Trivia Books

We ordered this new book for one of our granddaughters for her birthday. The book arrived in plenty of time to get it to her before her birthday and the book was in excellent condition.

Great kids book. Super pictures. Opened up many conversations at our dinner table. Very good family book.....

This is a great book for entertaining kids for hours. It is even fun to look at by adults. There are some amazing people in this crazy world we live in... and most of them are listed in this book!!!

I ordered this for my grandson's birthday and it came in time, but there was nothing in the description indicating it was printed in Spanish. We do not speak Spanish. I'm very disappointed in receiving the wrong product. If I had known it was in Spanish, I would not have ordered it. I will be returning it for a full refund.

no se escribir en ingles,,, pero es bellisimo este libro,,,

mil gracias,, a ustedes

Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History
Richard Shenkman

Jeopardy buff? Any trivia or history aficionado will enjoy this book tremendously and find it a great addition to her/his library. Shenkman touts little known facts on a wide range of topics in the relatively short, but certainly intense history of the "Land of the Free." Most importantly, for a fact-filled myth buster like this one, he carefully cites his sources.

Where questions remain about people, places, events and celebrations, Shenkman provides the reader with ample and balanced background information to forge onward with new and unique theories. His perspective is not critical or in your face, and he gives fresh insights on long and widely held incorrect concepts. The entire work is like a written version of Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story.

I didn't wholly agree with all the positions set forth in the work, but deeply appreciated Shenkman's efforts to encourage thought and his subtle nudge to delve deeper into the subject matter. As an educator, I loved many of the fascinating tidbits mentioned throughout the book. I draw from the book regularly in my classes in hopes that I will help my students identify with characters or events in our country's illustrious history.

I bought this for my teen-age son, who is homeschooling, and he loves it. Actually, I learned a lot, too!

Most people go through their lives without questioning our nation's history. The events of our nation's past, as told by our elementary school teachers, are filled with great stories with obvious morals to be learned. As it turns out, many of these recalled past events, which most consider accurate beyond a shadow of a doubt are actually lies or misinterpretations. Richard Shenkman, in his book Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History works to show his readers some of the common misconceptions associated with American History. Some might consider his approach unpatriotic because these facts are engrained in the minds of Americans and part of our nation's history. He asserts that some of the most important events in our history were actually fabricated out of thin air. He does this, not to tear down the history that American is so proud of, but to shed light onto concepts that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Shenkman starts off by calling the American public ignorant of our history. Not ignorant in the sense of unintelligent but of being vastly misinformed. Americans know "less than we think we do. For as it turns out, even many of the best known stories from our history are false." Christopher Columbus is his first example, probably because the story of his three ships traveling over the vast ocean and not falling off the edge of the Earth is known to almost everyone with any knowledge of American history. Unknown to most, Aristotle beat Columbus to this idea that the world was round centuries earlier along with countless others between the two. Also mentioned are numerous travelers who beat him to the New World as well. As the book continues through years of American history, the events that he is debunking steadily grow in significance. The story of Columbus may be a disappointment to some but it is no earth shattering news. The fact that Independence Day may be held on the wrong day may ruffle a few more feathers. The government indorses July 4 as the day our nation declared its independence, but as records show, this may not be the true anniversary to our independence. Also, the story of The Alamo was mentioned. Thought of as one of the most epic battles of Texas history, where such men as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie despite the overwhelming odds stood their ground against the Mexican army and fought until the last man fell. Contrary to this story, Shenkman asserts that some of the men actually surrendered, were captured and were killed later. The story could have been remembered in the way that it was because there was no first hand account on the Texas side, or because dead to the last man is a better way to be remembered. Be sure to be careful when reading facts such as these. The impulse to throw out these notions may come quickly and your ability to understand these events will be lost.
Despite the severity of a few of the events mentioned, most tend to be common misconceptions about our past. Sex, war, drugs, education, immigrants, family and many other topics are within the range of Shenkman's research into American history. You will be amazed at how many times he can surprise you with obscure facts of our past. Events that seem like common knowledge and universal to everyone may in fact be inaccurate to say the least. He also knows how to keep the attention of the reader. It was hard for me to put this book down because with the way it was written it is impossible not to ask, "What else could I have missed?"
Shenkman showed no restraint in picking his topics; in fact, it seems as if the topics he chose were deliberately chosen to stir up emotion in the reader. This tactic only works when the right emotions are the ones coming out. He was trying to show the reader how credulous we are when it comes to our history. However, he does show caution when mentioning certain subjects which might have brought forth the emotions he did not want the reader to experience. President Lincoln was one example. There are numerous rumors surrounding Lincoln before and during his presidency. However, Shenkman tended to focus on the issues less well known to the public, such as the house he was born in, his personal correspondents and how he actually hated the name "Abe." Much less restraint was shown when President John F. Kennedy came up in the presidents section. With his ideas that women were simply "sex objects" and that some of his escapades actually may have put the nation in danger (such as having an affair with a mobster's daughter), "John Kennedy is still one of the two or three most admired presidents in the history of the United States." This is how he is remembered and for some reason, no matter what evidence is brought forth to the contrary, people will still love him.
Richard Shenkman was a Vassar College graduate and attended Harvard graduate school. Still he was not afraid to mention misconceptions pertaining to his very own school. He also has worked with television networks for many years and has written five New York Times Best Sellers, this book being one. My point is that Shenkman is very in tune with the public and what they want to read. This book is extremely well written and is very easy to get through if you have an open mind and remember that this book is not meant to spit in the face of five hundred years of American History. It is simply meant to show the reader that even if something is accepted by everyone that does not necessarily mean it is completely accurate.
"Americans, despite everything you hear, know plenty of history." Though some may think that bringing these facts to our attention is dismissing the ideas of countless historians around the world, I believe Shenkman writes not to dismiss them, but simply to bring to attention alternative views on these events. Therefore, if you have an open mind and you are curious about the events of the nation, you will find this book very enjoyable and interesting.

