HERE THERE BE MONSTERS

In an engaging, fast-paced text, Newquist chronicles how centuries-old myths about a sea monster known as the kraken transformed into the modern study of Architeuthis dux, the giant squid. Until the 1870s, when dozens of giant squid were sighted and more mysteriously washed up dead on coasts around the world, scientific knowledge of the creature was fragmentary, and speculations about it were based more on fiction than facts. Even now, despite enormous advances in underwater exploration technology, the creature remains shrouded in mystery. A live squid was not observed until 2004, by Japanese scientists. The author does a commendable job of packing a great deal of information into a compact narrative. He seamlessly moves among exploration of history, mythology, film, literature and scientific discovery; the discussions of how everyone from Alfred, Lord Tennyson to Jules Verne to Walt Disney kept the myth of the ferocious kraken alive in people's imaginations are especially interesting. The book is abundantly illustrated with charts, maps and photographs. (bibliography, suggestions for further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 9 & up)