Straight Dope: A Compendium of Human Knowledge: Amazon.ca: Cecil Adams: Books

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This collection of Adams' best newspaper columns answers with erudition and wit all the weird questions Americans ponder to distraction. Why didn't the Incas invent the wheel? Is the frequency of bald women on the increase? And how many square feet of flesh on the human body? Incredibly sarcastic, knowledgeable and entertaining, The Straight Dope makes a great bathroom book or gift book or personal treasure. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

No molly coddle, he, Cecil Adams tackles the tough questions in life, including "Do cats have navels?" and "What are the real lyrics to 'Louie, Louie'?'" Uncompromising and always entertaining, he explodes myths, reveals shocking truths and answers over 400 of the most pressing questions of this or any day. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
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Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars A compilation of weird, exotic and funny trivia things, Jun 19 2003

By

Tomas MF - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Straight Dope (Mass Market Paperback)

First of all let me tell you Cecil Adams' work is not for impressionable people. He is quite outspoken and spits out things in some straightforward and perhaps rude way.
If that's ok for you and you are interested in trivia things, then I reccommend this book to you.
This is the very first book of his set of 4 and covers most of the most interesting articles appeaered on his column at the Chicago Reader since 1973.
Cecil is an eccentric guy who claims to be the "smartest" guy who knows it all around the world. its said he has devoted a whole house to compile and archive articles and data of various aspects deriving from Biology to Laws.
Tip: you can find most of his articles on line, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to read a couple of them first and find out your likeness for his way of writing.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The best Adams since John Quincy!, Oct 12 2002

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Nad Namso (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Straight Dope (Mass Market Paperback)

Dude, man, this book was like...totally not like its title said it would be man. I mean, the only buzz I got off it was inhaling the fumes from the cover. No Dope anywhere to be found! It was like...
...
...a bummer.

Fortunately there were also no rants on circumcision, SUVs, the liberal bias of the media, words that end in "gry," or the fact that Enterprise could beat out a Star Destroyer any day of the week so I'd give this book six stars if possible.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge abound with a funny twist..., April 23 2001

By

Jason Daring (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Straight Dope (Mass Market Paperback)

I ordered this book a few weeks back not really sure what exactly to expect from it, by intrigued by the description of it. We often forget that before the internet was so common, finding out answers to odd questions was a good deal harder than it is in this point and click age. Libraries had to be visited, research done, etc. Once I got it I began to leaf through the pages and skim some of the questions and was very pleasantly surprised by both the content and the style of writing.

The premise is simple enough, it was a newspaper column in which people could write in with whatever questions that they had, and Cecil would research them out and give an answer. What makes the book so worth while is the style in which Cecil answers the questions. He has quite a way with words and some of the witticisms he spews back at those asking the questions are outright hilarious.

The book is divided into several chapters ranging from language, to sports, entertainment, and many many others so that you can jump straight into a particular line of questions and answers. Having read this, the first collection of his articles, I am planning on buying other collections released soon. This was truly a very fun read that I highly reccomend everyone else pick up and give a chance.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars I'd give it 5 stars, but Cecil is obnoxious enough already.
The Straight Dope is wonderful reading for anyone with a curious mind. If you ever had a teacher who was rough, rude, and completely arrogant, and you still liked him, then... Read more

Published on Jan 21 2001 by A. Blythe

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favoriees
This book is marvelous. The first time I read it, I started hyperventilating because I was laughing so hard. Read more

Published on Jan 15 2001