I like this book for when I am on the train...not so in-depth that it requires a lot of concentration.

Your sixth grader might find it revealing, but nobody with any knowledge of history will learn much from this disconnected, purposeless collection of factoids. Shenkman acts like an annoying twelve-year old who's memorized 50 state capitals and wants you to listen as he recites them -- and thereby proves how smart he is.

Many of the facts he "reveals" here were things most people would learn from a comptent high-school or college American History class, or else are too irrelevant to be included even there. e.g. pointing out that Paul Revere had two companions, or that Molly Pitcher was not the only woman to fight in the Revolution.

Yes, it's true that most people aren't aware that John Paul Jones later served as a mercenary to Catherine the Great ... but what's the point? Are they supposed to know? Does not knowing reflect some sort of failing in their education? Shenkman certainly implies as much.

But even more annoying is his habit of attacking myths that nobody really believes. He refers to the "firmly held belief that premarital sex is a twentieth-century phenomenon." Firmly held by whom? Shenkman wants to pretend that there are people out there who think that there was no fornication pre-1900, so that he can show how wrong they are (and by contast, how smart and urbane he is). But of course nobody actually thinks this; what they actually think is that it was >less common< in the past than it is now ... which his statistics confirm. Now it probably is true that many people misunderstand or exagerrate how much less common ... but that's a comparatively subtle distinction, and Shenkman doesn't do those.

To pick another, he alludes to the (putatively common) "belief that Presidents were freqently born poor." Excuse me? I highly doubt anyone out there actually under the misapprehension that the majority of Presidents were raised from poverty. People believe that it is >possible for a poor person to become Head of State, and that that possibility is more real in the US than in other countries.

