Amazing...But False!: Hundreds of "Facts" You Thought Were True, But Aren't

by David Diefendorf

Edison invented the lightbulb--and motion pictures. Camels store water in their humps. Captain Kidd was a notorious pirate. What do these so-called "facts" have in common? They're all false! Every one is a myth that, through time, has achieved the status of reality. Finally, someone is here to set the record straight, once and for all. In this fully illustrated color collection of popular misconceptions, freelance writer and journalist David Diefendorf...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402737912
• ISBN13: 9781402737916
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Sterling
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.6" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An eye-popper and a page-turner

This book is a barrel of monkeys, and by that I mean fun. While reading it, I came across a number of things I was already familiar with, but in lots of cases I had to say "Yikes, I never knew that!". And I was not exactly born yesterday. As an American living in Paris, I enjoyed all the "Americana" in this book, which made me a little homesick. The book has been my bedside companion for a couple of weeks now. Each article is fairly short, so I skip around from subject to subject. The stuff about Catherine the Great, Walt Disney, Queen Victoria, and Marie Antoinette was especially fascinating. As were the articles about bumblebees, bra-burning, lemmings, and men getting pregnant.

A "candy store for the mind..."

Amazing . . . but False!: Hundreds of "Facts" You Thought Were True, but Aren't I was drawn to this book by its gaudy, eye-catching cover. But once I had a chance to leaf through the pages I found it hard to put down. The book is loaded with fascinating stuff and has pictures on almost every page. It's a kind of "candy store for the mind" (a phrase I've heard somewhere, but exactly where I can't recall). The book is about popular beliefs that happen to be false. They range from science & religion to famous & infamous people (some with bizarre sex lives...), plus plants & animals, food, sports, history, medicine, urban legends--even English usage & misusage, a topic usually overlooked in books of this ilk. Those who regard themselves as over-educated will actually find some surprises here. The info, laid out in short articles two or three to a page, is the main course, but the writing is one of the best things about the book: witty, irreverent, breezy, entertaining, smart. After I read some of the posted comments about this book, I had to scratch my head. For one thing, there is not a trace of "pseudoscience." (A few readers seem to have gotten the impression that the book suggests crop circles are the work of aliens. It says no such thing; only that some of these mysterious patterns can't be indisputably proved to have been made by hoaxers.) The book has some flaws; a few typos, a few garbled sentences, a misplaced photograph, an exasperating index. The title is punchy but it misses the mark: it's not the false truisms themselves that amaze, it's the debunkings that explain WHY they are false. The subtitle ("Hundreds of 'Facts' You Thought Were True, But Aren't") is right on target. An odd appendage to the book ("An Epilogue in Fifteen Dedications") sticks out like a sore thumb. Long-winded and annoying, it was written not by the author but the book's "packager" (whatever that is). Luckily, it was stuck at the back of the book, so it doesn't get in the way of the good stuff. These minuses are minor, not enough to put a dent in the book's overall appeal, which is undeniable. Not many books out there are as fun to read or as fun to look at. Besides enlightening the mind, the book could do a lot to liven up a bathroom or a coffee table, and the reader may win a few bar bets.

Amazing but False

This is a fun book to read through. It doesn't have to be read in any particular order. One can go from one entry to another unrelated entry without difficulty. It's a good way to learn the real story behind some common beliefs.

Fun Facts and Deft Debunkings

An intriguing way to delve into "Amazing . . . But False" is to open the handsomely designed and illustrated book at random and make discoveries: Leaves do NOT Change Color in the Fall, Lemmings do NOT Commit Mass Suicide, Richard III was a NOT hunchback, The Statue of Liberty is NOT in New York, You do NOT dream only in black and white. But fear not, when you learn the truth, you're not likely to feel insulted to patronized. Mr. Diefendorf apologizes in advance in his Author Note for sounding like a know-it-all. He doesn't have to. He presents his information in easy-to-take fashion. And he divides his nuggets into categories, like "Famous Firsts," "History," "People," and so on. More: The America's Cup is NOT named for the U.S.A, Cinderella DID NOT wear glass slippers, Winston Churchill DID NOT coined the phrase "blood, sweat, and tears . . . " The book will serve as a good argument settler, too. I suggest that you leave it lying about, where guests will be certain to find it. Then, after a drink or too tell them that Mama Cass did NOT die from choking on a ham sandwich, and Napoleon wasn't a shrimp, and cats do NOT always land on their feet. But please don't toss kitty into the air trying to prove this. You'll waste your time and annoy Ms. Puss. There's a foreword by James Randi, and a unique "Epilogue in Five Dedications." Hmmm . . . Leo Durocher never said "nice guys finish last," Marie Antoinette never urged people to eat cake, it's perfectly okay to deliberately split an infinitive . . .

Serious fun

Keep a copy of this book handy in your bathroom...but don't use the pages for toilet paper, they're way too interesting! I found bite-size nuggets of enlightenment on such varied topics as Hitler (actually an artistic sort of guy), Bra Burning (it never happened), and Farting (not fatal even if you burp at the same time--whew!). Underneath the somewhat garish cover is a fascinating collection of well-researched trivia tidbits you could use to share a chuckle, or settle an argument with a friend. I'm planning to give a couple of copies to my most outrageously misinformed friends...and that's a "fact."