QI: The Second Book of General Ignorance

As per usual a book filled with fun facts and of course challenges to the standard authordoxy that we believe in. All great fun told with some verve and with a tongue in cheek style.What is wonderful about this book - and others in the series - is that it informs and entertains in equal measure. If school books were this good, I'm sure that more children would take an interest. However there are as in any book of this kind a few hiccups.Firstly we are told that the yak has the longest hair of any animal at 60cm - around 2ft. Earlier on there is another article that goes on to point out that humans - at least the hair on their head, does not stop growing unlike all other animals. In fact there are many ladies and a few men in day to day life with hair longer than 2ft.The second wrong fact is Richard the 3rd. The article finishes off with the rather smug assumption that Shakespeare was wrong and that by all accounts Richard III was in fact a good height and handsome without any known disfigurement. Of course the fact that he has been dug up in a car park and matches perfectly with the stories of a hunchbacked near dwarf somewhat renders the entire chapter null and void.And that's the problem with books that are entirely based upon the accuracy of their facts, because when they are not correct it calls into question the rest of the statements. Generally I do believe most of what has been written but if I can spot a couple of mistakes easily then I'm sure that others will find more.

Looks like it's been self proofread as there are words running together on practically every page, especially the script conversation parts in bold. Would expect better from them to be honest, seeing as the point of the show is to tell us everything we thought we knew was wrong.Should come with its own klaxon for all the errors in it and its score would easily beat Alan's worst ever minus score.

If you watch QI you will remember many of the questions that are included in the book. Indeed it will feel like you can hear Stephen Fry's voice asking them and adding the extra interesting detail. The addition of some of the comments from the panel is a nice touch - not that every one of them is a brilliantly incisive comedic gem though.Once you've absorbed some of the trivia in this book just imagine what a populat guest you'll be at cocktail parties!As a dedicated QI fan I am an easy audience for a book like this to please. But in truth it lacks original content or any novelty in its structure (basically it's just a list of the quesitons and answers so I could easily imagine another reader being less enamoured.

This is an interesting collection of more or less interesting facts which you were probably not aware of, or thought you knew them, but then it turns out just to be an urban myth. Every fact starts with a question where you might think to know the answer just to be proven wrong a few paragraphs later.Ever heard that urinating on a jellyfish sting might help, well this is just wrong.Interesting facts like which animal saved the most human lives and what causes pins and needles.Overall an enjoyable read.

I brought this book as a birthday present for my father, a typical example of a man who had everything. He loved it, infact the whole family loved it, as we held a "made at home" version of QI, with my father, armed with this book, acting as Stephan Fry.The success of the book means its definately a winning present for awkard people, or any QI or general knowledge fan. It also is a great buy for yourself of course, and who ever you get it for, they will enjoy it immensley!