It might be interesting to do a comparative study with, say British PMs or Soviet Politburo members, to see what percentage of them came from comparatively wealthy backgrounds. Alas, that sort of thing is beyond Shenkman. His brilliant idea is to list all the presidents and spin their life stories to make them sound bourgeois: the orphaned Hoover was "brought up by his maternal uncle, the head of a local academy;" Nixon's father owned a gas station; Eisenhower's mother went to college. Best of all is his pointing out that while Lincoln was poor, he was "not as dirt poor as his neighbors."

My guess is that Shnekman fancies himself another Howard Zinn, fearlessly deconstructing the bourgeois myths of America. He isn't. Zinn uses facts to make points; he constructs arguments. Some of those facts are slanted, some points are debatable and some of arguments weak, but it is at least the discourse of an educated adult. Shenkman's is not.

"Urban Legends" by Richard Roeper is a light read perfect for a teen audience. This book touches on most of the common urban legends, the welcome to the world of AIDS urban legend, whether Tupac is really dead, Tommy Hilfiger on Oprah and other urban legends that have been rehashed over time. The book dispells what is truth and what is fiction. Overall though this book doesn't really tell readers what can't be found on the Internet or in other books. It's an entertaining book.

This book takes a lot of urban legends, some I had heard, some I had not, and proves them wrong. The author sites his research, so you know that it was actually investigated.
This book sort of takes the fun out of some urban legends, but a lot of them, that you just knew couldn't be true, are proved to be false. So from now on, when my friends send me all these crazy emails, I can tell them they are a hoax and actually have a source.

"Urban Legends" is entertaining but ultimately tedious, with far too much focus on celebrity gossip and rumors. For example, three pages are devoted to the fascinating question of who the "You" is in Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know." The author offers his own speculation, and we are treated to ruminations by fans and Internet posters, but we are left in the dark as to why this merits a place in a book on urban legends. Maybe there are urban legends that explain why popular musicians like Phil Collins and the members of Pink Floyd are regarded as geniuses in the journalistic world, on the Internet, and wherever else high school lives forever. Two and a half stars for an excellent selection of Internet, campus, and computer-tech legends, not to mention a badly-needed expose of the deathless "Bozo No-No" legend. (I was told this had happened on local television in Toledo, Ohio. Not.) Minus the same amount for the remaining fluff.

It is hard to review a book like this...or is it easy? The book is a collection of modern urban legends and the truth (or untruth) behind them. I guess you could criticize his selection of legends to cover, but that is more a personal choice. The truth is, Roeper does a solid job of reviewing the legend in question and then delving into the story behind it.
It succeeds exactly where it intends to succeed. It is a light-hearted, entertaining book. This is a book you can read 10 minutes at a time and always come away entertained.

In this book there are many of those Urban Legends that we've heard of that have been circulating since we can remember. And, there are also many tales that we haven't heard of. Today we get most of these myths via email, but before email came to be, I remember hearing...."this happened....I heard that....so-and-so said....did you know that....?" And beyond the humor, are the effects these tall-tales can have on the people and places they're about. Many of these "alleged" rumors were followed up in the form of questions from journalists during media interviews. Often, the media will investigate a rumor (urban myth) to see if there is any merit to it. Once debunked as false however, the rumor lives on in peoples' minds.

HIV positive Hyperdermic needles left in the coin returns of pay phones. Those unfortunate people who went out on the town to wake up in hotel bathtub filled with ice, and a note left to call the Doctor because their Kidney had been removed. And what's to that gerbil rumor involving a celebrity we all know? Well, that's false too. That particular myth has been tagged on other celebrities going back to the 70s.

Who started these tales? When? How did they get spread?
In addition to listing and describing these interesting myths, Roeper notes of the origins, means and methods of their growth, and the current believability status of many of them. Good coffee table book. It'll occupy some of the folks you'll bring over.

This is a great book for the fans of the "Bewitched" TV show. My daughter loved it. Thank you!!!

A COLLECTOR OF BEWITCHED MEMORABILIA AND WILL PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM ANYONE WHO HAS THESE PRODUCTS

This is a very involved book about Bewitched , even if you didn't know much about the show you do after reading this book.
I loved the recipes in the back, a great addition. Great to hear about the two Darrins and the story behind the departure of Dick York.

