From the Publisher
The Theory of Everything Else A Voyage into the World of the Weird : Schreiber, Dan: 9780008519018: Books
£8.49
| Publisher : | Mudlark (11 May 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language : | English |
| Paperback : | 368 pages |
| ISBN-10 : | 0008519013 |
| ISBN-13 : | 978-0008519018 |
| Dimensions : | 12.9 x 2.3 x 19.8 cm |
| Best Sellers Rank: | 5 in Anthropological Customs |
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| Customer reviews: | 315 ratings |
katie farrell –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can’t put it down
Fabulous book about a little bit of everything.
Mr Andrew Bennett –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dog ate this but it was that good we bought another!
Really interesting read!
k gotheridge –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even funnier than..
the Pandemic Diaries.A laugh on every page!
Ross V. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!
Cracking book.
fairmaid –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book
Ordered this as Xmas pressie, delivered in good condition and very quickly, very pleased with this service, hope recipient loves it.
Amber –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting book
Easy to read and pretty interesting.
bagsy –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great toilet book
quite interesting facts. A great toilet book.
One person found this helpful
Emma –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic.
Highly recommend this book. Absolutely fascinating from start to finish, couldn’t put it down!
One person found this helpful
Max B –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Such a good read!
Such a good read! Would highly recommend. Witty and insightful throughout.
One person found this helpful
Mr. Kevin Neal –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not as riveting as first appeared
I am obviously different than those who had reviewed this prior to myself & purchased it on the back of the previous reviews.Opinions are always subjective & in my humble opinion this was a far less interesting read than I was led to believe.In point of fact some of the allegories around the chapters are just plain tedious & tenuous.Not to my taste I’m afraid
One person found this helpful
Thomas Martin –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating read.
Loved it.
2 people found this helpful
MeganMegan –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Came damaged
Came damaged – present for my dad but annoyed..
Jim J-R –
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book to keep in the bathroom
I’ve enjoyed Dan Schreiber’s audio works (podcasts and radio shows) for many years, so when his book was announced it went straight onto my list. This is a book of what he describes as ‘facts’ (quote marks his), which are things that people choose to believe, but likely aren’t quite actually true.I can see this being an excellent book to keep in the bathroom. The chapters are short, and could easily be spread across a number of sittings. However you can also just devour the entire book in a couple of days, which was the approach I took.As I had expected, the book is excellently researched, well written, funny and enjoyable to read. There are so many fascinating stories and I kept finding myself wanting to share some of its revelations, before remember that they are only ‘facts’.
Stevie benfield –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting however a few typos
It’s a very interesting book about lots of different subjects and not particularly difficult to read however I did notice a lot of typos which for the price of the book I wouldn’t expect to find in it.
One person found this helpful
Warren GWarren G –
5.0 out of 5 stars
My theory of everything else
This is a very interesting read. Obviously you have to make your own mind up whether they are right. That’s the beauty of theories. One thing I did pick up on was that perhaps the publisher should have employed a proof reader or a better one.
Nina –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joy, comfort and whackiness
I enjoyed this tremendously. I started reading it for the fun and whackiness, and for Dan Schreiber’s lovely chatty curious voice (fuelled by my love for the Cryptid Podcast of which the author is a co-host), and I ended up often feeling in awe, compelled and interested, and really at times quite moved. There are so many unusual and entertaining theories of the weird and the wonderful in here that it’s hard to pick a favourite but here are some that I still remember several weeks after finishing this:A world famous tennis player camping out among some power-emitting Balkan pyramids which are nothing of the sort because they are in fact some geologically explicable hill formations.Co-writing with plants.The extinction of pubic lice (not even a whacky theory but actually happening).All the phenomena that could have caused (and did cause?) the sinking of the Titanic.People having experienced things that are impossible and yet they vividly remember it, and now I’m sure that everyone if asked long enough will tell such a tale, and me, too, if I think hard enough.The people in the Amazon who dance every year near a rock and don’t know why, it’s just an ancient ritual, and then it was traced back to a cosmic phenomenon of brightness in the skies that occurred on Earth thousands of years ago and left a trace only in the signs carved on that rock and in the celebratory dance. And now, of course, that’s the one story I can’t find any longer in the book so I’m having a moment of remembering a thing vividly for which there is otherwise no trace or explanation…!The book is slightly heavy on the men, and the thing I want next is the crazy wenches, maids and ladies of this world, but it is so thoroughly enjoyable to read and a breeze to get through and will make you feel all cosy and comfy and hopeful for humanity.Cross-posted from Goodreads.
