Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained (Hardcover)

a brilliant compendium of bizarre occurrences

sceptical, witty, intelligent and ravenous for mystery
 

It is a catalogue of the inexplicable, an A-Z of mystery... It is a pleasure to immerse oneself in a book which, on almost every page, throws up something of peculiar interest.

The compilers of the dictionary have adopted a gentle, judicious, sometimes jaunty tone... The entries... represent the full range of positions from the hostile sceptic to the credulous believer. They have tried to operate without bias, avoid empty speculation and run to earth misconceptions, and they have cross-referenced liberally and cleverly. 

an ideal gift for anyone interested in crop circles, Scientology or even the Black Dog of Bungay.

A great one-stop shop for Forteans... [the editors] should be congratulated for attempting to create a one-volume reference work that casts its net across such vast, stormy seas of the improbable and imponderable and spreads out the variegated catch in an ordered manner. The 1,250 entries ... are admirably balanced and succinct.

Absolutely everyone who has an interest in the paranormal should have a copy of this fascinating and enlightening book on their bookshelf!

packed with fab facts about all things odd and scary 

 It is a chunky volume and a well made book, a thing of beauty in its own right, with easy on the eye text and plenty of illustrations... it is ideal as a gateway book, that invaluable first port of call for any investigation of the paranormal, supernatural and related matters. There’s also, as with many reference books, a sense of the serendipitous about it, a combination of the very things you expect to find and some that maybe you don’t, the volume casting a wider net than the scope of your enquiry may have allowed and delivering up intriguing if unexpected pieces of information, as for instance in the entries for ‘H.P. Lovecraft’ and ‘The Necronomicon’. 

Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained is a fascinating and illuminating book, and an essential reference for anyone with a serious interest in unexplained phenomena. Written in consultation with leading figures in the relevant areas of study, it contains carefully researched, in-depth and balanced entries on topics ranging from alien abductions to the zodiac.