The allure of the incredible is mighty, and in this book one incredible story after another is set before the reader in riveting narratives and pictures that are as beguiling - and often as beautiful - as they are persuasive. Myths are explored (some are exploded!) and legends probed. LIFE's editor's travel from the highlands of Scotland to the low country of the American Southeast, investigating occurrences and objects that locals swear are real. Are they? The answers are in these pages. The world's tallest man and its very largest animal are visited, and their stories told. Microscopic animals are revealed, as are beasts dating to the dinosaurs. Could these chimps be our closest cousins? Witness their behaviour and decide for yourself (with the help, of course, of information provided in the incisive text).