Trivia Books

Being that I am currently in the process of writing a book detailing the history of Federation starships, I was apalled when I noticed that most of the registry numbers and classes for the ships were WRONG. My friend and I picked up a copy of this book in our local bookstore and were flipping through it, and we were laughing out loud when we noticed the mistakes.

If you're a ship enthusiast like myself, DO NOT buy this book because it will make you sick to your stomach. Off the top of my head I cannot remember what some of the exact mistakes are, but they claim that the U.S.S. Excelsior's registry number is NCC-53847. Right. And that the U.S.S. Enterprise is NCC-1631 or something like that. Hey, they got the 1's right in the begging and end! Please contact me if you have an opinion about this.

The Definitive Star Trek Trivia Book Volume II by Jill Sherwin is a real jewel. The book is divided into 10 chapters and has information on TOS, ST:TNG, DS-9, Voyager, The Films, New Life and New Civilizations, Starfleet, Personnel Files, Abstract Knowledge and of course Number Ten is the Answer section.

So, if you are into TREK, this is the book that will answer some or most of your questions about these areas within the TREK Universe. I found that reading and answering the questions further increased my knowledge about these TREK areas. And if you need to settle a dispute... you've got the answer book to help you.

As the Trek Universe expands, I look forward to more of these compendia to be published. The book is set up well and is extremely well thought out.

This is an excellent addition to your Trek library.

The Definitive STAR TREK Trivia Book Part I written by Jill Sherwin is a very good trivia book except for the registry numbers on the appropriate ships, but that's a proof reader's error not the author's. Anyway, this is a volume you will want in your TREK library as it has many interesting questions and answers.

That being said, all you need to do is place an addendum in the book and you'll have a very worthy addition to your TREK Library. Oh, the erratum is the Excelsior registry number... a minor error.

The book is divided into ten sections and each section covers a genre of the Star Trek Universe.

Section One Star Trek: The Original Series
Section Two Star Trek: The Next Generation
Section Three Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Section Four Star Trek: Voyager
Section Five Star Trek: The Films
Section Six New Life and New Civilizations
Section Seven Starfleet
Section Eight Personnel Files
Section Nine Abstract Knowledge
Section Ten Answers

I found that I liked this volume for its originality and the questions that are asked are of import. Especially, if you want to check up on a character of film or book. Maybe it's just me, but I like to dig a little farther into the trek genre and get a full range into the story. Sometimes author's assume you know everything about Star Trek, but if your like me you know enough just to be dangerous. This book will help fill in the gaps of your knowledge.

The book is fun and very enjoyable. You'll get a good dose of TREK trivia reading this volume. I hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I did. Reading this book will accelerate your knowleadge of TREK to warp speed... the number of warp speed depends on your previous knowledge, but my estimation would be around 9.0 and if you get volume II you should be cruising at 9.9 and the tachyons are flowing for the trans-warp breakthrough.

I don't know why the reviewer below gave the whole book a bad review because one quiz had the answer key messed up! The rest of the book is right on!

The Definitive Star Trek Trivia Book Volume II by Jill Sherwin is a real jewel. The book is divided into 10 chapters and has information on TOS, ST:TNG, DS-9, Voyager, The Films, New Life and New Civilizations, Starfleet, Personnel Files, Abstract Knowledge and of course Number Ten is the Answer section.

So, if you are into TREK, this is the book that will answer some or most of your questions about these areas within the TREK Universe. I found that reading and answering the questions further increased my knowledge about these TREK areas. And if you need to settle a dispute... you've got the answer book to help you.

As the Trek Universe expands, I look forward to more of these compendia to be published. The book is set up well and is extremely well thought out.

This is an excellent addition to your Trek library.

I love learning about everything and anything and this book has so much to offer for someone like me. It's Terrific!!!

I bought this book for my 14 year old nephew. The content looked interesting and entertaining.

Well this is indeed interesting. You will leave with more tidbits of knowledge to amaze your friends. But I was expecting a little more. It did not take me very long at all to read everything of interest in this book. IT is more of a novelty gift of coffee table book, not for educational or litereary pursuits.

