David Wallechinsky

The first and best compendium of facts weirder than fiction, of intriguing information and must-talk-about trivia has spawned many imitators - but none as addictive or successful. For nearly three decades the editors researched curious facts, unusual statistics and the incredible stories behind them. The most entertaining and informative of these have been brought together in this edition.

Suzy Watkins is a journalist who writes a column about strange and unexplained events, like reports of UFO abductions, fish falls and haunted houses. Mostly she mocks the true believers by exposing the truth behind these phenomena. But she finds herself wishing that just once one of these incidents will prove to be real, and that there is still magic in the world. One day she receives a letter about rumors that, in an extremely remote part of Appalachia, there lives a young man who can fly. Wanting to believe, she enters a world of bizarre characters, some of them violent, some of them kind and some of them just plain weird. David Wallechinsky is the best-selling author of numerous books, including The People's Almanac, The Book of Lists and Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators.

The best-selling author of The People's Almanac surveys the crimes and characters of twenty of the modern world's most notorious dictators, from Kim Jong-Il and Crown Prince Abdullah to Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi and Omar al-Bashir, in a series of portraits that also reveals to what extent they are supported by foreign corporations and governments. 25,000 first printing.

Accurately details the history of laughing gas through to modern times (including historical ramblings & jest), and delves into the medical side of things -- in a light-hearted manner. Finally, while it never promotes nor condones the use of this fascinating substance and clearly highlights the serious dangers of its consumption, Laughing Gas suggests scientifically based means of ameliorating -- preventing -- the known negative possible effects of its consumption.