Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs: The World's Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved [Paperback]

Albert Jack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2009

FOOLED BY FABLES? LED ON BY LEGENDS? MYTH-GUIDED?
WONDER NO MORE, MYSTERY-PHILES: THE TRUTH IS IN HERE!

What in the world (or out of it) made those giant crop circles? Did skydiving skyjacker D. B. Cooper really get away with it? Is Bigfoot a big fake? Are ETs just BS? If you’re tired of scratching your head over persistent puzzlers like these, mystery-buster Albert Jack has the cure for your quizzical itch. He’s gone hunting for the truth behind more than thirty of the most famous and baffling conundrums in history. Did a conspiracy or a calamity kill Marilyn Monroe? Is the Bermuda Triangle a tropical tall tale? Was a dead Paul McCartney replaced by a doppelgänger? How did Edgar Allan Poe meet his doom?

In quick-witted entries on each enigmatic topic, Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs offers answers certain to surprise, enlighten, amuse, and perhaps disappoint true believers. But Albert Jack never fails to fascinate and entertain as he spills the beans about the odd, the eerie, and the (no longer) unexplained.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though not every mystery (the movement of lead coffins in the Chase vault, the identity of robber D.B. Cooper) is solved as promised, author Jack (Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day) does a remarkable job explaining a great many strange phenomena in this compulsive read. Tackling more than 30 mysteries big (the Bermuda Triangle) and small (a flat, straight stretch of autobahn that causes crashes), Jack gets right to the crux of the matter, exposing a great many hoaxes. That grainy, infamous video footage of Bigfoot? Fake. The equally grainy snapshot of a surfacing Loch Ness Monster? Most likely a bathing circus elephant. Crop circles? Less a hoax than an art form. Not everything can be traced to mischievous individuals with time to kill: the disappearance of big band leader Glenn Miller is now credited to friendly fire; the rational explanation for the disappearance of the Mary Celeste crew is just as satisfying as the numerous supernatural theories posited. Conspiracy theorists may be disappointed, but skeptics and armchair explorers will find this engrossing and witty, though probably all too short.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Jack, author of Red Herrings and White Elephants (HarperCollins, 2006), branches out from explaining grammatical lore to exploring some of the most famous mysteries of the past 200 years. From Loch Ness monsters to Marilyn Monroe's apparent suicide, he covers a wide variety of topics, some with more detail and evidence than others (the origin of raining frogs takes up a mere page and a half, while Monroe's story occupies more than 10). The book makes for interesting, browsable reading—students and teachers alike can pick up one story at a time. Jack offers a nice dose of quick nonfiction that would appeal to students, including reluctant readers.—Sarah Krygier, Fairfield Civic Center Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812980050
• ISBN-13: 978-0812980059
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,813,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting read, May 9, 2009

By 

Victoria Assetta - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs: The World's Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved (Paperback)

This book attempts to solve many of the mysteries of the world, such as big foot, loch ness monster, UFO's, Bermuda triangle, etc. The author does not solve all of his proposed mysteries, but does present some interesting theories/solutions for these mysteries. The novel is a bit of a buzz kill for those of you who like conspiracy theories or supernatual explanations, because he uses mostly rational or practical explanations for the mysteries. The book is good to read on a lazy day, because it does have some good stories that I've never heard of before and did keep me reading.