Science Fiction's Greatest Monsters

by Daniel Cohen

Discusses memorable monsters from science fiction stories, radio and television programs, and movies.

Genres: Science Fiction

122 pages, Library Binding

First published June 1, 1986

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Daniel Edward Cohen was born on March 12, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents divorced when he was very young and his mother, Sue Greenberg, married Milton Cohen, a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Daniel Cohen attended Chicago public schools and was a "hanger-on" in the bohemian community around the University of Chicago while in high school in the early 1950s. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where he abandoned an interest in biology for journalism. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in journalism in 1958. Cohen married Susan Handler, a writer, on February 2, 1958. He briefly worked as a proofreader for Time, Inc. in Chicago; but, demoralized by the paternalistic organizational culture, he took a job as assistant editor of Science Digest magazine in 1959. He was transferred to New York City shortly after being hired.

In addition to his editorial work, Cohen wrote articles for Science Digest and for other publications. Encouraged by praise of his articles on paranormal subjects, Cohen published his first book, Myths of the Space Age, a collection of skeptical essays on paranormal creatures and phenomena, in 1967. The Cohens moved to a farmhouse in Forestburgh, New York, in 1969 so Daniel could write full time. He originally planned to write popular science books, but the demands of the market led him to concentrate on books about ghosts, monsters, UFOs, and psychic phenomena. Since then, Daniel Cohen has written on an astonishing variety of subjects beyond just the paranormal: historical and current biographies; advice for teenagers; world history; science and technology; animals and nature; urban legends; and popular television, music, film, and sports personalities. He has noted that he writes mass-market paperbacks for children who are reluctant to read and not especially gifted. Thus, he chooses subjects of interest to such readers.

Susan Cohen was born on March 27, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, to Martin and Ida (Goldman) Handler. She earned a B.A. degree from the New School for Social Research in 1960 and an M.S.W. degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, in 1962. She worked as a social worker in the mid-1960s before writing The Liberated Couple, a feminist tract, in 1971. She wrote eleven gothic romances and mysteries under the penname Elizabeth St. Clair between 1974 and 1981. Susan and Daniel Cohen began collaborating on books in 1982 to help alleviate Daniel's workload. They have written books primarily on popular entertainment, advice for teenagers, and animals. The Cohens currently live in Cape May Court House, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listen, I picked this up because it’s short and I’m a little behind on my reading goal for the year. I’m well aware this is probably for middle elementary grades. I just can’t get over the baseless claims. For instance, on page 97, “Lovecraft is not usually thought of as a writer of science fiction. He is better known as a writer of horror stories. He is probably the second-best American writer of horror stories. The best in America, and the world, was Edgar Allen Poe.” SAYS WHO? I understand this is a book for kids, I really do, but kids will take this man’s opinion as fact which just furthers the divide between people fully understanding what a fact is and what an opinion is. This was also just the most recent sentiment that was not cited, there are many previous examples to it. I would really not have cared if he stated “this is my favorite movie that includes xyz …” because that is an opinion but there are many “this is the best” statements that litter these pages. I also realize this was written in 1980 but, come on, cite your sources!!!

[R.A. Brewster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a deep dive into the creatures of the silver screen, more a quick touch on the classic monsters. Obviously written for a younger set of eyes, it doesn't fail to entertain. Though some better categorizing would have helped the flow of the book.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for the time. There is no mention of Godzilla and by the 1980's this would have been a glaring omission.

[Nick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ass-backwards synopses of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Dr. Who, the Star Trek episode "Mudd's Women" (which is about prostitutes, so I guess the transgression is forgivable in a kids' book, but why not choose a different episode?), plus he called the '62 B-movie classic "Journey to the Seventh Planet" by the incorrect "Voyage to the Seventh Planet." Undoubtedly there are many more errors that I didn't catch because I haven't seen the movie or because I skipped over the section entirely because it was nothing more than a spoiling of the movie's plot, or both. A geeky kid might get some fun out of it. Use the index as a checklist of classic sci-fi films.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cohen looks at monsters & aliens from movies, television, and books. I liked this book when I was little because it talked about a lot of different movies, books, and television shows. It is so badly written however and almost becomes stream of consciousness because Cohen seems to have no rhyme or reason to the path of his discussion.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Without a doubt, Daniel Cohen was a favorite author of mine in the fourth grade. Every time there was a book fair at school, I'd plunk down my hard earned green for one of his books about monsters. He was my introduction into cryptozoology at a young age, as well as ghost stories and movie monsters.