Third Edition is Only Weeks Away

The third edition of Live Pterosaurs in America is only a few weeks away from publication. The final stage is awaiting some sketches from an eyewitness. Although there may still be some changes from editing, the present stage is close to complete, so here are some previews:

Acknowledgements

To the eyewitnesses who’ve bravely come forward, telling us of apparent living pterosaurs, I dedicate this book. They deserve to be heard. . . .

. . . In the United States of America—that’s where Scott Norman, in 2007, became the first American cryptozoologist to see a clear form of a living pterosaur while searching for one: a large flying creature with a head three to four feet long. We mourn the passing (from natural causes) of our young friend who is deeply missed in the cryptozoology community.

Introduction

If this book does nothing more than comfort the eyewitnesses of strange creatures, I would be grateful; but there’s much more. We need to understand why we believe what we believe. When I first began researching these eyewitness sightings, years ago, I mentioned a word to a kindergartner: “pterosaurs;” he said, “A comet.” Years later, while writing this book, I mentioned my work to a second-grader; she said, “Who will buy your book? Crazy people?” I think better of you. And I think, because of what she and many others have told me, that we must understand indoctrination, for it influences our beliefs; the extent of that influence discomforts me. . . .

. . . These flying creatures, apparent pterosaurs seen by eyewitnesses in Papua New Guinea, in America, and in other countries, have not yet been captured or clearly photographed, so they’re still classified not in zoology textbooks but in cryptozoology. . . . still . . . you be the judge.

Pterodactyls and Bulverism (the cryptozoology book is quoted)

When someone publishes a web site with a URL that includes the words “stupid” and “lies,” and the point of the site is to ridicule those who promote the idea of living dinosaurs or living pterosaurs, “bulverism” probably fits . . . Of course “libel” also fits, but . . . Individuals are attacked, real persons, me and my associates. Quotations of what we say can be hard to find on that site; the attacker’s portrayal of our motivations, easy to find. An average reader who gets very far on that site is unlikely to search out the actual words and deeds of living-pterosaur investigators. Why search for the writings of people who are both stupid and liars? But what if the critical mistake is in the one making accusations?

[The third edition of Live Pterosaurs in America (available on Amazon) was published early in November, 2011]

Pterosaur Sighting Expert

. . . he has written blog posts and web pages on living pterosaurs, about one thousand total: mostly analysis of eyewitness reports, replies to critics, and answers to common questions. He has also written two nonfiction books and a paper in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.