What do you think?
Rate this book
Epic True Tales and Crazy Stories
EPIC TRUE TALES AND CRAZY STORIES is packed with a series of fantastic true events that will entertain and astound you all at once. It is a carefully curated compendium of famous flops, curious crusades, criminal catastrophes, and baffling historical events to really spice up your day!
If these kinds of stories sound like a red-hot hoot, then you have come to the right place.
In fact, if you didn’t know these stories were true before you started reading this book, chances are you would think they were all fictional.
Inside EPIC TRUE TALES AND CRAZY STORIES,
● Some of history’s craziest tales
● Unbelievable true crime stories
● The famous and their little secrets
● Inventions you’ll never believe exist(ed)
● The biggest hoaxes and scams of all time
With all tales told with a healthy dollop of humor and wry wisdom, you’ll have a hard time putting the book down before the last page is read.
If these kinds of stories sound like a red-hot hoot, then you have come to the right place.
In fact, if you didn’t know these stories were true before you started reading this book, chances are you would think they were all fictional.
Inside EPIC TRUE TALES AND CRAZY STORIES,
● Some of history’s craziest tales
● Unbelievable true crime stories
● The famous and their little secrets
● Inventions you’ll never believe exist(ed)
● The biggest hoaxes and scams of all time
With all tales told with a healthy dollop of humor and wry wisdom, you’ll have a hard time putting the book down before the last page is read.
203 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 7, 2023
52 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Owen Janssen
11 books3 followersI am a teacher and educator with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. My love of learning was instilled in me by my father who was a professor in the educational system in Holland, my birthplace.
My family immigrated to the United States when I was just two-years-old. Myself and my family traveled the world during my formative years. This exposure to various backgrounds and cultures helped me amass a great deal of inspiration for all of my authored books, including Better Than Balderdash.
I have spent the last twenty-six years teaching elementary education and shaping young minds.
My family immigrated to the United States when I was just two-years-old. Myself and my family traveled the world during my formative years. This exposure to various backgrounds and cultures helped me amass a great deal of inspiration for all of my authored books, including Better Than Balderdash.
I have spent the last twenty-six years teaching elementary education and shaping young minds.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 13, 2023
Again really interesting facts some which I knew and some which I didn’t loved the trivia after each chapter too
March 2, 2023
This book has super interesting stories, ranging from history to sports and celebrity trivia. However, my rating went down a bit because of the format. It is marketed as "A genuinely hilarious book of outrageous events, entertaining world history, and funny true stories for adults!", but the quizzes at the end of each section kinda throw the 'adult' part out of the window. I thought it was a bit silly and if it wasn't for that I would've given this 5 stars for the content and writing.
*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*
*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*
April 20, 2025
This was funny and entertaining. It had some really interesting facts and funny stories that happened in real life. The stories were short but entertaining and something that makes you remember. 🤗💡
February 18, 2023
I loved this book!! I am the kind of person who falls down the wikipedia rabbit hole and just reads a ton of random non-important wiki pages for fun and that’s exactly what reading this book was like! very short and fun stories! I will say I could do without the bonus interrogation and answers at the end of each chapter and after chapter 3 there was a random page about “if you are enjoying this book” I felt it was very out of place and ruined the flow. overall I enjoyed the book! thank you netgalley for the arc!
March 25, 2023
3 stars because it's not a terrible book it's just not for me.
Who Would Like This Book
Some people love random bits of trivia or tidbits of information.. if that is your jam this book is definitely for you and you’ll love it. Or if you’re looking for creative ways to divert your social media scrolling habits…. this maybe be a good solution as the stories in each chapter are really short and can be read probably in about 1-2 minutes. This book is a quick, delightfully light read that has overall positivity to it and doesn't dig into any topic that is too heavy or controversial. Could be what you need after reading something heavy - a quick palate cleanser.
What's In It
The stories cover a wide gamut of topics: Hidden History (not-so-flattering things history books leave out about famous leaders), True Crime (if you're really into True Crime, you've probably heard all these stories), Secrets or lesser know facts about Famous people (again if you're really into pop culture gossip these will not be new), Weird/Interesting inventions, Hoaxes and Scams, Sports, Science and Nature.
