This brand new colorful coffee-table book came in at my library just as I was finishing the audio book on the life of Robert L. Ripley. The photography is stunning and the stories are fascinating. Why are we drawn with such intensity to stories of the unusual, the different, the unlikely? I felt sorry for several of these individuals who certainly didn't ask to be born with the unique traits that made them freaks in society. Several were exploited shamelessly, uprooted from their homes, fleeced of any earnings, and held as prisoners so others could view their eccentricities. Yet, how can I condemn others as I sit enthralled reading their stories? What drives our curiosity? Moreover, what drives some of these individuals to alter themselves on purpose or pursue the unusual with such vigor? Most of the modern examples in this book feature people who create personas of odd and eccentric skills or appearance. Even though I don't want to admit it, I'm still deeply intrigued.
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