Peter D'Epiro

As these sorts of thing go (like, say, the Bathroom Readers or the People's Almanac) pretty rich in explanations. A pretty strong personal point of view which occasionally, but not often, gets in the way of the explication. Pretty well done little essays on things you probably ought to know and will definitely enjoy learning about.

The secondary 2012 Hahn Bathroom Reader ended up being the 2013/2014 bathroom reader. Written in essay format, this was a nice easy way to get through a book, a couple pages at a time. The sections are divided into "number" chapters, starting with three. For instance, the heading for the essay would be "What are the the three components of the Freudian Psyche?" Six would have "Who were the six wives of Henry VIII?" All the way up to the section on twelve with "What were the twelve labors of show more Hercules?"
It was a very interesting read and I learned something new in each essay. I recommend it for trivia buffs and a quick reference guide. show less

The answer to "What are the Seven Wonders of the World?" is in a chapter of lists seven items long. Nonets make up their own chapter and sets of ten are in their own. The list chapter are arranged in size. It feels largely to be history with a smattering of science topics. The writing is lively and engaging. However, once the lists start to get into double digits and the answers grow longer in proportion the reading drags as the same details of the smaller lists is used.

I ate up the Wallace's Books of Lists in the 1970s, so when I saw this on the clearance shelf, I picked it up out of curiosity. More substantial than the Wallace entries - it's 560 pages, and these 101 lists were "fully explicated" - they nonetheless have arbitrary (regions of Italy?) mixed with traditional lists. Interesting light diversion.