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 enlarge | Authors: Mangesh Hattikudur, Elizabeth Hunt
Creator: Will Pearson
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $3.52
You Save: $11.43 (76%)
New (32) Used (48) Collectible (4) from $3.52
Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 24826
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 345
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 0060568062
Dewey Decimal Number: 031.02
EAN: 9780060568061
ASIN: 0060568062
Publication Date: April 27, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Good used condition.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Mental_Gloss January 3, 2005
10 out of 16 found this review helpful
As a regular reader of the magazine, I was needless to say, excited about the prospect of a whole book dedicated to the oddball kind of information that I have come to love in the magazine. My take on the book however, is that they found some eggheads to tell us about each of the topics to an excruciatingly small degree, and then tossed in some ill-placed, and unfunny humor. The entire tone of the book is not terribly funny or insightful, the humor seems tacked on for the most part, and the issues they are discussing are too short and incomplete even in a condensed format. Too much is left out there hanging for me. I would have preferred fewer topics, and more depth. Oh, and by the way, why no Sports section?
Great Trivia Teacher October 19, 2004
10 out of 17 found this review helpful
I like books like this that teach you something new but make the learning fun. I'm not an American so sometimes some of the facts are over my head but I am sure they will be handy one day.
A+ for entertainment, B- for accuracy October 13, 2004
48 out of 55 found this review helpful
I agree with all of the other reviewers that this book is fantastically entertaining. Just the title of the "4 Things Your Boss Has in Common With Slime Mold" section is worth the price of this book.
The big disappointment is that some of the "facts" are flat-out wrong. A section on antibiotics claims, "bacteria are at the root of diseases ranging from colds to tetanus," when colds are caused by rhinoviruses and do not respond to antibiotics. Another section claims, "A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds," an urban legend which has been disproved many times over. My personal impression of the book (others will probably disagree) is that it contains a bunch of facts that the authors rattled off the tops of their heads instead of researching to any degree.
So, read the book in good fun, and if you're going to use its contents to show off how smart you are, find another source to back you up first.
 "Brevity is the soul of wit" October 3, 2004
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
This book is a wonderful gift for your inner know-it-all; you try to keep him quiet, but occasionally, you hear yourself saying something "too smart." Beware, this book greatly increases the probability of you sounding smarter than those around you. But there is a delicious guilty pleasure in learning such a wide array of knowledge from a book whose primary benefit is its brevity. While Le Corbusier does not necessarily come up in daily conversation, the one time it does, you will be prepared to talk about his contributions to architecture.
The information contained is specific, usable data on myriad topics, with anecdotes liberally interspersed to aid future conversations. There is great joy to be found in being believed to be smarter than one actually is, and this book is a surefire way of getting there.
Enjoyable Trivia that sucks you in with Great Stories!!! August 22, 2004
80 out of 84 found this review helpful
This book is such a fun read, even those who don't crave random trivia can enjoy it! It has so much information, and yet is so organized that you can actually find the information! While I don't subscribe to this magazine, reading this book will make anybody consider getting a subscription. All in all, there is really nothing but positive things I can say about this book.
Several reviewers have criticized some of the ways information is presented in this book for the sake of political correctness, as well as some of the opinions about works discussed. I think all the reviewers of this book make valid points. Everybody knows what AD and BC mean, there's really no reason at this point to reinvent the wheel.
The section on Art included a few prickly elements for me. I personally was annoyed by some of the superlatives used to describe many of the artists. The section on seeming like you know what you're talking about at an art exhibit is so funny, however, that it totally makes up for it. :) In all fairness, art is one of the hardest things to write about clearly since it's so personal for whoever is viewing it. Look up the artists listed so that you can see some of the pictures yourself and make up your own mind!
Those small picadillos aside, there's sooo much to enjoy here that the good far outweighs the bad. The sections are well organized, and the authors do a great job of bringing historical figures to life with great stories.
Many trivia books can be read for about an hour at a time. This is a trivia book that can be read for hours on end and still not make you feel overloaded. The bite-size bits of info are easy for anybody to swallow!
All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this book. If it were possible to give it 6 stars I would! Buy it, Read it, ENJOY IT!
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