I'd love to see a follow up book!

I know a lot more about Bewitched now thanks to Gina Meyers. I don't like reading gossip or lies, I like fun to read, easy to read stuff. This book is organized and has great details and information.

My mom and dad got me this book. They like the recipe section, and I like the trivia. I learned more about Mrs. Meyers, the author of the book. She is a Bewitched expert and used the same sources as some of the other Bewitched books. I can't wait to learn more about Bewitched and read more books by this author!

What was Elvis' favorite soft drink? The name of his customized Convair jet? His last Top 10 single? And you thought you knew everything about The King! Think again. W. Kent Moore and David L. Scott has amassed some mighty tantalizing, teasing trivia that will leave you all shook up. The soft-cover gem is as much as sourcebook of all things Elvis as a thought-provoking volume that rocks and rolls. There are more than 1,000 brain teasers
--- including fill-in-the blanks, crossword puzzles, word scrambles, hidden word games and multiple-choice questions. There's even a sprinkling of black-and-white photos, including one of The King next to the used BMW he bought in 1958 for ... Give you the answer? Don't be cruel. Turn to page 44.

This quiz book was really informative, yet fun to do at the same time. It kept me very busy one long Sunday afternoon. For the really true Elvis-fan this book is a must-have!! I must admit that I didn't get all the answers at once, but kept coming back to fill in the blanks! The questions are asked in a variety of ways (e.g. crossword, blockword etc.) so that you never get bored or unduly frustrated! Each chapter deals with different aspects of Elvis' career; you are tested not only on your knowledge of his music, but also of his movies. So, if you're a true Elvis fan (like me!!!) you'll buy this book and keep it aside for that lazy Sunday afternoon! Oh, and don't forget to use a pencil ... just in case you make an error, then you won't spoil that precious Elvis quiz book!!!!

i should have read all the reviews not just the first one. i didnt like this book at all.

this book wasn't very good at all. it's like most of the stuff is for little kids. i just dont like doing search-a-words and haven't since about fourth grade. i thought it was weak.

The Ultimate Elvis Quiz Book is so creative, so unique, and so delightful! The authors have many different types of puzzles chock full of Elvis information. Other puzzles don't contain new information, but are just plan fun to answer, such as Letters to Elvis and Word Pictures. One quiz, If I Can Dream, speculates about what Elvis would be doing and recording now if he were still alive. There are even a couple of quizzes about other rock and pop stars who were Elvis' contemporaries. If you're a true Elvis fan, your book collection is not complete without The Ultimate Elvis Quiz Book! (This book is available from another publisher, but the Rutledge Hill book is clearly better because of the larger print and better quality paper.)

This is an amazing written piece of poetry and comedy at the same time. The
different chapers are very imaginative, and the translations are beyond
belief!!!! It just shows how crazy the world is, when you look at it close
up!! Diffinetly worth a read - this is an awesome planet, and this book is
an awesome book

I keep the book out for anyone to read. People pick it up, read the cover, thumb through the book and grow a smile every time. Everyone finds a word that they were somehow living without. It's pretty fantastic to watch someone get attached to a word and use it. One comment was, "I had a buddy that tingoed my entire CD collection during my freshman year!"

My favorite today, Wabi, a flawed detail that enhances the elegance of the whole work of art.

This book has a lot of amusing linguistic information in it. However a number of reviewers have pointed out that it has inaccuracies.
It also has a strange stress on a limited number of languages. I can appreciate for instance the author's passion for Yiddish, and the little paragrah he writes on ways of cursing and insulting in Yiddish- but I wonder at the total absence of Hebrew and Aramaic in this work.
There are little essays which are informative including one on languages which are threatened with extinction. Another discourses on the number of languages in the world. I was surprised to learn at how many different languages there are in Papua New Guinea.
I found the little section on especially long- words, compounds of various kinds also interesting.
This book has a lot of amusing information in, and should be treated as a work of entertainment not serious scholarship.