There are many informative interesting fact books out there, what makes this one different from the rest is that they haven't actually gone and found experts to find out what the actual answers are, instead readers of popular magazine NewScientist (and granted some of these are scientists, lecturers and others who would know what they are talking about, but a lot are just every day people as well) have answered questions pondered by other readers. This book is a collection of a column that appears in each addition of the magazine. So it is comparable to logging onto a forum on Yahoo or somewhere else where questions are posted by one users for anyone else to answer, the answerer may be 100 per cent right then again the again they may be a hundred percent wrong. You could also compare this book to when researching a fact going online to Wikipedia where anything can be posted as fact, instead of looking up an actual encyclopaedia or specific topic research book.

If you like visiting these types of websites, and can take every answer with a grain of salt as they say, then this may well be the book for you. If you actually want answers you know are true to interesting questions or books of facts then there are far better alternatives out there such as Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies?: The Truth Behind Old Wives' Tales, Great Mythconceptions: The Science Behind the Myths, Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S. and Shocking Science to name just four examples.

The 'New Scientist' is a weekly magazine, first published in 1956, that covers the recent happenings in the scientific world. In 1994, the magazine launched a new column called "The Last Word" in which its driven by its readers - not all of whom are geeks in white coats. Here, they could not only pose a science-related question, but also provide the answers. "Does Anything Eat Wasps" is a selection of the questions asked and answered over the column's first eleven years, and proved to be one of the UK's surprise hit of the year.

The book is divided into chapters, depending on the focus of the questions selected - our bodies, our planet and 'wierd' weather for example. While the book is informative, it is equally as likely to raise a smile - the overall tone is not that of a difficult, highbrow scientific paper. Some of the questions that are dealt with include : how long can a human being live if their sole source of food or drink is beer ? (One respondant includes in his answer it would be unethical to conduct such an experiment - though I suspect he would have plenty of volunteers). What causes the changes, in terms of colour and consistency, in earwax ? Can it be scientifically proven that your arse looks smaller in black trousers ? And just how far above the Earth's surface would you have to be before a compass stops pointing north ?

An enjoyable and informative book - though it's one I tend to dip into once in a while, rather than reading it from cover to cover.

The kids love it and its fun once in a while to wonder about a certain record and look it up!

I'm so surprise I can get this book since I got Amazon notice have stock for me to order..... being this is already two years ago..... and 50th Anniversary Edition......

This book is really really fun and make me more more understand the Guinness Records.....

I'm very high recommand this book in your library.....

Whilst some readers will always buy the latest edition of this book because they are interested in the largest, tallest, fastest or whatever, personally I have always found this book to be a first class reference source.

It was from the Guinness Book of records that I learned that the largest Turtle known to man was a giant Leatherback Turtle which (to my great surprise) was washed up on the shores of Ireland - and "not" some Caribbean country as one might expect.

Of course, not all the records are repeated from one edition into the next or each book would be identical except for any new records achieved during the past 12 months. For this reason, the reader might need to collect a few editions of the book in order to have as good a collection of records as possible.

Just a few loose thoughts really.

NM

This review relates to the section on 'Language and Literature' only.
I hate to be a party- pooper but unlike most other reviews of this book I found it to be dismal and self- serving, to say the least.
Guinness informs us in this section that the best- selling book of all time after the Bible and the Koran is the Guinness Book of Records. I have my doubts about the accuracy of this and it seems to me more like a piece of self- advertisment than anything else. Tasteless, even if true.
Worse . The editors of the book do not seem to realize that in Literature it is quality that counts, even when one is measuring quantity. It is absolutely insignificant that some person named Jones happen to put the most words on paper in writing a thing he called a novel. It is however of significance that of all the very long novels ever written Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' is the greatest. There is no hint of Tolstoy,Shakespeare, Dante, or any of the other greats of world- literature in the section on literature.
Trivia and even quadrivia need to be more significant than this if they are to be of real interest.

Although it's not long enough for you to be able to read it all day, you will find yourself unable to set it down and just keep on turning the pages. Guiness world records:2005 is packed to the cover with intriguing facts from every corner of the globe. Buy it and you'll be quizing your family about the longest nails or the biggest ball of yarn.

I enjoyed the book very much. It was a new way to expirience the mystery that is Lost.

