The Big Book of Losers

It's a goal to collect all of the volumes that make up The Big Book Of collection from Factoid Books. Unfortunately, this one won't be added to my collection. But it wasn't because of quality or a dislike for the material. Quite the opposite, I found the source material so engrossing, that there are a couple of subjects that I would love to read further about.

For example, the Gatti Gang from Italy. A mismatched group of mostly middle aged bunglers who couldn't do anything right and after several years of trying, when they finally robbed a bank, they only took in enough lira, that it equaled and $25 American dollars.

1997's The Big Book of Losers is full of people who just couldn't get ahead. There's the group of 5 singing sisters who's voices were so bad, only 3 people showed for their reunion show. There's the innovative music producer who snapped under the pressure of a massive infringement lawsuit, killing his neighbor and ultimately himself, only in death to win the verdict and a slew of royalties. There's also some very famous names, like George Custer, 30-day President William Henry Harrison and many more.

Don't think this book is just about people who failed. There's a bunch of inventions, forms of entertainment and other concepts that went bust and ended up in this book. The most famous example being perhaps the Edsel from Ford, a car so hated, only one of the 100,000 that were sold was ever reported stolen. Did you know that Stephen King's Carrie was adapted into a musical? Plus if you think you're having a rough first day at work, take a gander at how things went on the inaugural day of the US Postal Service's Air Mail program!

As you can see, I really enjoyed this book. So why don't I keep it! It's because there's a misprint! A big one and not something that I think would be considered collectible. There is a roughly 30 page segment where the previous 30 pages are included once again. Called an 'erratum', it's a rare production error and yet I have encountered such boo-boos in at least 2 other books with this error and countless comics. Am I am loser when it comes to finding these?

Thankfully I only paid 75 cents for the book. While I don't think it would be ethical for me to try and pass this off on someone else by trying to resell at a used bookstore, I do not have any qualms counting this as having read it. It's not my fault the book is missing a section. It just would be wrong to try and sell it as complete to someone else. To the free shelf it goes and on my wish list it remains.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Duh! The Stupid History Of The Human Race by Bob Fenster

This book is presented in 3 parts. The opener was what I was looking for when I bought it. You get dozens of accounts of people doing stupid things. From politicians to celebrities. From athletes to everyday Joes and Joans. There's are a ton of boo-boos here. It's comforting to know that other people make mistakes and fail just like I do. But who are we kidding? It's also entertaining. 

When author Fenster presents the facts, he's great. You really can visualize the chaotic episodes. But Fenster also likes to add his own personal comments to the accounts. Some exposition is warranted; like the times he crosses the international dateline to tell about how someone from a foreign culture made a big mistake. What might seem normal to us American readers is taboo overseas and it's needed for Fenster to explain why such and such's faux pas was a big deal in Thailand, Egypt or wherever. But sometimes, the author gets really preachy and it's rather annoying.

This occurred ad nauseam in the second section where the author has an invisible interviewer question him about why the human race is so dumb and is it correctable. Fenster really harks on how humanity has developed planes that shoot missiles from miles away at innocent people. I agree, this is not one of humanity's finest moments. Neither was the creation of nuclear bombs and the misuse of the media as crowd control (or bread and circuses- depending on your view) for the populace. The author spent about 60 pages on his manifesto of human stupidity. But he only used the same 4 or 5 examples to prove his thesis. And honestly, I don't think he really proved his point. Fenster tries to answer a question about if followers of religion are dumb or not and he tries so hard to give an answer without upsetting anyone. I wonder if Fenster ever thought about becoming a politician...

The last section, also the smallest, was a decent read. Fenster gives 62 tips on how to be smarter and in a way, more productive. While many of the author's tips seemed a bit far fetched, I liked the examples of noted people who lived in such a way to become successes. Also, I appreciated how he praised those of us who practice a skilled trade as being vital parts of society.

The stupid things were enjoyable. The diatribe about how we're all stupid was  uh, well, stupid. But I liked the listicle on how to be smarter. My advice, skip the middle section.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.