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100 Things They Don't Want You To Know: Conspiracies, mysteries and unsolved crimes
Who was the Mothman? What caused the death of the Bordens? Did Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate JFK? And what was the true meaning of the 'WOW' signal? Daniel Smith, author of 100 Places You Will Never Visit , sets out to uncover the truth behind 100 unexplained events that have been shrouded in secrecy for generations. Under his investigative searchlight are mysterious landmarks, disappearances at sea, legendary myths, astonishing coincidences, UFOs, missing people and bizarre natural phenomena.
Ranging from suspicious deaths (The Black Dahlia) to notorious murderers (Jack the Ripper) and from ancient artefacts (Tarim Mummies) to Cold War cover-ups (Lost Cosmonauts), via documents that remain untranslatable (Voynich Manuscript), debated icons of religion (Shroud of Turin) and puzzling paranormal appearances (Marfa Lights), Daniel Smith leaves no stone unturned in his quest to expose the bare facts and unravel the tales that have gripped curious minds for years.
Also Spontaneous Combustion, Whereabouts of Nazi Gold, Red Rain, Lost Literature of the Mayan Civilisation, Disappearance of Jean Spangler, Severed Feet of British Columbia, Shakespeare's Dark Lady, The Shugborough Inscription, Stonehenge, The Flying Dutchman, Lewis Carroll's Lost Diaries and the Beast of Bodmin Moor.
Ranging from suspicious deaths (The Black Dahlia) to notorious murderers (Jack the Ripper) and from ancient artefacts (Tarim Mummies) to Cold War cover-ups (Lost Cosmonauts), via documents that remain untranslatable (Voynich Manuscript), debated icons of religion (Shroud of Turin) and puzzling paranormal appearances (Marfa Lights), Daniel Smith leaves no stone unturned in his quest to expose the bare facts and unravel the tales that have gripped curious minds for years.
Also Spontaneous Combustion, Whereabouts of Nazi Gold, Red Rain, Lost Literature of the Mayan Civilisation, Disappearance of Jean Spangler, Severed Feet of British Columbia, Shakespeare's Dark Lady, The Shugborough Inscription, Stonehenge, The Flying Dutchman, Lewis Carroll's Lost Diaries and the Beast of Bodmin Moor.
- GenresNonfictionCrimeHistory
489 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2015
47 people are currently reading
264 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 28, 2017
Read: December 2017
Rating: 4/5 stars
100 Things... was an enjoyable book and a good introduction to a myriad of conspiracy theories ranging from the well known; theories about Jack the Ripper or The Mothman, to the ones that were new to me at least; such as Starlite and Lewis Carroll's missing diaries. This book provides an overview of the main points of each conspiracy theory but generally doesn't go into detail, each entry being around two pages long. 100 Things provides the starting point, but it is up to the reader to go on and do more research to make up our own minds.
I would definitely recommend this book as a general introduction to the topic of conspiracy theories.
Rating: 4/5 stars
100 Things... was an enjoyable book and a good introduction to a myriad of conspiracy theories ranging from the well known; theories about Jack the Ripper or The Mothman, to the ones that were new to me at least; such as Starlite and Lewis Carroll's missing diaries. This book provides an overview of the main points of each conspiracy theory but generally doesn't go into detail, each entry being around two pages long. 100 Things provides the starting point, but it is up to the reader to go on and do more research to make up our own minds.
I would definitely recommend this book as a general introduction to the topic of conspiracy theories.
November 6, 2015
This should've been called '100 Things They Don't Want You To Know... And I'm Not Going To Tell You Either'.
The book consists of 100 stories that are a mixture of conspiracies and mysteries. But they're only very briefly touched on, which bothers me a little. Most of the book is taken up by (very pretty) colour photographs. Most cases in the book would be about a hundred words on the subject and some pictures. Then it was on to the next one.
If this book had covered a range of about twenty-five cases, it would've been able to give each one justice. But it felt so brief that I couldn't get into it. As a fairly well read conspiracy theorist, I knew 99% of the cases in the book, and the information was old hat.
In addition, the typos in this book were so distracting and reoccurent that I'm glad I borrowed it from the library. This book felt hastily edited - the typos were glaringly obvious and should've been picked up.
Two stars, and returned to the library gladly.
