Not well researched, not much that's new, no depth, trying to be too pithy | Meh. That's how I generally felt about this right from the start, and it went down from there. It wasn't really worth my time, because I knew more about most of these tidbits than was provided, especially the ones that I knew were being presented misleadingly. The style annoyed me, too, since the entries are so short it meant the saccharine "The More You Know" Lesson of the Day used to wrap up every one takes up an outsize proportion of the entry. This could have been a great book but it was not executed at all well, and leaves the impression of a rush to publication by people who aren't qualified to do the proper research for a project of this scope.

So, you’ve got Cabinet of Curiosities by Aaron Mahnke in your hands, a book that promises to take you on a wild ride through history’s quirkiest moments, kind of like a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! meets your high school history teacher. It’s a collection of oddities, mishaps, and tales that make you question how the world ever made it this far without tripping over itself.

The Good Stuff: Mahnke’s knack for storytelling shines here. If you’re a fan of the podcast, you’ll feel right at home with his style—each story is like a cozy fireside chat with a slightly eccentric uncle who has a seemingly endless supply of weird anecdotes. The tales themselves are undeniably interesting. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read about a dog that accidentally goes to war and ends up capturing a German spy? Or the mind-bending fact that the croissant, that quintessential French pastry, wasn’t even invented in France. There’s a certain charm in how Mahnke pieces together these bits of forgotten history and makes you wonder why we never learned about them in school. It’s like being at a dinner party where the host keeps whipping out these bizarre facts, and you're genuinely entertained—until you start questioning where they’re getting their information.

Which brings me to the slightly sketchy part. The bibliography seems to have been pulled from a mix of Wikipedia, possibly Reddit, and your grandma's collection of questionable factoids. If you’re the kind of reader who likes to know that their trivia is backed by solid research, you might find yourself raising an eyebrow (or both). It’s not that the stories aren’t fun—they are—it’s just that you might want to double-check before you drop one of these “facts” at your next trivia night.

While the stories are engaging, the format can get repetitive. The “weird historical fact” formula works great in a podcast, where each episode is a bite-sized piece of intrigue. But in book form, reading one after another can start to feel a little like you’re binge-watching a show when maybe you should’ve taken a break between episodes. The pacing is uneven, and you might find yourself skimming through some of the less captivating stories just to get to the next mind-blower. If you’re already a fan of Mahnke’s work, the book doesn’t necessarily offer anything new—it’s more like a greatest hits album. That’s not a bad thing, but it does make you wonder if you’d be better off just re-listening to your favorite episodes instead of reading them.

This book is a solid read, especially if you’re into oddball history and need a quirky coffee table book to impress your guests. It’s like a box of assorted chocolates—some pieces are delicious, some are just okay, but overall, it’s a fun treat. Just don’t expect every story to leave you in awe. Maybe take this one in small doses.

I enjoyed reading the book. It was filled with anecdotes about people, events, animals, and moments in history, yet provided a particularly insightful revelation...like croissants weren't invented in France, the inventor of Pringles had an interesting request for his burial, and what could have originated the story of the yeti, among many others. I revisited history, learned, and was entertained.

<b> <i> Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing the advanced copy of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. </b> </i>

<u> Publication Date: November 12, 2024 </u>

Based upon the popular podcast by Aaron Mahnke, Cabinet of Curiosities is finally arriving in print! Sadly, I have little experience in the podcast world, so I had never heard of this series before.

➠This is an amazing collection of bite-size stories (each one an average of 3-4 pages in length) varying in topics from bizarre coincidences, literature, history, death, war, mysteries, and the supernatural.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been oddly fascinated and drawn to the bizarre, the otherworldly, the macabre. I’m really just a huge undercover nerd who loves to soak up knowledge on these topics. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing all this collection had to offer and gained so much from the stories. I thrived on the thoughts it provoked and was genuinely entertained the whole time! That being said, I think it’s probably best to enjoy this collection a little bit at a time. Savor it! I spread it out over a few months enjoying a story here and there on lunch breaks and at bedtime!

Honorable Mentions:
▪︎ Agatha Christie’s background story
▪︎ Violet Jessop and the luck of the Irish
▪︎ The entire literature section (of course)
▪︎ Prophetic dreams and conspiracies
▪︎ Ghosts, cursed cars…and so much more!

Highly recommend checking this out if you are a lover of oddities and searching for a one-of-a-kind adventure!

