31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, mainly useful, but a little uneven, Feb 14 2005
By Debbie the Book Devourer "dletour7" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do (Hardcover)
This book contains instructions on how to do 100 things in right around 300 pages. Do the math. Each subject is treated at a pretty high level, unless it's something limited in scope, such as tying a Windsor knot.
The brevity made the book fun to read. I did find some useful gems: Manage Your Time by Stephen Covey, Swim by Summer Sanders, Make a Toast by Carley Roney, among many others. Other essays were cheeky and amusing: Tell a Story (Ira Glass), Tell a Joke (Howie Mandel), Tie a Bow Tie (Tucker Carlson).
Some essays could have used illustrations (or for those that had illustrations, better ones): Do Push-Ups and Sit Ups, Hold a Baby, Fly a Flag. Others were just not helpful: for Swing a Golf Club, Jim McLean tells us to take lessons; for Conduct a Background Investigation, Terry Lenzner says we should hire a pro. Huh?
Finally, there were the essays that might describe the best way to do something, but it's a process I know I'll never follow. For example, I'll just have to go through life never applying lipstick correctly, because I just have better things to do with my time.
Despite (or maybe because of) its unevenness, the book was fun to read. Because all the essays were short, I got through it pretty quickly, too (especially after reading the essay on speed-reading).
If you're looking for a little amusement where you might actually learn a few things, you won't be disappointed.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
You Won't Want This Book to End, Nov 23 2004
By Lynne F. Homrich - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do (Hardcover)
This book is like some sort of delicious, chocolatey, rich dessert - I want to consume it as slowly as possible because it is so good! Every time I pick it up I have plans to read just a couple of chapters, but so far, find myself intrigued to keep reading just ONE more, and then just ONE more.............finally I force myself to stop at six or seven chapters - I don't want it to end too soon. While I have learned many, many new things, my favorite so far is the chapter on how to wash hair - all these years, more than 10,000 hair washings, and I never knew you should alternate shampoos several times each week. Something so simple, but makes a big difference. Mmmmmmmmmm..........wonder what I'll learn tomorrow!
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great gift!, Nov 1 2004
By Dylan Spatz "Dylan Spatz" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do (Hardcover)
What a great idea! This book provides advice from 100 of the world's leading experts in their field. Larry King writes "How to Listen". Donald Trump writes "How to Negotiate". Peggy Post writes "How to set a formal dining table". The Head Groundskeeper of Fenway Park writes "How to mow a lawn". The first American to summit Mount Everest writes "How to keep warm". The chapters are addictive and topics range from a couture wedding dress designer teaching us how to sew a button to the head of the Center for Disease Control telling us the right way to wash our hands. This is not a serious, overly detailed "how to book" --- each of the 100 chapters provides a fun 3-4 page overview. Even in the areas that I thought I knew it all I learned a whole bunch of new tidbits.