If rated on sheer entertainment value, this book would earn 4.5 stars. Unfortunately, as has been documented in several internet fora, the author's credulity far outweighs his scholarship. Quite simply, an unhealthy percentage (at my estimate 20-30%) of the 'words' quoted in this book simply do not exist*. Thus, on scholarship, the book earns only 1.5 stars.

My 3-star overall rating represents an average of the 4.5 for entertainment value and 1.5 for scholarship.

* Two of the more egregious examples are the infamous 'razbliuto', alleged to be a Russian word meaning 'the sentimental feeling you have about someone you once loved but no longer do', but whose existence is denied by any native Russian-speaker, and 'Scheissenbedauern', an alleged German word for `the disappointment one feels when something turns out not nearly as badly as one had expected'. There is no such word as 'Scheissenbedauern' in German - nor could there be, as it doesn't even obey the standard rules of German for forming portmanteau words (it would have to be 'Scheissbedauern'). Even minimal checking on the author's part would have alerted him to the bogus nature of this entry. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that, time after time, the author failed to carry out even the most basic fact-checking for this book.

In other reviews of this book it's already mentioned that, amongst others, the Chinese, Russian and German examples in this book are for a large part dodgy or just plainly wrong. This is also the case for the examples from the Dutch language the author cites from. The blurb states that he read '140 websites' in order to compile this book, as well as some '280 dictionaries'. (Does Mr Jacot de Boinod know how many languages there are in the world?) He should have spoken to some international linguists, and have somebody else get the notes down instead. On the jacket of the book, this example is highlighted: 'The Dutch word for skimming stones is plimplampetteren.' No, it isn't - there is no such word in the Dutch dictionary. Or on the web, for that matter. There is however, a word called pimpampetten, which is a card game for children based on trivia. (examples can be seen at www.anderspel.nl/pimpampet.html).

On the back cover, Stephen Fry is raving about how delighted he is now that he knows how the Dutch render the word of Rice Krispies - according to the book, this should be: 'Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!'. I don't know which language the author got this from in order to give false information to Stephen Fry or any other member of his reading audience. I would estimate that about 70-80% of the examples from the Dutch language are mistaken. It's like Python's old Hungarian Prasebook, but much less funny. All in all, it's quite a disaster and I am somewhat concerned that a prestigious house like Penguin has published this with no further editing or checking done.

Fun facts, but some well known facts. I did not buy this book for well known facts. Worth buying at a low price.

This book is very interesting, I rate this book very high for anyone interested in events and triva.

This was one of the cutest books I had ever read. It was educational and quite interesting. It was full of those things that you are curious about but too embarrassed to ask. I have really enjoyed it and have recommended it to several people.

I enjoyed reading this book although I wish they had one more up to date. I learned a lot of fascinating facts.

When I read this book years ago, I found the information therein just as the title states: fascinating. But upon further perusing of this work, I began to notice incorrect information presented as fact. For example, the deer botfly does NOT fly at the stated high speed; that fanciful notion came from a quote by etymologist Charles H. T. Townsend. His absurd estimation was proven false by Irving Langmuir.

I've also found information in this book that contradicts "facts" elsewhere in the book. And the statistics cited from years ago are often out of date and inaccurate. I recommend this title only if you are willing to verify some of its information against other sources and have a keen ability to distinguish between fact and fascinating fiction -- however plausible it might seem.

I found this really interesting to read; however, many of the answers seemed not enough. Filled my head with lots of useless trivia none the less.

This book is a lot of fun and it is possible to actually have some thing in it tat you did not know. However the statements or answers are limited in scope requiring you to do further research to flesh out the answer. The answers are given by contributors, not Davis Feldman. So we must rely of the credibility of the contributor. Again because of the limited answer the contributor does not feel compelled to back you the reason for the statement.

How ever for a quickie answer to questions you might not have asked such as "Why does Coca-Cola from a small bottle taste better than Coca-Cola from a large bottle or can?" this book is fun.

A more appropriate question "When did Coca-Cola substitute corn syrup for sugar and why?" Maybe in the next book

This book was pure pleasure reading. I finished the whole thing in a few hours. Great questions, with clear, easy-to-udnerstand answers. I'd love to read other books by the same author.

The Imponderables book series by David Feldman is the pinnacle of interesting and useful bathroom reading! Since the beginning of the series, Feldman has been highlighting questions that we didn't even know we had (like exactly why is it that a mile is 5,280 feet? and where is Donald Duck's brother?) then he finds "the experts" on any given subject to answer the question. At the end of each question and answer, you are left with a little better insight into the world around you (and you can go out and impress your friends with an expanded catalog of obscure anecdotes).

These books are fantastic overall. They are one part almanac, one part encyclopedia and one part a book form of the show Mythbusters. Many of the questions Feldman seeks the answers to are sent to him by his many readers who want to know about these little-known facts (like why there are 18 holes in a golf course and why tennis balls are fuzzy). Okay, these may not be the most important questions in the world, but these are the things we take for granted in everyday life that we normally don't take the time to stop and think (why is that little finger on our hands called the pinky?).

Feldman has been answering these questions since the first Imponderables in 1986. He has a masters degree in popular culture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and taught to first ever college course on Soap Operas. If you enjoy trivia, David Feldman is the man for you. He uncovers the hidden meanings and lost history of sports, food, words, science, politics, and everything in between, often in a humorous and insightful way.

So where did Oreos get their name?
What is the difference between Dead End signs and No Outlet signs?
Why does the letter K mean Strike Out in baseball?

You'll have to read the books to find out.

A funny little book, filled with trivia information that will show you how to live a happier and more balanced life.....For instance, you will never again have to go to the psychiatrist to discuss your frustration, about your inability to understand things like: Why have humans lost most of their body hair? Why are hamburger bun-bun bottoms so thin? Why do doughnuts have holes? For a relatively small sum, you will get rid of tranquillizers, since you will not awake anymore in the middle of the night, wondering about: Why don't people get goosebumps on their faces? Why are there eighteen holes on a golf course? What happens with the tread that wears off tires?
Last but not least, this fact filled book, will enable you to settle all those boring, but potentially dangerous arguments with your couple about delicate issues such as: Does putting women's hosiery in the freezer forestall runs? What purpose do wisdom teeth serve? Why does Coca-Cola from a small bottle taste better than Coca-Cola from a large bottle or can?
So, rush now, if you really want to know why clocks run clockwise.Or not, if you have other, existencialistic (real), problems......

I thought this was a book to answer questions such as; Why is the sky blue?... just stuff like that; it's not at all like that...I found it boring and un-useable; and returned it.

The book is "OK", some years old now and I found a couple of errors. The trivia has a lot of stuff on TV shows and movies that I have never heard of. Nonethe less it was fun looking over from my bedside stand

There is some decent (Jeopardy-style) knowledge in here, but you're going to look very hard to find it. What you will find is page after page of extremely obscure movie, TV and book trivia that is of little or no value. The authors seem to have a special obsession for Hardy Boys novels. If that's what you're after, this is your book. I would estimate that there may be one or two genuine pieces of useful trivia on each page interspersed with incessant (and very dated) pop-culture allusions.

