The Unidentified

Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained

By: Colin Dickey

Narrated by: Will Damron

"Absolutely perfect for the current moment." --Buzzfeed

America's favorite cultural historian and author of Ghostland takes a tour of the country's most persistent "unexplained" phenomena

In a world where rational, scientific explanations are more available than ever, belief in the unprovable and irrational--in fringe--is on the rise: from Atlantis to aliens, from Flat Earth to the Loch Ness monster, the list goes on. It seems the more our maps of the known world get filled in, the more we crave mysterious locations full of strange creatures.

Enter Colin Dickey, Cultural Historian and Tour Guide of the Weird. With the same curiosity and insight that made Ghostland a hit with readers and critics, Colin looks at what all fringe beliefs have in common, explaining that today's Illuminati is yesterday's Flat Earth: the attempt to find meaning in a world stripped of wonder. Dickey visits the wacky sites of America's wildest fringe beliefs--from the famed Mount Shasta where the ancient race (or extra-terrestrials, or possibly both, depending on who you ask) called Lemurians are said to roam, to the museum containing the last remaining "evidence" of the great Kentucky Meat Shower--investigating how these theories come about, why they take hold, and why as Americans we keep inventing and re-inventing them decade after decade. The Unidentified is Colin Dickey at his best: curious, wry, brilliant in his analysis, yet eminently readable.

Critic reviews

“Fascinating, troubling, compassionate and—in the end—deeply thoughtful…Dickey’s sense of history reminds us of the complex reasons our odder beliefs endure.” —NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“Colin Dickey’s examination of fringe beliefs is absolutely perfect for the current moment, as we watch a growing (and worrying) distrust in science… In shrewd, accessible analysis and firsthand reporting, Dickey explores his own theories about theories.”—BUZZFEED

“Any aficionado of the macabre would be remiss not to pick it up.”—TOR

“Colin Dickey’s new book about the rise of conspiracy theories and paranoid thought in American culture, could not come at a better time… Brilliant.” —THE NEW REPUBLIC

“A fascinating expedition through fringe belief and theory… A thought-provoking and deliciously unsettling guide into the stranger corners of American culture.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

“Meticulously researched and written, this is the grown-up version of the mysteries of the
unknown books... Perfect for the skeptics and believers alike.”—BOOKLIST

“Dickey succeeds in informing and entertaining his audience with his sense of wonder… A fascinating blend of history and the strangeness of human nature.”—LIBRARY JOURNAL

“An intriguing mix of myths and monsters.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS

“[A] compelling historical and cultural analysis of human nature… engaging and impressively researched.”—BOOKPAGE

“There are moments while reading The Unidentified where can feel yourself becoming fundamentally smarter about the world than you were before.”—Caitlin Doughty, New York Times bestselling author of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

One of the best sociological explanations

The text is honest in its approach, agnostic in its conclusions, and tactful in its discussion. If you find you have a knee jerk reaction, you will have revealed one of your biases. Listen until the end; it is totally worth it.

Well-trodden ground

More hand-wringing about beliefs in the paranormal. While Dickey examines a diverse array of Fortean topics, his analysis often feels like a Sociology 101 cliche: Bigfoot is about a post-war crisis of masculinity; the paranormal reflects a primitive desire to experience magic and wonder; believers are deluded or malicious. Virtually every paranormal experiencer has heard these arguments yet most remain steadfast in their beliefs and Dickey fails to provide fresh insights as to why this is. Absent also is a comprehensive analysis of the other side of this intellectual battle, namely the culture of debunkers and skeptics. This faction, in their eagerness to disprove the paranormal, often posit their own dubious or absurd theories that lack scientific merit. So what pathologies and prejudices drive them? How is the "scientific community" itself sometimes a victim of its own politics and groupthink? So much of our current culture wars are between believers and skeptics so a deep analysis of current events requires stepping back from both sides and examining the interplay between them. In selecting one side over the other, however, Dickey failed to fully comprehend the bigger picture.

Amazing

The writing and the narration. Everything was amazing. Filled with info and incidents.
Every chapter was informative. Many of the incidents are new to me, and I like that the writer wllows for both sides of the story to be presented.

Great book!

It's not what I expected, but it's great. It gives a societal explanation of the paranormal, cryptic, and conspiracy theories. More suitable on-the-fence believer and skeptic.

Narrows the world ever so slightly

This book is fine. The reading of it is fine. Together making for a .. sorta fine experience. The voice actor is good, but for this setting of “amazing, strange stories .. proceeded by skeptical tutting” it’s too neutral. Too stable & strict. I don’t remember a single performative or charming read of a line, nor hardly any emotion, really.

That mixes with the content of this book to absolutely do what it’s final moments remind us never to do, “never make the world smaller, only bigger.”

It’s sad that the “few genuinely lingering mysteries — the wheat among the countless chaff of nonsense encounters” according to the author are only discussed for the last 1% of the book. The other 99% is “describe, pique interest, reduce down to metaphor or psychological drive, etc.”

Bummer.