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The Mammoth Book of Oddballs and Eccentrics
by
Karl Shaw (Goodreads Author)
Howard Hughes, Liberace, Imelda Marcos, Sarah Bernhardt, Ed Wood, Jr., Ludwig von Beethoven -- they're all here, along with an astonishing assortment of other oddballs, kooks, dreamers, despots, prophets, performers, royals, politicians, inventors, philosophers, writers, artists, and more garden-variety eccentrics. Here, too, are the phobias, compulsions, odd beliefs, and...more
Paperback, 512 pages
Published
March 13th 2000
by Running Press
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This is one of those books that is an absolute jumble of quirky information- some of it accurate, some not, about all sorts of individuals- from dukes to kings (Elvis, that is) and lots of folks in between.
I found that it was well read if kept on theback of the toilet tank...
I found that it was well read if kept on theback of the toilet tank...
HILARIOUS anecdotes of the crazies! Easily organized by person so you can read a few at a time or whole chapters. Shaw, a British author, has a wonderfully dry wit, which will make you laugh out loud.
Fun book to read! Lots of little interesting things that you wouldn't know about people you may have studied in school!
Oct 09, 2009
Sean Evans
added it
The Mammoth Book of Oddballs and Eccentrics by Karl Shaw (2000)
The Mammoth Book of Oddballs and Eccentrics is exactly what it sounds like: an index of freaks, geeks, neurotics and crazies. It's not the easiest reference book to navigate and it probably won't come in particularly handy to anyone for any rational reason, but it's still a fun read and certainly worth taking a look at. From eccentric inventors to celebrities and their phobias to hilarious, unique deathbed confessions, this book really does shine a light on how truly weird some of the most famou...more
May 11, 2008
Needleroozer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of freaks and freak shows
Shelves:
life-stories
This book consists of mostly short little stories (mostly less than one page long) about weird behaviors of mostly famous British people. It is one of those books that doesn't have a plot, that can be read in short sittings, that doesn't have to be read from cover to cover in chronological order. The stories were mostly fun to read (although some were disturbing), but I'm not sure that tomorrow I will remember any of what I read.
Sep 12, 2007
Jennifer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes weird facts about famous (and not so famous) people
It was good, but contains a lot of information from his other books and is simply, not as riveting. It was also hard to find. I had to special order it from Amazon...
Not everything in here is accurate, but it's a very fun read.
Best Book ever!!!
Apr 04, 2008
Jim
marked it as to-read
sounds like fun
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