What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? and 100 Other Great Cultural Lists--Fully Explicated

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.

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.

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.

Not much really to say on this book other than is packed with little known knowledge on historical information. It is rather heavily slanted to mythology and such, and though interesting at times it is not clear if one could retain a lot of what is here because there is so much. Also not sure how one can use it.

Fun and interesting. Good book for an airport or a doctor's office. Dip into as time permits.