The quizzes at the end aren’t funny questions like the subtitle of the book suggests; They're really just questions about the facts you read. ~snooze~ Would have liked it if the questions were funnier or more thought-provoking.
Personal Thoughts
However, overall this was quite meh for me. It’s a fun idea that falls a bit short. I wish there was more personality or humor in the writing as I feel the title suggests. The author relies heavily on the “crazy stories” to carry themselves - would have liked it if there was a little more storytelling in there. It’s written very matter-of-fact and almost reads like a very lengthy Buzzfeed article.
Who Would Like This Book
Some people love random bits of trivia or tidbits of information.. if that is your jam this book is definitely for you and you’ll love it. Or if you’re looking for creative ways to divert your social media scrolling habits…. this maybe be a good solution as the stories in each chapter are really short and can be read probably in about 1-2 minutes. This book is a quick, delightfully light read that has overall positivity to it and doesn't dig into any topic that is too heavy or controversial. Could be what you need after reading something heavy - a quick palate cleanser.
What's In It
The stories cover a wide gamut of topics: Hidden History (not-so-flattering things history books leave out about famous leaders), True Crime (if you're really into True Crime, you've probably heard all these stories), Secrets or lesser know facts about Famous people (again if you're really into pop culture gossip these will not be new), Weird/Interesting inventions, Hoaxes and Scams, Sports, Science and Nature.
The quizzes at the end aren’t funny questions like the subtitle of the book suggests; They're really just questions about the facts you read. ~snooze~ Would have liked it if the questions were funnier or more thought-provoking.
Personal Thoughts
However, overall this was quite meh for me. It’s a fun idea that falls a bit short. I wish there was more personality or humor in the writing as I feel the title suggests. The author relies heavily on the “crazy stories” to carry themselves - would have liked it if there was a little more storytelling in there. It’s written very matter-of-fact and almost reads like a very lengthy Buzzfeed article.
August 7, 2023
Epic True Tales And Crazy Stories by Owen Janssen is a very highly recommended entertaining collection of true stories, trivia, and trifles.
This is a good choice for those who love to collect and share interesting little facts. The short, pithy tales are told in an engaging manner with humor and details. As I was reading, I kept thinking that this would be an excellent choice for kids, upper elementary and up. It would captivate the younger group and could encourage older, struggling readers with the interesting stories. Each fact/story is presented in a succinct manner, fast and to the point. For the older crowd, the short selections make a perfect choice for quick reading while waiting or in-between tasks.
Chapters include: Histories Hidden Side; True Crime; The Famous and Their Little Secrets; Inventions; Stretching the Truth: Hoaxes and Scams; Sport and Sports; Science, Nature, and Animals; Pop Culture; and Fabulous Flops. Each chapter is followed by a Bonus Interrogation section (5 questions) and Answers to the questions.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Owen Jannsen via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/0...
This is a good choice for those who love to collect and share interesting little facts. The short, pithy tales are told in an engaging manner with humor and details. As I was reading, I kept thinking that this would be an excellent choice for kids, upper elementary and up. It would captivate the younger group and could encourage older, struggling readers with the interesting stories. Each fact/story is presented in a succinct manner, fast and to the point. For the older crowd, the short selections make a perfect choice for quick reading while waiting or in-between tasks.
Chapters include: Histories Hidden Side; True Crime; The Famous and Their Little Secrets; Inventions; Stretching the Truth: Hoaxes and Scams; Sport and Sports; Science, Nature, and Animals; Pop Culture; and Fabulous Flops. Each chapter is followed by a Bonus Interrogation section (5 questions) and Answers to the questions.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Owen Jannsen via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/0...
January 9, 2025
The Swedish King who did himself in with his own variant of the surfeit of lampreys shtick, the first land border between Canada and Denmark, Disneyland being only behind the US defence industries in being the world's biggest consumer of explosives, curried seagull… All of the above and of course a lot more are in this book of the weird and wonderful. Entries are definitely on the trivial side, but delivered in paragraph-length mini-essays as opposed to just factoids or further formats.
