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The Book of General Ignorance
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Read The Book of General Ignorance
A Quite Interesting Book

The Book of General Ignorance (2006) (edit title/settings)

by John Mitchinson (Author), John Lloyd (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Think Magellan was the first man to circumnavigate the globe, baseball was invented in America, Henry VIII had six wives, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain? Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again. Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous,... read more

Summary edit see section history

The book starts with an introduction from the author John Lloyd. He explains how this book works and what the idea is based upon. It is based upon the notion that the entire human race is ignorant to the point of utter and complete stupidity. He uses a quote by Thomas Edison, "We don't know a... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The book starts with an introduction from the author John Lloyd. He explains how this book works and what the idea is based upon. It is based upon the notion that the entire human race is ignorant to the point of utter and complete stupidity. He uses a quote by Thomas Edison, "We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything." I think that is a pretty applicable statement.

The entire book consists of the author choosing facts that are widely held to be true and correcting them. Often times he explains the mistake of how the fake fact came to be. He also gives some extra interesting back knowledge on the fact as well. The book is great because it covers a wide variety of topics, from goldfish to Mount Everest. The method of giving the information in this book is quite simple. It has a header in bold stating a question. For example, "Who invented the telephone?" Then it gives the answer plain and simple. "Antonio Meucci." That is usually how it goes. Sometimes it gives a multiple choice option. Other times it will lay off the question answering to insult you in some way first. Like in the question, "Which nation invented the concentration camp?" The first line in the answer is, "If you still think it's Germany, you must have been living in a cave. The book continues in this fashion, explaining everything there is to know.

This book is great. I really enjoyed it. It was filled with fascinating information while still being fresh and exciting to read. Quite truthfully, I think it was one of the only non-fiction books, and couldn't stop reading. It has armed me now with the knowledge that will make me seem smarter in almost every situation.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Henry: Henry, or known as Herny the Black, or Enrique de Malaca was Ferdinand Magellen's slave and interpreter. He, (not Magellen) was the first person to curcumnavigate around the world. Magellen bought Henry at 1511 in a slave market located in Malaysia. Magellen took Henery to Lisbon, the place where Magellen was before. He was accompanied by Magellen on all of his voyages, including his 1519 voyage where Magellen was off to curcumnavigate the globe. Both of them in their ship, pass through the Atlantic, and the Pacific Oceans, so when they arrived in the Far East, Henry became the first amn to circumnavigate the world. Magellen, however, died halfway before his ship arrived to Europe (he died in the Philippines). No one knows where Henry was born, some guesses are that he was born, captured, and sold to Sumatran Pirates as a child, and arrived in the Philippines, where he found out the locals spoke his language. Henry the Black is a national hero in several South-East Asian nations.
  • Pheidippides: Add a description of this character.
  • Mike
  • Richter
  • Mark
  • Robin Hood
  • Perrault
  • Darwin
  • Cook
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Everything you know is wrong.”
    Author
  • “If you still think it's Germany, you must have been living in a cave.”
    Author
  • “The dodo has the unenviable double distinction as a byword for being both dead and stupid.”
    Author
  • “"No call the aligator long mouth til you cross the river."”
    Jamaican proverb
  • “Cannon balls fired from men 'o war didn't actually explode (no matter what Hollywood thinks), they just tore through the hull of the ship, causing huge splinters of wood to fly around the decks at high speed, lacerating anyone within range."”
    Author
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Show all 15 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

People sometimes accuse me of knowing a lot.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in A Quite Interesting Book. (publisher series)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. John Mitchinson (Author)
  2. John Lloyd (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Country: England
Publication Date: 2006
ISBN: 0571233686
Page Count: 304

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

Young Adults too. Not as funny for 6 year olds, who don't get the jokes.

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