The Loch Ness Monster: a creature that should have died out with the dinosaurs, or a legend built on hoaxes and wishful thinking?
Sir Peter Scott, internationally renowned naturalist and president of the World Wildlife Fund, was convinced that the Monster existed. So were senior scientists at London’s Natural History Museum and Chicago University; they lost their jobs because they refused to renounce their belief in the creature. For decades, the scientific establishment was determined to quash attempts to investigate Loch Ness – until Nature, the world’s greatest research journal, published an article by Peter Scott featuring underwater photographs of the Monster.
In this talk, drawing on material from his book A Monstrous Commotion, Professor Gareth Williams takes a wholly original look at what really happened in Loch Ness.
“Meticulously researched and dazzlingly written, this book will appeal to anyone fascinated by nature and its mysteries – and to everyone who enjoys a beautifully crafted detective story with a strong cast of heroes and villains, plenty of twists and an unexpected ending.”
Gareth Williams is Emeritus Professor and former Dean of Medicine at the University of Bristol. His previous books include Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox (shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize of 2010), Paralysed with Fear: The Story of Polio, Unravelling the Double Helix: The Lost Heroes of DNA and A Monstrous Commotion: The Mysteries of Loch Ness.
He is a past president of the Anglo-French Medical Society and has an honorary doctorate from the University of Angers. He is often to be found playing the flute or saxophone in and around Bristol.
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