13: The Story of the World's Most Popular Superstition - Hardcover

Lachenmeyer, Nathaniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1568583060 ISBN 13: 9781568583068

Publisher: Running Press, 2004

Synopsis

13 brings together forgotten history and unknown facts about unlucky 13 to create the compelling story of the rise of a single belief. It is also a book about superstition in general — why people believe what they believe and why they stop believing when they do. 13 draws on history and the range of contemporary superstitions; in so doing, it touches on the fate of mythmaking in general. 13 answers the following questions, among others: When did the 13 superstition begin, and why? Why is Spain divided over whether Tuesday the 13th or Friday the 13th is the traditional unlucky 13th day? What other number superstitions exist in other cultures? Which is the only major hotel in New York City that has a 13th floor? What are the top three conspiracy theories about unlucky 13? What is the Thirteen Club, and why did it count three U.S. presidents among its members?

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Love it or hate it, everybody has an opinion about unlucky 13 . . .

"Thirteen is a lucky number." --Oscar Wilde

"Most hotels very sensibly do not have 13th floors. . . . When I am reading, I will not stop on page 94, page 193, page 382, et al. -- the digits of these numbers add up to 13." --Stephen King

"Thirteen is a lucky number for me. . . . There are thirteen letters in my name, and in my thirteenth year at Princeton University I became its thirteenth president. Thirteen has been my lucky number right along." --Woodrow Wilson

"Friday the 13th may not be exactly unlucky, but it hasn’t done us a whole lot of good." --Will Rogers

"Silly superstition that about thirteen." --James Joyce, Ulysses

"An unlucky day, that was . . . Friday, and the 13th -- what could you expect?" --Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Mr. Quin

"Thirteen! Ah, that is indeed a lucky number." --L. Frank Baum, The Patchwork Girl of Oz

About the Author:

Nathaniel Lachenmeyer is the author of the award-winning memoir The Outsider: A Journey into My Father’s Struggle with Madness and the children’s book Broken Beaks. He lives near New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Running Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1568583060
• ISBN 13: 9781568583068
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240