Robert W. Chambers 
In Search of the Unknown 

An ornithologist seeking prehistoric creatures also discovers modern romance in these strange and satiric short stories by Robert W. Chambers, an early master of supernatural fiction and the author of the cult classic The King in Yellow. Originally published in periodicals of the early twentieth century, these six interconnected tales recount a madcap series of international romps. The hero, working under the auspices of the Bronx Zoo, scours the globe in search of extinct and legendary species, including the great auk, invisible swamp-dwelling predators, and "harbor masters, " half-men, half-amphibians. Guided by his implacable self-confidence, the bumbling scientist faces down a world of dangers as well as the distractions posed by a series of beguiling women.