Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing: Glow in the Dark, Control the Weather, Perform Your Own Surgery, Get Out of Jury Duty, Identify a Witch, Colonize a ... Girl, Make a Zombie, Start Your Own Religion [Paperback]

Maggie Koerth-Baker (Author), Will Pearson (Author), Mangesh Hattikudur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2009

Be amazing

Who says you can't? It's time to get off the couch and take your life to the next level.

Step one: stand on the shoulders of geniuses

What good are the world's greatest geniuses if you can't muddy their shoulder pads and use their accomplishments as a step stool? mental_floss has combed through every success story in history to deliver this ultimate how-to guide for climbing your way to greatness.

Step two: bask in the glow of admiring fans

Whether you want to glow in the dark, swallow a sword, quit smoking, find Atlantis, live forever, get out of jury duty, buy the Moon, sink a battleship, stop global warming, become a ninja, or simply be the center of the universe, Be Amazing covers all the essential life skills. Just absorb a few pages, then let the hero worship begin!

You will need:

• A hunger for greatness
• Some duct tape
• This book

You may want:

• Sidekicks and/or minions
• An impressive nickname
• An amazing outfit

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur met as first year students at Duke University. Ignoring the lures of law school and investment banking, the pair co-founded mental_floss and have been grinning ever since.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1 Original edition (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061251488
• ISBN-13: 978-0061251481
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be amused, but far from amazing, April 14, 2009

By 

Paradox (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing: Glow in the Dark, Control the Weather, Perform Your Own Surgery, Get Out of Jury Duty, Identify a Witch, Colonize a ... Girl, Make a Zombie, Start Your Own Religion (Paperback)

I most definitely don't regret purchasing this book, albeit for the wrong reasons (free t-shirt). This book was funny and informative to say the least, but it is not a how-to or self-help, which I was led to believe. I don't know how other Mental Floss books are (so maybe I could have known what to expect), but I can imagine they are just like this one: an amusing facts book.

This book has great and wonderfully random facts and info (mainly historical), like how to get out of jury duty (one of the few useful facts), or the real deal behind ninjas (WARNING: if you love ninjas, this might be a little too informative), or even how to get out of quicksand (another rare useful tid-bit). I would recommend it as a bathroom or coffee table book, but that is not to say it was poor quality. Just a very light (-hearted) read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great "Get Well" Gift, May 2, 2009

By 

Lynn Russell "eshopper" (Kansas City) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing: Glow in the Dark, Control the Weather, Perform Your Own Surgery, Get Out of Jury Duty, Identify a Witch, Colonize a ... Girl, Make a Zombie, Start Your Own Religion (Paperback)

This was purchased for someone who was recovering from cancer surgery. It is a great "get well" gift because it is a bit unusal and brings a smile to your face just reading the cover. I told her I wanted her to use this healing time constructively - learning to make herself invisible, to glow in the dark, and to start her own religion and such. :)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not disappointed so far, April 9, 2009

By 

Jennifer A. Dunaway (Sierra Vista, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing: Glow in the Dark, Control the Weather, Perform Your Own Surgery, Get Out of Jury Duty, Identify a Witch, Colonize a ... Girl, Make a Zombie, Start Your Own Religion (Paperback)

Informative and funny. I was worried it would be stuff I've already read from the magazines and other books but it is unique. I really enjoy it.