San Antonio College Library

Compilation of legends and lore about mythical animals, with literary quotations from ancient and modern sources.

In the spirit of medieval bestiaries, presents a series of bizarre creatures that are very much a part of the real world, including the honey badger, giant squid, axolotl, zebrafish, waterbear, and yeti crab. "From medieval bestiaries to Borges's Book of Imaginary Beings, we've long been enchanted by extraordinary animals, be they terrifying three-headed dogs or asps impervious to a snake charmer's song. But bestiaries are more than just zany zoology--they...

Over 125 illustrations from the original medieval manuscripts. It is a serious work of natural history, and is one of the bases upon which our own knowledge of biology is founded.

"The book of imaginary beings is Borges's whimsical compendium of more than a hundred of "the strange creatures conceived down through history by the human imagination." Imbued with Borges's characteristic wit and erudition, this unique contribution to fantasy literature ranges widely across the world's mythologies and literatures to bring together in one delightful encyclopedia the fantastical inventions drawn from the Kabbalah, Homer, Pliny, Confucius,...