I bought this in the hopes it would be a good reference for solving crossword puzzles. Well, I have never once found what I needed in this book. So this is a warning to others: the trivia in it is not useful for crosswords. Since the book may be good for other things, just not what I bought it for, I gave it 2 stars. To me it's worth zero.

lots of info, if you are a trivia fan : this is your book

Like Steven Gilbar's "The Book Book" (see my review), this is a great item to just pick up and open; you're sure to find something interesting in it no matter what page you choose. Though not marketed as such, it will prove most interesting to parents of children from grade-school through high-school age, and may indeed be used as a compendium of reading lists by homeschoolers. Besides allusions, quotations, and definitions, the bulk of the book, as with Gilbar, is given over to lists of books--everything from "Best-Selling Books" to "1990s Literature From Around the World;" there's no reason an intelligent teen can't take a taste of everything Strouf lists. Serious-minded ones may also want to check out List #9 ("Influential Writers from Around the World"), #14 ("Literary Criticism"), and #16 ("U.S./British/Irish Critics") for ideas on where to go next. But above all, buy it for Sections 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 (Books...for All Ages, Genres...for Every Taste, Drama, Themes, and Literary Periods) and the titles and authors in Section 4 (Poetry). It's true that there are a few rather glaring typos that would have been caught by an editor who knew his books, but by searching under both author and title you should still be able to find all the items listed. Then get yourself a used copy of Gilbar (get his "Great Books" too) and "The Prentice-Hall Good Reading Guide," and you'll have a treasure trove worthy of the fabled Indies to search and sample.

This book would've been a "find" if I were in my early teens, but for any adult who considers themselves a bibliophile, this book is just too lightweight. Yes, it is about books and literature, but the coverage is extremely shallow. I would consider this to be something like the Reader's Digest Condensed Books form of Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia. Buy that work instead of you're looking for a good reference work on literature.

This is an interesting book - there are a few intriguing lists in here. However, some of them seem a bit arbitrary. It's not overwhelmingly easy to use, either. If you're looking for a very academic book about books, don't get this one. If, on the other hand, you want a general refrence on reading and books, or are looking for reading lists and don't know where to find them, try this out. Don't expect too much.

This book contains nearly 200 literature-related lists. The lists are organized into nine chapters: 1) an introduction to literature (including definitions of literature, literary terminology and literary criticism, 2) books (including best-seller and readers' advisory lists), 3) genres, 4) poetry, 5) drama, 6) themes, 7) literary periods, 8) a catch-all chapter of lists of literary trivia, such as pseudonyms, rare book values, characters based upon famous people and authors' epitaphs, and 9) audio-books and serials. The book features a very useful table of contents which provides the titles and page numbers to all 198 lists. An author index is included as well. The lists are extensively cross-referenced and many of the lists include annotations and bibliographic references.

The preface indicates that the book is intended as a resource for book-lovers of all ages and reading levels. This is somewhat misleading. Children's and young adult literature figure prominently in this reference book. This is an excellent sourcebook for families with young readers, high school students and those just beginning to discover the joys of reading. On the other hand, this book will probably disappoint a more mature reader with a scholarly bent. First, some of the lists are too truncated to be of much use. For example, the list of Nobel prizewinners for literature identifies only 30 of the 81 authors who were awarded the prize as of the book's publication date. Second, the lists tend to emphasize popular works over those of greater literary substance and significance. For example, Richard Bach, Colleen McCullough and Peter Benchley are listed as `Master Novelists' while Mikhail Bulgakov, Tim O'Brien and William Trevor fail to make the cut. Finally, although there are some outstanding lists in this book (the detective fiction list is excellent and the folklore lists are impressive), in general the lists are those that someone with a decent background in the humanities could put together off the top of his head. This is not a worthwhile reference work for those with undergraduate or graduate degrees in literature. It is a worthwhile family library reference.

For those unfamiliar with literature and literary devices, authors through the ages, or nobel laureates, this book provides a good basic research resource. However, billing it as the perfect tome for "Literature Lovers" is misleading at best. Those already familiar with the study of literature will waste time and money on this book. It is far too basic to be helpful to the literary student. I found no information in it helpful or new. The book is merely a compendium of information available elsewhere, in far more worthwhile venues, such as an Freshman lit. class.

Furthermore, it is stereotypically slanted toward the male Euro-centric canon. This book of leave women and minorities out of its lists.