[.ca] Straight Dope (ISBN 0345422910)

From Amazon.com:
This collection of Adams' best newspaper columns answers with erudition and wit all the weird questions Americans ponder to distraction. Why didn't the Incas invent the wheel? Is the frequency of bald women on the increase? And how many square feet of flesh on the human body? Incredibly sarcastic, knowledgeable and entertaining, The Straight Dope makes a great bathroom book or gift book or personal treasure.

The best Adams since John Quincy!:
Dude, man, this book was like...totally not like its title said it would be man. I mean, the only buzz I got off it was inhaling the fumes from the cover. No Dope anywhere to be found! It was like... ... ...a bummer. Fortunately there were also no rants on circumcision, SUVs, the liberal bias of the media, words that end in "gry," or the fact that Enterprise could beat out a Star Destroyer any day of the week so I'd give this book six stars if possible.

One of my favoriees:
This book is marvelous. The first time I read it, I started hyperventilating because I was laughing so hard. I have to get a new copy soon because all the pages are falling out of my original copy. It is one of my very favorite books. It makes a marvelous toilet book, and I frequently give it as a gift. I have read the "sequels", and though they are very entertaining I enjoy the original most.

Knowledge abound with a funny twist...:
I ordered this book a few weeks back not really sure what exactly to expect from it, by intrigued by the description of it. We often forget that before the internet was so common, finding out answers to odd questions was a good deal harder than it is in this point and click age. Libraries had to be visited, research done, etc. Once I got it I began to leaf through the pages and skim some of the questions and was very pleasantly surprised by both the content and the style of writing. The premise is simple enough, it was a newspaper column in which people could write in with whatever questions that they had, and Cecil would research them out and give an answer. What makes the book so worth while is the style in which Cecil answers the questions. He has quite a way with words and some of the witticisms he spews back at those asking the questions are outright hilarious. The book is divided into several chapters ranging from language, to sports, entertainment, and many many others so that you can jump straight into a particular line of questions and answers. Having read this, the first collection of his articles, I am planning on buying other collections released soon. This was truly a very fun read that I highly reccomend everyone else pick up and give a chance.

I'd give it 5 stars, but Cecil is obnoxious enough already.:
The Straight Dope is wonderful reading for anyone with a curious mind. If you ever had a teacher who was rough, rude, and completely arrogant, and you still liked him, then you'll love this book, as well as all of the others in the Straight Dope series.

A compilation of weird, exotic and funny trivia things:
First of all let me tell you Cecil Adams' work is not for impressionable people. He is quite outspoken and spits out things in some straightforward and perhaps rude way. If that's ok for you and you are interested in trivia things, then I reccommend this book to you. This is the very first book of his set of 4 and covers most of the most interesting articles appeaered on his column at the Chicago Reader since 1973. Cecil is an eccentric guy who claims to be the "smartest" guy who knows it all around the world. its said he has devoted a whole house to compile and archive articles and data of various aspects deriving from Biology to Laws. Tip: you can find most of his articles on line, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to read a couple of them first and find out your likeness for his way of writing.