Review and Giveaway: A Curious Man by Neal Thompson

Published May 7, 2013
by Crown Archetype

A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not" Ripley by Neal Thompson is an interesting book. I didn't know the half of it when I started reading the book. I found it fascinating to read his sort of rags to riches story. To say he was a well-traveled man, is an understatement. He was all over the world and brought back many oddities. Some oddities or stories about them were acquired when people sent in the information or objects to him. Early on, he ended up hiring an assistant to deal with mail and to help him pull together his ideas for his column. 

The book is full of vignettes of his trips as well as interesting information on just what went into his comics and eventually his programs. He really was a fascinating man. Admittedly one of my favorite parts of the book was the section containing photographs of and about Ripley. I would be remiss if I did not mention that there is a multi-media aspect to the book. It requires a download of a free app to your phone. Then you can scan some of the photo pages and videos and additional information would appear. 

I can remember seeing reprints of his comics in the Sunday Funnies growing up. I'm glad I had an opportunity to read this biography about such a fascinating man. Also according to the book, "Ripley's Believe It or Not" comic has been one of the longest running. It was being drawn by John Graziano in 2012. If you grew up reading the same comics or perhaps hearing the program on the radio or watching it on TV, I think you would enjoy this book.I gave this book 4 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.