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A review by guarinous
Midwestern Strange: Hunting Monsters, Martians, and the Weird in Flyover Country by B.J. Hollars
4.0
Eager to continue my trek into the world of cryptids and UFOs in 2019, I snapped up the opportunity to request Midwestern Strange on Netgalley as soon as I saw it. I was particularly intrigued by the author's focus on stories from "flyover country", a part of the States that I haven't visited or admittedly paid much attention to. The accounts in here therefore were mostly fairly fresh to me (with the exception of Mothman, which is always an interesting topic to read about regardless).
B.J. Hollars tackles these stories of small town folklore and strange phenomena with enthusiasm and refreshingly does not try to lead readers towards one particular viewpoint. His stance remains journalistic throughout, reporting the cases as they are. While the majority of the cases can obviously be seen as exaggerations or hoaxes to drum up interest in an otherwise unnoteworthy town, they are still entertaining and at turns fascinating (the giant turtle sighting and the "italians with pancakes" on the flying saucer were my favorites). As with many books like this, some of the cases were more interesting than others, but overall I found this book to be a pleasant diversion from some of the more serious fare I've read this year.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to University of Nebraska Press.**
B.J. Hollars tackles these stories of small town folklore and strange phenomena with enthusiasm and refreshingly does not try to lead readers towards one particular viewpoint. His stance remains journalistic throughout, reporting the cases as they are. While the majority of the cases can obviously be seen as exaggerations or hoaxes to drum up interest in an otherwise unnoteworthy town, they are still entertaining and at turns fascinating (the giant turtle sighting and the "italians with pancakes" on the flying saucer were my favorites). As with many books like this, some of the cases were more interesting than others, but overall I found this book to be a pleasant diversion from some of the more serious fare I've read this year.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to University of Nebraska Press.**