This is the best Lost book on the market. I am amazed at how original it is. I love it and I recommend it to all Lost fans, especially the fans who went nuts over The Lost Experience and Find 815. And it is as big a challenge as they were. This book is a definite buy if you are a fan of the show.

I recently got my book and am impressed with how it looks and its contents. I think any fan of LOST will find the puzzles and brain teasers alot of fun and entertaining. The book is full of mind games and I especially like that the puzzle answers are available because I have to know if I guessed right or wrong! I can't wait to get back to the book and work on more of the word games and puzzles. I am surprised so far with how much I recall from the episodes I've have watched. The book will make a great gift idea too.

In a fortuitous coincidence, when the great powers of the world decided to embrace madness over reason, war over peace, and to send their great weapons against one another, I found myself deep underground in an almost completed government research facility.

I was only supposed to be there to make a delivery of equipment, but once I felt the ground began to shake as the great disaster unfolded on the surface, I knew I would find myself alone in that cavernous tomb for quite some time to come. The lab wasn't supposed to fully staffed for at least three more months and the first crews weren't going to report the until the next week. I was just the delivery guy.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into years, I began to explore my surroundings. I found a vast array of scientific equipment, banks of computers, and volumes upon volumes on every scientific theory from electromagnetism to astrophysics.

Also, in a different room I stumbled upon a well worn and dog eared copy of this volume, LOST Mind Games. I used the quizzes and games to keep my sanity as I spent the ensuing decades studying and learning all that was written in the other tomes.

I began with math, and then to physics, and from there into relativity. It was at this point that I was able to develop a solution to the Grand Unified Theory of Everything.

If you are reading this message, then I was successful in trying to send two messages back across the barriers of space and time. The first was to the leaders of the great nations of the word, telling them of what would happen should they continue down their warlike ways. The other was much further back, to the early twenty first century, a review of the wonderful book which kept my sanity through the many decades.

Thank you Anne Dawson. If you are seeing this, then your book may very well have saved the world.

My two teens (16 and 19) went nuts for this book when they saw it at their cousin's house over the holiday weekend. They have been bugging me for three days to buy it for them. I took the earlier reviewers advice and bought one for each of them. I may be back to buy one for my husband. I have a feeling he may want his own copy once he gets his hands on it.

It's a fun, informative book that holds the interest of pre-teens and adults alike. I would recommend the whole series to everyone.

This book is good, it has the answers to questions that people have always wondered.

Do Penguins Have Knees? is a great book with a great concept. It answers all of life's little imponderables that you always wanted to know the answer to but never knew who to ask. The questions range from, "Why do cats like to be scratched behind the ears?" to "How did they keep beer cold in the Old West?". In the back of the book are Frustables (Imponderables that have not been solved), a Frustable update (new answers to old Frustables), an index to this book, and an index to all of the other Imponderables book. Why someone would put all of that in a book beats me. You look at the big book only to find that 1/3 is spent on things other than Imponderables (such as the complete index to all of the books, which I think is a stupid idea). The only flaw in this book is that there might even be too much information. They give you the answer and they keep rambling on. Some of the answers took up 2-3 pages when they had answered the Imponderable on the first page. Also, all of the names and places where they come from, for example: Bob Smith from the University of Learning Things in Yourtown, USA, seemed to clutter up the page and take away from the answer. I think this book had a great concept, but with a poor format.

As a kid, asking inumerable "stupid" questions was sure to get a weary "Go look it up" from a parent. Unfortunately, as a kid, I didn't have the innumerable resources at the fingertips of the Imponderables crew. As always, David Feldman and his team of information hunters have compiled questions from all over, some of which kept me going until I read the answer!

If you want to have an interesting afternoon while it's raining outside, get together some friends. Open up the book to a random page. Read out the question on that page, and have everyone come up with what they think the answer is. Then, read out the answer, and see who came close (or even spot on!). You'll be surprised (sometimes) to see some of the answers that your friends came up with be popular urban legends, which Feldman goes on to discredit.

Imponderables books are a riot for pleasure reading, or in large groups of people!

