"The kind of reference manual that the Internet cannot supplant . . . Goldwag keeps the facts straight and gives the rumors -- no matter how lurid and entertaining -- about as much respect as they deserve."--
The Washington Post
"Marvelous."--Scie
ntific American
"Arthur Goldwag is a shrewd, fair minded, learned and entertaining tour guide through a world that's simultaneously funny and frightening. Not a page goes by without some "I-didn't-know-that!" nugget. Given what's going on this ever-more-paranoid society, a book like this becomes not only titillating but crucially important."--Steven Waldman, Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Beliefnet.com
"The answer to your burning questions about subjects from Area 51 to the Yakuza."--
Details "Delightful." -
The Weekly Standard "Goldwag is a colorful writer who makes good use of his material as he aims to explain, rather than debunk or expose, a fascinating diversity of beliefs."--
Boston Globe "The author's delivery is engaging and entertaining. The amount of research done in this book is astounding. . . . An incredibly insightful, thoroughly enjoyable look at society's shadow."--
Armchair Interviews "Goldwag navigates his way through the wilder reaches of human belief with great urbanity."
--Mark Booth, author of
The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies "As entertainingly written as it is enlightening."
--Phillip Lopate
