Customer Reviews

Triumph of the Straight Dope

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

 

 

The entire straight dope series is a hilarious and thought provoking group of books. I highly recommend all of them. The one problem I have with the more recent ones, however, is the inclusion of cyberchats involving the "teeming millions." They kind of take away from what we want to read( Cecil) and instead gives us egotistical neurotics who want to spout off a snide remark about some topic with not nearly the wit nor the intelligence of Mr. Adams.

Kudos to Cece for another great accomplishment in ridding the world of ignorance (a little at a time). Lets ditch the AOL chats though.

Hmmmmmm- as an avid fan of SD I was happy to learn that Cece has produced his 2nd best work ever (sorry about that I'm a fan of the 1st SD). The topics are still interesting, the wit- dry and razor sharp- but- it could have been better without the Straigh Dope message board fillers (such a waste of good space for such drivel).

Nonetheless- this book will surely be a great tool in killing time (with a few yuks pitched in).

My Mother used to say that "no one likes a smartass" - Sorry Mom but I dont agree; not when the smartass in question is Cecil Adams. Here is a man who clearly loves to confound us with his wide and deep knowledge and has an engaging way of keeping the "teaming millions"on their toes. I secretly suspect that he gets a little help in his research but hey, who am I to quibble. This is great light reading - informative and interesting and the best thing to come out of Chicago (since my Wife)

I bought this book ( and some of the others in the series) for my daughter but read them first and enjoyed them so much that I kept them for myself. Dont worry , I'll let her borrow them from time to time So try this book - you won't regret it

Another book for Cecil Adams in his quest to fight ignorance...
After almost 30 years this eccentric guy has been trying to get rid of the ignorance and myths upon us and shine a light of wisdom among us...
Worth a read...

What a terrific series of books.
I'm absolutely hooked on the Straight Dope, and am now unsure of what to do with myself now that I've read all the books.
This book, Volume 5 in the series, has some of the best questions yet, but, unfortunately, also contains numerous transcriptions of Internet message boards--which are funny, but kind of a waste of space. I was hoping he wouldn't do that in this book (like he did in the previous volume), but he did, and he added columns that he didn't even write, that were written by his assistants. These other columns are well written pieces, but they're not Cecil's. He's inimitable.
It's now been close to nine years since this book came out, and I'd like to think that's because they're waiting to make this next book an all killer no filler sort of deal. (And not because they're tied up in litigation for some reason.)
"Triumph of the Straight Dope" deals with whether or not human heads live after being removed from their bodies, the meaning of PEZ, the truth behind the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and much, much more.
Cecil Adams seems as funny as ever, despite hints that he may have become somewhat more religious since the first volumes, and the book is generally a pleasure that goes by quickly.
Reading this book, after reading the previous four, I was struck by just what an epic work the collected decades of this column are when viewed all at once. Together, they're an encyclopedia of trivia and knowledge, and far more entertaining and sassy than any such tome has ever been before.
Recommended. Highly recommended. All of 'em.

Another great book by the witty, all-knowing (well, most of the time) Cecil Adams. The book's question and answer format makes it easy to read and understand. A must!

Cecil Adams' new book is the best yet! He is the Worlds smartest human

The usual brilliance. For those of you who have obtained Cecil nature, come converse with us at alt.fan.cecil-adams