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| The Areas of My Expertise | 
 enlarge | Author: John Hodgman
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $4.69
You Save: $9.31 (67%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $3.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  (119 reviews)
Sales Rank: 14474
Format: Bargain Price
Language: English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.607
ASIN: B000O17CZ6
Publication Date: September 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In the great tradition of the American almanac, The Areas of My Expertise is a brilliant and hilarious compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom on all topics large and small. Although bestsellers such as Poor Richard?s Almanack and The Book of Lists were certainly valuable, they also were largely true. Here is a different kind of handy desk reference, one in which all of the historical oddities and amazing true facts are sifted through the singular, illuminating imagination of John Hodgman?which is the nice way of saying: He made it all up. John Hodgman brings his considerable expertise to bear in answering all of the questions book buyers have been asking:
-What are the mottoes of the 51 United States?
THE ANSWER IS PROVIDED
-Who were the U.S. presidents who had hooks for hands?
THE ANSWER IS PROVIDED
-What role does the Yale secret society ?Skull and Bones? play in the secret world government?
THERE IS NO SECRET WORLD GOVERNMENT
-What was the menu at the first Thanksgiving, and did it include eels?
Technically, that is two questions, but do not apologize, for John Hodgman shall answer them both . . . LATER.
-Aside from a compendium of fake trivia, what is the best kind of book to write?
A SIMPLE TABLE OF THE 55 MOST DRAMATIC LITERARY SITUATIONS PROVIDES THE ANSWER, and John Hodgman is the author of that table.
Imagine if The Book of Lists had been rewritten by Peter Cook and Jorge Luis Borges under the pseudonym of ?John Hodgman? and then renamed The Areas of My Expertise, and you will only begin to have a sense of the dizzying, uproarious, sublimely weird, and strangely wise journey that is contained within this book (along with all the pages and words). Perfect for anyone who thirsts for knowledge, and especially for collectors of books of fake trivia, The Areas of My Expertise offers through absurdity a better understanding of the world we share?and recognizes that while the truth may be stranger than fiction, it is never as strange as lies . . . or as true.
Amazon.com
With his Daily Show appearances and his "I'm a PC" Apple ads, John Hodgman has only become more famous since the hardcover edition of his all-you-need compendium of facts, The Areas of My Expertise was released. He has also become smarter. To reflect this, the paperback edition of The Areas of My Expertise has been expanded to include 100 new hobo names and new, additional complete world knowledge. John Hodgman and his fur-hatted associate, Jonathan, have prepared an exclusive video for Amazon customers explaining the above. 
Click here or on the image above to watch John Hodgman describe the only book you'll ever need. |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 114 more reviews...
 Captures both the patois of hobology and the romanticized nuance of facial hair August 27, 2008
The cliches "Tour de force", "feelgood hit of the summer", and "attractive cover art" have been used enough in the other reviews, along with the attempts at lint humor.---
The only negative being that in addition to the book, much to my surprise and chagrin the package contained a bobcat --- would not buy again.
 Get the book NOT the audio book July 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is a gem; however, the audio book seems to be the wrong medium for Mr. Hodgman's expertise, which is most enlightening, entertaining, and educational indeed.
 Makes-a-me-laugh July 4, 2008
Absurdly dry and funny. In a similar manner to his schtick on "The Daily Show," Hodgman throws facts into a blender with ludicrous tidbits from his imagination. As I was telling a friend recently, I now fear inclusion in Modern Jackass Magazine (see "This American Life") if and when I accidentally insert some of Hodgman's "facts" into casual conversation. If that happens, however, the consequence will have been worth the action.
I can't read this in public May 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I read "An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order by myself, John Hodgman, a Professional Writer, in the Areas of My Expertise, which Include: Matters Historical, Matters Literary, Matters Cryptozoological, Hobo Matters, Food, Drink & Cheese (a Kind of Food), Squirrels & Lobsters & Eels, Haircuts, Utopia, What Will Happen in the Future, and Most Other Subjects", I always have to be in a room alone. When I am in public or in a room with family or friends, I alternate laughing out loud and biting my lip/sweating. Forcing oneself to not laugh is a strain on the body and causes me to sweat.
I don't usually laugh out loud when I read books, but it is impossible with this one.
I bought this book after seeing Hodgman's appearance on the Daily Show as a guest to promote this book. I ordered it immediately and since then have become a huge Hodgman fan. To my suprise and great excitement, he has exploded into fame, becoming a regular contributer on The Daily Show, Apple adverts, Flight of the Conchords and appearing in a Tiny Fey film.
Wikipedia says he has a new book scheduled for October 2008... when can I preorder?
Any book with 700 hobo names... May 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the type of parching dry humor that can take me from giggle to full out laugh in a split second. Example:
From, "IDIOSYNCRASIES OF THE GREAT DETECTIVES"
- Miss Millicent McTeague: This elderly spinster is not as senile as she seems! Also, she eats cats.
...and
- Dr. Kathleen DiPietro: This brilliant forensic medical examiner occasionally wears the victims' skin in order to "see the crime through their eyes." This habit becomes something of a liability when she begins wearing the victims' skin to nightclubs and restaurants.
Hilarious. My friends and I rolled around reading the 700 hobo names aloud. Mr. Hodgman needs to come out with another book...please?
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