Customer Reviews

The Order of Things: How Everything in the World Is Organized Into Hierarchies, Structures, and Pecking Orders

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first heard about this book in an old David Sedaris piece; I believe it was 'Me Talk Pretty Someday'. It's an interesting way of looking at sets and sub sets, that has led to other associations in my own writing. I'd reccommend it to anyone who doesn't hold a death grip on what contents might might follow such a title. It can't meet anybody's expectations preciscely because there isn't another book quite like it - which is the good part. It's a useful, very readable and frequently amusing reaseach tool. The editorial reviews nailed it. Trust me. I am not the author but I am AN author.

Found this book in my friends bookshelf and was intrigued. Unfortunately, there was a lot of incomplete and mis-categorized information. None-the-less, this book really deserves to be re-worked. Possibly a great reference tool for adults and adolescents alike.

Found a few items almost useful enough to get this as a unique reference.

This book is full of information - lists of all kinds. Unless you are a human encyclopedia, much of it is certainly useless, but a person can probably find juicy lists for their particular field or interest. It is nice to have on the shelf.

There are three reference books I use all the time in writing: The Synonym Finder, the Random House Word Menu, and The Order of Things. I use these three books more often than a dictionary, because they help you *find* words that can be properly used, which is the primary exercise of a writer.

I had high hopes with this book. Would I be able to bring order to my chaotic world with the information within the book's covers? Unfortunately, the answer is a definite "NO!"

The first page I turned to (page 265) included descriptions of the meaning of the numbers on a bank check. Section described as "along bottom of bank check" indicates six areas whereas the example check shows only two along the bottom of the check. The section described as "after check has been cashed/cancelled, bottom right of bank check" indicates one area "the amount of money you wrote the check for." Shouldn't the number refer to the "6" on the check?

Page 317 displays nicely drawn pictures of nuts. The picture of the square nut is obviously wrong. The angles do not indicate a square nut but rather a pentagon shape.

Page 83... Saturn's rings... the picture shows six rings. The written listing of Saturn's rings lists seven rings.

I give the book a big MINUS but the ratings only let me choose a one as the lowest. Accepting the information within the book as true would not be possible due to the inaccuracies.