All Facts Considered: The Essential Library of Inessential Knowledge [Hardcover]

Kee Malesky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0470559659 | ISBN-13: 978-0470559659 | Edition: 1

For the bestselling miscellany market, an NPR librarian's compendium of fascinating facts on history, science, and the arts

How much water do the Great Lakes contain? Who were the first and last men killed in the Civil War? How long is a New York minute? What are the lost plays of Shakespeare? What building did Elvis leave last? Get the answers to these and countless other vexing questions in a All Facts Considered. Guaranteed to enlighten even the most seasoned trivia buff, this treasure trove of "who knew?" factoids spans a wide range of intriguing subjects.

• Written by noted NPR librarian Kee Malesky, whom Scott Simon has called the "source of all human knowledge"
• Answers questions on history, natural history, science, religion, language, and the arts
• Packed with valuable nuggets of information, from the useful to the downright bizarre

The perfect gift for every inquiring mind that wants to know, All Facts Considered will put you at the center of the conversation as you show off your essential store of inessential yet irresistible knowledge.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

How much junk is in space? What are the lost plays of Shakespeare?

When was the Sack of Rome? How long is a New York minute?

What building did Elvis last leave?

Get the answers to these and countless other vexing questions in All Facts Considered. Noted NPR librarian Kee Malesky presents a compendium of fascinating facts on intriguing subjects ranging from history and science to the arts, packing every page with valuable nuggets of information mined over her twenty-six-year career—everything from the useful to the downright bizarre.

"There isn't a journalist born who hasn't been tempted to—as they say—not let the facts get in the way of a good story.?And that is the genius of Kee Malesky.?Inquire about a fact, and she produces a tale, as seductive as it is accurate. Sacred cows, plastic soup, star-crossed lovers, the roots of red hair.?Within these pages you will be treated to a taste of the vast sweep of all things Kee—something we at NPR have long savored simply by dialing the number for 'Library, Reference.'"
—Renee Montagne, co-host of NPR's Morning Edition

"Kee Malesky enshrines the humble fact in a way that is both instructive and enchanting."
—Daniel Schorr, NPR Senior News Analyst

"Every one of us 'media figures' who appears smart or well prepared in public has somebody standing behind the curtains, knowledge at the ready, covering for our ignorance like Marni Nixon singing for Natalie Wood. My knowledge-double is Kee Malesky, who makes me and everybody else at NPR sound brighter than we are.?With this book, a little memorization, and some practice on your knowing, slightly world-weary tone, you too will seem smarter.?But not, ever, as smart as she is."
—Peter Sagal, host of the NPR news quiz show Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470559659
• ISBN-13: 978-0470559659
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great collection of fascinating stories! October 17, 2010

By E. Mead

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

You will greatly enjoy this book- but be warned that you will become a terrible pest to all those around you! "Bill, did you know that..." "Honey, isn't it amazing that..."
I can't imagine a better gift book for the holidays. Everyone will find something fascinating to learn about in this book.
This isn't a compilation of "fascinating factoids"- it is a book of "fascinating stories about unusual facts".
What? Really? "the first solar observatory was built in Germany two THOUSAND years before the Egyptians started building pyramids?! (AND nobody even knew it was there!)
-AND this book arrives just in time for the annual challenge of "how can I possibly come up with gifts for Aunt Edna, my boss, and my niece?"

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a read October 21, 2010

By D. Stringer

Format:Hardcover

I picked this up at the book store just to flip through it during my lunch hour. But after experiencing several "gee whiz" moments (all on one page!), I had to have it. The author presents brief fact-filled writings organized into three sections: Memory and History; Reason and Science; and Imagination, Poetry and Art. There are facts, lists, histories and stories on a mind-boggling range of topics. (Did you know it takes about 450 artisans to build one Steinway concert grand piano?) Malesky's writing is lively and often humorous, making her book easy to read and fascinating. I'll be buying more copies for Christmas gifts. I hope there's a Volume II in the works.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you never knew you wanted to know November 3, 2010

By Peter St Wecker

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As another reviewer mentioned, this book is not a compendium of NPR reference questions. That might be fun to read, but could be fairly limited in scope. Instead, Kee Malesky has written a book with interesting facts about just about everything.

The book is organized into three fairly broad categories (Memory and History, Reason and Science, Imagination, Poetry, and Art). These work well, and each is further divided into subcategories which help keep related items together. Ms. Malesky even has some fun with the order of individual entries. In the chapter entitled "Links in the Chain of Being", she discusses "One God", "Two Natures", "Three Fates", "Four Truths", etc. These move from discussions of Christianity, Manichean duality, Greek mythology, Buddhism, and so on, taking the reader from one entry to the next. Too often in these types of books, facts seem to be scattered randomly, which can be a bit jarring. It's clear that a lot of thought went into the layout of the book, not just the facts themselves.

Speaking of the facts, the book includes an extremely detailed notes section (48pp long) and a comprehensive index. You can even go to the book's web site and access clickable links for all these notes. Leave it to a librarian to encourage her readers to keep exploring.

Finally, it's the nature of a book like this that some facts may be outdated by the time the book is printed. Living in California in 2010, I was especially sensitive to the entry entitled "The Cost per Vote", which lists Michael Bloomberg's $110 million as the most expensive self-financed political campaign. That record has now been broken, but that just means there will always be new facts for Kee Malesky to share with us in the future.