What Makes Flamingos Pink? : A Colorful Collection of Q & A's for the Unquenchably Curious

Rating:
Summary: Bravo Bill! ... but ...
Review: Once again, the "answer whiz" has done it and done so in superlative form! As with his previous book, "Do Fish Drink Water?," most of what sets Bill's (and collaborators') work apart from others who have done compilations of trivial tidbits is that his personality permeates every word that is read on the page.

Anyone who has encountered Bill found out almost instantaneously, either when he responded to email sent to the Xerox Webmaster, spoke with him by phone or, as those of us fortunate enough to work with him on a regular basis, at the core of his being was a genuine caring for everyone. You could not talk with Bill without thinking that you were, if not his favorite person on the planet, at least the person he considered the most interesting.

To this equation, one adds the over-arching curiosity which resulted in such a vast wealth of knowledge in so many diverse fields of esoteric matter combined with the ability to convey information in the most easy-to-read manner and you have the answer to the question of what makes his books such pleasurable reading.

Yes, there are the minor imperfections such as the acceptance, again, in this book of the CNN-Headline News "abusage" meaning of the word "factoid" in utter disregard for its original coinage in 1973 by Norman Mailer. When I suggested to Bill that this second book ought to set the record straight with a "factoid on factoids" he pointed out, correctly, nobody but a small handful of philologers would be interested.

The only real downer is the tragic news that on 19 January 2001, just days before this book was due out, Bill died from complications following cancer surgery.

His wit, humor and, most of all, the kindness of this fine gentleman will be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Bravo Bill! ... but ...
Review: Once again, the "answer whiz" has done it and done so in superlative form! As with his previous book, "Do Fish Drink Water?," most of what sets Bill's (and collaborators') work apart from others who have done compilations of trivial tidbits is that his personality permeates every word that is read on the page.

Anyone who has encountered Bill found out almost instantaneously, either when he responded to email sent to the Xerox Webmaster, spoke with him by phone or, as those of us fortunate enough to work with him on a regular basis, at the core of his being was a genuine caring for everyone. You could not talk with Bill without thinking that you were, if not his favorite person on the planet, at least the person he considered the most interesting.

To this equation, one adds the over-arching curiosity which resulted in such a vast wealth of knowledge in so many diverse fields of esoteric matter combined with the ability to convey information in the most easy-to-read manner and you have the answer to the question of what makes his books such pleasurable reading.

Yes, there are the minor imperfections such as the acceptance, again, in this book of the CNN-Headline News "abusage" meaning of the word "factoid" in utter disregard for its original coinage in 1973 by Norman Mailer. When I suggested to Bill that this second book ought to set the record straight with a "factoid on factoids" he pointed out, correctly, nobody but a small handful of philologers would be interested.

The only real downer is the tragic news that on 19 January 2001, just days before this book was due out, Bill died from complications following cancer surgery.

His wit, humor and, most of all, the kindness of this fine gentleman will be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Who, What, When, Where, Why?
Review: The book "What Makes Flamingos Pink?" tells about facts and figures and events. It tells some of the most strange events, and also some you may not have even heard of. I learned many things from reading this book. I have also noticed things that make me wonder "What makes it do that?" or "Why does that thing do that?" Nearly all my questions were answered in this book.

The reason why I gave this book four stars is because it had interesting information, but the author (Bill McLain) sometimes gets off of the topic in the chapter. I have also read the book, "Do Fish Drink Water?" This is a book similar to "What Makes Flamingtos Pink," but I think that the book "Do Fish Drink Water" is actually a better book.

Rating:
Summary: Who, What, When, Where, Why?
Review: The book "What Makes Flamingos Pink?" tells about facts and figures and events. It tells some of the most strange events, and also some you may not have even heard of. I learned many things from reading this book. I have also noticed things that make me wonder "What makes it do that?" or "Why does that thing do that?" Nearly all my questions were answered in this book.

The reason why I gave this book four stars is because it had interesting information, but the author (Bill McLain) sometimes gets off of the topic in the chapter. I have also read the book, "Do Fish Drink Water?" This is a book similar to "What Makes Flamingtos Pink," but I think that the book "Do Fish Drink Water" is actually a better book.