A lot of it was new to me – but happily where things here did coincide with my knowledge things tallied, correlated and agreed. I did find a couple of peculiar errors in the phrasing, but nothing to make me doubt the information. OK, there must surely be some aspect to the true crimes chapter that is actually urban myth – as with the Oxford Uni's everlasting battery, as well – but on the whole this was full of sound content. Unapologetically bound for the quick browse in the smallest room, this easily serves its purpose to a four star extent – I'd expect even the connoisseur of such volumes to learn something.
A lot of it was new to me – but happily where things here did coincide with my knowledge things tallied, correlated and agreed. I did find a couple of peculiar errors in the phrasing, but nothing to make me doubt the information. OK, there must surely be some aspect to the true crimes chapter that is actually urban myth – as with the Oxford Uni's everlasting battery, as well – but on the whole this was full of sound content. Unapologetically bound for the quick browse in the smallest room, this easily serves its purpose to a four star extent – I'd expect even the connoisseur of such volumes to learn something.
February 28, 2023
Epic true tales and crazy stories by Owen Jannsen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Truth is stranger than fiction, as the old saying goes. The truth can also be far more entertaining than fiction because life gets really bizarre sometimes.”
What do you do when you only have a few minutes. Perhaps your brewing a cup of tea or sitting on the loo , then you need this book by your side.
Or like me you can just devour it in one hit!
These are fantastic little bite sized pieces of trivia and you will feel like you are watching QI whilst reading about crazy stories ranging from Julius Caesar to Taylor Swift!
I thought this would be a bit of a novelty read but actually I really enjoyed it l and learned a lot of great trivia .
I think it would be a great gift and I would highly recommend !
March 3, 2023
I really enjoy this kind of book, it is a good way to increase our knowledge of useless information haha, in this book we have tales that almost happened last week at the same time we have others that happened centuries ago, for instance do you know that napoleon wasn't as short as you imagine him to be, yeah, do you want to know why? Just grab a copy and read for yourself.
What I thought it was a difference change from other similar books, was that in the end of each chapter you would get a couple of trivia and their answers about the tales that you just read. Yeah it was a refreshing way to dive into this stories.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksgoSocial for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
What I thought it was a difference change from other similar books, was that in the end of each chapter you would get a couple of trivia and their answers about the tales that you just read. Yeah it was a refreshing way to dive into this stories.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksgoSocial for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
February 22, 2023
I live in a trivia fanatic household --- does anyone remember the game TRIVIAL PURSUIT?? People stopped playing with me as I would slay them. (I also loved" The Book of Lists"
......even today w hubby we talk trivia all the time: try getting through an episode of Cold Case with us on the telly without pausing and talking about stuff mentioned on the screen.
That aside, this is a fun little book that can keep your brain ticking and have fun playing games with. Start a sentence with "Did you know that ......" and this fact-filled, fascinating book will keep you entertained for hours. It is also what I would call the perfect "bathroom book" as you can read little bits here and there while you are in there taking a bath or doing your business. Okay..TMI
#shortbutsweetreviews
Ps. https://www.google.com/search?q=alan%... Alan DERSHOWITZ IS A LAW PROFESSOR
......even today w hubby we talk trivia all the time: try getting through an episode of Cold Case with us on the telly without pausing and talking about stuff mentioned on the screen.
That aside, this is a fun little book that can keep your brain ticking and have fun playing games with. Start a sentence with "Did you know that ......" and this fact-filled, fascinating book will keep you entertained for hours. It is also what I would call the perfect "bathroom book" as you can read little bits here and there while you are in there taking a bath or doing your business. Okay..TMI
#shortbutsweetreviews
Ps. https://www.google.com/search?q=alan%... Alan DERSHOWITZ IS A LAW PROFESSOR
March 6, 2023
Homeschool family, APPROVED!!
You don’t have to be a homeschool family to really enjoy this trivia type book. It has TONS of seriously interesting facts and some seem entirely impossible! The content lives up to the book title.
Each section has a paragraph or so of information per factoid. I like the way that the book is laid out so you don’t have to read the whole thing at once. If you love Trivia and History with some silly but true facts, you will LOVE this book!
My husband and I had a great time reading these factoids, my 6 year old only grasped SOME of the info. I would say this is perfect for 9/10+ range and up.
The “Bonus Interrogation” question at the end of each section was SUPER fun and set up like trivia questions.
