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A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert Believe It or Not! Ripley by Neal Thompson
gatosenojados's review against another edition
3.0
This was a long book full of lots information. There are a few interesting anecdotes, but mostly it's stuff that I found boring. :/
alidottie's review against another edition
4.0
4 and a half stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!! Usually when I read--and notably when I read nonfiction--I will skim past parts I find not so important to the story or my understanding. However I found with this biography I didn't want to skip anything--that's why it took so long to read it! Very well-written and very interesting.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!! Usually when I read--and notably when I read nonfiction--I will skim past parts I find not so important to the story or my understanding. However I found with this biography I didn't want to skip anything--that's why it took so long to read it! Very well-written and very interesting.
erincataldi's review against another edition
3.0
Strange and brilliant doesn't even begin to cover it. Robert Ripley was the true "believe it or not." Since I was a child I had always been enamored with the believe it or not franchise. I had some of the books and even visited one of the odditoriums when I was a kid. Not until I picked up this book though, did I know a thing about the founder of this bizarre empire. Neal Thompson lovingly puts together Ripley's life starting from a young boy up until his premature death at 59. Ripley started off a shy, gawky, artist and quickly turned into one of the most influential and wealthy men of his era. His rise to fame began small and then skyrocketed. He exposed the oddest people, facts, and feats and people loved him for it. His cartoons, radio and tv shows, books, and side shows became the most unusual and beloved in America. Unfortunately, it started to go to his head and although he was generous and fun, he could have a temper. He kept a fast paced schedule and worked non-stop and it eventually took a toll on his health. Author Neal Thompson does a great job chronicling the rise and fall of Ripley as well as outlining the lasting impact of his empire.
For fans of the odd and biographies.
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.
For fans of the odd and biographies.
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.
abe25's review against another edition
5.0
nice biography of the writer of the Ripley's believe it or not comics!
nssutton's review against another edition
I really wanted to read this, as Ripley books remain the most popular in our library. Imagine how cool I will be, I told myself, when I have all these interesting facts about his life to share with the kids?
Well, I'll just have to settle with being uncool. I carted around this book for weeks, doing anything but read it, until it became clear I was never going to make it past page 53.
Well, I'll just have to settle with being uncool. I carted around this book for weeks, doing anything but read it, until it became clear I was never going to make it past page 53.
beths0103's review against another edition
4.0
Awkward and bucktoothed as a child, Robert Ripley was plagued by shyness, which ultimately led to his passion for drawing and later traveling the world in search of strange and unusual people. He, too, knew what it was like to feel like an outsider, though as he grew older and became more of a household name, his money certainly propelled him from awkward outsider to suave ladies man, even if he never lost his bucktoothed smile.
Robert Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" cartoons were the reality TV of his time. And despite the fact that he died in 1949, his empire continues to grow with Believe It Or Not! books and of course the Believe It Or Not Odditoriums all over the world.
Neal Thompson writes an engaging, page-turning biography that despite the book's thickness, doesn't intimidate the reader and make them feel like to read it is to trudge through a bunch of boring, factual prose. I could see giving this book to a high school student who is a reluctant reader but loved (and maybe still loves) looking through the pictures in the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! books or flipping through the Guinness Book of World Records. This book would probably be a challenge for struggling readers and therefore I'd recommend it more for reluctant yet at or above grade level readers.
Read the rest of my review on my blog.
Robert Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" cartoons were the reality TV of his time. And despite the fact that he died in 1949, his empire continues to grow with Believe It Or Not! books and of course the Believe It Or Not Odditoriums all over the world.
Neal Thompson writes an engaging, page-turning biography that despite the book's thickness, doesn't intimidate the reader and make them feel like to read it is to trudge through a bunch of boring, factual prose. I could see giving this book to a high school student who is a reluctant reader but loved (and maybe still loves) looking through the pictures in the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! books or flipping through the Guinness Book of World Records. This book would probably be a challenge for struggling readers and therefore I'd recommend it more for reluctant yet at or above grade level readers.
Read the rest of my review on my blog.
sarahcoller's review against another edition
4.0
Although I've decided I don't very much like the man Robert Ripley became, I must give this four stars for an excellent and engaging biography. Ripley seems to me to have been a very selfish man---the epitome of a man ruined by fame and fortune. The last 30-40 pages bummed me out as he declined and died as most men like him do---unhappy and alone.
There is a Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in Newport, Oregon that I've visited a couple times. It's spooky---but not scary. I never really understood why I felt so weirded out there, but after reading this, I sorta get it. There were so many interesting parts to his life and story that I can't do them all justice in a short review. As a blogger, I thought it was fun how the author compared Ripley's travel narratives to blogging. I'd always wondered about shrunken heads and how that was even possible---now I'm thinking these heads were without skulls. I did feel like too much was made of his buckteeth; calling them a handicap, even, at one point. Surely someone with a real handicap might beg to differ---or maybe this straight-toothed girl just can't sympathize.
Definitely a good read---but don't expect to think highly of Ripley when you're through.
There is a Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in Newport, Oregon that I've visited a couple times. It's spooky---but not scary. I never really understood why I felt so weirded out there, but after reading this, I sorta get it. There were so many interesting parts to his life and story that I can't do them all justice in a short review. As a blogger, I thought it was fun how the author compared Ripley's travel narratives to blogging. I'd always wondered about shrunken heads and how that was even possible---now I'm thinking these heads were without skulls. I did feel like too much was made of his buckteeth; calling them a handicap, even, at one point. Surely someone with a real handicap might beg to differ---or maybe this straight-toothed girl just can't sympathize.
Definitely a good read---but don't expect to think highly of Ripley when you're through.
princesszinza's review against another edition
3.0
I've despised the touristy exploitive "Believe it or Not" museums in San Francisco and Buena Park my whole life. I also didn't like the cartoons I read as a kid. They seemed simplistic and manipulative. Strange, because I do love odd and weird information. I also love foreign culture and travel. My dislike of the Ripley's brand had to do with how everything is only discussed briefly and for maximum impact. I feel as though Ripley didn't want his viewers to be informed only titillated.
In reading this book, I found much in Robert Ripley that I did like. He overcame adversity and a terrible overbite (my kind of guy) to travel throughout the world and create an empire. I would've loved to have met him. For all of his exploits, I found parts of this book to be unnecessarily dull. I suspect that Ripley was more fascinating than this book gives him credit for. He was the king of all media way before Howard Stern, having conquered newspaper, radio and television.
In reading this book, I found much in Robert Ripley that I did like. He overcame adversity and a terrible overbite (my kind of guy) to travel throughout the world and create an empire. I would've loved to have met him. For all of his exploits, I found parts of this book to be unnecessarily dull. I suspect that Ripley was more fascinating than this book gives him credit for. He was the king of all media way before Howard Stern, having conquered newspaper, radio and television.