4.5 This book is described by the author as a "treasure box" collection of terms, objects, people, historical events that caught her interest. What they all have in common is that they are exquisite: of special beauty or charm, or rare and appealing excellence. This book regains some of the reverence for the ordinary objects, words, social conventions and history that we think we know. The author states: “… knowing … can make you feel rich and … learning … can turn the world vast and strange.” For example, the Bartlett pear has its origins in a saint’s gift to a sick king. Frilly Lingerie has been around a lot longer than Victoria’s Secret and has a history of elegance and social agenda. We know lightning inspired Ben Franklin, but it also captivated Nikola Tesla who 1oo years later (1899) created man-made lightning. However, he turned down the Nobel Prize in 1912 because he didn’t want to share it with Edison and ultimately went bankrupt. Today, electric cars that bear his name sell for $80,000 and have a wait list for years. The author again: “This book is an homage to frivolity…doing something frivolous means doing something pretty and purposeless.” Engaging, witty and entertaining, this exquisite book is a must for any know-it-all you know. ( )

interesting and entertaining with illustration style from 100 years ago ( )

This is a fun book to leaf through with a variety of entries on many different subjects. Looking at the middle of the book, we have disquisitions on such subjects as:
Miserere: A seventeenth-century choral composition.
Moritsuke: Traditional Japanese fules of food arrangement.
Mouches: Fake beauty marks.
Nebula, the Powdered Sugar Princess
Nectar and Ambrosia: the mythological sweet drink and food of the gods.

Although the book has a bis towards western civilization, it is wide-ranging and well researched. ( )

I couldn't help myself when I saw this pretty book sitting on the "New Arrivals" shelf at my local library. When I flipped it open, it had the coolest entries about things like milk baths, the trapeze, the omelet, badminton, and more, all with their history and context. The history isn't intense, but it is a nice overview of how things have evolved. In a sense, it's a cultural encyclopedia of random facts that might pop up in a British or French novel. For instance, the entry on red lipstick was great, and something I could see featured in a magazine. I also thought the information on obelisks and their popularity around the world was pretty outside the realm of normal history books. Although I wasn't 100% sure how the topics were selected for the encyclopedia, seeing as they were a quirky collection of random facts and information, they were all pretty interesting. This is one "informational" book that can be read like a novel, for its fun facts and details. I definitely think this would make for a pretty interesting coffee table book! ( )