Would make a great gift for anyone who loves interesting facts.
You don’t have to be a homeschool family to really enjoy this trivia type book. It has TONS of seriously interesting facts and some seem entirely impossible! The content lives up to the book title.
Each section has a paragraph or so of information per factoid. I like the way that the book is laid out so you don’t have to read the whole thing at once. If you love Trivia and History with some silly but true facts, you will LOVE this book!
My husband and I had a great time reading these factoids, my 6 year old only grasped SOME of the info. I would say this is perfect for 9/10+ range and up.
The “Bonus Interrogation” question at the end of each section was SUPER fun and set up like trivia questions.
Would make a great gift for anyone who loves interesting facts.
August 8, 2023
Thank you to the author, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This collection of odd facts and interesting stories is fun reading, especially for those like me, who don't mind diving down various internet rabbit holes. The content is loosely grouped under headings like true crime stories, secrets of famous people, unbelievable inventions, hoaxes and scams. Told with humor, it's a quick read - ideal also for situations where you can only read bits and pieces at a time. However, I could have done without the quiz questions at the end of each chapter, and the self-promotion in the middle somewhere.
This collection of odd facts and interesting stories is fun reading, especially for those like me, who don't mind diving down various internet rabbit holes. The content is loosely grouped under headings like true crime stories, secrets of famous people, unbelievable inventions, hoaxes and scams. Told with humor, it's a quick read - ideal also for situations where you can only read bits and pieces at a time. However, I could have done without the quiz questions at the end of each chapter, and the self-promotion in the middle somewhere.
March 8, 2023
Super fun book! Anything that mentions the Great Emu War is good. There a lot of facts I didn’t know mixed in with a little more detail on things I already knew.
This was written in a fun, easy to read way. I liked the little quizzes at the end. I hated the “leave a review” part after chapter 3. I would have rated it higher if that wasn’t there, or at least at the end of the book. If I was the average reader, I might not review because of that.
Except for that, I recommend this to anyone who loves trivia.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this!
This was written in a fun, easy to read way. I liked the little quizzes at the end. I hated the “leave a review” part after chapter 3. I would have rated it higher if that wasn’t there, or at least at the end of the book. If I was the average reader, I might not review because of that.
Except for that, I recommend this to anyone who loves trivia.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this!
February 27, 2023
I love books like these, lots of odd little facts and amusing stories. What makes this book different from others I have read is that at the end of each chapter were 5 questions with answers on the following pages. Two benefits to this, firstly it helps check if you've been paying attention, secondly I read some of them out to my wife, unsurprisingly she had no idea to the answers, but was very interested in the answers, a great chance to encourage someone else to read it!
March 9, 2023
Strange and unknown truths.
True but odd tidbits from ancient history to today, pop culture to stupid criminals. And more!
Very interesting but the writing is a bit dry and bland. I know the author has personality because it comes out in his forewords and requests for reviews. I would've liked to see a bit more of that in each little piece.
Overall, a quick and interesting read.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley)
True but odd tidbits from ancient history to today, pop culture to stupid criminals. And more!
Very interesting but the writing is a bit dry and bland. I know the author has personality because it comes out in his forewords and requests for reviews. I would've liked to see a bit more of that in each little piece.
Overall, a quick and interesting read.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley)
August 8, 2023
Made me chuckle more than a few times!
Easy, Light, breezy read. Found myself laughing out loud more than once. If you have an hour to kill and want some light reading, this is the book for you! Enjoy!
Easy, Light, breezy read. Found myself laughing out loud more than once. If you have an hour to kill and want some light reading, this is the book for you! Enjoy!
March 15, 2023
Easy reading
Love the easy reading and getting facts in an funny and clear way. So many books on facts are dry or confusing trying to be educating.
Love the easy reading and getting facts in an funny and clear way. So many books on facts are dry or confusing trying to be educating.
April 2, 2023
Full of interesting facts. I found this book to be charming. The author has a great sense of humor. I will recommend this book to others who love books like this.
April 27, 2023
I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher
July 22, 2023
It was entertaining. The history stuff I enjoyed, the "crazy Stories" part not as much.
July 1, 2023
Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Difficult to follow at times and a little slow. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews