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QI: The Book of General Ignorance - The Noticeably Stouter Edition: The Noticeably Stouter Edition
 
 
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QI: The Book of General Ignorance - The Noticeably Stouter Edition: The Noticeably Stouter Edition [Kindle Edition]

John Lloyd (Author), John Mitchinson (Author), Stephen Fry (Foreword)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
Print List Price: £8.99
Kindle Price: £4.79 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £4.20 (47%)
* Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.

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Product Description

Book Description

Now on BBC1, this new edition of the bestseller has 26% added ignorance.

Product Description

The indispensable compendium of popular misconceptions, misunderstandings and common mistakes culled from the hit BBC show, QI. The noticeably stouter QI Book of General Ignorance sets out to show you that a lot of what you think you know is wrong. If, like Alan Davies, you still think the Henry VIII had six wives, the earth has only one moon, that George Washington was the first president of the USA, that Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, that the largest living thing is a blue whale, that Alexander Graeme Bell invented the telephone, that whisky and bagpipes come from Scotland or that Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain, then there are at least 200 reasons why this is the book for you.
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Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 1145 KB
  • Print Length: 420 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0571246923
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber Non Fiction; Rev Ed edition (7 Oct 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004AP9LP6
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,661 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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John Lloyd
John Mitchinson

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and alarmingly addictive 27 Aug 2009
By JJ
Format:Paperback
The Noticeably Stouter Book of General Ignorance is fun to read and packed full of interesting facts. It's perfect for dipping into every now and again - most of the articles are only one or two pages long, and manage to cram in a surprising amount of information. They often veer off on unexpected tangents - one beginning with a discussion of the phrase `survival of the fittest' concludes with a rush of interesting facts about paperclips (in Nazi-occupied Norway they were used as symbols of the resistance, and only five out of every 100,000 sold are actually used to hold papers together). It's almost impossible to read a page without wanting to run to the nearest person, clutching the book and gibbering, "Did you know...? Did you know...?" (though this has the unfortunate side-effect of making you sound like an irritating know-it-all for the duration.)
This is more of a second edition to the original Book of General Ignorance than an entirely new book, so if you already own the latter it may not be a worthwhile purchase. If you don't, however, Noticeably Stouter has dozens of new articles, amusing quotes from the TV series interspersed throughout, and (for diehard fans), a list of all the QI guests so far. Another definite improvement is the inclusion of an index (subjects range from `aardvarks, colour-blindness of' to `zenzizenzizenzic, as failed neologism'). As well as aiding serendipitous browsing, this can be extremely useful when you confidently announce to a roomful of people that strawberries and raspberries are not, in fact, berries, then promptly forget why; or when you urgently need to calculate your pet's real age in dog years.
I've had to wrestle my copy away from visitors, who pick it up, start idly thumbing through it, and refuse to put it down for the rest of the evening.... Read more ›
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62 of 65 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars It's QI - What more do you want? 17 Feb 2010
By Garry Mills
Format:Paperback
If like me, you look forward to every episode of QI on TV and even watch copious reruns of it on Dave, then you will doubtless enjoy this book immensely.
It is packed with all the memorable nuggets of general ignorance expanded with all the reference information for good measure.
Some of the facts are debatable, of that I am pretty sure, but it is definitely the type of book you won't want to put down until you've read the lot.
One side point worth knowing: if you (again, like me) purchased the original book of general ignorance, you will find this one is the same as the original with about 20 or so extra subjects. If you haven't bought the original, buy this instead.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Who why what where when? 22 Feb 2009
By Jenny Peebles
Format:Paperback
Smug pub quizzers beware - after reading this you'll find yourself quaking at the onset of the trivia round. Most of what you think you know is, in fact, wrong. Sorry. In an utterly charming way, your confidence in the modest store of facts you've built up over the years is shown to be totally misplaced. If you can handle this, then QI: The Book of General Ignorance (The Noticeably Stouter Edition) is a truly fascinating read. It's at least as amusing as it interesting in its debunking of popular misconceptions. Finding out why your notions are wrong is a pleasure when you're reading something that's been this painstakingly researched. That's not to say it's really worthy - some of the writing is laugh-out-loud funny. You get quotes from the show, too, and perky little illustrations. The links between the entries are often as subtle as the explanations themselves, or they're just quite droll, as `How many legs does a centipede have?' paves the way for `How many eyes does a no-eyed, big-eyed wolf spider have?'

