Customer Reviews

Guinness World Records 2007 (Guinness Book of Records)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

No longer intended to be a comprehensive reference, the Guinness Book is now a sort of compilation of interesting superlatives with oversized pictures and many features that aren't even actual records ("Most Overrated Celebrity"). If you're going to do this, why not offer one edition that plays it by the book?

So dies a noble institution.

I'm giving this book four out of five stars because the vast majority of the material is interesting, not the least offensive, and gets kids to read. The one picture of Janet and Justin shows less skin than many pictures of the athletes. Yes, it was a poor choice in topic by Guinness and they need to be made aware they are pandering to the lowest common denominator there (and we don't appreciate it), BUT overall, the book simply acknowledges the huge variety of life to be found on this planet. I do agree a better title would be something like Guinness Guide to the Weird and Extreme.

As a school librarian who sees kids in grades 7-12, I am more than happy to continue to provide Guinness World Record books to students. They really DO get kids reading when they otherwise simply check out and return a book just to keep a teacher from nagging at them. If parents and/or students find something offensive, they can simply return the book to the library, mention their concerns (and possibly remove similar titles from their OWN child's list of allowed books) and get something else. One little group of parents do NOT have the right to tell all other parents/grandparents/guardians what their kids can or cannot read, and there is NO doubt in my mind whatsoever that the overwhelming majority of parents will not find this book objectionable. Certainly, there are many examples here of people who would obviously benefit from mental help, but these are stories about things and people who are different in form and thought, not morally warped. The people that truly scare me are the ones who think kids need to be stuck in boxes and totally isolated from anyone who doesn't think like their parents do. How on earth does a child learn to make decisions that are in her/his/everyone's best interest if her caregivers attempt to remove even the most MINOR examples of poor values (like the ones in this book--we're not talking murder and mayhem here) from her life and refuse to talk about them? To some degree, we learn good by comparing it to bad. The best thing to do if you are concerned about what a kid is reading/viewing/living is to TALK to him about it...not put blinders on him and refuse to allow him any exposure to the rest of the world. Really, people, there is NOTHING pornographic in this book unless warped little minds make it so.

The book has changed a lot since I was a kid paging through a two hundred page black-and-white paperback. This hardbound edition beats all the almanacs and bathroom readers for fun and information. The book is filled with mostly color photos and, obviously, tons of weird bests and greatests like "The World's Oldest Piece of Cake." (4,200 years old!) The oversized edition allows for bigger pictures and includes color fold-outs and tear-out trading cards. The series has moved from a compendium of facts to a more Ripleys like shocker but it's still great fun for a rainy day.

We were led to believe that this book was geared for children because of the trading cards included. However, the subject matter is crude and offensive on many pages. I would definitely not recommend this book for children. I also think that the contents reflect the downward spiral in our culture and therefore, would not recommend it for adults either.

My kids love the World record books but this one is suitable only for older kids. C'mon folks, leave out the racey photos. A little common sense would have gone a long way here. The cover is way cool, though.

I just picked up this book for my 12-year-old nephew and was surprised by all the negative reviews. The book has become more of a picturebook containing highlights of interesting records with little resemblance to the thick paperback Guinness World Record books I used to page through 25 years ago. It took me a while to find the offensive Janet Jackson/Timberlake photo that somebody mentioned. I was hoping to find some bare skin but alas none was to be seen. Anybody who is offended by that inclusion in the book needs to join an Amish community. Ridiculous. As far as the other "graphic" photos go, I couldn't find anything disturbing. Just life -- weird and strange as it can be -- in this day and age. If the book encourages a child to read, it's well worth it.

Overall, this work is perfect for the student in your house. It has a
plethora of subjects ranging from pop culture to the most discriminating
scientific facts imaginable. Here are some of the more notable frames:

- a flexman with almost perfect flexibility of the upper back and torso
- Jeanne Calment born 2-21-1875 and lived to 8-4-1997
- Iszumi, the oldest man living to age 120 and born in 1865
- the life expectancy of Andorra at 83+ years
- the Orion Nebula which is the brightest in the sky
- the stretchiest skin on any living human being
- the Grand Canyon extending from the Marble Gorge to the Grand Wash Cliffs
- Mt. Nyiragongo in Congo with an active lava lake
- the Green Great Wall which is a 2783 mile belt of forest preserve
due to be completed by mid-century
- the deepest cave Krubera
- 136 degrees which is the highest temperature ever recorded

The work represents a fair cross-section of the world's most little
known facts and/or trendy trivia. Some reviewers were offended by a few
pop culture references. The presentation should reflect contemporary society comprehensively. Overall, the acquisition is a good value for
the price charged. As an experienced lecturer at the collegiate level,
I don't think parents can insulate young adults from the forces which shape the world around them.

No longer in paperback format, "Guinness World Records" is an oversized hardcover jam packed with brief articles, lots of pictures, and a few trading cards. New records have a red star next to them; broken or updated records have a yellow star next to them. Guinness has several unique features throughout the book. Records holders, such as insects, are shown at their actual size whenever possible. Scattered throughout the book are bits of trivia about certain records. There are a handful of interviews included in the book. There are also some fold out pages in the book. At the very end of the book are recently set records that just made it into the book at press time.

"Guinness World Records" is a mixed bag. It's geared toward the younger crowd - it's oversized with tons of pictures and the articles are all over the place instead of in neat columns. Some of the records are quite interesting; for example the section with the youngest and oldest person to hold certain records is fascinating. Also interesting are the one minute records which include records such as how many chin ups or cartwheels a person can do in one minute (although I could have done without reading about how many cockroaches a person can eat in one minute, accompanied by a picture of him with cockroaches all over his face - yuck). Some of the more interesting records are the ones about planet earth, science, and some of the sporting ones. The disease and medicine section is very interesting. Some of the records, while interesting, could have used more details like what happened to the seal that was afraid of water. Some of the other "records" such as the ones in the celebrity section seem shallow. Guinness itself adds to the shallowness by holding a Guinness World Record Day every November 9th. This is an open invitation for people to attempt frivolous records such as the most socks worn on one foot. Other records, such as the one for Doom 3, were not verified and should not have been included in the book. It would be interesting to see how Guinness chooses who will be in the book; it surprised me that there was no mention of Japanese eating champion Takeru Kobayshi in the food and eating section. The interviews in the book are quite brief, but the one with Sergei Krikalive, who has spent more time in space than any other human being, was very interesting and I wish it had been longer. The trading cards have pictures on the front with records and other information on the back but I'm not sure how collectible they really are. Guinness offers a "Memory Challenge" in which you can have someone read to you a list of objects on the page and you try to recite them back in order. If you feel you can memorize enough to set a record, you can apply to Guinness to try and break the record.

"Guinness World Records" has some interesting records and features, but it's not as good as it used to be.

The best bit about taking delivery of the latest edition of "Guinness World Records" is the discovery of new information about the largest, tallest, fastest or whatever. As with every new edition of this book, many records from previous editions are removed in order to provide space for those which are included for the very first time. In other words, this is not an up-dated version of Guinness World Records 2006 to which a few more records have been added. This is a new book.

Every edition of Guinness World Records will always remain an excellent reference source - but you will need several editions to be certain of finding exactly what it is you require.

On the other hand, if you are simply curious about records, there are many in this particular edition that were never intended. Whilst it might be every Athlete's intention to break the world record in his or her particular discipline, it was never intended that a certain person would have an entry in this book because their's was the skull from which the largest ever object was removed. Gruesome? No, not at all. Fascinating? Yes, most definitely.

NM

I was disappointed to find the copy was in Spanish.
I will soon return it.