A Curious Man : The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley (Paperback)

from melydia

As a kid, I was a huge fan of Ripley's Believe It or Not. I had several books, and I even had the brochure from the San Francisco museum tacked up on my bedroom wall. However, by the time I encountered Ripley's, it was already just a brand name. It didn't really occur to me that it started with a...

from classyhomemaker

Although I've decided I don't very much like the man Robert Ripley became, I must give this four stars for an excellent and engaging biography. Ripley seems to me to have been a very selfish man---the epitome of a man ruined by fame and fortune. The last 30-40 pages bummed me out as he declined a...

from debnance

You may have suspected that Robert Ripley was an odd fellow. If so, you were right. It makes for a fascinating read, this life of the man who brought us all the odd facts about the world, all the fascinating facts about the world, this man who was an odd and fascinating subject himself.

from amandacb

Thompson's biographical novel successfully unravels the mystique surrounding a man the world mainly sees as offering up only a buffet of oddities. Yes, the author's style is straight-forward and unadorned, so those who lean more towards fan of history are more apt to enjoy the authorial flair (or...

from Judiex

Often people are known to face adversity and rise above it. In some cases the person spends the rest of his life continuing the fight for success. In some cases the adversity becomes a focus and the person either sympathizes with others in similar situations or exploits them. Robert Ripley was a ...