Cabinet of Curiosities

Strange stories from history in bit sized pieces. Loved that it’s easy to read in chunks or get your fill by reading more. A wide variety of well presented information. It was a little gimmicky but I think that works in the favor of the masses.

This is a fun, easy to read history book. I enjoyed the snapshots of little eras in time - truly "curiosities." I was hoping for a little more creepiness as I like that aspect of Aaron Mahnke's work but it didn't prevent me from enjoying it.

This is a charming group of short stories and historical vignettes, many devoted to lesser-known parts of history. I have seen many of these tales before.
Originating as podcasts, these little presentations are suitable for many purposes, whether it be storytelling at an event or amusing a bored person.

Interesting facts and some bizarre tales as well. Unfortunately it goes for the popular history route, lacking the research and scholarship to back up some of the wild claims.

The stories are dubious and/or under-researched. The writing is heavily cliche-laden. And I can’t tell who the audience is meant to be; there’s no indication it’s for children but the style is gimmicky.

So fun!!! This book is such a fun book to read, you will be intrigued the entire way through. The photographs used throughout are perfect and well done. This book would be a great gift for those of us who like the strange and weird as well.

I love Aaron Mahnke and his podcasts so this was a must request! It was written so well and I loved it so much I read it to my husband! Definitely worth the read!

This wasn’t for me. I can see it being interesting to others and being valuable but I was kind of bored.

About half way through I ordered this one!

Bite sized, odd, curious, long forgotten and TRUE stories that any history buff would enjoy. As soon as I finished one, I would tell my husband about it. (which is why we agreed we needed this one our home library). Covering a lot topics and time frames, the amount of research and debunking that would go into a project like this is mind blowing.

I am anxious to have a copy in hand so that we can chase a couple of these historical places down in person.

This was a really interesting collection! Stories that are just this side of uncanny and disturbing to behold. I love the oddities explored in this.

If you are a trivia buff, this book is required reading. Author Aaron Mahnke has pulled together interesting bits of information in a wide variety of categories.

While I was familiar with some of the stories, there was plenty of new information here. But rather than simply presenting the information, Mahnke encapsulated each bit of information in a lively and engaging story.

I highly recommend this book for everyone who enjoys fascinating stories and collection new information.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book and think you will to.

Aaron Mahnke is a great story teller. He is at his best 8m these short (mostly 3 pages) stories that cover. Wide variety of topics, time periods, and locations. There’s some I knew about already, but others were surprising. I like that they are bit sized and quickly read. Ally these stories make me wonder at the details of history and how they really as do come down to luck and timing. It’s really crazy to ponder. Nicely done, once again, Mr Mahnke.

This was a fast and informative read that would make a fantastic coffee table book. It has a ton of wild facts and dark humor to keep anyone entertained for quite some time.
I noticed that Wikipedia is cited a ton in the sources, so take that for what you will. Either way, it’s an easily digestible read that kept my attention. I think I might even try listening to the podcast of origin!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Aaron Mahnke, and NetGalley for my advanced review copy. My opinions are my own.

Writing and Editing - 3
Personal Bias - 4
Final Score - 3.5

This was a different type of nonfiction that was as unique as the podcast itself I suppose. While I’ve never listened to the podcast I feel the way the author tells his tidbits of random information would be similar.

This was an interesting book to pick up randomly from time to time when I had a few minutes. It’s not something I would’ve continued to read for hours on end but there were some pretty interesting tales in here and some that didn’t peek my interest as much but they were all rather short to read nevertheless.

What I really appreciated about this book was that it was broken up into categories from American History facts to stories of Creatures, Literature, Inventions, even Origin Stories plus some. This book is packed full of random short tales and as the title suggests, it is indeed “a historical tour of the unbelievable, the unsettling, and the bizarre.”

3.5 stars

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. No review was required in return for an advance reading copy and no review was promised.

I just finished Cabinet of Curiosities: A History Tour of the Unbelievable, the Unsettling, and the Bizarre by Aaron Mahnke.

This is a book based on a “long-running hit podcast by Aaron Mahnke” called Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities. It’s about tales from history. Prior to reading this book, I had never heard of that podcast. Since I am a big fan of both history and podcasts, I realized that not only did I have the opportunity to review the book, but could also add another podcast to my collection.

Unfortunately, I will have to pass on growing my podcast collection. There were too many stories in this book that just weren’t interesting. So, I will have to give it a C. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a C equates to 2 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews.

I originally finished reading this on July 4, 2024.