Michael Powell (3)Besprekingen

Interesting, with several insights new to me. However, Powell seems to stretch a bit to include enough to fill the book. I know there are many more things that could be in this book, but Powell seems to be steering clear of anything controversial or to close to the heart.½

This is a humorous collection of many strange historical facts which we were never taught in school. Frankly, many of the tidbits may be deemed a bit too colorful for young eyes. Sophomoric might be the better description. Definitely not to be utilized for historical reference purposes.

A few good how-tos for the whole family... Although I will still lose at chess and won't appreciate the art of chopping an onion without crying

That it is no longer readily available and that no photos of the US cover appear on line demonstrates that I am not alone in finding this book less than adequate. Powell can't decide whether this is to be fact-based humor (e.g., humorous or bizarre true facts) or a parody of history (e.g., amusing lies). The result is an uneasy and not particularly entertaining mix of too little of each, made more distasteful by strained attempts at sexual jocularity that just make me wince with embarrassment for the author. In addition, some of the entries contain factual errors that appear to be--well, factual errors, not errors made deliberately for humorous effect. For example, he refers in separate entries to psychoactive mushrooms and cocaine respectively as "amphetamines"; amphetamine is a stimulant, but not all stimulants are amphetamines. Powell gets one thing right, though unwittingly: With only a few exceptions, this "world history" is a US/British/Western European history, just like a lot of "world" history texts. Hah. Good one.

Exactly what the title promises. Very humorous and even a little informative. A quick read.

While I agree with reviewer Andersonden, I would also add that this is a great view of history of theworld.

A humorous look at various beliefs concerning what happens after you die. There were many references to modern culture and society which were funny today, but I think will fail to amuse in a couple of decades. This was an onslaught of one-liner after one-liner after joke. After awhile, I felt a bit beat up as yet another fuuny line was thrown at me. This would work best as a bathroom reader, where you can read a page or two, laugh, then put the book down until next time.

This book covers sayings and phrases we've grown up knowing as "common knowledge" as being "lies." It explains for example why two and two does not always equal four and how the earth is not round, etc.
I skipped the topics that did not interest me or those which I already knew the truth of. Some interesting tidbits, but this book would be most interesting to history buffs. An ok read, but nothing special really. Two out of five.

A humorous look at the afterlife; sort of a guidebook to heaven and hell (just in case you don't end up above). The funniest parts are the references to familiar pop culture and historical icons. Some parts fall flat.

A cute little (literally too) tongue in cheek book about being a 'super hero'.

These were mostly serial killers and nutty dictators, though there were a few I hadn't heard of before. I thought it was awfully superficial and wished for suggestions for further reading, and there were a lot of typos. But it would appeal to the trivia-loving, bathroom-reading set.

Some things useful, some things funny. Forbidden Knowledge is a good bathroom book or a good in-between book.

Though I found the concept interesting the subtitle is a bit misleading; many of the activities described herein would not be things everyone used to know how to do - even in the cultures from which they came. Often knowledge of particular tasks is specialized (or class based) and so it is with many included here. One wonders if the authors are really trying for a subtle humorous effect, if so, they fall a bit off of the mark.

This short book is devoted to the bit of travel advice that is often underdeveloped in other guides: the unspoken rules of different countries, the hidden culture. The book dedicates between two to four pages to fifty different countries, detailing in quick bits the cultural mores that attend such daily rituals as dining, meeting and greeting, gift giving, and so on. The text is accompanied by lovely full and half page photographs. We received this book as a gift for our China trip, but I had so much fun reading about the differences in other countries that I read the entire thing. Did you know that in some countries it's rude to back away from physical nearness, but in others it's rude to get too close? Or that in another country, nodding means no? That the okay sign is considered obscene in some locales? I was fascinated by how different and similar cultures can be. Some of the "rules" I already knew, but many of them caught me by complete surprise. I even read up on countries I already visited, like Germany and Switzerland, and was embarrassed to recognize some of the mistakes I made. Made me wish that I had read this book earlier! Of course, this is no in depth exploration of cultures, not with a maximum of four pages per country. If you are planning a long trip to another country, or want to learn more about the culture, this isn't the book for you. However, if you are planning a short vacation, this is a great book to check out for quick tips, besides being just fun to read and learn some of the quirks of a lot of different countries.
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In this book you will find 101 things NOT everyone should know how to do including my favorites:

How to. . .
…hack an elevator
…complain and get results
…start an urban legend

Who couldn't use a little more danger in their life? A little more edge? A little more fun? With Forbidden Knowledge, you will get it all.

This was a fun one-day read. Most of the information is just for entertainment but I did get a kick out of trying to convince my co-workers to let me perform open-heart surgery on them. The introduction includes a disclaimer which states certain sections deal with activities and devices that would be in violation of various federal, state and local laws if actually carried out or constructed so read this book with a grain of salt. It’s perfect reading for the 20something crowd.

I kept this book in my catalog even though I sold it because it is just so terrible I couldn't let it pass unremarked.

The book started off promising, with irreverent wit and the promise of titillating tidbits about history. What I got instead was the leavings of conspriacy theories and urban legend, garnished with the occasional fact. The worst part of a sorry lot is the repetition of the calumny against Pius XII as "Hitler's Pope". 99.9% fact free, just like the rest of the book.

If I could give negative stars for a book, this one would get them.½

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