Customer Reviews

Now You Know: The Book of Answers

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I got this book as a gift from a friend of mine. Unfortunately it was trite and tiresome. Nothing of real substance, but a riot for dilletantes or those with time to read but without the mind to know what to read. It barely skims the surface of the things rambles about.

Very early in the book in his discussion of the origin of the use of "Dixieland" to describe the Southern US States," Lennox indicates that the purported author of the famous song, "Dixie," Daniel Emmett, was a Black man. In fact, Emmett was a Caucasian member of a then-popular minstrel troupe known for derogatory Blackfaced impersonations. Published photograps of Emmett leave little doubt as to his heritage. As a matter of fact, the authorship of "Dixie" remains in question since it was copyrighted well after the song became popular. Perhaps this is the only factual error in the book, but one must wonder.

This book has some interesting tidbits, but overall it is a very light read. Anyone who is looking for deep research or expanded explanations will end up disappointed by the author's breezy examinations.

The book also has a few flat out errors. One example is in the section explaining the phrase "the die is cast". While the author does correctly attribute the saying to Julius Caesar, he incorrectly ties the words to the act of throwing dice. Actually, the "die" refers to a molded metal piece used to make other metal pieces (such as the template for stamping coins). Once the die is "cast" in the metallurgic sense (same as "cast iron"), it cannot be changed or modified. Hence its use by Casar when crossing the Rubicon. Games of chance had nothing to do with it.

"Now You Know" will take an hour or so to get through, and won't substantially add anything to your life except a few (somewhat accurate) vignettes on word and phrase origin. My verdict is: skip it.

Fascinating and fun! It answers questions I've never thought to wonder about. It is great on my coffee table where my friends & I can exclaim - "I didn't know that"! Well, now we know.