Gardner Soule (December 16, 1913 – October 26, 2000) was an American writer known for his books on

cryptozoology Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...

and marine life.

Biography

Soule contributed articles to ''

Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is pu ...

'' and '' Popular Science''. Many of his books were aimed for younger readers. His books on ancient mariners and

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

discoveries received positive reviews. However, the factual content of his works on cryptozoology was disputed. Critics described his work on alleged cryptids like the Flathead Lake Monster as entertaining, not scientific. Other reviews were more positive, describing his research on marine creatures such as the

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Trac ...

megamouth shark The megamouth shark (''Megachasma pelagios'') is a species of deepwater shark. It is rarely seen by humans and is the smallest of the three extant filter-feeding sharks alongside the relatively larger whale shark and basking shark. Since its d ...

and sea wasp as informative. Soule who had spent his early life in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

authored ''The Long Trail'' which described the history of cowboys and cattle trails. Historian Ralph Bieber wrote that the book was "disorganized, full errors, and generally unreliable." Orlan Sawey a President of the

Texas Folklore Society The Texas Folklore Society is a non-profit organization formed on December 29, 1909, in Dallas, Texas. According to John Avery Lomax, the first print collection included "public songs and ballads; superstitions, signs and omens, cures and peculiar ...

wrote that a "major defect of the book is its historical inaccuracy."

Publications

*''The Maybe Monsters'' (1963) *''Gemini and Apollo: The Next Two Projects in Space: A Preview'' (1964) *''The Mystery Monsters'' (1965)"The Mystery Monsters"
'' Kirkus Reviews''. *''Sea Rescue'' (1966) *''The Ocean Adventure: Science Explores the Depths of the Sea'' (1966) *''Trail of the Abominable Snowman'' (1966) *''UFOs and IFOS: A Factual Report on Flying Saucers'' (1967) *''Undersea Frontiers: Exploring by Deep-Diving Submarines'' (1968) *''Under the Sea: A Treasury of Great Writing about the Ocean Depths'' (1968) *''Strange Things Animals Do: How Scientists Probe Their Secrets'' (1970) *''The Greatest Depths: Probing the Sea to 20, 000 Feet and Below'' (1970) *''Wide Ocean: Discoveries at Sea'' (1970) *''Surprising Facts About Our World and Beyond'' (1971) *''New Discoveries in Oceanography'' (1974) *''Remarkable Creatures of the Seas'' (1975) *''Men Who Dared the Sea: The Ocean Adventures of the Ancient Mariners'' (1976) *''The Long Trail: How Cowboys & Longhorns Opened the West'' (1976) *''Mystery Monsters of the Deep'' (1981) *''Mystery Creatures of the Jungle'' (1982) *''Antarctica'' (1985) *''Christopher Columbus: On the Green Sea of Darkness'' (1990)

References

External links

When Cryptozoology Had Soule
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soule, Gardner 1913 births 2000 deaths American fortean writers Cryptozoologists Ufologists American nature writers American male non-fiction writers