The book consists of 100 stories that are a mixture of conspiracies and mysteries. But they're only very briefly touched on, which bothers me a little. Most of the book is taken up by (very pretty) colour photographs. Most cases in the book would be about a hundred words on the subject and some pictures. Then it was on to the next one.
If this book had covered a range of about twenty-five cases, it would've been able to give each one justice. But it felt so brief that I couldn't get into it. As a fairly well read conspiracy theorist, I knew 99% of the cases in the book, and the information was old hat.
In addition, the typos in this book were so distracting and reoccurent that I'm glad I borrowed it from the library. This book felt hastily edited - the typos were glaringly obvious and should've been picked up.
Two stars, and returned to the library gladly.
July 5, 2019
why did it take me literally 7 months to finish this book? well that might be the BIGGEST conspiracy theory of them all............jk i just forgot i had this book.
or did i........
or did i........
March 4, 2019
Pretty good run through of known and unknown mysteries. Some i didnt know about. Decent index too which is always a nice inclusion. The entries are very basic but concise. Had me going down the rabbit hole of the inter webz for extra research. Basically, its a pointer to further exploration like a book of signposts to say 'hey, this is weird. I'm going to look into that more'. I enjoyed it for a quick read.
August 21, 2018
Who doesn't love a good mystery?
An enjoyable resume of one hundred cracking examples, including some new to me.
No solutions, or explanations in this book - just conspiracies.
Perfect food for thought.
An enjoyable resume of one hundred cracking examples, including some new to me.
No solutions, or explanations in this book - just conspiracies.
Perfect food for thought.
December 9, 2018
A quick read overview of mysteries and conspiracies,can be used as a stepping stone into reading more on the subjects included.
March 28, 2020
This book, a collection of 1-2 page bite-sized summaries of conspiracies, mysteries and unsolved crimes, feels like publisher fodder. Although the content of the book is pretty interesting, with a lot of entries providing some food for thought, the summaries are just too short to really provide enough insight.
Some of the topics are quite politically fuelled and the lack of depth in the accompanying descriptions doesn't really do them proper justice. Speaking about something with such horrendous implications as 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' in the same mysterious tone as El Chupacabra, for example, doesn't quite feel right.
I also spotted a few too many basic spelling errors, which is never a good sign.
With all of that criticism out of the way, I will say that I am the sort of person who has a soft spot for true crime, for the mysteries of ancient history and for stories about aliens so this book did hit my sweet spot on more than one occasion.
Some of the topics are quite politically fuelled and the lack of depth in the accompanying descriptions doesn't really do them proper justice. Speaking about something with such horrendous implications as 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' in the same mysterious tone as El Chupacabra, for example, doesn't quite feel right.
I also spotted a few too many basic spelling errors, which is never a good sign.
With all of that criticism out of the way, I will say that I am the sort of person who has a soft spot for true crime, for the mysteries of ancient history and for stories about aliens so this book did hit my sweet spot on more than one occasion.
February 2, 2020
This isn't the sort ogf book I'd usually read but something got into my head and made me decide to read something conspiracy theory based, and thought this looked ok.
And it is ok if what you want is a brief overview of something, enough to perhaps stimulate an interest for you to look further into on your own. I wasn't expecting that, I expected a bit more detail and will happily admit I should have realised what the book was likely to contain (or not contain) given that the title itself says there are 100 things in the book. Lesson learned for me! However I didn't like the vagueness of it, I wanted a bit more discussion and analysis, I like detail and this book sadly just doesn't have room for these things.
And it is ok if what you want is a brief overview of something, enough to perhaps stimulate an interest for you to look further into on your own. I wasn't expecting that, I expected a bit more detail and will happily admit I should have realised what the book was likely to contain (or not contain) given that the title itself says there are 100 things in the book. Lesson learned for me! However I didn't like the vagueness of it, I wanted a bit more discussion and analysis, I like detail and this book sadly just doesn't have room for these things.
