Reviews (6)

Quick delivery and book in great condition.
I was pleased to receive the book as quickly as I did.I was nervous that I would get it too late for my son's 7th birthday but no, I had a few days to spare.Thanks.
To be seven again
I was given this book when I was seven and have since cherished it for its beauty and sensitivity. It is a wonderful read aloud book for ages 6-8 and mostly 7 that is inspiring both for children and adults alike. Enjoy!

Excellent Read-Aloud
Do you have a child around the age of seven?This magical collection of read-aloud stories has been especially chosen for that age group.It contains forty-one short stories, with a few black and white drawings scattered throughout, that will take you through the entire year of seasons, holidays and birthdays.The one character that accompanies the reader throughout the whole book is Sylvia.Sometimes she is the subject of the story and at other times her mother is telling her a story.You'll read about princes, dragons, animals, fairies and more!This collection is suitable for both boys and girls ages 6 � to 8, but most especially seven-year olds.This book is out-of-print in the U.S. and a rare treat when you can find it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Curiosities & Wonders    4. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Anthologies    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Fairy tales, folk tales, fables, magical tales & traditional stories    7. Folklore    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Body, Mind & Spirit    10. Fiction   

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Encyclopedias and dictionaries    3. Reference    4. Trivia   

Reviews (10)

Meh
Got this from my bargain hunting family one xmas.
Outdated
Am I the only one who had a problem with the fact that this is a 30 year old book (1976) that was merely repackaged to look new? Look through it... you won't find a "best, worst or most unusual" from any date more recent than 1976.

Haven't read the book yet
Although i haven't read the book yet I did buy the book from amazon. i have been trying ot get this book for about 1-2 years. Last year I went out of town to try and get this book and the store was sold out. I was very dissapointed so instead of driving everywhere I decided to call different book stores and I called just about ever bookstore in my area. When i called all of these bookstores I got the same response "No, I'm sorry we don't have the book here". So fianlly after failed attempes of trying to buy this book I went to my local boarders to see how i could get this book. Well the lady suggest that I buy it off of their website online. well at the time I was against buying things offline. So then a few years pass and then last night when I was doing my college homework, I was thinking abotu this book. So then that night I bought the book from amazon and I'm now waiting for it to be shipped and for it to also arrive. I look forward to reading this very interesting book. I first saw this book in a christmas magazine and i'm so very happy that after years of searching for it, I have bought it, even though the wait time is a month. So i Look forward to reading this very interesting looking book ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Reference    3. Sale Adult - Reference    4. BG-REF/SCI/TECH - BG-REF/GEOGRAPHY    5. Reference / Curiosities & Wonders    6. Sale Books   

Editorial Review

Isaac Asimov was unquestionably one of America's greatest scientific writers--from his mind came the awe-inspiring Foundation trilogy and the classic Read more

Reviews (13)

Asimov Didn't Write This
In his autobiography, "I, Asimov", Isaac makes it clear he did not write this book. It was put together by someone else, and his name was attached to it through some kind of contractual mumbo-jumbo. That being said, it is an entertaining book.

Good Facts
I am a junkie for inconsequential facts. This book is full of them, although it also has many facts that we should know and perhaps don't. My only complaint is that it's not a paperback. I can't carry it around easily and read at lunch! I recommend it for other facts junkies.

Wish it was up-dated by the publisher
I love this book, but it seems to be stuck in the early 80's. A lot has happened since that time. I think the Publisher should honor the memory of the late great Isaac Asimov by keeping the book up to date. Do that and it would earn 5 stars. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. Dictionaries    3. Encyclopedias and dictionaries    4. Reference    5. Sale Adult - Reference    6. Trivia    7. Reference / Trivia    8. Sale Books   

Reviews (4)

Great Trivia
The subject of the American Civil War always encompasses an enormous amount of material, as does this great trivia book. For its relatively low price, you get a book containing a great deal of information to any student of the war, and the questions will often stump even the most well read historians.

Great way to learn more about the Civil War
I brought this book with me on my family's last vacation because there were hours of driving to do & I'm a Civil War fanatic! Although I've studied the Civil War for over 14 years I learned a lot from this book. And it kept me & my family entertained for hours! It has sections on Union & Confederate generals, battles, civilians, statistics (like anyone could ever know all those!), weapons (my favorite section!), & great chapters on the war in the east, west, south, & at sea. This is a trivia book that's perfect for both the novice & the historian, and it's also low-priced.

The Civil War rulz
Man, I can't imagine a better war than the Civil War.And this is one of the best books on that war.This book is for all those guys who dress up on the weekend and pretend to be real soliders.These kind of guys are the best kind of guys in the world, buffs.These buffs should try playing with real ammo and real war time conditions.As a vietnam vet, I know first hand war is really hell.I have to live with this hell the rest of my life.These buffs should try a real war on for size.Peace out! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1861-1865, Civil War    2. Civil War, 1861-1865    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. Miscellanea    8. Questions and answers    9. Trivia    10. U.S. History - Civil War And Reconstruction (1860-1877)    11. United States    12. United States - Civil War    13. History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Bridge Engineering    3. Bridges    4. Curiosities & Wonders    5. Design and construction    6. Engineering - Civil    7. History    8. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    9. Reference    10. Social History    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. Architecture / General    13. Bridges - History   

Reviews (10)

Ricky Jay is having a lot of freaky fun
In Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, Ricky Jay takes on the history of oddball performers: men who claimed to cram their entire bodies into quart jars, armless ladies who could paint miniatures holding a brush between their teeth, gentlemen whose specialty was to enter large ovens accompanied by raw meat and exit (unharmed) with fully-cooked steaks, as well as mind readers of all sorts and species (human, pig, and horse). Ricky Jay, Master Magician, Master Writer
As a magician and card wielder Ricky Jay is fascinating to watch as well as listen to. As a writer Mr. Jay also brings his own fascination at the work of others to play and writes a truly well-written, very interesting and enlightening book about the arcane world of many sometimes downright odd entertainers. A treasure
This wonderful book profiles some of the most unusual entertainers of all times: calculating pigs and acrobatic horses, stone eaters, poison resisters, daredevils, and mind readers. The contents of this meticulously researched and lovingly presented book often boggle the mind, inducing, at times, a wonderment that is nearly stupefying. Profusely illustrated with contemporary broadsides, lithographs, and photographs, the book is also enlivened by Jay�s seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of each performer�s antecedents, biography, and critical reception. Engrossing from start to finish, but particularly notable for Jay�s account of the controversial career and bizarre death of mind reader Washington Irving Bishop, whose story beggars imagination. Also not to be missed is the final chapter on Joseph Pujol, whose career as Le P�tomane was based on his ability to create music and sound effects with the least reputable of bodily orifices. A treasure ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abnormalities, Human    2. Biography    3. Circus    4. Curiosities & Wonders    5. Curiosities and wonders    6. Entertainers    7. General    8. Performing Arts    9. Performing Arts (Specific Aspects)    10. Performing Arts/Dance    11. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    12. Popular Culture - General    13. Wonders And Curiosities   

Reviews (4)

The final word in anthologies is back!
The reputation of Uncle John, despite all his trips to the bathroom remains untarnished. This is where it's at when it comes to weird facts, pointless trivia and astounding information. Absolutely fabulous book.. to be read again and again
I bought this book for my husband last year as a Christmas gift.. it is STILL in our bathroom.We have read and re-read it time and again.This year I'm getting another one.It makes a great gift and believe it ornot.. very interesting conversations.Oh ya, and tons of laughs! definately 5 stars.. if not higher.

Exceptional book
Highly entertaining.This book is filled with more pedantic and esoteric material than you can imagine.I couldn't recommend it higher.In fact, I recommend it to all my friends as a great book for airplane trips, waitingaround, and even a coffee table book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American wit and humor    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. General    4. Humor    5. Trivia   

Reviews (6)

entertaining diversions
I was actually looking for a book on how to be a better writer. My eyes scanned one shelf down, and there was this book, with its crazy, comic-book style cover. I picked it up, and scanned only a few pages when I immediately recognized that I couldn't leave the book store without Outposts. I wasn't even fully aware of what it was I had purchased, and yet my satisfaction with my purchase is unabated. For the past two days I have been putting off all my more important reading (I did also buy a book on how to be a better writer, but I have barely cracked it open) and "wasting" my time reading Outposts. When I am done writing this review, guess what I'll be doing?
Still Relevent in 2004
I have purchased a total of five copies of this book over the years.Everytime I let it out of my hands it never returned.I always wished for an updated and revised version but now I see that it's out-of -print which is a shame because even though the internet has given us a wealth of information on everything sometimes you just don't know what to look for.Simply put this book made me interested in things I never knew I was interested in.Even today it is still the perfect leaping point into the strange and alternative.And NOT for the faint.The alternative sex section really does give you information on books and such dealing with alternative sex and I'm talking Law & Order:SVU stuff.THere was even a book written that should become the Roman Catholics church "unofficial Bible."Disturbing but facinating.I've actually read this thing cover to cover like a novel.

amazing source for "out-of-bound"/subversive information
its an incredible resource guide for people looking for almost any kind of fringe information. i always thought i was pretty much ahead of the curve when it came to hidden or bizarre material, but i grossly overestimated my breadth of knowledge after reading Outposts.everything from sex art fringe politics drugs--its not only a great sourcebook but many of the publishers listed have EVEN more great books...amazing ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bibliography    2. General    3. Radicalism    4. Reference    5. Sociology - General    6. Underground press publications    7. United States    8. Wonders And Curiosities    9. Controversial Knowledge & Mysteries    10. Humour    11. Tito, Josip Broz   

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Dictionaries    3. English language    4. Etymology    5. General    6. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    7. Questions & Answers    8. Reference    9. Reference / General   

Reviews (5)

Dissapointed faithful reader of the series
I love the bathroom reader series, and the content of this book is mostly up to their usual standards, but I have to agree with the last reviewer.Uses large text, wide margins, and half empty pages to get the page number so high.Could have easily fit into less than 100 pages.
Very funny, but too quick a read for the price
The anecdotes, stories and articles featured in Uncle John's Presents The Book of the Dumb are very, very funny. It's hard for me to believe that so much idiocy exists in the world (well, outside of the men in my family), but writer Scalzi's collection of dumb acts, dumb criminals, dumb movies, and dumb quotes proves that stupidity is everywhere.
Smart Buy!
This is a sensational collection of tales of stupid people, governments or decisions which span for one or two pages each.This easy to read format makes the book ideal to read as either a few stories at a time or from cover to cover.Dumb movie festival is an excellent inclusion in this collection as well where you get to actually read negative reviews by real publications and not just the positive ones the public relations departments of the film industry put out.I have read many of this genre of books such as The Darwin Awards Trilogy, Ripley's Believe it or Not and other Uncle John's collections and I have no doubt that this is the best of them all.You'll laugh, you'll smile, you'll be glad you bought this masterpiece. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Curiosities & Wonders    3. Form - Jokes & Riddles    4. General    5. Humor    6. Insight    7. Satire And Humor    8. Stupidity    9. Trivia    10. Humour    11. Reference works    12. Trivia & quiz question books   

Reviews (3)

BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR -- BEST BUY
This is a wonderful, fun, and powerful book, filled with great learning strategies and resources.
No difference than other stuff on how to improve your intelligence
I am not for sure how the one review gave this book 5 star.First off, the author has you do quizzes in which he does not lay the foundation for getting them right until later in the chapters.For example, quiz 1 is in the introduction and he talks about which one these books did Hester Prynne write, which author composed the Five Bird, etc but in the pages before the quiz, there is no foundation for the quiz.What's the point of them without a foundation?
Make Over Your Own Intelligence!
I deluded myself for many years thinking that my intelligence was just as attractive as it was back in college. During those years of youthful hubris, I took for granted my taut verbal capacity, my long, flowing spatial ability, and especially my sculpted, well-defined reasoning and logic. I don't mind saying that I turned a few heads back then.
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Subjects:  1. Intellect    2. Intelligence    3. Intelligence Testing    4. Intelligence tests    5. Personal Growth - Memory Improvement    6. Psychology    7. Reference    8. Trivia    9. Self-Help / General   

Reviews (13)

Kids love this book!
Having lost all of my classroom materials in Hurricane Katrina, I was hunting for things to furnish my room at my new school.I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I purchased it from Amazon and it was the best money I have spent in a long time.I teach in an all-boys school - boys love weird stuff!That book is in someone's hands all the time.I may have to buy another copy soon - this one is getting worn out.Adults will not find it overly interesting, but I bought it for the kids and they definitely do.

GREAT BOOK
Good book if you are a fan of the unbelievable and Robert R. Ripley. This is great, long cofee table book on almost EVERY SINGLE subject you can think about! There are over 1,400 unbelievable facts in this book, more than you can think about!
Urban legends find a home
Typical of a Ripley's Beleive It Or Not book, there are no
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Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. Curiosities & Wonders    3. Curiosities and wonders    4. Encyclopedias    5. Photography    6. Reference    7. Controversial Knowledge & Mysteries    8. General encyclopaedias    9. Reference / Curiosities & Wonders   

Subjects:  1. Calendar    2. Calendars & Diaries    3. History    4. Non-Classifiable    5. Trivia    6. Sports & Recreation / General   

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. Encyclopedias    4. Reference    5. Trivia    6. Wonders And Curiosities   

Reviews (6)

There truly is nothing new under the sun
I love this book and this topic.I just reread it because of the more recent and ever-increasing amount of articles, books, and TV programs on the topic of ancient inventions or "what the ancients knew" style historical documentaries.James and Thorpe were somewhat ahead of the curve and I applaud them.
Maybe We Don't Have a Patent After All
Frequently I pause to marvel at something...something that we can do now that we couldn't do just ten years ago. Most often these things have something to do with computers or medicine. Fun for the lay "historian"
Ever wonder where the stuff you think of as everything came from?James & Thorpe have used a good range of experts and a fair amount of book reading to help them create an entertaining look at where ideas, activities, and objects come from.In 12 categories ranging from medicine to sex to sports, they look at 102 subcategories.The general introduction to the book explains why they've tackled this topic and each chapter has its own introduction that explains the categories and the reasons for including each subcategory.I wouldn't go as far as to call it "academic" or "scholarly" but its nice to see someone popularizing the periods of human history I love in a way that I can support. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. General    3. History    4. History: World    5. Inventions    6. Reference    7. Technology    8. Reference / Curiosities & Wonders    9. Technology: General Issues   

Reviews (2)

Captivating Reading
I started reading a friend's copy of this book and found it very hard to put down. I intend to add it to my personal collection as well as purchase copies for my children to read.

A great book!
A great book about history, religion, sports, and anything you could possibly imagine. My favorite book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Controversial Knowledge    3. Curiosities & Wonders    4. Errors, Popular    5. General    6. Reference    7. History / General   

Reviews (6)

Dip and enjoy!
Henry Hitchings, in his brilliant `Dr Johnson's Dictionary' (see my review), recommends this abridged edition of the Dictionary.It, too, is a treat for all who love words and are interested in the 18th century.It reproduces more than 3,000 entries of the 42,733 in the original First Edition.It includes: the Plan that Johnson originally submitted to the Earl of Chesterfield (15 pages), from which, however, he was to deviate later in several important respects; Johnson's splendid Preface (20 pages);Lynch's own excellent Introduction (21 pages);19 pages of Lynch's notes on those entries for which he felt a special explanation was necessary;and some very useful appendices.One lists (play by play) all the words in this edition for whose illustrations Johnson quoted plays by Shakespeare; another does the same for other authors (author by author - including the Bible);and a third, subject by subject, of what Lynch calls `piquant terms'.These include nearly three columns of `Inkhorn Terms', which would make for a splendid party game in which participants would be invited to guess their meaning.Lynch has in fact published a deck of 48 cards for just this purpose. (Here is a taster from the book, a selection from from just two letters:macilent, mactation, macilent, madefy, maffle, malvaceous, maritated, meracious, moky, morigerous, multiscious, mundivagant, mundungus, mussitation, mynchen, nimiety, nombles, nosology, nosopoetick, nubble, nummery, nuncupative.)This is all great fun;but there also is a lot of serious pleasure to be gained from dipping into this book for Johnson's definitions and for the examples he has culled from his wide reading.(It is a pity, though, that he did not specify more closely the place where his sources are to be found - partly, no doubt, as Hitchings explained, because Johnson often quoited from memory.For Biblical sources hedoes usually quote chapter and verse.Sometimes he does the same for Milton, but mostly not. Where his source is named simply `Shakespeare' or `Shak.Tit.And.', we could of course consult a Shakespeare Concordance for the precise place.But where there are no Concordances, a bare reference to `Dryd' or to `Swift' is a little frustrating.Another opportunity, perhaps, for a party game among the learnéd?)

