Lyle Blackburn's "Lizard Man: The True Story of the Bishopville Monster"

I read Lyle Blackburn's previous book, "The Beast of Boggy Creek" some time ago.  Lyle handled researching and documenting the Fouke Monster (and the monster's sighting, movie appearances, etc.) perfectly!  I HAD to check out his follow up book, "Lizard Man:  The True Story of the Bishopville Monster".

The thing I like most about Lyle's writing is that it is very fact based.  He doesn't speculate much, and he keeps close to the known facts, like the eye witness accounts.

He spends time going out to the spots where people reported seeing the monster, and he spoke to people involved, when he could.  He is lucky to get a lot of help from a retired local sheriff who was around when most of the events occurred.

The excitement about the Lizard Man lasted for a relatively short period of time, going mostly from the late 80s until the very early 90s.  The locals did sell shirts, and tourists stopped by to check things out (and hunt for the critter- there was a bounty!).  The first witness was even able to make some money signing autographs- but the legend faded after some time.

Lyle does speculate a little about the cryptid (considering other explanations for the lizard), going strictly on witness statements.  He also discusses the very sad "Curse of the Lizard Man."

The Lizard Man legend in South Carolina doesn't have the history, or the general storied volume that the Fouke Monster of Arkansas has.  The book, and the legend, is more compact than the subject of Blackburn's first book, making this a quicker read than "The Beast of Boggy Creek."

With that in mind, I think "Lizard Man" would be THE PERFECT book for a person just developing an interest in cryptozoology.  Anyone with an even minor interest in the topic will want to read this, but it would be a great starting point for someone just getting in to the subject.