Feldman keeps producing these books of imponderables;and they just keep
getting better all the time. His books just go on asking questions and producing answers about those unlimited number of things we've all wondered about,and even many that we have come to accept as "that's just the way it is". Feldman encourages his readers to send in their own imponderables to answer ;much in the same way that Allan Funt did with Practical Jokes on "Candid Camera " and Robert Ripley did with his Oddities with his "Believe It or Not". I have been a fan of this sort of thing and their "stuff" has intrigued the curious,entertained the joker in us all and amazed all who are surprised to see the rare or unbelievable.
This is the type of book that can be left hanging around, and anybody who picks it up will become engrossed in it in no time at all.Many of the imponderables you'll read about are not earth shattering,won't make much difference in your life,but nevertheless grab your interest and provide enjoyable pastime entertainment.Maybe the time spent waiting at the Dentist's,Doctor's ,Barbers or any other waiting room would be a little less painful if books like this were available rather than those awful magazines.
Who wouldn't be interested in questions like these?

"Why do straws in drinks sometimes sink and sometimes rise to the
surface?"

"Why is Rhode Island called an island when it obviuosly isn't an
island."

"How did they keep beer cold in the saloons of the Old West?"

"Why are 25-watt light bulbs more expensive than 60-,75-,and 100-watt
bulbs?"

"Why do hospital gowns tie in the back?"

"What causes the green-tinged potato chips we sometimes find? Are they
safe to eat?"

And how about thisimponderable that never seems to die?

"Why are so many restaurants,especially diners and coffee
shops,obsessed with mating Ketchup bottles at the end of the day?
Believe It or Not,it prevents Explosions! Thats right!;you'll find out why,right here in this book!

Quite informative and not at all simply a "bathroom read" as one reviewer here has opined. The book covers topics from A to Z (E.g. "Actors", "Fireballs", "Talking in the Movies"). However, if your particular interest is "Goofs", the basics are covered (E.g "Bloopers", "Boom mikes") but you'll find much more for specific movies at the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com). Another reviewer here states the index could be better. I agree. The index seems to be inconsistent, listing only some of the book's topics, but lots of movie titles and actors. For example, a question on the book jackets asks" Why don't movie actors wear seatbelts?". Good luck finding the answer easily. A handful of the movies chosen for inclusion may seem obscure, but this is still an entertaining book. And you'll also find out a little more about Ebert's way of thinking.

This is not a general book about movies, but a reprint of selected "Answer Man" columns. As such, though there is some useful information about film and production techniques and quite a lot on the furor over letterboxing, the most interesting parts of the book allow us to relieve specific moments in recent movie history, for instance, getting glimpses into the thought patterns of fans before, during, and after "Water World."

I would have liked a little more context to some of the columns; after all, some of the hot topics of 1996 are all but forgotten today. Also, I always thought of Ebert as an extreme political conservative, in opposition to his late partner, the liberal Gene Siskel. So how come he reprints hate letters from political conservatives?

A terrific book, both for Roger Ebert's crisp and witty writing, his knowledge of the subject, and the information about films and filmmaking. Drawn from Ebert's must-read "Ask the Movie Man" section of his annual Film Guide series and his newspaper/internet column. Highly recommended.

I tore through this quick reader the same day it arrived (while staying home sick from work.) It put a smile on my face, and made me want to see or re-see a bunch of movies.

The book is pulled together bits of a newspaper Q&A style column, and therefore comes off overall a bit disjointed. I don't care for the somewhat arbitrary organization of the excerpts, but of course, I can't come up with a better way -- related Q&A's are grouped together under general categories (ie "Minnesotans and Mississippians" and "Injuries") and then the categories are alphabetized.

Dispite these problems, I enjoyed the book.

I have always enjoyed Ebert's lucid and engaging writing. He answers questions on a wide range of topics of interest to movie buffs. As he freely admits, however, some of the questions were fabricated where he felt "the need comes upon me to answer a question I have not been asked." There seem to be a lot of questions from the same few characters, too, especially one Andy Ihnatko of Westwood, Mass. And as much as I like the book, I have some doubts about Mr. Ebert's scholarship. On page 61, he says that Japanese term for the bittersweet awareness of transient things is "nolo con aware," when in fact it is "mono no aware" (the Japanese don't even use "L" their language). Whenever I find I one factual error in a book, I start to wonder how many more are in it.

Whilst some readers will always buy the latest edition of this book because they are interested in the largest, tallest, fastest or whatever, personally I have always found this book to be a first class reference source.

