Editorial Review

You'll find everything you forgot from school--as well asplenty you never even learned--in this all-purpose reference book, aninstant classic when it first appeared in 1987. The updated versiontakes a whirlwind tour through 12 different disciplines, from Americanstudies to philosophy to world history. Along the way, Judy Jones andWilliam Wilson provide a plethora of useful information, from the plotof Read more

Reviews (59)

More Here Than You Can Ever Know
No, you probably didn't learn all of these 3,684 tidbits. If you had you would have been an excellent player of 'Trivial Persuit' but your brain would probably have been fried.
Study this curricum and have fun doing so!
I just finished the taped version of AN INCOMPLETE EDUATION
A Great Book
This book can be viewed as either a repository of interesting knowledge or as a way to one up people in conversation at cocktail parties.There are chapters to correspond with the major departments in a liberal arts college (art, literature, economics, etc.)This is a guide to everything that you learned in college and forgot (or everything you should have learned but skipped out on).If you are still in high school, read this book--you will be able to easily impress your teachers with college-level knowledge.I cannot wait for the new edition to be released! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Encyclopedias    3. Encyclopedias (Multi-Subject)    4. Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc    5. Reference    6. Research    7. Trivia    8. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (6)

Guiness World Records - 2007
Overall, this work is perfect for the student in your house. It has a
Fun Reading
I'm giving this book four out of five stars because the vast majority of the material is interesting, not the least offensive, and gets kids to read.The one picture of Janet and Justin shows less skin than many pictures of the athletes.Yes, it was a poor choice in topic by Guinness and they need to be made aware they are pandering to the lowest common denominator there (and we don't appreciate it), BUT overall, the book simply acknowledges the huge variety of life to be found on this planet.I do agree a better title would be something like Guinness Guide to the Weird and Extreme.
Decided not to buy
I almost bought this book for my children (ages 1-11) through our school's Scholastic book program but decided to wait and review it here first. I'm glad I did.
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Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. General    4. Reference    5. Trivia    6. Wonders And Curiosities    7. Reference / General   

Reviews (42)

THIS IS JUST A WONDERFUL BOOK
and it leaves you feeling so darned good after you read it.The main characters, Owen, a baby hippo, and Mzee, a 130 year old Aldabra tortoise, form a remarkably close bond which continues to this day (and can be followed in their caretaker's diary on the website of Laforge Ecosystems, that lost nearly 250 employees in the December 16, 2004 tsunami, and which contributed to Owen's washing up on a coral reef in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Malindi, Kenya).
Owen & Mzee
This is a wonderful story, to be enjoyed by both children and adults. The message is universal and inspirational showing that friendship has no boundries. The book is well illustrated with some incredible pictures.

Every household must have this book
I saw the book while waiting for my flight in the San Francisco airport bookstore.It is just one of those books that grabs every one of every age.A baby hippo is stranded by the huge tsunami, and is rescued and befriended by a most unusual pal. It just oozes goodness and the real life photos are marvelous.As a former elem. school teacher, I've seen many books and this is one of the must haves. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aldabra tortoise    2. Animals - General    3. Animals - Mammals    4. Animals - Reptiles & Amphibians    5. Behavior    6. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    7. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    8. Children: Grades 1-2    9. Curiosities & Wonders    10. Hippopotamus    11. Juvenile Nonfiction    12. Juvenile literature    13. Kenya    14. Social behavior in animals    15. Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / General   

Reviews (32)

MAGICAL!
This book is a lot of fun, as it reveals magic(fiction) to be true.

The Ologies are Awesome!
This is third of the "ologies" I have purchased for my 13 year old daughter. We gave her the Dragonology and Egyptology books for Christmas. They are all three gorgeous books that she enjoys over and over. To call this a pop-up book really doesn't do it justice. All kinds of little pockets, notes, baubles, decorations, and such. WELL worth the money.

Entertaining and Fun
This book is well made and visually appealing.Not only a reading pleasure but a pleasureable reading experience that makes it a great book to share with someone. My daughter and I enjoyed the fun of discovering it together. She loved uncovering all of the secret flaps, and reading all of the surprises. I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 4-6    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Curiosities & Wonders    5. Juvenile Folk Tales / Mythology / Fables    6. Juvenile General And Reference Works    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Magic    9. Merlin (Legendary character)    10. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    11. Specimens    12. Toy and movable books    13. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Reviews (27)

perfect for getting kids to read
I bought this for my nephew for his 10th birthday. When he opened it he said "now I can take my name off the list at the library cause I OWN it" For the rest of the party he regaled us all reading from the book. In the hour he owned the book he learned several new words. What a great way to get kids to read.

Perfect gift book forlittle boys!
My nephew LOVED it. I expected more pictures and less text but it didn't bother the 8 year old. He got tons of thrills just from the kid picking his nose on the cover. Perfect gift for a wild little boy along with a container of that oozing slime you get at Walmart. (the fits of giggles from the booger jokes are worth everything)

It's nasty and the kids love it
I bought this for my classroom bookshelf. I teach 7th grade science and my kids fight with each other to read it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aversion    2. Children's 9-12 - Science    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Curiosities & Wonders    6. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    7. Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc    8. Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc.    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. Miscellaneous    12. Reference - Encyclopedias    13. Science & Technology - General    14. Encyclopaedias & reference works    15. Humour & jokes    16. JUVENILE NONFICTION / Reference / Encyclopedias    17. JUVENILE NONFICTION / Science & Nature / General (see also headings under Animals or Technology)    18. Juvenile Nonfiction / Curiosities & Wonders    19. Natural history & pets   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Curiosities & Wonders    5. Curiosities and wonders    6. General    7. Juvenile General And Reference Works    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Reference - General    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / General   

Reviews (16)

Decent Companion to Dragonology
I originally bought this for my nephews, who have a fascination with dragons and such at the moment. It's definitely a result of the Harry Potter phenomenon, but the similarity ends at its "magical" quality. Its intent is the opening of minds to the hidden worlds of the imagination, and a rekindling of young peoples' interests in areas of mythology and classic literature. Supposedly the work of the last dragonmaster, the book aims to dispel the myths on dragons, recalling Hagrid's comments that they are "very misunderstood creatures". While Dragonology has lots of bells and whistles and moving parts, this is, as it says, more a handbook, and not as fun as its predecessor. It is great for stimulating the imagination of children (of all ages, apparently), but it's a slightly more involved text than Dragonology, and therefore likely to appeal to children 10+. It's artwork and some of its content appears based on The Flight of Dragons, by Peter Dickinson, upon which Discovery's Dragon's World DVD was also based. Both of these are great additions to this book, if you can get them.

The Perfect Companion to "Dragonology"
I love this book! I think it might even be more fun than "Dragonology"! The illustrations are still excellent and all the dragon lore is there, but this time, you get to apply your knowledge! The Dragonology Handbook teaches you how to be a Dragonologist through puzzles, dragon riddles, and learning how to write in Dragon runes. The book also has more information on the different dragon species and some other species that weren't described in "Dragonology". It also says where these dragons can be found and what they prey on.
Very good companion to Dragonology
This book is very clever. It expands on the topics covered in "Dragonology". There are items to pull out and there is another section on dragon writing to translate. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - General    2. Animals - Mythical    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Curiosities & Wonders    6. Dragons    7. Fantasy - General    8. Fiction - Fantasy    9. Juvenile General And Reference Works    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. Juvenile literature    12. Reference - General    13. Specimens    14. Toy and movable books    15. Juvenile Fiction / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Anthologies   

Reviews (94)

WHAT A DELIGHTFUL BOOK - WOULD BE A GREAT PRESENT FOR THE DRAGON LOVER
I was truely impressed with this offering.This is a wonderful little book about just what the title indicates "Dragonology."The entire book is producted in a sort of medieval mode, with wonderful illustrations.The books if filled with maps, puzzels, drawings, anatomy lessons (dragons of course), life styles (again, dragons) types, habits, origins, lore and even riddles.The work is quite a combination of originality and pure imagination from the author.This is one of those books that might first appear to be classified as juvinal, but it is so much more.The art work alone is worth the price of the book.The text is imaginative yet quite realistic in it's presentation.As I said, I was truely impressed with this one and highly recommend it.This would make a wonderful gift for any lover of dragons, dragon lore or for that matter just a fun read.

LET YOUR IMAGINATION SORE!
If you like dragons, this is for you. Dragonology is a book for any age. It's cool that they show dragon skin and dragon dust. This book gave me more info on dragons, and I believe in dragons. I read in one night and I am always going back to it. I love dragons more, than I did, before I read the book. This book will leave you with all smiles.

Fascinating look at the "real" world of the legendary dragon
"Authored" by noted dragonologist "Dr. Ernest Drake," "Dragonology" is a short but concise "encyclopedia" for anyone interested in the winged creatures of international lore.Divided into eight chapters, covering such diverse topics as "dragons of the world," "dragon biology and physiology," and "dragon behaviour," the book is profusely illustrated and generously features such hands-on additions as "dragon dust" and pieces of "dragon skin," all designed to satisfy even the casual dragon fan.
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Subjects:  1. Animals - General    2. Animals - Mythical    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Curiosities & Wonders    6. Dragons    7. Juvenile General And Reference Works    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Reference - General    11. Specimens    12. Toy and movable books    13. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Reviews (3)

Know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING
I have had this book since I was about ten years old and it never gets old!! There are so many random facts in here that you can always learn something new.How did Houdini escape? Howcome lightbulbs are so strong? How do they analyze the handwriting of kidnapers? How do people fake UFO sightings? It really is incredible - a must for every inquisitive kid (or adult) on your gift list!

If You Can Read Then Buy This Book!
Plain and simple: This book is a must for every human being that can read.Either for rainy Sunday afternoons or for a bathroom book. Get this book!!!

A Great Book for All Ages!
I first saw this book at a friend's house and really enjoyed looking at it.Even children who are not able to read yet can learn lots of things just by looking at the pictures.It tells about everything from the ballin a ball-point pen, to how people figure out what the speed-limit shouldbe for cars on high-ways, etc.I would encourage anyone who likes to learnabout different things to pick up this book and give it a try! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied Sciences    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. General    4. Medicine    5. Miscellanea    6. Reference    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Technology    10. Technology (General)   

Reviews (23)

A Fun, Easy & Educational Read for All Ages
What a great little book!Based on a series of History Minutes developed to air on The History Channel, every two-page spread of this little gem provides a short, easy-to-read and very interesting story-behind-the-story that most of us don't know.
Who'da thought?!
Some simply amazing stories.My ten-year old son chose this book for his "bedtime reading".Educational AND Entertaining.

Fun facts to share with others...
This is the most fun to read and 'trivia contest' your friends with! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. History    3. History - General History    4. Military    5. Military - General    6. Miscellanea    7. Reference    8. World history    9. History / Reference   

Reviews (1)

Another great book from Grof
I first became very interested in the work of Stanislav Grof because of my own experines with non-ordinary states.He is perhaps a member of a small, yet increasing, group of academics that are not chained by the current mechanical scientism paradigm.In this book, he reflects on decades of research and experines that shatter that paradigm.The writiting style is very warm and clear.This is a very exciting book and enchances many of his other books.I would suggest that anyone with a curious nature and open mind read his books. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astral projection    2. Biography    3. Body, Mind & Spirit    4. Coincidence    5. Curiosities & Wonders    6. General    7. Movements - Transpersonal    8. New Age    9. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    10. Occult Sciences    11. Parapsychologists    12. Parapsychology - ESP (Clairvoyance, Precognition, Telepathy)    13. Parapsychology - Near-Death Experience    14. United States    15. Wonders And Curiosities    16. Miscellaneous Items   

Reviews (9)

Feldman does it again!
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!
Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know..And Then Some
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.

Pondering the Imponderables
The author has a good formula going here.He takes an offbeat question and consults various experts, coming up with a plausible answer.Most of these I never would have thought to ask, but I still found myself intrigued by the answers.
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Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. General    3. Humor    4. Questions & Answers    5. Questions and answers    6. Reference    7. Games / Trivia   

Reviews (2)

interesting and informative
Excellent reading - easy to read a little, stop and come back (like read a section before bed at night) Answers a lot of question in an understandable way!

For the enquiring mind
If you enjoy learning about how things are made and how they work, then you will find this book a treasure trove of information. It goes beyond the more elementary "How Things Work" series, because it also covers the history, manufacture, materials, quality control, future evolution, and additional reading for many common household and technical objects. Behind its clever denim jeans pocket-clad cover, the book presents an alphabetical arrangement of items from airbags to zippers, including pencils, salsa, tires, helicopters, compact discs, lightbulbs, and many more.Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. General    3. Industrial arts    4. Manufactures    5. Manufacturing    6. Manufacturing processes    7. Popular works    8. Reference    9. Popular science    10. Production engineering    11. Reference / Curiosities & Wonders    12. Reference works    13. Technology: General Issues   

Reviews (2)

Very Entertaining!
This book has become a well-known companion in my bathroom! I have had a number of visitors comment on the interesting and often little known facts you find in this book. There is quite a bit of information you can gain just by occassionally glancing through its pages. It has replaced many of the magazines we used to keep in the bathroom with one single book instead!

