Clarinete

Monster Spotter's Guide to North America

Like a Bird Watching Guide... Only for Monsters.

Monsters represent the dark side of humanity--the primal, animal impulses that reside in us all. They have preyed upon our imaginations and our fears since the dawn of civilization. Fascinating and terrifying, monsters are impossible to ignore.

North America is home to a wide array of fearsome beasts including hairy monsters, flying monsters, lake monsters, reptilian humanoids and other unexplained phenomena. The Monster Spotter's Guide to North America geographically catalogs more than one hundred legendary monsters reported to inhabit the continent. From the mythical Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest to the vicious Mexican Goatsucker known as El Chupacabra, you'll read about the legends and major sightings of the most widely feared creatures reported to exist--plus a few you might have never heard of.

Within these pages you'll find detailed pen-and-ink drawings, helpful quick-reference boxes for quick identification of key monster traits, a glossary of crytozoology terms, a remedial course in common monster knowledge, useful appendices, case studies and more.

Let this book be your guide and explore the legends for yourself. Anyone can be a monster spotter... when you start looking you never know what you might find.

The Illuminati Papers

Is history a vast conspiracy? A cosmic joke? Discover the truth - maybe - in the long-awaited new edition of Robert Anton Wilson's classic cult bestseller The Illuminati Papers. Created as a vehicle to amuse and enlighten, the story of the Illuminati has attracted devoted readers world-wide, who have found in it a perfect metaphor for our times. This edition has a new introduction, cover and layout.

UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Believe

Best known as Detective John Munch on the hit TV series Homicide, Richard Belzer is also an accomplished standup comedian with a knack for political commentary in the tradition of Mort Sahl and Dick Gregory. In UFOs, JFK, and Elvis, he applies his analytic powers to two of the most controversial topics of the late 20th century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the alleged U.S. government cover-up of the existence of alien life. (The reference in the title is the book's only substantial Elvis sighting.)

Belzer sensibly avoids pretending to have the answers, opting instead to focus on the questions themselves. Why does the Zapruder film fail to synchronize with other footage of the Kennedy shooting? What's the real background on Lee Harvey Oswald--and who really posed for that famous backyard photo? Did NASA regularly suppress UFO sightings by Apollo and Gemini astronauts? And how about that giant face on the surface of Mars? While Belzer's sarcastic, antiauthoritarian tone may not convince you that aliens walk among us, it's rather difficult by book's end to fully dismiss his belief that "history is just a collection of accepted lies" told to keep the masses in line. --Ron Hogan

"I'm not asking you to believe every conspiracy theory you'll find in this book. . . . I didn't write this book to give you all the answers. The Warren Commission did that, and the answers were all wrong. I wrote this book to inspire you to do what the powers that be wish you wouldn't:  to question authority . . . and to keep an eye out for Elvis."
--RICHARD BELZER

In UFOs, JFK, and Elvis, the distinguished statesman of stand-up comedy tackles some of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups this side of Roswell. Just what is it that they don't want you to know about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Area 51, and what the American astronauts really found on the moon? The unexplained crash at Roswell and the mysterious "face" on Mars? The link between the Nazis and the U.S. space program? Evidence of extraterrestrial experimentation?

Finally, one lone "nut" exposes the conspiracy to keep conspiracies a dirty little secret, standing up to the shadowy forces that would have us believe that Oswald acted alone, those lights in the sky are weather balloons, and fluoridated water is good for you (yeah, right). "Some of the smartest people I know . . . find it easier--and certainly more comforting--to believe that America is the only country on earth with no conspiracies at all." Just remember: do not ask on whom The Belz has told--he's told on them.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Special Edition 2008

It Can't Be . . . Can It?

Turn the pages --- if you dare. But watch out for...

... gruesome ghosts that haunt your favorite hangouts!

... creepy spiders that can crawl all over you!

... a troll so huge, it can crush a car with one hand!

... and more mummies, crazy collections, and peculiar people than ever!

It's all weird, and it's all inside --- Believe It or Not!

Tales of the Weirrd

Genuine weirdness is a rare quality. To be truly weird demands character and wanton disregard for the social mores of the day.

Unleashed in Tales of the Weirrd is Ralph Steadman's fantastic interpretations and biographies of nineteenth century grotesques, oddities, imposters and eccentrics. The book is a hilarious catalog of nature's freakish humor and, in the best Victorian tradition, it instructs as well as entertains. This crazy collection of dwarfs, and gluttons, wits and water-spouters includes:
- Charles Charlesworth, who grew a beard at age four and died of old age at the age of seven
- Old Boots, who could hold a piece of money between his nose and chin
- Barbara Urselin, the hairy-faced woman
- Henry Lemoine, an eccentric bookseller
- Guillaume de Nittis, who tried to eat himself
- Fakir Agastiya, who kept his arm in the air for ten years
- Neville Vadio, the blind caricaturist, who was claimed by many to be a better draughtsman than Rembrandt.

Tales of the Weirrd is an extraordinary celebration of the bizarre brought to life by the astonishing energy, imagination and power of Ralph Steadman's pen.

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader for Kids Only!

Designed for the younger fans, this is a light-hearted, easy-to-read collection of facts, fad, quotes, history, science, word-origins, pop culture, mythology, humor... and more! Organized by topics as well as by length (Short, Medium or Long). Uncle John's Bathroom Reader for Kids Only is a never-ending supply of factoids and statistics.

Giant Book of Cool Stuff

The Mean and Vulgar Bits (Murderous Maths)

Using a host of hilarious characters, Kjartan Poskitt presents all the tricks, tips and shortcuts to statistics they don't teach at school. In this book, readers will find out how fractions can save them from the toxic mutant fish of Fastbuck, what makes Pongo McWhiffy a mathematical freak, and travel to Planet Mean to discover how averages can be absolutely revolting. Guarantee: this book contains absolutely no sums!

We're All Doomed!

"We're All Doomed" unremittingly takes the mick out of all the current threats to our existence. Today, our forebears' predictions that the world would end because of a solar eclipse, or because the sky was about to fall on our heads, look rather ridiculous.Now we've got bona fide scientifically based problems that really are going to wipe out life as we know it! And not just one, there's bloomin' shedloads of the things!

Yiddishe Kop: Creative Problem Solving in Jewish Learning, Lore and Humor

The Jews are known for their intuitive genius in getting out of a pickle. With their long history of persecution, they've developed a knack for escaping seemingly hopeless predicaments: when your back is against the wall, you learn to think fast. Centuries of reasoning and interpreting the Holy Scriptures have also contributed to the Jews' skill in solving the most puzzling problems. This astute way of thinking is known in Yiddish as yiddishe kop , literally "Jewish head."

Through Jewish humor, folklore, and tales of the great rabbis, Rabbi Nilton Bonder presents the basic principles of this creative approach to thinking, which sees beyond appearances to the hidden truth of any problem. Once these are mastered, they may in turn be applied to many "impossible" situations that arise in business and in life.

The book focuses on four levels of solving a problem: On the level of Information, we approach problems literally, in response to the obvious and the concrete. On the level of Understanding, we obtain concealed information through techniques such as questioning, reframing, and emptying the mind. On the level of Wisdom, we access the world of intuition, where a "fool" can achieve the impossible by relying on feelings, premonitions, dreams, and coincidences. On the level of Reverence, we discover the hidden Reality behind appearances. This is the realm of those who dare to take risks, make commitments, and learn from mistakes, who act out of their living experience without relying solely on reason and conceptual thinking.