Pequeña guía en plan cool en la que 100 expertos en su campo nos hablan de cómo hay que hacer ciertas cosas. Así, Grete Waitz, nueve veces campeona del maratón de Nueva York y medalla de plata en Los Ángeles ’84 nos cuenta cómo debemos hacer footing. El director del NY times nos cuenta cómo leer un periódico (no cómo leerlo, sino cómo interpretarlo). El jefe del CDC (Center for Disease Control, los de la peli “Estallido”) nos explica cómo lavarnos las manos… Por supuesto, son articulillos en los que no sólo se nos cuenta, por ejemplo, cómo hacer un nudo de corbata; además, nos hablan un poco de la historia del tema de que se trate. Es una lectura muy ligera, entretenida la mayor parte del rato y en ocasiones muy interesante. Como único elemento criticable, podríamos decir que a veces apesta a publicidad. Me explico con un ejemplo hipotético: Capítulo del Sushi.

Cómo hacer y comer Sushi. Autor del capítulo: Matsuhito Tomonaga, chef del restaurante Sushiluz (5th avenue, New York) cuya página web es sushiluz.com (visítela!), autor del libro Suhimasters of the sushiverse, que puede usted encontrar en las mejores librerías.

Da en ocasiones la sensación de que les hacen un poco de publicidad a los autores, no sé yo si para que rebajen el caché a la hora de escribir el artículo. La nota que le pongo al libro: Si te lo quieres comprar, no seré yo quien te diga que no, aunque hay otros mejores. ( )

I don't know why, but I am a sucker for the sorts of books that teach you how to do things. Case in point, this book is just another questionable buying decision of mine. Some of the advice really is quite good, but I don't know if it is worth the original price. I got it for a bargain price of $7.98 myself.

The book itself covers 100 things that the author feels people should know how to do. I can agree with this sort of ideal; after all, specialization is for insects. I guess the biggest issue the author had was choosing 100 skills out of a multitude of possibilities. For instance, the book will tell you how to Negotiate courtesy of Donald Trump, but will not tell you how to milk a cow. This is just as well since I doubt a book could give you all the intricacies of running a Dairy Farm or something. It also seems to be aimed at women in particular. I mean, I'm not going to disparage you for being a man and wanting to know how to apply lipstick, but that isn't the sort of information that would grab my attention. Though thinking back, that isn't really something I can say. I mean, the book also focuses on how to tie a Windsor Knot, how to tie a Bowtie, and how to get the perfect shave.

Also, this book is older than I thought it to be at first glance. It makes no difference since good advice is timeless, but it is rather surprising to me. Anyway, the book is good, but not great. I would recommend it in some cases, but reading about a skill loses something in translation. 3/5 stars. ( )

Short little blurbs written by various experts. Some essays were good and actually useful, some were not. A bit uneven, but not a bad experience. Good book to put in bathroom. ( )

Eh, it's ok. I found a few very useful tips here and there. It focuses more on non-tangible things than I would have liked, but those things are important too.

Each of the 100 things consists of a short essay written by a person deemed expert on that area; most are useful, all the ones I've read (I skimmed some of them) are pretty well written, and some of them are funny (how to shovel snow).

I wouldn't have paid full price for this (Kaufman's guide was better) but as a library book sale splurge it was interesting enough. ( )

The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do
Created by Samantha Ettus

After reading this 326 page hard cover expert on everything, I ended up asking myself only one question. How did I ever do without it? The idea to have knowledgeable people weighing in on their area of expertise in many different subjects pertinent to everyday living was just sheer genus.

One of many things that impressed me about this goodwill ambassador is that the subjects displayed were concise, well written and held a lot of helpful and easy to follow information, and the range was amazing. Everything from brewing coffee, apologizing, listening, flirting, wine tasting, negotiating, swimming and oh, so many more. My favorite was on how to tell a joke, by Howie Mandel. I would recommend this book to anyone, period, and think it would make a wonderful gift for that person who has everything. Awesome job, Samantha.

Love & Light,
Riki Frahmann ( )