It was from the Guinness Book of records that I learned that the largest Turtle known to man was a giant Leatherback Turtle which (to my great surprise) was washed up on the shores of Ireland - and "not" some Caribbean country as one might expect.

Of course, not all the records are repeated from one edition into the next or each book would be identical except for any new records achieved during the past 12 months. For this reason, the reader might need to collect a few editions of the book in order to have as good a collection of records as possible.

Just a few loose thoughts really.

NM

The guinness book of world records is a book that keeps you and me informed of the amaising yet fairly random things that men and women arround the world have achieved the best of. It kept me interrested for months and i always love to go back to them to see the different records. I truly believe that this is the best record book ever.

Roz

This is a really great book. My son loves to read and he can remember all of the records he has found in the book. He loves to talk about them all the time.

It had very interesting facts that i would have most likely never heard about. Also, the pictures where usually pretty cool, like the world's biggest tumor. EWWW, but thats not the point. Its the fact that there are so many things in this world that we never heard about that are most likely to be found in this book.

This is worth the money. It contains everything you could imagine and is very informative and interesting read. Its fun to read about the new technologys and records in the world. The cover and all the pictures inside are also impressive. I recomend this book to anyone who has a curious mind. Cover of book is cool.

This book is a how to do it book. The book is full of information, some important, some not. This book gives step by step directions which I found to be very helpfull. My favorite part of this book is when they teach you how to play konckers. Konckers are nuts that you tie a string to and throw them at each others koncker. The point of the game is to break the opponets koncker. The book gave step by step directions on how to make them and play it. You start with a nut, soak it in vinegar, and keep it in the dark for a year. I found this funny because you need to wait one year to play. I want to try this but I did not yet. I liked this book a lot. Although at times it was boring. I recommend this book to people who are looking for a quick and interesting read. I only used some of the information so far but I will always now how to play konckers. This title was the best title I have ever read. With a title of "How to Hold A Crockodile" you can't go wrong and yes this book tells you how to hold a crockodile.

This has truly been one of my most cherished books since I unwrapped it at my ninth birthday party. From that day on, it went on every vacation with us, was consulted countless times throughout my life and still to this day makes me feel smart for having all but memorized the information inside of it.

How to Hold a Crocodile is full of interesting facts and detailed instructions ranging from the obscure to the everyday. Perhaps you want to build a pyramid or know pasta by its shape? This book will teach you how to light damp matches and tell a Cocatrice from a Basilisk. It was useful for me in learning how to sharpen kitchen scissors, but perhaps someday I'll use it to learn how to teach a carp to come when I call, turn an axolotl into a salamander or even roast an ox.

Along with the amusing and intruiging entries are hundreds of delightful and well-drawn illustrations which, as a child, I found just as captivating as the information itself.

This is a book bound to capture the imagination of children and widen the horizons of adults. How to Hold A Crocodile is entertaining for all ages and will make a unique gift or a quirky addition to your book collection.

My godparents gave me this book when I was a kid. There are a lot of useful and interesting topics in it, and the illustrations really help the cause. I actually used some of the information to figure out how to make proper togas when the garments were called for in a junior high skit. Other memorable subjects: how to hold a crocodile, how to identify a member of the Diagram Group, how to make a mummy, how to recognize a mythological creature, how to pickle walnuts (I secretly planned to try this, but never got around to it), how to handle a hamster, how to photograph fish, how to play various games, how to become a saint, how to take a cat's temperature. . .
Really, How to Hold a Crocodile is good for all ages. I've looked at my copy so much that the spine isn't doing so well--and it wasn't a poorly-put-together spine to begin with. I'd recommend this item as a birthday gift, graduation gift, etc. for pretty much anyone who can read English or will be able to in the future.

You know these guys are creative when they are selecting items for their book that even the reader himself did not think he really had to know. Now I know that if I hang up a broom then the bristles won't fall off. I know the proper technique for hammering home a nail.

The book is an eclectic mix of items that are really useful (see above)and fun items that one can just file away under "interesting minutiae." The ordering of the how-to's holds the readers attention well and the illustrations are not just well-drawn but very clever.