Lots of logomachious fun, great for classes!
This is by far the best selection of entries from Johnson's famous Dictionary available in print today.The difficult choice from among Johnson's many thousands of entries is well done, focusing on words we no longer use, or whose meaning has changed: this provides a window onto changes in English language and the character of 18th century thought, often with political and philosophical significance.Many of the entries are also intrinsically fascinating and/or humorous, making the book lots of fun.The book's introduction is first-rate, laying out the history and significance of this great lexicographic event in the history of our language.This combination makes the book useful for college courses.The author is a leading Johnson scholar and keeper of the primary website on 18th century English literature.He is also the author of a book on Johnson's insults, which I've found can come in very handy at department meetings.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary-by Jack Lynch
The advent of the 18th century required a formal English dictionary for the keepers of the language. The Samuel Johnson Dictionary served as the authority until the Oxford English Dictionary was first published. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary has an extensive index of literary citations. There are sarcasms; such as, " That one English soldier will beat 10 of France" by Gerrick.
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Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Dictionaries    3. Dictionaries - General    4. Early works to 1800    5. English language    6. Etymology    7. Lexicography    8. Linguistics    9. Reference    10. Reference / Dictionaries   

Reviews (7)

Laughable
Colin Wilson is the ultimate credulist--his writings on alleged paranormal events are poorly researched, skewed, cherry-picked, and without any foundation of fact. If you have a pseudoscientific theory without any scientific evidence to back it up, Wilson embraces it without hesitation.
I didn't say it was possible- I said it was true!
_When Colin Wilson started the research for this book he was still a skeptic on the subject, by the time he finished it he was convinced in the reality of life after death. He isn't alone, for as this book shows over and over, even researchers that wish that there was no survival after death, who can see no logical reason for it, have been forced to conclude on the basis of the evidence that it is a fact. In his introduction to this second edition the author points out that after rereading his work he is more struck than ever by the consistency of the evidence. Case after case reveals a consistent pattern. All I can say is that after rereading it after five years, I still think that it is one of the best-written, most comprehensive books on the subject.
The Best of a Tenuous Topic
Colin Wilson, one of the English speaking world's best polymath's brings his analytic skills to a topic that is rife with sublime speculation and complete nonsense.This is a sound examination of cases and facts pioneered primarily by various parapsychological groups and investigators.What emerges is a sound thought provoking enquiry into this either irrelevant or life determining factor.Wilson assures complete freedom of thought to the reader by not having any metaphysical axe to grind allowing the reader to draw they're own conclusions.Even a sceptic will pause, if they are open minded to this exploration.Regardless of one's final thoughts on this issue of survival, Wilson like all good students of life's mysteries, allow us to "wonder as we wander". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternate Spirituality    2. Body, Mind & Spirit    3. Curiosities & Wonders    4. Future life    5. New Age    6. Parapsychology    7. Parapsychology - General    8. Parapsychology - Near-Death Experience    9. Reincarnation    10. Spirituality - General    11. Body, Mind & Spirit / Reincarnation    12. Mind, body, spirit: reincarnation & past lives    13. Parapsychology, psychic powers, ESP   

Reviews (19)

Thoughts You've Never Thunk Before
What you'll love about this book is that Citro spins a good yarn. His storytelling style reads well, and your eyes effotlessly flow over the words. As for whether these stories are true, he includes some fantastically compelling reasons why they could possible be more than simple legend or folklore. Documentation, methodical investigations by qualified skeptics, law enforcement sightings, journalists, and witness-upon-witnesses, all shared in a non-overbearing fashion. He's not trying to prove anything, he's just tickling our thoughts -- and it works!
true tales of new england hauntings and horrors
the book was interesting,not the type of book to read on a cold
Scary!
A great, scary read.I had read none of these stories before and enjoyed every one of them.Very well written and quite entertaining.Read this alone on a stormy autumn night!Guaranteed to give you chills. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. Folklore & Mythology - Folklore    3. Ghosts    4. Haunted places    5. History    6. Literature: Folklore/Mythology    7. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    8. New England    9. Supernatural    10. United States - State & Local - General    11. American history    12. Body, Mind & Spirit / Supernatural    13. Folklore    14. Local history    15. Myths & mythology    16. USA