Tracking the Chupacabra

Tracking the Chupacabra combines detective work, scientific analysis, and a keen sense of human psychology to unravel the mystery of the chupacabra. Radford provides the cultural context for the monster, and offers a comprehensive look at both the mythological and biological elements underlying the mystery. Ben Radford is at once sympathetic to and critical of the field of cryptozoology, and the field's practitioners would do well to follow his example of measured skepticism and commitment to science and reason. This is an engaging read that both scientists and the lay public will enjoy. Radford has slain the beast!" —David Daegling, author of Bigfoot Exposed"A wonderful adventure into the quirky legend of our newest popular monster. Radford manages a very rare feat of balancing the excitement and magic of the monster hunt, with the rational skeptical approach of the scientist. I really enjoyed it." —Dr. Stephen Asma, author of On Monsters and Professor of Philosophy and Distinguished Scholar at Columbia College"An amazingly thorough book....Having sequenced the DNA of three of the purported chupacabra beasts myself, I am impressed at the depth to which Radford delves into the backstory behind the chupacabra. Unlike the numerous uncritical popular writings about the chupacabra, Radford provides easy-to-read yet scholarly coverage of this subject." —Dr. Todd R. Disotell, Professor of Anthropology, New York University"Radford does a masterful job--part detective investigation, part anthropological analysis--of revealing the not-so-awful truth behind the chupacabra legend. In fact, Radford's deconstruction definitively and entertainingly sucks the mystery out of the poor old goatsucker." —Dr. Kenneth Feder, Professor of Archaeology, Central Connecticut University, and author of Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology"Radford goes after the chupacabra with the same kind of knowledge and energy that Dr. Van Helsing showed in pursuing Dracula in Bram Stoker's classic horror novel. Radford drives a metaphorical stake into the heart of the beast, reporting his investigations in lively prose, free of academic jargon yet rich with insights from folklorists, biology, and psychology. Radford interviewed the eyewitnesses a well as reviewing the published and popular-culture descriptions of the chupacabra; then he applied scientific and folkloric analysis to the data. His conclusions—clearly and even humorously reported--provide the definitive word on the twenty-first-century vampire." —Jan Harold Brunvand, author of The Vanishing Hitchhiker"Radford is thorough in his investigation; interviewing eyewitnesses, providing creepy photographs of otherworldly creatures, serving up DNA analysis, and contemplating theories of mass psychosis....this objective probe will appeal to readers interested in exploring and exploding modern mysteries." —Library Journal