*** Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is great. STEPHEN FRY ***
I'm an avid fan of QI the television series. I've watched all four seasons so far on television, most of the episodes more than once thanks to BBC4 and BBC2 repeats and of course UKTV G2. I ordered season ... Read review
the hit BBC show QI. Published to coincide with the fourth series broadcast in September 2006. If like Alan Davies you still think that Henry VIII had six wives ...
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.
mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge' that will make you wonder why anyone bothers going to school. Now available in this handy pocket-sized edition carry it everywhere to impress your friends frustrate your enemies and win every argument.
A review by Tempus_Fugit on QI: The Book of General Ignorance - John Lloyd, John Mitchinson January 3rd, 2007
Author's product rating:
Degree of Information
High
How interesting was the book?
Compelling
How useful was it?
Very useful
Would you read it again?
Absolutely
Value for money
Excellent
Advantages:
common myths and misconsceptions explained in plain English
Disadvantages:
unorganised content pages, hard to find questions again
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
*** Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is great. STEPHEN FRY ***
I'm an avid fan of QI the television series. I've watched all four seasons so far on television, most of the episodes more than once thanks to BBC4 and BBC2 repeats and of course UKTV G2. I ordered season one on DVD from Amazon together with this book. A gift voucher received a little while back enabled me to purchase both, the DVD box set AND the book accompanying the series. At the time of ordering the price for the hardback edition by Faber was £5.20, however, upon checking prices you now have to pay £6.50. I had hoped to get it cheaper at Tesco but this time round they were not the cheapest (£9.95 in store). But even if you order from Amazon now, it's still only half price as RRP is £12.99.
~~~ What colour is water? ~~~ … Not clear or transparent, if that's what you thought.
"The Book of General Ignorance" is often mistakenly accredited to Stephen Fry who's the quizmaster in the TV show but apart from a foreword by him he doesn't actually contribute much else. Even Alan Davies has a few words to say - four to be precise. The book is actually compiled by two Johns, John Lloyd (of '"Not the 9 o'clock news", "Spitting Image" and "Blackadder" fame) and John Mitchinson.
The book is actually a collection of topics raised in the TV show. If you've watched all of them then you will know the questions and - if you paid attention - remember some of the answers. Reading some of the answers I still have Stephen Fry's voice bouncing around in my head. I can imagine that some of the passages in the book were lifted straight from the crib-sheets Fry takes his information from.
As I mentioned before, this book entitled "The Book of General Ignorance" and accompanies the highly successful BBC2/4 panel game by the name of "Q.I.: Quite Interesting". Stephen Fry acts as the quizmaster as he's generally thought of as being 'clever'. After all he's Cambridge University educated and it seems everyone knows that Fry knows a thing or two. In the show he chairs over his guests who in most cases are comedians, sometimes intellectuals themselves. The guests change every episode with one exception, actor and comedian Alan Davies appears in all show (apart from once in season 4 where, after 'dematerialised', only his voice is heard for the rest of the show). Whereas Fry is seen as the intellectual, Davies falls into the obvious traps set by the writers who try and uncover the truth about so called common knowledge and urban myths.
There are plenty of these misconceptions in the book, mainly the ones Alan Davies answered wrong in the first place, proving that there's a lot of hogwash out there that needs to be cleared up.
~~~ What did Nero do while Rome burned? ~~~ … Fiddle? … Wrong.
"The Book of General Ignorance" can be compared to the popular New Scientist books "Does Anything Eat Wasps?" and "Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?" I'm a fan of those two books but find them a little too 'scientific' in their explanations. "The Book of General Ignorance" uses simple language to explain the, sometimes, most complicated matter in simple, easy to understand words and often in one page or less.
At the moment only available as hardback it's not something you read cover to cover. Over 280 pages Lloyd and Mitchinson answer 230 questions that at some point or other were already answered during the episodes of Q.I. on television. But it doesn't mean that the book is boring in any way. The 30 minute television programme covers so many questions, often new questions arising from the attempt to answer them, that you don't necessarily catch them all. And of course there are people who are interested in the subjects but are not familiar with the show.
I like to dip in an out, check the index pages and pick a topic I want to read. I often find myself at the end of the show wondering if I caught everything as you have a studio audience reacting, usually with laughter, various guests talking over each other and Stephen Fry reading the answer incredibly fast (you need to be a speed reader when you switch on subtitles) so this book lets you find out the answers at your own pace. And you can always go back and check that you actually heard right in the first place.
I have learned a number of quite interesting things and if they ever come up in a pub quiz I'll be able to answer them.
I now know that: · Coffee is not made from beans · Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are not berries but oranges and lemons are · Bangkok is not the capital of Thailand
And much much more.
~~~ Who invented the Theory of Relativity? ~~~ … No, not Einstein.
The contents list extends over 7 pages and you will find every question asked with page there. It's easy to go down the list and pick questions you're interested in at the time. While there are no categories or sub-categories, a lot of questions are grouped together - food, history or animal related. It makes it a little difficult to find particular questions you want to check out - or even find them again after you read them the first time. But on the other hand, while looking for what you want to know you come across plenty other questions you want answered anyway.
Accompanying the different sections of Question & Answer, mainly to lighten the load, are little doodles that vaguely illustrate the topic. For example when the question regarding the length of one day is asked you have a tape-measure underneath the words "1 DAY". Other times you will find little proverbs or quotes that broadly fit the topic, the likes of "You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. - Al Capone" next to the answer for Billy The Kid's real name. I enjoy reading those little extra bits.
