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QI: The Second Book of General Ignorance
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Product Description
Review
'This is pretty much the most cheerful book you could ever read.' --Evening Standard
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
At last! The sequel to the phenomenal international bestseller The Book of General Ignorance, with, as ever, a foreword by Stephen Fry.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This new offering is another piece of wry loveliness from the guys at QI (whose lunchtime chat is a fearsome thing to imagine). It's teeming with lots of genuinely interesting snippets, some of the more disgusting - I'll be honest - I wish I hadn't read, and some of which still make me giggle days after I've read them.
What it manages really well - surprisingly so in a book that's essentially, well, about facts - is to maintain a rip-rattling pace, even while shifting topic with such frequency. It's very easy, for example, to get sucked into a bit about, say, how elephants get drunk, and not emerge until you've been firmly put in your place about the effect cracking your knuckles really has (if you're thinking arthritis you're - surprise surprise - wrong). For me, it also achieves the rare feat of making scientific stuff interesting ... if only my biology teacher at school had used this as a textbook.
The writing is superb, striking a note somewhere between authoritative and gently mocking. One of my favourite bits is from the article on absinthe:
"The active ingredient in wormwood is thujone .... [it] can be dangerous in high doses and does have a mild psychoactive effect, but not at the 10 milligrams per litre concentration that most absinthe contains. Sage, tarragon and Vicks VapoRub all contain similar levels of thujone, but no one has yet linked them to depraved behaviour."
Brilliant. If that raised a giggle - even a slight one - you'll love this book.
What it manages really well - surprisingly so in a book that's essentially, well, about facts - is to maintain a rip-rattling pace, even while shifting topic with such frequency. It's very easy, for example, to get sucked into a bit about, say, how elephants get drunk, and not emerge until you've been firmly put in your place about the effect cracking your knuckles really has (if you're thinking arthritis you're - surprise surprise - wrong). For me, it also achieves the rare feat of making scientific stuff interesting ... if only my biology teacher at school had used this as a textbook.
The writing is superb, striking a note somewhere between authoritative and gently mocking. One of my favourite bits is from the article on absinthe:
"The active ingredient in wormwood is thujone .... [it] can be dangerous in high doses and does have a mild psychoactive effect, but not at the 10 milligrams per litre concentration that most absinthe contains. Sage, tarragon and Vicks VapoRub all contain similar levels of thujone, but no one has yet linked them to depraved behaviour."
Brilliant. If that raised a giggle - even a slight one - you'll love this book.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The QI Second book of general Ignorance is fantastic! a great follow-up to the 1st one. Its packed with more ignorance and has funny little quotes from the series as well! a great read!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I sent this book to my lovely son-in-law. He loved it and often uses quotes from it when giving presentations (to lighten the atmosphere). Amusing and clever.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A good, fun read
This is an enjoyable read. It's the sort of book that you can pick up and put down again and dip in and out of at random. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Beverley Carter
Excellent
The only downside to this book is that it is now on my Kindle which stays in my bag for the commute too and from work and a book like this needs to be in the bathroom and next to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Paul
Fascinating Stuff
I'm a great QI fan, so I thought I'd enjoy this book. A little disappointed that it doesn't make much reference to the programme - only passing comments - but the content is really... Read more
Published 2 months ago by jocktamson
flips your long accepted 'facts' on their back
Very funny and easy to read and confirms Plato's writings about Socrates 'I know that I know nothing'. Read more
Published 2 months ago by mr.
The second book of general ignorance
Very good, I am a big fan of the television show (QI)and I like the way the articles in the book refer back to contestants on the TV show who were faced with the same
articles... Read more
articles... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bhoy
amusing and amazing
Follow s on in the same vein as its predecessor,no surprise there, at times it feels slightly "flat " ,but on the whole it continues to amuse and I guess somebody might claim to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by armchairshoppingPete
Quite Intresting Book Of Intelligence
This book is brilliant. When ever you want to refer to anything you have seen on the show or you just want to be a smarty pants and outwit someone, then this book is a must. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. D
Book
Both my boys aged 12 and 15 enjoyed dipping into this book and finding out all sorts of facts and general knowledge. A great way to get kids more into reading.
Published 3 months ago by Maria
Needs proof-reading
I love QI, so I was expecting to read some interesting facts here, but the question about the Mediterranean Sea threw up an immediate red flag. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bruno Radolini
Not recommended
So far I have skimmed through about a third of the book hoping to find something that grabs my attention or amuses me but I have not been lucky. Read more
Published 4 months ago by H
Listmania!
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