Customer Reviews

The Amazing Book of Useless Information: More Things You Didn't Need to Know But Are About to Find Out

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book for my 18 year old daughter, but she had a hard time keeping it away from her older & younger brothers. This will keep them laughing for hours!

I purchased this book for my classroom during recreational reading time. My students love it. I had to buy the other one as well. I smile when I overhear them talking about the little tidbits they read.

The Amazing Book is---amazing!! It continues the series with more information that trivia buffs will love! My suggestion is to get the entire series and have hours of fun...this also works well for trivia games.

I received this book as a gift and was instantly drawn into its bizarre compendium of esoterica. I proceeded to annoyingly read several of the nuggets within aloud. Cool stuff and ofttimes funny.

The book is printed twice in the Kindle edition. Weird.

Okay book, but not enough background on info they present. Like they will write, "Copermicus invented buttered bread." That's it - no further info.

Full of fun and interesting facts; excellent for a bathroom basket of reads or a guest room.

Interesting book, but I found more than one item to be incorrect.

The book claims that, "The first VCR, made in 1956, was the size of a piano." Actually, the first VCR wasn't introduced until 1970. It was the VTR that was introduced in 1956.

Sadly, the book devotes nearly 20 pages to the alcohol drug, with numerous false studies (most paid for by the alcohol pushers) which practically glorify alcohol and claimed as "facts".

I am deeply distressed by the lies about the Catholic Church in this book. Among them:

"The worship of Mary, today acclaimed as an infallible dogma, was once condemned by the Church as a deadly sin" (p 13). False. Yes, the Church did condemn worshipping Mary; it still does. We can only worship God. Mary, a human, can only be given honor.

"The tradition of Peter being the first bishop of Rome only surfaced in the fourth century" (p 13). False. The office of chief apostle/bishop was given to Peter by Jesus Christ himself, long before any Christian set foot in Rome. And the fact that Peter was in Rome is attested to by 1 Clement, a document from 95 AD.

"The letters inscribed on the pope's miter...total 666". (pp 13-14). False. There are no words on the miter.

"Cardinal John Henry Newman, one of the authorities most respected by Rome, wrote in his book: "Temples, incense, etc., ...priests, monks, and nuns are all of pagan origin". (p 16) Newman was once an Anglican who believed the Catholic Church wrong. Upon studying the early church fathers, he converted to Catholicism. He repudiated his earlier words.

"Early Catholic doctrine declared that women did not have souls" (p 16). False. An utter fabrication with no basis in fact.

"Bethlehem...was an early shrine of the pagan god Adonis" (p 16). False. Bethlehem was a tiny hamlet that could never have supported a shrine of any kind. And during the time of Jesus Christ the Second Temple Jews were fierce monotheists who would have fought tooth and nail against any pagan shrine. After the Bar Kochba Jewish rebellion Hadrian was so angry he did turn the cave where Jesus was born, and to which pilgrimages were being made, into a shrine to Adonis.

"In AD 325 Constantine called a meeting of Christian bishops at Nicea to decide what a Christian was" (p 17). False. All of the history of early Christianity argues against this statement. Here is what Irenaeus of Lyons wrote in about 180 AD: "By pointing out the apostolic tradition and creed which has been brought down to us by a succession of bishops in the greatest, most ancient and well-known church, founded by the two most glorious Apostles Peter and Paul at Rome, we can confute all those who in any other way, either for self-pleasing or for vainglory or blindness or badness, hold unauthorized meetings. For with this church, because of its stronger origin, all churches must agree, that is to say, the faithful of all places, because in it the apostolic tradition has always been preserved.

The falsehood about the Council of Nicea is an especially cruel one, given savage persecution that many had lived through just a few years earlier. Some of the bishops who attended Nicea bore the marks of mutilation because of the persecution.

The author Botham also claims that the first time the Catholic Church instituted these things were:

"The first pope...AD 610". (p 19). False. Peter was the first pope.

"Worship of images, relics, and cross, AD 788 (p 19). False. We cannot worship objects, period. Catholics use them as holy reminders and to venerate only....and have been doing so since St Paul was asked for a handkerchief.

"Apocryphal books added to the Bible, AD 1546 (p 20). False. For over one thousand years prior to this date the apocryphal books were part of every Bible.

And this is only a brief overview of the falsehoods put forth in this book.

I bought this book for my 13 year old nephew but found a section inappropriate for children to I'm now giving it to the Good Will. I read some of this book myself. It was somewhat entertaining but not at all worth the price.