Book Review, 9A, Bradbury
This book was very trivial. It was also humourous. It would be an very good book to get material to develop a comedy routine for. It is not in fact a bathroom reader for say, one could read this as a humourous read to class reader, or just to make fun of the stupid law suites. If you are looking to gain some completley random knowledge, or just to laugh, I highly reccomend this book.
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Subjects:  1. American wit and humor    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. General    4. Humor    5. Topic - Adult    6. Humor / Topic / Adult    7. Humour   

Reviews (15)

What the Heck?
[...]
A Truly Stellar Work!
This is a book I wish I had when I was a child.The mother and child featured in this story are beautifully illustrated and I like the intelligent conversations they have about improper touching, whether or not it is sexual.
Not a preschool book
After reading the reviews, I ordered this book thinking that it would be appropriate for my 3-year old.It seems too advanced for a child that age.There is a part of the book where the girl does not want her uncle to touch her because he holds her in his lap and rubs her arms and makes her uncomfortable, and another picture where her older brother "pins her down," and tickles her until it hurts, so the father has to tell him to stop.The mother also warns the child that others might want to take pictures of her private parts.While I understand that these are important illustrations of unwanted behavior, they don't seem right for a younger child.The text is also geared toward a school-aged child. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Body, Human    2. Child molesting    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Curiosities & Wonders    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Prevention    9. Privacy    10. Psychological aspects    11. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    12. Body & health   

Reviews (6)

A little racy
I would give this 5 stars, except that I was a bit surprised when I read some entries pertaining to sex. There is another version of Zobmondo that is supposed to be dirty, so I guess I figured this version would be clean. All in all, it's a great way to encourage the art of discussion, even if it encourages a discussion of the merits of eating live rodents' body parts.

Zobmondo!Great Campfire discussions!
I got this book from my querky sister...Now I'm the querky sister!What great entertainment this turned out with our weenend camping trips.Makes for great discussions and very thought provoking.Interestingly enough, although conversations about the choices were loud and long, no one got angry or upset, just good laughs and a lot of fun. (could even fun for kids when some censorship is used!ha!) Recommend this book for anyone who likes to entertain -- just as fun as MAD-LIBs but without the pencils.

Pretty cool
...It's definetly better to ask the questions to your friends, you get a much better response. Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. Games    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Games/Puzzles    5. General    6. Humor    7. Questions & Answers    8. Games / General    9. Indoor games    10. Puzzles & quizzes   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (9)

Nice illustrations, weak story
We (kids and parents) loved Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, but no one was really impressed with the story. We spend more time just checking out the neat illustrations than reading the text.

Nice sequal to an AMAZING book
YOu must own Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs...please go buy that...then if you love that, you can get this book - which is a really nice sequal..
Excellent Book
This book was a good sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bedtime & Dreams    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Kindergarten    4. Fiction    5. Food    6. Grandfathers    7. Humorous Stories    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    10. Weather    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Curiosities & Wonders   

Reviews (1)

A Visual Learning Experience
I've been a fan of the DK Oxford Illustrated American Dictionary for a few years now. The DK Ultimate Visual Dictionary is the next step. It is not a dictionary in which the words are organized with pictures in alphabetical order. However, you can look up the words and find the corresponding page numbers, so finding words is relatively easy.
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Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Dictionaries - General    3. Dictionaries - Synonyms/Antonyms    4. Picture dictionaries, English    5. Reference    6. Reference / Dictionaries   

Reviews (9)

Not much use for crosswords
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.

could be a usefull resorce
lots of info, if you are a trivia fan : this is your book

Good for pop culture, but has some errors
I bought this to study for a Jeopardy try out.While it is very heavy on events and people from the last 100-150 years, it does lack in more historical trivia.Definitely a nice book, but not a definitive resource for all around trivia.Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. Encyclopedias    3. Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc    4. Questions and answers    5. Reference    6. Trivia    7. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works    8. Reference / Trivia    9. Trivia & quiz question books   

Reviews (4)

Answering life's deeper questions...
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). How Does it Know it's Not my Toe?
Here's another installment of the"Imponderables�" series, which, the jacket explains, find the answers to the conundrums over which, whether you realize it or not, you have been obsessing since your very beginning. Such as: a blast to read and share with others
All of Feldman's "Why Do" books are a blast. You cannot help but read them out loud to who ever is listening. Alot of fun for older kids. He even asks for help solving some of the unsolved questions. And he acceptsquestions for future books.Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. Encyclopedias    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Questions and answers    6. Reference    7. Trivia    8. Wonders And Curiosities    9. Games / Trivia