Unsolved Mysteries

by Joel Levy

Mysteries hint at worlds beyond or behind our own, of things beyond the compass of mere reason and everyday reality,of larger stories and hidden truths. The thrill of the mystery has driven treasure hunters to madness and tomb raiders to ruin, from the search for the legendary gilded city of El Dorado to the hunt for Russia's priceless stolen Amber Room. How did Amelia Earhart vanish from the sky? Who or what sent the most extraordinary radio signal ever recorded from outer space? And why was an unidentifiable corpse found on an Australian beach with a concealed fragment of Persian poetry and an indecipherable code in invisible ink?

Unsolved Mysteries tells the stories of irresistible enigmas from across time and space, from ancient empires forever lost to the tides, to modern space oddities and incomprehensible disappearances.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Mystery, Crime, Reference, Historical Mystery

217 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Joel Levy is a writer and journalist specializing in science and history. He is the author of over a dozen books, including The Little Book of Conspiracies and Scientific Feuds: From Galileo to the Human Genome Project. Phobiapedia is his first book for children.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sceptics guide to conspiracy theories. He lays out all the facts (yes, the actual facts) without cramming aliens, ghosts, UFO's and all that is bizarre & fundamentally without proof. Very interesting & entertaining book.

[Eleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsolved Mysteries is an excellent edition for any sceptic who still loves the idea of unexplained phenomena. It goes into detail about many well known mysteries but also some that I had never heard about before. Unlike some works out there about things like the Loch Ness Monster or the Arc of the Covenant, it doesn't try to shove some conspiracy theory down your throats about how it's "all real, and aliens did it!" Instead John Levy explains what the mystery is, what people believe happened (i.e. Usually aliens) and then, my favourite part, he gives a plausible, usually scientific, explanation for the occurrences. I really enjoyed this and found myself wanting more when it was over.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good collection of varied unsolved mysteries from the Easter Island statues to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Easy text, good pictures and a section called "Far Out Theories" at the end of each chapter.

[Margret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good unsolved mystery and this book didn't disappoint me. "The Winchester mystery house, The Amber room, Weeping and bleeding statues, and The Turin shroud" were my favorites. You can find in this book interest events and information. Wonderful read and highly recommended!

[Teagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Sian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must admit I was expecting more from this book but it was a bit meh to be honest.

[Krystle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting theories and some new information I’ve not heard of before.

[Quinn Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty interesting to read and I learned a lot from it because most of the topics that were discussed, I hadn’t heard of.

[Mrs_Bookies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prosze wziać pod uwagę, że mówię o polskim wydaniu z 2019 roku :)

Lubicie sekrety? Każdy z nas jakieś ma. Ale są też sekrety globalne, wielkie, nad którymi nie panujemy i których nie potrafimy wyjaśnić. Aż dziw to powiedzieć, że dziś, w XXI wieku istnieją sprawy, których nie potrafimy wyjaśnić, rzeczy, które wymykają się naszej nauce, tajemnice nie do wyjaśnienia.

Książka podzielona jest na cztery duże rozdziały, a w każdym jest po kilkanaście zagadek. Pierwszy z nich dotyczy Tajemniczych Miejsc i tu poznajemy chociażby Stonehenge, Eldorado, czy dom pani Winchester. Drugi opowiada o Tajemniczych Zdarzeniach, np. uderzenie meteorytu tunguskiego i zaginięcia samolotu MH370. Trzeci dotyczy Dziwnych Doniesień i przytacza opowieści o Skocznym Jacku, UFO, czy kręgach w zbożu. Ostatni, czwarty zajmuje się Zagadkowymi Artefaktami – dyskiem z Fajstos, czy całunie turyńskim. Napisana jest w p[przyjemny sposób, czyta się ją lekko i nie sposób się przy niej nudzić. Teksty nie są nudne i stanowią dobry początek do samodzielnej próby rozwiązania tajemnicy.

Niestety ta książka ma jedną sporą wadę. Kolosalną wadę. Mianowicie – korekta i skład tekstu. Nie wiem, kto redagował całość, ale ewidentnie dał dupy. Zbyt długie zawiłe zdania, słowa powtarzające się, co zdanie, niewyjustowany tekst, urwane w połowie akapity... Książka ta ewidentnie powinna iść do korekty jeszcze raz. I bardzo mi przykro, że tak jest, bo książka niezwykle mi się podobała. Pod kątem merytorycznym nie mam jej nic do zarzucenia. Dodana jest niezbędna bibliografia, autorzy, odnośniki do tekstów. Ale patrząc na tak rażące błędy czuję ból. Prawdziwy ból w serduszku... Zwłaszcza, że książka jest graficznie pięknie wydana – śliczny font; ładne, dobrej jakości zdjęcia. Szkoda tylko, że tak mocno niedopracowana. Momentami zastanawiałam się, kto dopuścił tę książkę do druku... A w momencie, gdy zobaczyłam takie kwiatki jak fakt autentyczny całkiem się załamałam.

Niewyjaśnione Tajemnice to świetny wstęp do rozpoczęcia własnych badań, poznania drugiego dna tych historii, poszerzenia wiedzy o świcie i postawienia sobie pytania o tajemnice i sekrety, jakie nas otaczają. Ja bawiłam się przy niej naprawdę dobrze, mimo małych problemów. Jednak i tak uważam, że to idealna pozycja dla wszystkich fanów zagadek i mrocznych tajemnic. Jeśli lubicie historie z dreszczykiem, teorie spiskowe, tajemnice i zagadki, to coś dla Was! Ja poznałam kilka niesamowitych historii i chętnie dowiem się więcej!

[SteveL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mysteries like what happened to Amelia Earhart, what causes crop circles, was Atlantis real and thousands of others have kept people puzzled as they pour over these mysteries and others looking for clues. This book doesn't have all of the mysteries in the world, but collected here are some of the biggest.

This book, like many others I have, are more of a general guide to mysteries and the unexplained than a deep dive that some might be looking for. It is a good reference book, but a lot of the cases are surface level entries. Though each entry has a paragraph or two devoted at the end for some stranger ideas on a topic. The volume also doesn't treat all mysteries equally. While most are treated with genuine questions, a few feel like the author decided that a few treated a bit harsher. It is a good reference book, but outside of that it is pretty standard.

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another selection of mysteries found in Barnes & Noble clearance section. Includes:
1. Mysterious Places ~ includes Atlantis, Stonehenge, El Dorado, and others.
2. Unsolved Events ~ The Lost Colony of Roanoke, Amelia Earhart, Kasper Hauser, and others.
3. Strange Sightings ~ Loch Ness, Crop Circles, UFOs, and more.
4. Cryptic Artifacts ~ The Shroud of Turin, The Ark of the Covenant, The Baghdad Battery, and more.

The author gives a detailed description, followed by expert opinions. There is a separate box in each chapter called "Far Out Theories", most of which involves aliens.

A delightful read from start to finish. Surprisingly enough, I hadn't heard of many of the items in the last section, sending me to some of the websites giving more information about them. 4 out of 5.

[Meelika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Palju müsteeriume, ka kõige tuntumad (Lock Nessi koletis, Naszar, Bermuuda kolmnurk, Stonehedge, lihavõttesaar jne) ning täiesti uusi, millest polnud kuulnudki. Osa neist müsteeriumitest, millest midagi ei teadnud, olid päris mõttetud ning neil oli lihtne seletus. Lihtsalt arvati, et kummitused või vaimud, aga tegelikult oli sellel loogiline seletus, mida vanaaja inimesed ei uskunud. Osadel müsteeriumitel olid lahendused olemas, osadel tõenäolised lahendused ning osadel polnud midagi. Sellest oli kahju. Enamus jutud olid ka pealiskaudsed, kui oleks huvi põhjalikumat infot saada, peab ise netist lugema. Oleks võinud olla põhjalikum raamat.

[Always-think-critically · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me this long to read it because honestly?
It was kind of bland.

The topics were interesting for sure! However, the author cannot write.
They wrote very complex and wordy sentences that did not flow right, so you find yourself rereading the same sentences over and over. I personally believe just googling the topics discussed would have sufficed.

[Jayanne Rahal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad exploration of some interesting phenomena: each section is very brief, making this an ideal book to pick up for a few minutes at a time. I would actually have liked them to be longer though, as many of these mysteries were well-known enough that I didn’t learn too much from the content included for them. Still a nice break in between more in-depth books!

[Ashley Robichaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent introductions to many different things and subjects. A nice start to see “hey I’m more interested in this thing” or “this was pretty cool” but not too crazy in-depth about too much. That being said, nicely written with some interesting details. Easy to pick up when you have a few minutes to read.

[Robert Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and thoroughly entertaining. Most of these were familiar, but a few of these mysteries were unknown to me. The information about each topic is only 3-4 pages long, so this is an easy book to pickup when you only have a few minutes to read in each sitting.

[Omer84 · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like a photo album than a book, a bit let down in that respect. Many debunked mysteries, but I would prefer to have less but more detailed for those I never heard of. It's okay, but goes not recommended. Okay if you get it in cheap box.

[Surfy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó el libro, aprendí un montón, tiene muy buenas imágenes y bonita edición.

Me gusta que te hable del misterio de forma sencilla pero que de repente te le metan datos científicos. Es un libro muy interesante.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It covers some mysteries that I've heard about and some that I haven't. I like the fact that Joel Levy stated the mystery, gives some scientific explanations and some unscientific explanations so you can see all sides and make your own conclusions to what you believe.

[Rylee McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very interesting to learn about various subjects and occurrences. It made we realize how different life could be back then or even in the future and made me want to spend atleast one day in the past to experience what it was like. Or how easy history is misconstrued or lost.

[LuAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice short chapters with enough information about each disappearance, object, phenomena or creature to understand who, what, when & where with theories about why/why not and how. Many of these is not heard of.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book. All sorts of "unsolved mysteries" from places, such as Atlantis and Area 51, to people, such as Amelia Earhart and D.B. Cooper, to things such as the Loch Ness monster! Each mystery has three or so pages stating the known facts and then a page on the far-out theories about these things from those silly people who believe in conspiracies, UFOs, Trump, etc. I found it a lot more informative than I expected and did learn a few things. And its always interesting to see what crazy ideas and beliefs are held by some.

[Jamii · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting read

[kenny🌃 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cool little book. I already knew about some of them, as I’m a pretty big mystery lover, but I still enjoyed it.

[Sarah Gooding · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an easy entertaining read, but I would have preferred more detail.

[KBooks - · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book and easy to read (apart from some names). Really enjoyed unsolved events but wish there was more details in some cases.

[Miss Zeets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written introduction to each subject, not delving too much into details, feels fairly objective most times. Plenty of pictures and source materials.

[Sharon Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun. Learnt lots. Enjoyable and an easy read. - 3.8

[April Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll give this to my son. He'll probably enjoy it.

[Tie Webb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great job sucking the life out of historical mysteries.