Of a lighter tone is The Diagram Group's How To Hold A Crocodile, which provides a fun answer book to some practical questions on handling wildlife; from handling a hamster or crocodile to measuring a horse. In all fairness, wildlife isn't all that's covered here - this all-encompassing 'how to Bible' includes tips on playing bagpipes, measuring humidity, surrendering, and more.

I highly recommend this book. It is different from any other trivia books that I have previously read. Creative work. Buy it!

This book seems a little hyped. I found the book "Quizzing" to be a much more fascinating read.

I recently took this book on a train journey from Boston to Washington DC with me and I was so absorbed in all the fun stuff in the book that I didn't even notice time fly by. What a great unusual little book... very enlightening.

Liked the book. I learned a lot. It is an easy book to read and enjoy. Not one of those high-minded books arrogantly written for so called "serious trivia buffs." I gave this book as a gift to my nephew as well.

Read this book. Was not impressed by the results. Some of the information in this book is good.... however, some just serve as fillers.Examples being questions on Countries and their Capitals. Some things are incomplete - viz. a question on the seven hills of Rome only mentions 6 hills.

For serious trivia hunters/ quizzers, not value for money. I would recommend Mastermind/Ultimate Trivia.

What can you say about lists? They are mostly uninteresting, but a few are cool.

How can one not love a book that probably has more trivia per page than almost any book written? And, what bettewr way to review a book of lists than to make a list of some of my favorite lists? So, here's my list of 6 of my favorite lists from the hundreds of lists in __THE BOOK OF LISTS__.

1. 10 Words you can't pronounce correctly

2. The 15 most boring classics

3. 10 memorable books that never existed

4. 18 famous brains, and what they weighed

5. 15 famous events that happened in the bathtub

6. 10 people not to invite to dinner

In order to give you a further insight into the book, I have listed below a few random facts that I found particularly interesting.

African Elephants have gestation periods of 640 days while Opossums have only 13 day gestastion periods. (These are the two extremes from a long list of gestation periods.)

A flock of crows is correctly known as a murder of crows.

Well before 9/11, Iraq had received military aid from the U.S., Great Britain, China, and the U.S.S.R.

Desi Arnaz worked as a bird cage cleaner before he became a bandleader, Gerald Ford was a male model before he entered politics, and Carol Burnett started her entertainment career as an usherette.

As you can tell, there is enough information here to add a thrill a minute to a trivia buff's life.

"The Book Of Lists" never ceases to intrigue and fascinate me even when in truth I've been reading it so many times, and for quite long hours. Many faves include: "9 Stupid Thieves" (I laughed to tears at the story where, during the trial the defendant said to the witness who pointed at him as suspect, "I should have blown your ------- head off!... If I'd been the one that was there."), "Facts are stupid things" (slip-ups by politicians), "15 Strangest Stories" and little trivias like "things you didn't know had names"... oh, geez, there are loads to mention!! This is so entertaining, at times revealing and, very funny, utterly shocking ... absolutely educational and fun to read. Who knows, what have you read from the book might have any good use for you in your life.

This is so much better than (reading) those run-of-the-mill best-selling romantic paps. Always a refreshing read.

Really, even though its got a lot of mindless fluff in it (that's fun to read I'll have you know) it also has lists that are fascinating and important from a historical or geographical standpoint, such as thirty new names for old places (i.e. Ethiopia for Abyssinia.) Besides that, the other lists are interesting even if inconsequential (like "seven remarkable messages in a bottle.") And I bet you didn't know that Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII, had three breasts! Just another amazing fact that one can find in this praiseworthy book to discuss on long car trips . This book seems to have the affliction of becoming ragged through overuse, as almost every reviewer it seems will soon have to buy a new one. I guess that's just a testament to its fortitude and quality.

I stole this book off of my father's bookshelf when I was 9 years old, and have pored through it over and over since then. It has so many different kinds of lists in it.. everything from magazine and celebrity compiled lists to obscenely obscure trivia, and of course, those morbidly fascinating ones! My husband and I make an occasional game of opening to random pages and seeing if we can guess what's on the lists. I've bragged about this book to friends more often than any other and I'm shopping for another copy now because my poor copy's about to fall apart. Beware buying this one.. it's a longtime addiction. ;)