Obsessed with the origins of things, Charles Panati has dug up enough beginnings and firsts for any barroom sage, or academician, to fend off the most troublesome trivia queries. Ranging from the beginnings of galaxies, the emergence of bacteria, and from bony fish to soap, loaded dice, ethnic slurs, hypnosis, comic strips and much more, The Browser's Book of Beginnings is a fascinating read--sampled randomly or digested whole. Illustrated with more than 100 drawings, diagrams, and archival photographs, and including comprehensive bibliographies and an index, The Browser's Book of Beginnings is a most readable and concise quick-reference book.
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More About the Author
Charles Panati is a physicist, and for many years was the science editor of Newsweek. He's published 13 non-fiction books, and two novels, and his most recent novel, a psychological thriller, THE ROCKY HORRORS, is available at the Kindle Store. His 'Browser's Book of Beginnings' was the basis for the TV show THE START OF SOMETHING BIG, hosted by comedian Steve Allen, and written by Panati. In his early twenties, Panati was an escort for several Miss America contestants, and in September of 1965 the girl he escorted, Debbie Irene Bryant, became Miss America of 1966. In his newest fiction, THE ROCKY HORRORS, the science of genetics, one experimenter's hubris, and a seriously dysfunctional family all commingle to produce a story of hair-raising suspense - all concluding in a triple whammy of an ending. One the reader never sees coming. Imagine Alfred Hitchcock meets The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Panati's most recent non-fiction is also a Kindle book: ANIMALS PRAY - In Their Own Way. As a passionate animal lover, Panati has imagined what prayers animals would say to a Heavenly Being, their joys and laments. As well as what kind of Bill of Rights they'd have drawn up, and Declaration of Independence, their Golden Rule, Ten Commandments, Eight Beatitudes, and the like. He calls himself an 'editor' of the book, a confidant and complier, lending his ear as the animals themselves speak their minds.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A mighty oak of a book" - The New Yorker,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Browser's Book of Beginnings: Origins of Everything Under, and Including, the Sun (Paperback)
This is the first of Panati's series of six origins book and the most encyclopedic in scope. Newsday called it "The last word on the first of everything," and The New Yorker said "Panati is fearless, far-reaching, formidable, and, when it pleases him, frivolous." The Boston Globe states "The thing is fun...a weapon for stumping supercilious experts." These six origins books will soon be the basis for a TV series, "In The Beginning..." Panati will write the series and may serve as on-camera host.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Origins of everything under, and including, the sun,
This review is from: The Browser's Book of Beginnings: Origins of Everything Under, and Including, the Sun (Paperback)
That croissant you ate this morning--quick now--where did it come from? If you said France, then you are wrong. The meaning, "crescent," is, indeed, French; however, the roll itself is Viennese, made in honor of Austria's victorious stand against Turkey, whose flag holds a crescent. The point is that, when Austrians ate a croissant, they were "eating" their enemy.
Thus begins Charles Panati, writer and collector of information. In fact, his introduction is as informative and illuminating as the official chapters, arranged according to topic. He and a lady friend spent one whole day and evening challenging each other: Where did this come from? What's the story behind this? That day and those questions--many included here--set up the book's premise: a book of beginnings, origins. The various topics include Creation, Sea Life, Land Life, Language, Writing, Beverages, Spices, Books, Civilization and Education, Man's Best Friends, Communications, Music, Art, Instruments, Medicine, Science, Sports and Games. In choosing his beginning, he chose, basically speaking, nothing: space with primordial matter that exploded. The origin of sex is truly fascinating: single-celled bodies sought sex with its complementarity: bigger, stronger, nutrient richer. He explains which theory of language development holds most sway: the bow-wow theory, the pooh-pooh, the Yo-He-Ho, or the Sing-Song. Fascinating stuff! In case we forget, French, during the reign of Louis XIV, was "the world language" in literary, intellectual, and diplomatic uses. Voltaire, that erudite scamp, told the Prussian king that "eveyone at court spoke French and that German was used only to address soldiers and horses" (56). Unlike French, German has a still unknown intermediary between it and the parent language, Indo-European. (French derived from Latin.) Ball-point pens were invented by the American inventor John H. Loud in 1888. The one who modernized it was Lazlo Biro, a Hungarian living in Argentina during World War II. Like humans, cats have a common ancestor, Cynodictis, from which they bifurcated into domestics and wildcats. Cats did not become man's pet until 5000 BC in Egypt, where they assumed legendary stature. "Whereas dogs quickly became man's best friend, cats almost immediately were worshiped as deities" (193). Hmmmmm... Kabuki, a three-character word meaning Song, Dance, Skill, is a type of theatre distinctly Japanese. It was originated by a Buddhist priestess, Okuni, who wanted to spread Buddhist doctrine through theatrics. She combined pantomime, dancing, song, dialogue, and audience participation. Seem familiar? American playwrights tried these techniques in the 1960's, thinking they had created something new. Nope, Okuni, that early feminist began Kabuki in 16th century Japan (261-262). My goodness, time to close and I have just begun. The Browser's Book of Beginnings: Origins of Everything Under, and Including, the Sun is really interesting. Read it and be the master of Trivial Pursuit, if you consider the content trivia. If you are a master reader, nothing is trivia and everything is added to the brain's storehouse. This book provides the fodder!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Reading,
By
This review is from: The Browser's Book of Beginnings: Origins of Everything Under, and Including, the Sun (Paperback)
A fairly light read, which suits this sort of book. Somewhat similar to the Guinness Book of Records in that you can dive in at any point and you're sure to find something to interest and fascinate. Well suited to the sort of person that revels in trivia.
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