Weird Missouri: Your Travel Guide to Missouri's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets

Weird Travel Guides

by James Strait, Mark Moran (Foreword by), Mark Scuerman (Foreword by)

Weird Missouri( Your Travel Guide to Missouri's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets) <> Hardcover <> JamesStrait <> Sterling

Genres: Travel, History, Paranormal, Nonfiction, Humor

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 4, 2008

Reviews

[Maria Shuffit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book to learn about some local oddities and places of interest, hoping to find a few things that might be worth making a day trip out of them. It was entertaining, and makes for a great coffee table book - something to open up to a random page every now and then. Unfortunately, even though this edition is less than a decade old, it's already pretty dated - it makes a good starting point for some trips, but more recent research would be required. I thought that the information was decently well-presented. The book includes many legends as well as factual places and events, offering something for believers in the paranormal and those whose minds are firmly planted in the world of scientific reality. Many of the places and events were presented with the authors' opinions, which sometimes was welcome and interesting, but sometimes detracted from the reader being able to form their own opinions and credibility.

Short review: Interesting book to flip through when you're bored. Nothing grand or mind-blowing, just highlights the state's legends and notable places and people.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can forgive this book for being dated as it was published in 2008. Apparently it's one in a series which started as Weird N.J. and that it's a 'knock off' shows. Although the book is a good starting point for some research, in many cases, it's very hazy on the specifics for anyone wanting to visit the publicly available sites. I really think more space should have been devoted to better detailed information rather than scattering everything all over the place although the book is organized by topics and not areas of the state. I did learn some about Missouri - things like Carrie Nation and Calamity Jane were both from Missouri. The section on Bloody Bill Anderson which astonishingly described William Quantrill as "Quantrill was also a wild child guerrilla fighter, but one who was able to slay monsters without becoming one himself." That's a pretty weird thing to say about a man who led a raid on Lawrence, Kansas, destroying the entire town. My rating is 2 stars for sloppy story gathering.

[Melissa C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book so that we could take some fun short road trips as a family before moving out of the state. :(

This book has so many little fun nuggets of info about quirky places in the state, I don't know that we're going to have time to see everything I want to see before we move! But I just ordered Weird Washington (state), so I can get excited about where we're going. Because I'm not yet.

Anyway, I highly recommend seeing if your state has a book in the Weird series. Well worth the price!

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at the library to learn some history and find some cool places to photography in my home state. Turns out it’s more interest vs. travel oriented. I was hoping for something that was organized by region to aid in planning tips and such and this wasn’t it. It was enjoyable though.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but definitely skewed to the St. Louis side of the state.

[Solaris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK. I feel like a 2021 Edition is need

[Christina ❤️M❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun. Reading through all the interesting things that are right around the corner from me and I just didn't know it.

[Kitap · Rating 2 out of 5]

Missouri evidently doesn't have nearly the level of weirdness needed to flesh out one of these books, because a good number of the topics in this volume were just not very interesting, let alone "weird." The book would definitely have benefited from a more in-depth look at the religious weirdness in Missouri, from the varied grottos and shrines scattered across the state to the alleged location of the Garden of Eden.

That said, I did enjoy the descriptions of Times Beach (aka Route 66 State Park) and Weldon Springs, two eerie locales in the St. Louis metro area, as well as the Rolla Stonehenge, a favorite place to stop on the way to visit friends in Licking.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Missouri...pretty medicore

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty cool reading this stuff about my home state.

[Jen Enright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read.