The Book of General Ignorance

by John Lloyd & John Mitchinson

Published by Faber, and now a national best-seller, the Book of General Ignorance has also been published in America, and will be published as a pocket edition paperback (£6.00) in April 2008.

The Book of General Ignorance is a comprehensive and humiliating catalogue of all the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge', which will make you wonder why anyone ever bothers to go to school. If you still think that Henry VIII had six wives, that the earth has only one moon, and that Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain, then you need this book. Urgently.

This gently sparkling font of knowledge refreshes the one question which has obsessed philosophers, scientists and men in pubs for most of history: what is truth and what is total hogwash?

Thomas Edison stated that we know less than one millionth of one percent about anything; Mark Twain thought it would take 8 million years to master mathematics alone; Woody Allen said that some drink deeply from the river of knowledge, but others only gargle.

Get in the brace position. This book will make you feel very small and silly.

Book update

A No 1 bestseller, the first QI book has now sold more than half a million copies and will be published in 23 countries. The American edition was published by Harmony books in August 2007 and is available here. The French edition, published in October by Dunod as Les autruches ne mettent pas la tête dans le sable is available here.

Reviews

"This book would make even Edison feel small and silly, for it offers answers to questions you never thought to ask or had no need of asking as you already knew, or thought you knew, the answer." The Economist

"Puts the rambling wit of QI on paperÉTrivia buffs and know-it-alls alike will exult to find so much repeatable wisdom gathered in one place." New York Times

"The Book of General Ignorance... has occupied the top spot of AmazonÕs hot 100 as if that were its favourite old leather armchair." The Independent

"Delightfully snarky... youÕll be armed with months of captivating bar room conversation." Wired Magazine

The Book competition

To celebrate the launch of the book on October 11th 2006, QI held a competition. The best answers to the following question won a copy of The Book of General Ignorance signed by Stephen Fry:

• What is Quite Interesting about Alabaster, Belgium, Cacti, Desmans and Whitstable?

The competition is now closed, but the winning entries can be seen here.