If you're the kind of person who has a mental list of things you really ought to brush up on, expect it to have expanded in all kinds of unexpected ways by the time you're through. Your Ancient Greek, certainly, could do with a dusting down. Expect to confirm that you are, indeed, massively ignorant, but to find, miraculously, that a good read of this book is an excellent way to start putting that right.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Qi Book of General Ignorance. 14 Sep 2010
By Diklek
Format:Paperback
When I ordered this book, I expected to be entertained by plenty of humour. I was not disappointed. But the bonus was the amount of interesting information that accompanied that humour. I really appreciate the way the book entertains and answers many of my questions.
And the inclusion of the summaries of past episodes and a very comprehensive index, makes this book even more a "must buy"
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, if not remarkable 12 Mar 2009
By J. T. Morpurgo
Format:Paperback
The latest edition of the semi-canonical Book of General Ignorance fits its brief of being 'quite interesting' with aplomb. Some facts are genuinely eyebrow raising: from the number of planetary moons around the Earth to James Bond's thirst quencher of choice, many of our most epidemic cultural myths are decisively debunked. The writing is succinct and smartly witty, and each entry does a good job of packing in a wide breadth of information into half a page.

There are a few misfires that prevent this from being an exceptionally interesting reference tool. The book sometimes falls short in its attempts to be authoritative, with entries like 'What's three times as dangerous as war?' resting more on loaded questioning than genuinely startling raw fact. That much of the weaker material appears to be tagged with a 'New Entry' icon suggests that this stouter version may not be a compulsory purchase for those who already own the original edition.

These gripes aside, The Book of General Ignorance is a well-crafted (and frequently amusing) tome, and is a worthy addition to any ranconteur's bookshelf.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Gift
Very well presented book, looks good and not shabby at all.
Father-in-law loves and had a quick easy service. Happy
Published 6 days ago by michaelp
4.0 out of 5 stars A true myth destroyer
Still working my way through the book but it is just as I had imagined it to be. Learning something new every day.
Published 14 days ago by Doug Pate
5.0 out of 5 stars QI
I bought this as a present for my dadas he is a massive fan of QI. He loved it but this book would also be suitable for people who just like fun facts not neccassarily just QI... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Lauren
4.0 out of 5 stars Just what you would expect from Fry
This is a "dip in" book. I have always loved Stephen Fry's turn of phrase and admired his intelligence and this book does not disappoint. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JP
4.0 out of 5 stars What fun!
Just the sort of book to while away a half hour or so at a time. Very enjoyable reading and I loved the humour.
Published 1 month ago by Nightowl
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice small present for a guy
I bought this as a birthday present for a male acquaintance. He loves it and keeps it in the loo apparently
Published 1 month ago by Lees
5.0 out of 5 stars great fun
Bought as a present for my husband with 2 other QI books - great entertainment especially with friends. has caused and settled a few (friendly) arguements.
Published 2 months ago by bookworm
4.0 out of 5 stars English humor
a must for those who enjoy BBC's QI-transmissions with Stephen Fry and his guests, but almost 'too much' in one spoonful
Published 2 months ago by Mogens H. Jensen
4.0 out of 5 stars Liked it
Another fact based book to ip in and out of when you want to. Couldn't just read it but great to kill a few minutes hike waiting o do one thing else
Published 2 months ago by David Clifford
5.0 out of 5 stars Love how it's written and presented
I've just finished the book 1,227 Facts to Blow Your Socks Off by these two Authors, which really surprised me with the facts presented. Read more
Published 2 months ago by radiojock
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Popular Highlights

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&quote;
Half the human beings who have ever died, perhaps as many as 45 billion people, have been killed by female mosquitoes (the males only bite plants). &quote;
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&quote;
What’s quite interesting about Scotland, kilts, bagpipes, haggis, porridge, whisky and tartan? None of them is Scottish. &quote;
Highlighted by 16 Kindle users
&quote;
Astoundingly, light is invisible. You can’t see the light itself, you can only see what it bumps into. A beam of light in a vacuum, shining at right angles to the observer, cannot be seen. Although this is very odd, it’s quite logical. If light itself was visible, it would form a kind of fog between your eyes and everything in front of you. Darkness is equally strange. It’s not there but you can’t see through it. &quote;
Highlighted by 16 Kindle users

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