Great Mysteries of the Past: Experts Unravel Fact and Fallacy Behind the Headlines of History

by Reader's Digest Association

Organized into seven thematic sections, this intriguing look at some of the most puzzling events and people of the past explores the truth behind the sinking of the Titanic, the Lindbergh kidnapping, Jack the Ripper, and other historical milestones. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, Historical

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.

The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.

Reviews

[Puja · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Great Mysteries of the Past' was gifted to me by my parents when I was a teenager. And how I loved to get lost in this interesting collection of ninety-one stories from around the world. It was an amazing journey into the past to witness events triggered by human tendencies and actions, often leaving historians puzzled. What fun it was to come up with my interpretations for the unsolved mysteries, surmise on the motivation behind the human folly, and probe the suspense.

The book is divided into six sections that are categorized topic wise; it touches upon different time periods but is not presented in a chronological form. There are strange disappearances, deaths under suspicious circumstances, unanswered questions, enigmatic characters, and examination of guilty parties and legends. What's not exciting to read about Rasputin, Napoleon, Jack the Ripper, Dian Fossey and other fascinating characters from history ? I plan to move this book to my bedside again sometime soon.

[Michael Gerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother bought this book for me as a birthday present to me when I was 12 years old, in 1994. It's the first book from Reader's Digest that my mother bought and it set off my life-long love for non-fiction. It presents to the reader 91 real-life mysteries throughout history, from the Middle Ages to the 1980's, as the book was published in 1991. I would have wanted to reveal more details, but it would be a spoiler. It's a great read from the first page to the last. Fact really is stanger than fiction.

[Nada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Više u stvari tri i pol zvjezdice. Zanimljiv pregled događaja iz dalje i bliže povijesti koji na ovaj ili onaj način ostavljaju neke stvari nedorečene i ne do kraja razjašnjenje. Dobra stvar je što se nigdje ne pojavljuju drevni astronauti, vanzemaljci i slične stvari nego se sve temelji na povijesnim podacima. A još su teme i zanimljivo i pitko obrađene. Iako knjiga ima nekih 500tinjak stranica lagano se čita i idealno je štivo kad imate čitalačku blokadu pa vam treba kratko štivo da vas ponovno uvuče u čitanje.

[Camarada Ugarte · Rating 3 out of 5]

*LEIA ISSO ANTES DE COMPRAR ESSE LIVRO*

esse livro é um compilado de algumas situações históricas que aconteceram,e não necessariamente são um mistério
no momento em que o livro foi escrito (ou seja,antes de 2000) algumas das questões podem ter sido esclarecidas através de outros estudos,mais rigorosos no que diz respeito aos "mistérios" descritos no livro
e em questão de período histórico,é bem variado
indo dos vikings ate Watergate,só pra ficar exemplificado


o livro não é ruim,porém é MUITO MASSANTE,várias informações ao mesmo tempo e numa quantidade muito grande
vc lê uma página e sente que tivesse lido umas 2 ou 3,então,caso vc esteja com bastante tempo livro,eu indico esse livro,pra você se concentrar puramente nele,pois precisará dedicar muito tempo e algumas coisas podem te confundir

[Georgette Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

My parent's bought this book when I was a kid and this was what got me into loving history. I learned different things from it as a kid and it broadened my knowledge of the world and brought me to different points of history in a lot of different places. You could say, this made my whole world bigger.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a really long time to read, both because it's my first book in this hobby and also because it jumps all over the place by its very nature. It's easy to read a couple of stories and then put it down for months because there's no real draw pulling you back story-wise. The individual stories were neat, but it was just such a slow read.

[Mladen Krečak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simpatično

[Ana-Maria Bujor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have wanted to own this book for a very long time, but when it entered the Romanian market it was quite expensive. I almost forgot about it until I sold it sold on the internet for a bit less than 5 Euros and bought it instantly. It was not a disappointment, in spite of my hype - actually it is a great book to start enjoying history. Great stories about interesting historical events, told in just enough pages to be exciting and accompanied by great images. What could I ask for more? In spite of having read quite a bit of history in the last years, I found out a lot of new things and now I will be looking for more details related to them. I am really happy I finally got it.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly interesting book about everything from the princes in the tower supposedly murdered by Richard III to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, it covers a broad historical range of stuff, all not necessarily mysteries, but very, very good.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

so. long.................... It was good though. It did spend a little too much time explaining the actual event than the mystery behind it. It's a great book for history nerds (like myself).