Alan Bellows

A collection of strange and interesting stuff: medical oddities, freakish disasters (natural and man-made), historical curiosities, etc. The entries range from mildly intriguing to utterly fascinating, and are written in a clear, pleasant, not overly sensational style with just enough depth and a nice sprinkling of humor. I'm very impressed by the fact that some real care and critical thinking seems to have gone into selecting and presenting these stories. As it happens I was already show more familiar with a number of the subjects included here, and I know that those are quite well-documented and real, which makes me feel reasonably confident about the validity of the ones I hadn't heard of. And when the evidence for something is circumstantial or incomplete, that fact is carefully and cheerfully acknowledged. You don't always see that kind of care being taken with collections like this, and I appreciated it.

My favorite pieces? Well, there's the story of the pilot who safely landed a 767 that had run completely out of gas on a tiny, middle-of-nowhere airstrip he remembered from several years previously... not realizing that it had been converted into a racetrack in the meantime and that he was landing on race day. Or there's the one about the oil rig crew who drilled in the wrong spot and ended up draining an entire lake into the (up to that point, fully functioning) salt mines underneath. Oops! Or there's... Well, I could go on.

There are a ton of these strange-but-true books in existence, and a megaton of websites, but this is easily one of the best examples I've encountered. I enjoyed it enough that if these guys happen to put out a follow-up volume, I'll happily pick up a copy of that, too. show less

When I was young I read every Ripley's Believe it or Not paperback I could find. As I grew up I was drawn to things like The Book of Lists and other compendiums of the unusual, forgotten, and just plain bizarre. My interest drifted; none satisfied my maturing tastes.

Until now. Alien Hand Syndrome is the most original, erudite, adult, and fascinating "book o stuff" I have ever read. A complete delight from end to end.

It takes a lot to surprise me. I read voraciously, But 80% of this book is show more new to me. The world's largest bore hole in Russia might just be the USSR's greatest scientific achievement, but is largely unknown. Ethyl poisoning, a horror indeed, was caused by additives crowed about in lavish advertising for decades. The Nucleon was a nuclear powered car that persisted as a project for decades, ohmygod.

Evolutionary (self-evolving) circuitboards! Vaseline, a gelid waste product, becomes a ubiquitous and useless staple! How to control your dreams!

For me, the most moving and amazing of all is the study of and revelations about humor, and laughing. But the book is chock full of what smart people want to know. These aren't gee-whiz, ain't-it-weird blurbs, but well-written, sharply focused essays by pros.

I like the skeptical tone, nicely underplayed.

More, please. Make this a series. Ripley's for grown-ups, with humanity, excellent selections, wicked humor, and respect for human foibles and frailties woven through-out. A home-run. show less

I knew when I saw the title of this book, Alien Hand Syndrome, that I was going to like it. I requested it, hoping I would get a review copy of it (rather than something like "Coping with Acne: A Personal Story") -- and, for once, I actually got the book I wanted. Generally speaking, I seek out and love books like this; books full of short, random, weird trivia that makes you stop and go, "Huh! I didn't know about that. How about that!"

Let me put it to you this way -- I was not show more disappointed.

I read about self-sacrificing amoebas; about the women who painted radium on glow-in-the dark watch dials in the 1800's (and their cruel fate); about "Corpse Farms"; about the one man who survived the Mt. Pele eruption; about a blind man who was given sight and how it ruined his life -- and many, many other random and interesting things. Not even to mention the titular "Alien Hand Syndrome", and my personal favorite syndrome (which I am purposefully refraining from naming. It's a secret.)

I do have a couple slight criticisms of the book: first, that there seemed to be a large preponderance of stories about war-related items. Not that I have a problem with interesting facts related to wars -- but a few of them, to me, didn't seem all that surprising or unusual. (I'd heard them before. But then again, as I said, I'm a bit of a "weird facts" buff.) Second, there were a few items that were more "theoretical" than factual -- where they more or less said, "There was an unsubstantiated study that said..." and then expounded on that point. Not that they didn't make a point to say that the study was unsubstantiated... but I just would have preferred if they left the one or two hazy, theoretical items out of the book.

All and all, though, a most enjoyable reading experience. Would probably be a good "bathroom book" (if you know what I mean; short articles that take five to ten minutes to read...) It's the kind of book you can pick up, open to any page, and read -- or start from the beginning and read through. Recommended! -- Mrs. Hall show less

Filled with fascinating, fun facts presented in with humorous accessibility. Whether you are interested in crime, natural phenomena or that edgy disease to mention when calling in sick for work, this is your book.

Did you know that Vaseline can be used to prevent frostbite on your chicken's combs? Do you live in Illinois but never heard of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon? Even if you are familiar with alien hand syndrome - you diagnosed it on 'House' before the docs did - don't think you can't show more learn something from this book.

(This is also the only non-Michael Jackson related place where I have seen mention made of Diprivan. Did you know it can cause red urine? Michael may have. But I didn't.) show less