October 4, 2025
This was an extremely uncanny and inspiring read: 100 of the most famous unsolved mysteries in one volume, some I heard and even some new ones: UFOs, WW2 mysteries, Rosslyn Chapel, Ali vs Liston, Jimmy Hoffa, Jean Spangler, missing Nazi gold, Black Dahlia, Dyatlov Pass, Jack the Ripper, Olof Palme, alien autopsy, The Comte de Saint Germain, Spring Heeled Jack, The Minnesota Iceman, The Dancing Plague, Stonehenge, Turin Shroud, the bloop... any many more. The short descriptions were peppered up with great photos and illustrations. Couldn't stop reading and learning. For every adventure seeker and fan of mystery out there. Highly recommended!
January 10, 2021
"On 15 January 1947, Betty Bersinger and her young child went for a walk in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles. Betty spied what she thought was a shop mannequin in a vacant lot on Norton Avenue, just between 39th and Coliseum Streets. In fact, it was the naked and mutilated corpse of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short. So began a murder inquiry that continues to fascinate to this day."
We all live in an intriguing age where we receive huge volumes of drip-feed data without any precedent, but all the while our distrust of what we are told grows. This book offers an inquiry into some of the most popular and fascinating conspiracies and mysterious events which the world has witnessed over the decades. While the author has pointed out that even though its our human nature that drives us towards solving mysteries, there's no surprise if some of them may actually have simplest and innocent explanations. The 100 mysteries in this book offer fodder for entertainment and little brainstorming, but definitely forced me multiple times to look up facts on Google and Wikipedia for my relish.
We all live in an intriguing age where we receive huge volumes of drip-feed data without any precedent, but all the while our distrust of what we are told grows. This book offers an inquiry into some of the most popular and fascinating conspiracies and mysterious events which the world has witnessed over the decades. While the author has pointed out that even though its our human nature that drives us towards solving mysteries, there's no surprise if some of them may actually have simplest and innocent explanations. The 100 mysteries in this book offer fodder for entertainment and little brainstorming, but definitely forced me multiple times to look up facts on Google and Wikipedia for my relish.
August 28, 2023
It was so boring!! I wanted to give up on it but I have to finish books. There's nothing in this book that makes me question anything, apart from Pearl harbour. That seems quite plausible. There's one part of the book that I read which I'd read in the book the brothers Grimm (grimms fairytale does that sumup what these stories are)
The only interesting part was the final part I looked at the date of the book and it says 2015 so talking about pandemics and AI is actually we're at now in 2023.
The only interesting part was the final part I looked at the date of the book and it says 2015 so talking about pandemics and AI is actually we're at now in 2023.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2020
I got this book as a gift as I love reading a good conspiracy theory.
I thought the book could have been more focused on certain conspiracy theories rather than exploring a lot in little detail. However, I did enjoy how it was sorted into different categories. I think it was interesting, but not something I would reread.
I thought the book could have been more focused on certain conspiracy theories rather than exploring a lot in little detail. However, I did enjoy how it was sorted into different categories. I think it was interesting, but not something I would reread.
May 11, 2021
It took some time for me to finish this book and thought about giving up on it multiple times its a good book for people who are starting to look at conspiracy theories and unsolved crime but for me it didn't have enough.
October 25, 2017
A lot of the same old "mysteries and conspiracies" but a few I had never heard of.
June 1, 2018
The worst book i have read! It is full of fantasies ! Nothing thought provoking!I did not find any story worth reading twice . The old age stories are undocumented,why include them?
August 12, 2019
Just didn't captivate me at all, not enough information at all.
January 2, 2020
Nothing new in here but a good recap.
April 30, 2021
Really good base point for items that you want to research or find out more on.
August 23, 2023
Great read and many stories I haven’t heard about before which made it more interesting. Would of like to see some photos with some of the stories.
June 30, 2024
Some things are interesting but was hard to keep up with the book.
October 31, 2024
the title is the most interesting part of the book, many interesting topics that are covered so briefly that if you aren't familiar with it before, it wouldnt even be interesting to you...
September 11, 2018
Die meisten Menschen liebes es, Rätsel zu entdecken. Deshalb ist dieses Buch ein sehr interessantes Exemplar, denn viele Rätsel werden beschrieben, jedoch eine eindeutige Lösung gibt es nicht. Man kann also gut über die einzelnen Kapitel nachdenken.
January 15, 2017
Very disappointing book, briefly touches on each subject before moving on to the next subject. Not enough info for the reader to make any decisions for themselves.
February 22, 2018
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews