Book Review: Now I Know - Dan Lewis

One book that a number of my friends suggested that I read is:

Now I Know: The Revealing Stories Behind the World’s Most Interesting Facts - by Dan Lewis

I wasn’t sure what to make of this book as it just seemed to be a large collection of facts that Dan thought were interesting. Given I love trivia, I thought I’d try it.

Dan started an email list called “Now I know” back in 2010 with a handful of subscribers and grew that to over a hundred thousand. These are basically the topics that ended up being some of the most interesting.

I actually quite enjoyed the book. Some of the early topics captured my attention immediately. For example:

• Where did the ampersand get its name from?
• What actually happened to the flags on the moon?
• Did Germany actually take over a Canadian city during the second world war?
• Why did the UK intentionally plant a body to wash up on the shores of Spain in the second world war?

Anyone who loves a bit of trivia will get a kick out of something in this book. After each fact is discussed, Dan then has a bonus fact that’s associated with the main fact. Some of those were quite fascinating.

The only downside I found with this book, as with many US books, is that there is a heavy US balance to the history and facts included. I’m not sure that the rest of the world has quite the fascination with the US Civil War, etc. that those in the US do.

I’d recommend this book but my rating depends upon where you live.

Greg’s rating (if you live in the USA): 7 out of 10

Greg’s rating (if you live outside the USA): 6 out of 10

2018-07-13