The Top 10 of Everything

by Russell Ash

Book Overview

With annual sales of 200,000 copies, The Top 10 of Everything is clearly the place people go to get the lowdown on what or who was the best, worst, richest, fiercest, deadliest, or simply biggest of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 060061557X
• ISBN13: 9780600615576
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Hamlyn (UK)
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.7" x 10.7"

Customer Reviews

Just about everything here

Very entertaining and covered about every subject matter under the sun. This book was well researched and presented in an easy to read manner.

Fine if you do not take it too seriously

It is perhaps a bit unfair to criticize a work for 'hyping itself' when exaggeration and outdoing are part of its very subject. i.e. I would maintain that there are very important areas of life in which making lists of top - ten are absurd i.e. the ten top kindest people in the world. There is also the fact that in most things 'listing a top ten' means making a kind of subjective judgment. Consider choosing the top ten writers of all time. The English - speaking world would have no trouble with the first one, Shakespeare. The French would hear nothing of this .The Russians or some of them might agree. But a candidate for the number two position of world's great writers, and arguably the greatest novelist mankind has known, Tolstoy could not stand Shakespeare considered him immoral. This reservation aside the 'Top Ten Book' can be a lot of fun if not taken too seriously. It can also provide a lot of information .It does try to be more 'factually based' than most works of this kind. It is certainly not among the most Top Ten reference- books of all time, but may well be among the 'Top Ten books' whose subject is the 'Top Ten of Everything'

Entertaining and Educational

This is the type of book that cures the curious George in all of us. Interested in movies? Learn which are the top studios. Still want more? Find out the Top Ten movies for each major studio. What films won the most oscars? Which films were nominated for the most? It's all here and then some. You get the picture. The information is wide open and global in it's scope with chapters entitled The Universe and The Earth(aren't we a part of the universe, just wondering), Life on Earth, The Human World, Town and Country, Culture, Music, Stage and Screen, Commercial World, Transportation and Tourism and Sports. Anywhere from seven to twenty categories are within each subject chapter with Sports toping the list. I found this book to be very entertaining and educational as I learned many things that I was unaware of; it is good to have all this type of information in one convenient place. You can straighten out some misconceptions or errors in what you believe to be true. For example, I was under the impression tha Mexico City was the largest city(and capital city too) in the world and it is not; Tokyo, Japan has that distinction. Who has the largest defense budget? You guessed it, the good old U.S.A. This book may especially be helpful for students and in some cases may stimulate further learning about certain subjects. For example, most people might guess that Bill Gates is the man with the most personal wealth but who is the richest woman ? Turns out it is a woman by the name of Liliane Bettencourt from France. Her source of wealth is L'Oreal, she's worth sixteen big ones, that's billions! A young girl might want to do a research paper on this woman for a class after learning initially about her wealth. There really is alot of cool information here. Considering this is the eighteeth year of annual publication "The Top Ten of Everything" has hooked upon a successful market. I think this book is good for students both young and old. Many schools dedicate a shorter period after lunch to reading and this book would be excellent for that quick read. Middle school to high school age students can benefit greatly from the information found in this book. It is conveyed in snapshots or snippets of information which requires very little reading and is made for skipping around from subject to subject by whatever catches your fancy. The color photographs are nicely done and appeal to the pop culture lust so many people seem to possess. However, the photgraphs of other cultures, nature and animals are also well done to present an overall stimulating visual appeal. Recommended for young curious minds that want ot know more about the world we live in.

Top Ten is No.1

I found this book to be almost addictive. I originally saw it in a doctor's office and thought of taking it with me, but didn't. I left his office and imediately bought it. The text is well orginized and to the point, with hundreds of little known facts. An excellent book for the Cliff Claven (from Cheers) in all of us.

you name it, it will be in this book

if this book were in a smaller size, it would make a perfect book full of reading material to brouse while in the bathroom. People will think you have died in there because you will be reading so long. It's both interesting and funny.