Synopses & Reviews
Impossible to read at one sitting, but utterly unputdownable,
Schott's Original Miscellany is a unique collection of fabulous trivia.
What other book boasts an index that includes shoelace lengths, sign language, and the seven deadly sins; dueling and dwarves; the hair color of Miss America and the Hampton Court maze?
Where else can you find, packed onto one page, the names of golf strokes, a history of the Hat Tax, cricketing dismissals, nouns of assemblage, an unofficial motto of the US Postal Service, and the flag of Guadeloupe?
Where else but Schott's Original Miscellany will you stumble across John Lennon's cat, the supplier of bagpipes to the Queen, the labors of Hercules, and the brutal methods of murder encountered by Miss Marple?
A book like no other, Schott's Original Miscellany is entertaining, informative, unpredictable, and utterly addictive.
Review
"[A] delightfully eclectic collection of facts, diagrams, quotations and symbols. Charmingly designed....Readers may find its smile-provoking pages absolutely addictive." Publishers Weekly
Review
"It is so pleasant just to have this book near, as though at any moment one could pretend to be deeply involved in some scholarly pursuit of meaning." The Los Angeles Times
Review
"A slender, unassuming volume [that] houses ephemera and exotica...a 159-page nest of novel nuggets....[T]akes abundant joy in the secret histories, untapped talents, and shape-shifting prowess of language itself..." The Village Voice
Review
"Part encyclopedia, part anthology, part lexicon, the book is a collection of inconsequential tidbits that you never knew, never thought to ask, but will love knowing. As hilarious as it is addictive." Newsweek
Review
"The best ever collection of essential trivia. Everybody should get one for Christmas. Bless you for Schott's Original Miscellany!" Stephen Fry, author of The Liar and Revenge
Review
"It has its useful aspects, but its chief pleasure is for browsing....Nobody needs to know...that the quantity of beauty required to launch a single ship is one Milli-Helen but it is, none the less, a nice thing to learn." The Guardian (U.K.)
Review
"The most idiosyncratic volume I have come across in years and the perfect book for anyone who sucks up facts like Thanksgiving gravy....I can't get enough of it." Richard Nilsen, The Arizona Republic
Synopsis
"Schott's Original Miscellany "makes few claims to be exhaustive or even practical. It does, however, claim to be essential. It will afford you great wisdom in the morning, several conversational bons mots for the afternoon, and many an enlightened smile after dark.
Where else can you find, packed onto one page, the thirteen principles of witchcraft, the structure of military hierarchy, all of the clothing-care symbols, a list of the countries where you drive on the left, and a nursery rhyme about sneezing?
Where else but "Schott's Original Miscellany "will you stumble across the name of John Lennon's cat, the supplier of bagpipes to the Queen, and the brutal methods of murder encountered by Miss Marple?
An encyclopedia? A dictionary? An anthology? An almanac? An amphigouri? A treasury? A commonplace book? Well... yes. "Schott's Original Miscellany "is all these and, of course, more. A book like no other, "Schott's Original Miscellany "is entertaining, informative, unpredictible, and utterly addictive.
Ben Schott is a photographer, designer, and trivia collector. He is twenty-eight (although he believes you might prefer to picture him as a white-haired librarian) and lives in Highgate, London.
Synopsis
An indispensable and unputdownable collection of essential trivia, uncommon knowledge, and vital irrelevance for the modern age such as firework categories, airport marshalling signals, Bond girls listed by film, chat room acronyms, the color codes of the lights on the Empire State Building, and thirteen principles for witches.
About the Author
Ben Schott is a photographer, designer, and trivia collector. He is twenty-eight (although he believes you might prefer to picture him as a white-haired librarian) and lives in Highgate, London.