Product Description

From every corner of the globe—and beyond—Guinness World Records™ 2009 gathers the most amazing, inspirational, and even bizarre record breakers yet! From don’t-try-this-at-home human achievements to natural and technological wonders, incredible feats in sports and entertainment, and much more, this latest edition introduces important new records and fascinating facts that will captivate every imagination. Did you know . . .

At 2 feet 5.37 inches, the shortest (mobile) living man is 19-year-old He Pingping of China, who was measured on March 22, 2008.

The world’s most expensive cocktail is offered at the Skyview Bar in Dubai, UAE. It costs $7,439 (27,321 dirham) and consists of 55-year-old Macallan whisky from Scotland, ice made from the water used at their distillery, a drop of exclusive dried fruit bitters, and passion-fruit-scented sugar.

Jeanne Stawiecki of the United States became the oldest female to climb the Seven Summits, including Mount Kosciuszko, when she completed her last climb (Mount Everest, Nepal) on May 22, 2007, at the age of 57 years, 36 days.

And that’s just a hint of what you’ll find inside this mind-blowing book, including striking photos, exclusive interviews, special sections on the year’s milestones—plus information on how you too can join the Guinness family of world-record breakers!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5541 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-28
• Released on: 2009-04-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 608 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553592566
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

The best gets better every year
I still buy and read the Guinness Record book every year, because it's become like an old friend that I like to catch up with, but I have to disagree with Birch East. I like the way it has changed and brings out a fresh look each year. The changes, like holograms, 3D whatever, make it fresh every year. My nephews also are big fans of the 3D gimmick.

I do agree with the recommendation for Getting into Guinness: One Man's Longest, Fastest, Highest Journey Inside the Most Famous Record Book, the new book by Larry Olmsted about the history and culture of the Guinness World Records book. After reading his review I snapped up a copy and it is great--very entertaining and a fun read! I have read the record book for years but never stopped to wonder where it came from (Guinness Beer!), how it got so big, and how large a role it has played in pop culture, and just how crazy some of the record holders seem to be. Getting Into Guinness is the story behind the records and a fun, well researched, adult read.

Still the champ, and with a new resource this year that makes it better than ever
I first read the Guinness Book of World Records when I was kid back in the 70s, and it's comforting to see it still going strong. I'll say that I definitely preferred the old school text-heavy versions from back in the day to the flourescent lime, 3D photography, picture-fest of today. It's a new world we live in now, so I guess it's hard to fault the Big G for keeping up with times.

As much as I've long loved the Guinness book itself, I was always a little disappointed that there wasn't a good resource written ABOUT Guinness -- its history, evolution, and especially about how it became the phenomenon that inspires people to carry out such dedicated acts of nuttiness. About two weeks ago, I saw a book profiled in USA Today titled GETTING INTO GUINNESS by Larry Olmsted. Olmsted is a journalist as well as a GBWR record-holder, and I gave it a try. Well, it's the perfect companion piece to the Guinness book; it puts everything into context and lets you feel like a real insider. 300 pages of fascinating real life stories about the quest for Guinness recordhood, and Amazon has it for about 16 bucks! Buy them as a tandem (which is what I should have done) and you'd even get free shipping with Prime. Getting into Guinness: One Man's Longest, Fastest, Highest Journey Inside the Most Famous Record Book

Not as kid friendly as I thought
My 8-yr-old son got this book for Christmas, and I have thought up to this point that it was a neat book, albeit with a few gross pics here and there (but nothing over the top). But today I discovered that it has a writeup and pic of the woman with the largest augmented breasts, which seems very inappropriate for a book marketed for kids. The same page has a writeup on the longest extension of the male body part as well as on the person who has had the most breast augmentation surgeries, and later in the book is a blurb about the largest nude photo shoot, with a mention of the photographer's goal of showing the beauty of the human body not pornography (a noble goal, but why bring up the topic in a kids' book?).

If these records were chronicled in a book meant mainly for adults, I wouldn't have such a problem with them, but this is a book that is meant for kids (as seen by the advertising we saw for it in magazines like Sports Illustrated for Kids, which is marketed for kids 8 and up). Adults may enjoy the book as well, but it is definitely marketed to kids.

We will not be buying another copy of this for anyone in our household. If this is the kind of thing you think would be inappropriate for your kids, be warned.