The world we live in is a mystery that hasn’t been completely unravelled. While scientists and explorers have tried their best to solve many unexplained phenomena, a lot is left to be discovered. In Greatest Mysteries of the Unexplained writers Lucy Doncaster and Andrew Holland try to unravel the perplexing collection of phenomena that have not been explained.

The writers come up with what they consider an explanation on the basis of theories that are filled with logic and supported by history. Be it the perplexing disappearance of the alleged British criminal Lord Lucan or that of the famous author Agatha Christie, the unknown fate of record-breaking pilot Amelia Earhart or the creature now known as Dinosaurs, the Disappearance chapter takes you down memory lane and helps in forming your opinion.

We are also taken on a trip through the Dogon Tribe which hasn’t seen the light of civilisation for centuries, while the writers try to explain the enigma known as Shambala, as well as try to solve the mystery behind the Pharaohs in the Lost Worlds chapter. A whole chapter is dedicated to ghostly goings on where the readers are told about the few instances of ghost ships and ghostly appearances at separate places, including the infamous maximum security prison Alcatraz. Other chapters deal with paranormal powers like the ones owned by Russian monk Rasputin who survived after being poisoned, shot and strangled.

No book about the unexplained can be complete without the mention of the seers and oracles which are discussed here as well. Be it the Delphic prophecies, the Titanic predictions (about its fate) and the Hitler horoscopes, all are given their due so that by the time you are through them, you know all there is to know.

On the whole, the book has a lot to offer so if you are interested to know about the Black Hope Curse, the modern lake monsters, alien abductions as well as the mystery surrounding Black Holes and the controversy behind the 1969 moon landing. Go ahead and make it part of your collection. Who knows you might even get to explain the unexplained, someday.

— Seema Faruqi

Opinion

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