Whether you're a fan of the show on television or not, this book is informative, funny, well written and laid out. It is crammed full of useful information that will make you feel more intelligent and I think even give you bragging right when you can correct the ignoramus still insisting that Henry VIII had six wives when, depending who you talk to, it's either three or four.
I will refer back to this book as I've read through the content list but only to see which of the questions I would like answered first and receive confirmation that I remember the correct information. And not all answers will stick in your mind all the time and sometimes need reinforcing.
I leave you with the startling news that the Moon does not smell of cheese but gunpowder.
The Book of General Ignorance Hardback 280 pages Published by Faber RRP £12.99
Available to buy at all good bookshops and supermarkets, often for a reduced price.
More Reviews
My QI is nothing like my IQ. Review ofQI: The Book of General Ignorance - John Lloyd, John Mitchinsonby
dynamicnurse
Advantages: See text. Disadvantages: See text.
This review is on QI: the Book of General Ignorance, written by John Mitchinson along with John Lloyd. This book came about as a result of a show on BBC called QI, which has been hosted by the one and only Stephen Fry (or whatever else it is that you may think about him!). This book tells you all about a whole host of different topics, and tells you the things that you never knew about that topic because you always assumed that you knew the opposite. ... ...mean. The things that you find out about are the kinds of things that you don't want to be told by some snotty kid, who think that they know better than you because daddy is something quite high up. Out of the 230 in the book, take these short examples as something to whet your appetite to see what I mean: The fact that you don't have two nostrils, but four - it is only that you can only see the two external ones! Think of fish, and you have got ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Degree of Information
How interesting was the...
How useful was it?
Would you read it again?
Value for money
very helpful
30.05.2008
Qives you a bigger brain Review ofQI: The Book of General Ignorance - John Lloyd, John Mitchinsonby
kevindye
Advantages: People think you are clever without having to tell them lies Disadvantages: Can only be carried around in your pocket if you are wearing a dressing-gown
I cannot drive - I find it too expensive, and I was put off during a go-karting accident when I was 15. It set on fire with me in it, and the proprietor of the circuit blamed me! It was a very frightening experience which opened an exciting prospect up for me. The prospect of catching trains. When travelling by train, I read a newspaper, tabloid, generally, as the pages in broadsheets are far too big for me to hold, and I would need to lay on the ... ...to music through my mobile phone - at the moment however, Orange are being extremely inefficient and have problems with their activation keys, for downloaded songs. If I'm feeling flush, I will buy a book - normally a fiction book; Nick Hornby and Mark Haddon being favourites of mine. They are good to read on public transport as it gives you something to do and stops you from falling asleep, which I have done once on a train, and woke up when the ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Entertaining, thought-provoking and knowledgable Disadvantages: None really
Those readers familiar with the ever-unpredictable BBC series will already have an idea what to expect from this, but for those who aren't - or haven't read this book - I'll mention that first rule of approaching anything QI related - "Everything you think you know is wrong". Many, many years ago, my gran gave me a little book by the Readers' Digest called fact or fiction which explored common myths and misconceptions such as "If it rains on St. ... ...The QI book is a little like a new millennium version of that book but more accessible and entertaining in content. Trick questions and obscure trivia abound - ever wondered what the proper name is for a female goldfish? Have a look in this book. I didn't buy this for myself - I asked for it as a Christmas present - so I'm not sure exactly what it cost, but I have loved the slightly quirky, irreverent and often wandering-down-the-garden-path feel ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: It is very interesting, educational and funny Disadvantages: Somewhat hard to grasp in parts!
This is a book like i have never read before. I'm usually a fiction-reader myself, but i came across this and i bought it, just to see what it was like. I started to read, and i was very intrigued. I actually couldn't believe how ignorant i was! I thought that; Henry the Eighth had 6 wives, which he didn't; i thought a goldfish has a three-second memory, which is incorrect; and i thought Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, which is false ... ...wrong people can be. On reciting some facts from the book, my partner actually didn't believe it, and that shows how ignorant people can be!
Some of the facts in this book are everyday things that you think you know, and some are a little less known, but there are always people who think they know! But they don't!
This book is also great for conversation, an ice-breaker. "Did you know...", as most people would think they know the answer, but you ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Degree of Information
How interesting was the...
How useful was it?
Would you read it again?
Value for money
helpful
19.01.2008
A Quite Interesting Book Review ofQI: The Book of General Ignorance - John Lloyd, John Mitchinsonby
tulleh
Advantages: Very entertaining to read. Disadvantages: Not too different from other quiz books
A fantastic book that accompanies the TV series wonderfully well. This book contains the many General Ignorance questions that were asked throughout the series, and gives a more detailed explanation of the true answers. While it shares many formats to other quiz books that have been released this year, it is far more interesting by far.
The book is formatted very professionally. The questions are easily distinguishable from the answers. Although ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Similar products and search queries by other users
QI Ignorance, QI The Ignorance, QI Book Ignorance, QI of Ignorance, QI General Ignorance, QI The Book Ignorance, QI The of Ignorance, QI The General Ignorance, QI Book of Ignorance, QI Book General Ignorance, QI of General Ignorance, QI The Book of Ignorance, QI The Book General Ignorance, QI The of General Ignorance, QI Book of General Ignorance
Are you the manufacturer / provider of QI: The Book of General Ignorance - John Lloyd, John Mitchinson? Click here
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
