Greatest Mysteries of the Unexplained by Lucy Dongcaster and Andrew Holland was, like another book rapidly approaching the number one spot on the unread bookshelf, a birthday present. It's certainly not a book I would have picked for myself, but I read it and was occasionally interested.
Specifically:
1) At times the book found warnings in unexplained events. It presents the theory that dinosaurs may have died out because of something they themselves did that affected the climate. The book goes on to say, "The fact that the dinosaurs were most likely killed by such climate change should give us food for thought and send a shiver down our spines." (page 31) God forbid the fate of the dinosaurs should befall us. (Really?) Somewhat related, some of you may remember one of Jim Henson's last projects, a TV series entitled Dinosaur. It lasted only a season or two and when canceled had a final episode where the main character scoffs at the growing concern over the demise of a little-known bug. "What!" he wonders, "Do they think dinosaurs will become extinct?" It's always nice to be reminded of a Jim Henson project.
2) I have yet another problem related to the color system in ancient Greece and information p resented in Through the Language Glass. The author of that book debated what colors existed in ancient Greece, as well as what names had been given to those colors. His theory was that only white, black and red were in existence when The Iliad and were written. I mentioned in the review of Language Class that a professor I had in graduate school claimed the ancient Greeks thought the color yellow was funny, a theory which goes against what is presented in Language Glass. This Mysteries/Unexplained book talks about the Yellow River in China and dates it as existing somewhere between 1766 and 1121 BC. (page 94) Expedia.com dates The Iliad and The Odyssey as being written during the eighth century BC. So, what gives? The author of Language Glass was extremely scholarly. Mysteries/Unexplained is anything but. While my grad school professor was. "Curiouser and curiouser" as Alice said. during her visit Through the Looking Glass.
Problems:
1) I was disappointed that the book mentioned neither Stonehenge nor Easter Island. To me, these places exemplify things unexplained. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they've been explained to everyone else's satisfaction. Maybe there's no longer a need to include them in books like this. Still, I wish they had been covered.
2) Stylistically the closings of each section bothered me by being horribly similar if not identical to each other. Typical ending: this is how the mysterious event or place is now; we will have to wait for the future to find out more. Sounds like a cop out to me.
3) My biggest I-can't-believe-I'm-reading-this-crap moment came when I hit the whole section on how and why the moon landing in 1969 was faked. To me, those who believe this nonsense are right up there with the birthers. (Hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes.)
Word:
1) aubergines. "In 1997, in England, several messages were discovered within the seed patterns of aubergines." (Page 131) From context, I assume it's some sort of fruit or vegetable. Let's see. Ah. It's what the British call eggplants. And, yes, I can see the seeds in an eggplant spelling out some sort of message—at least to someone who goes around looking for messages in produce.
Bottom line on the whole book: don't bother.