One person found this helpful
JodPea –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely fantastic!
Love this guy, love this book. So funny and thought provoking. Did you know these ‘facts’ existed? No neither did I!
4 people found this helpful
Becca w. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved this book.
Just a brilliant collection of really interesting weirdness, told in the most enjoyable way. You won’t regret buying this book.
One person found this helpful
MarkieVee –
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Theory of Everything Else is a warm, charming light hearted look at the strange
The Theory of Everything Else is a warm, charming light hearted look at the strange, the odd, the weird and well, the downright bananas (Amazon won’t let me say b*t-sh*t.)Dan Schreiber, of QI & No Such Thing As A Fish brings us a love letter to the odder side of life, from Aliens to murder-solving plants, from time travellers on the Titanic to Native Americans on the English south coast – these facts and ‘facts’ will keep you laughing and gasping. You may just realise how weird you are, how weird we all are – and when we can all accept our weirdness and be weird together – that could be world changing.Thank you Dan, for the pre-read(s) ❤️
7 people found this helpful
Shona MacLean –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bananas and brilliant
A fantastically funny book, chock full of the unexpectedly hilarious, and written with a lot of heart. I loved it. You really won’t believe some of the “facts” Dan has uncovered!
4 people found this helpful
Tamsin Wilson –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must read
Absolutely loved it!
One person found this helpful
Peter Eason –
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage into the World of the Weird
Interesting little book
pauline saville –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good compilation of facts about things!
Given as a gift, no complaints so assuming everything was fine.
Chris –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas present
Bought for Christmas present, he was very pleased with it
edsetiadi –
The rough corner of human history
This is a fun book about the weird, the unknown, and the unexplainable in our world. It is about bizarre occurrences that have helped to shape our society at the background and theories that belong in the “rough corner” of history, just like a perfectly neat Zen gardens have a “rough corner” to allow things grow uncontrollable as nature intended.Suitably written by Dan Schreiber, 1 of 4 of the cast of my favourite podcast There’s No Such Thing As A Fish, the book dwells into mad scientists, alien chasers, thill seekers, and all the batshit crazy people that seem to be just one lab accident away from becoming a supervillain. It is celebrating the strangeness of characters, embracing the weird means to achieve solid and respectful goals, and telling the tale of those who will make us laugh at first, then think, then say “huh, I guess it works.”The cast of the weird and wonderful are in abundance. Such as a doctor who trained a dolphin playing fetch using its erect penis. A real-life character that the series Ghost Whisperer is based on. The curator that published a seminal scientific paper that recorded the first ever case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck. A woman who teaches a dolphin to speak English (but ended up having a sexual affair with the dolphin). The psychics hired by Los Angeles Dodgers, or the monks hired to bless Leicester City in their matches during THAT 2015/16 winning season.Or the story of Tu Yoyou, the first native Chinese to win a Nobel Prize in Medicine by practicing Chinese herbal medicine, and doing so not with a medical degree or a doctorate but through travelling around China and devouring endless list ancient books to find a cure for Malaria. But the most remarkable part of her story is how she got her unusual name, and that the poem that her dad got her name from have a picture of a deer chewing the same plant that would become Tu’s life saving cure.It is also endearing that no matter how successful people are in their chosen field, we can still find some batshit in them. For example, how Thomas Edison always sleep in his work clothes. How Novak Djokovic often visits an ancient pyramid in Bosnia to collect mystical energy. Or the incredible story of Kary Mullis, a Nobel Prize winner whose life was filled with batshit ideas they dilute the one brilliant thinking that won him the Nobel Prize, the PCR test.Moreover, the book tells about the many amusing scientific theories or discoveries: How humans are too smelly for man-eating carnivores. How to say “thank you” to plant from a leading botanist. How Cleopatra is believed to had been reincarnated as a worm. The discovery of Canadian blue-grey taildropper slug, whose bum falls off when it gets too scared. The theory that the birth of civilisation in Mesopotamia was possibly sparked by a supernova, thanks to the clue from dancing Indians in Bolivia. The theory that plants have their own internet, which botanists call the “wood wide web”, and one guy’s plan to train a plant detective.The book also attempts to explain some of the weird conspiracy theories. Such as the origin of the thinking behind a reptilian overlords. Or a guy who claims to have found the fountain of youth in the Bahamas. An alien conspiracy theorist that believes Jesus Christ himself was an alien, or another story believing that he was replaced by his brother at the cross and that Jesus fled to Shingo Japan, until he died and buried there aged 106 (with very convincing “signs” of traces of Jesus in the town). And of course, We have the usual “greatest hits” such as on Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot.Indeed, some things are simply unexplainable, and the book have loads of these kind of stuffs: how a science fiction book can predict, in detailed accuracy, that Mars has 2 moons, 151 years before the moons were officially discovered. The phenomenon of the “third person” right before someone passed away. How everything “Titanic” – from the ship, to the museum, to the play – all experiencing a disaster. Another book that predict the future precisely: The weird 1889 novel that describe Donald Trump’s behaviour right to the tee. Or a 1953 science fiction novel written by Wernher von Braun who wrote about human colonisation of Mars, with elected leaders with the title of “Elon.”But perhaps the most perplexing thing for me is the case where classical composers still allegedly create music years after they died, through a very convincing medium. How Mark Twain comes back to live in ghost form and write a new novel through an ouija board, or Victor Hugo who completed Les Miserables thanks to a three-legged table that told him to.Meanwhile, some things in the book are just plain hilarious: the existence of big-foot erotic fiction. The art of rumpology, that is, astrology not through reading palms but instead using butt cheeks. The story of the unluckiest man alive that had 7 plane crashes in one solo trip (and ended up retiring from flying a plane but somehow got a job at Disney World driving a ferry boat). The backstory of two gravestones in the middle of the tarmac of runway in the Savannah Airport. Even Dan Schreiber himself is not off the hook, where while he’s composing all of these weird and wonderful things, he got caught by his wife reading a Neanderthal-human erotica novel in bed.In this information age, where knowledge are in abundance and information often becomes diluted or exaggerated, this book is a refreshing oasis in the overindulgence desert. I thought that we have pretty much seen it all and getting harder and harder to be amused and surprised, but hot damn this book nailed it. It is so out of the box, it ventures toward the uncommon imagination and way of thinking outside the usual norm of society – that it’s ok to be messy and chaotic and crazy – and it inspires the exciting premise of putting oneself in the wrong place at the right time.And perhaps the biggest realisation after reading the book is that craziness and chaos are indeed part of our big picture history, that batshit people are also contributing to shape society, just like Zen gardens have their “rough corner.” As Schreiber remarks, “you can’t always take the good without the bad – you can’t have the theory of everything without the theory of everything else.”
2 people found this helpful
Dr Ian Watson –
wild facts
I love strange facts but with supporting story and evidence
Meredith Legg –
A brilliant book
I could not put it down! Very well written and completely meets its goal – interesting and humorous, and really illiciting thought… Is recommend it to all!
Jessica Keers –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliance
Typical Dan Schreiber weirdness and hilarity. Loved the book, a great entertaining voice and stories. Fab addition to the bookcase 😁
Kindle Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
This is simply brilliant. Entertainment educational and so so funny all at the same time. I hope Dan has more boojs to read
Penny –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looking forward to reading this
I am thrilled to have received after waiting patiently for delivery. Very grateful
R. Price –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cultivate a rough patch
Absolutely loved this book.I’m huge fan of Dan Schreiber (and the rest of Fish) and have listened to all the podcast episodes.This book is an absolute delight, the perfect combination of informative, interesting and funny. You’ll learn lots of random facts along the way to and it’s the perfect reminder to cultivate your own ‘rough patch’.
2 people found this helpful
Stephen L Rowland –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable read on a weekend lay-in
Very funny and interesting bits to read while relaxing with a cuppa
One person found this helpful
Belle –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very funny
Great book, especially for reading when travelling as not to in depth.
david farrow –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for 10 year old on basic physics
My grandson of 10 years loves it.
Rubylou –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous
Bought as a surprise stocking filler gift and he loved it! Full of interesting, fascinating short nuggets of fact theory and the down right weird world we inhabit, it makes an easy book to dip and out of highly recommended
Didier DuPont –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Both informative and hilarious as you would expect from the absolute legend that is Dan Schreiber. Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
T.E. Hodden –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and funny.
This is an incredibly readable book. The topics covered are varied, and most are either stories I had not heard of before, or familiar tales looked at from a new angle, with something genuinely new to say about them. The humour is great, and kind hearted, always finding something light, quirky, and positive to say.Oh, and it has the best footnotes since Terry Pratchett. Please don’t skip them.
9 people found this helpful