
• ISBN 13: 9781451667998
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256