Howard Hughes, Liberace, Imelda Marcos, Sarah Bernhardt, Ed Wood, Jr., Ludwig von Beethoven -- they're all here, along with an astonishing assortment of other oddballs, kooks, dreamers, despots, prophets, performers, royals, politicians, inventors, philosophers, writers, artists, and more garden-variety eccentrics. Here, too, are the phobias, compulsions, odd beliefs, and weird habits that have placed them in the ranks of the bizarre, curious, and strange. You will discover, for instance, that Elvis Presley was convinced he could turn Graceland's sprinkler system on and off by the sheer power of concentration, that Salvador Dali ate vast quantities of Camembert cheese before bedtime to make his dreams more vivid, that Florence Nightingale carried a miniature pet owl in her pocket, while Kaiser Wilhelm II always carried with him photos of his deceased relatives in their funeral attire.
