Schott's Quintessential Miscellany [Hardcover]

Ben Schott (Author)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury US (Oct 25 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1608190218
ISBN-13: 978-1608190218
Product Dimensions: 19.1 x 12.4 x 1.7 cm
Shipping Weight: 249 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #191,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #44 in Books > Reference > Almanacs & Yearbooks > Almanacs

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Review

Praise for Schott's Original Miscellany 'Schott's Original Miscellany is without doubt the oddest, nay maddest, and possibly merriest, title you will come across in a long day's march through the shimmering desert of contemporary publishing' Observer 'This bizarre little book manages to be both totally useless and nearly indispensable' Daily Telegraph 'Entertaining, informative and unpredictable, Schott's Original Miscellany is a book like no other' Saga --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Book Description

In 2003, a curious, old-fashioned, pocket-size book transformed the way we look at information. Since then, Schott's Original Miscellany and its two sequel volumes have been translated into more than fifteen languages and have sold some three million copies.

Now Ben Schott returns to the miscellany format with a brand-new cabinet of curiosities. Inside, you'll find fascinating facts cheek by jowl with information you can't live without. All things are considered, from footwear labeling symbols, airport runway markings, and sign-writing brush sizes to the traditional method of counting sheep and how to smoke cigars while reading the news.

Nothing escapes the jeweler's eye of this curator of unconsidered trifles. An essential addition to the bookshelf of all who love life's rich tapestry, Schott's Quintessential Miscellany-equal parts encyclopedia, almanac, treasury, and lexicon-will remind you that there is only one Ben Schott.

Praise for Schott's Miscellanies:

"If we live in an information age, then Ben Schott has become something of a maestro, or perhaps a master chef, ranging over the whole of knowledge and seasoning his…books with a pinch of this, a drop of that." -Chicago Sun-Times

"Genuine practical value…Elegantly designed…A vast empire of informational flotsam and jetsam." -New York Times

"One of the oddest and most addictively readable reference books in print."-Boston Globe

"Completely earnest and mischievous at the same time."-Newsday

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Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but maybe a bit short on Miscellany?, Nov 27 2011

By Peter St Wecker - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Schott's Quintessential Miscellany (Hardcover)

As a fan of trivial knowledge, and a great admirer of Schott's previous books, I was eager to read this new volume of "uncommon knowledge, vital minutiae, and indispensable irrelevance." These books are not designed to be read for hours at a time, but are quite enjoyable in short bursts.

A random sampling of some interesting sections:

- Occupations of note (A Knockknobbler is a dog catcher)
- Bortle Scale (An astronomer's scale of sky darkness)
- All of Alfred Hitchcock's movie cameos
- Color markings for underground utilities

...and numerous others. (Be sure to not miss the "Authorial Miscellany" on the last page!)

While I found this newest edition to be fun, it seemed to hold my interest a bit less than previous versions. A number of entries were simply quotes or aphorisms ("A sound faith is the best divinity; a good conscience the best law; and temperance the best physic" - Anon.), or other facts that just don't seem relevant to modern time (or even students of history). Maybe Schott is starting to run low on miscellany?

In summary, I would recommend that readers start by sampling his earlier works, and then come to this one if they're longing for more.

4.0 out of 5 stars I Like the Sequences of Torqued Transforming Terms..., May 8 2012

By Brian Kevin Beck "infovoyeur" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Schott's Quintessential Miscellany (Hardcover)

Most of these are Classifications, subtypes of, and are valid,1-2-3 eggs in carton, this opens the trapdoor and we can peer into the complexities of 37 types with platonic voyeurism, "who knew" all these subtypesetc. But most of these are static anatomy, 1-2-3 in a row without movement. SO, the second type I like better, the Continuums of dynamic physiology or change, alterations of the same word-type, it's more poetic. Well I mean like 480 ways to spell scissors! You think boring but no, because down the ski slope you go, undulating thru scissars, scissers, scissirs, on to scysszors, scysszurs, syssars, cisszors, this is pure poetry being the permutation of an item to the max (would make a nice wallpaper or giftwrap paper, eh...) Oh and "foreign terms for Tintin comic characters," nice to see Captain Haddock morff to Capita Haddock, Kaptajn H., Kapteeni H., Kapetanie Xantok, but wait theres moar dont want to spoil it go see for yourself (a cloisonne or faberge egg sort of)... Same for "phrases for stupidity," see the number koalesses into a critical mass which tips the balance, He makes clothes for fishes, He numbers the waves, He makes ropes of sand--you get stultification in spades... Oh and swim in the OEDictionarys downpour of dozens of words for--rain. Bedrabble, drizzle, impluvious, mizzle, pelt, spate. (Why not put these on a shower curtain for fluidity cubed, re-freshing)... And you go see the dozens of words starting with "sn-" but all referring to the schnozz, with snifting or snubbing... Oh and to corral the names of "notable regional winds," (the very sounds on a whitenoise tape), remember the Chinook in Colorado, Harmattan in the Sahara, Mistral gonna slam you in winter in South France, Levanter blew the Med down, Williwaw violent in the Magellen straits, better end with the Sirocco that "soporiffic N. Africa wind blowing over Italy," recuerdo buena indeed. SO, go surf on the dozens of others all one item maypoled via permortainings of the variations on a theme makes static classification into dynamic transmutation without transmogrification either. Get the book, the whole 160-p. brandy-keg to take slow savored sips from, or is it a balsamic vinegar boutique-bottle. Miscellany rains? reins? reigns!!!

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars