Product Description

Hot on the heels of the #1 bestsellers The Onion's Our Dumb Century and Jon Stewart's America comes The Areas of My Expertise, the brilliant and uproarious #15 bestseller (i.e., a runaway phenomenon in its own right-no, seriously)-a lavish compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom-all of it completely unresearched, completely undocumented and (presumably) completely untrue, fabricated by the illuminating, prodigious imagination of John Hodgman, certifiable genius.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100663 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781594482229
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
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.

From Publishers Weekly
Hodgman, "resident expert" on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and a New York Times Magazine contributor, prides himself as a leading authority in the realm of informative false world knowledge. In adapting his collection of fake trivia to audio, Hodgman couples sketch comedy showmanship and cerebral literary parody. Musician Jonathan Coulton enlivens Hodgman's more lengthy—sometimes plodding—narrative passages. Coulton's musical interludes during Hodgman's profiles of "Our 51 States" prove especially entertaining. Paul Rudd provides an "uncredited cameo" as the guest reader for "Jokes That Have Never Produced Laughter." The audio edition also includes a special bonus "700 Hobo Names" CD, an addendum to Hodgman's "Things You Did Not Know About Hoboes" chapter. Hodgman's distinct brand of offbeat humor somehow manages to spoof—yet ultimately embrace—an intellectual thirst for the esoteric. Admittedly, Hodgman can sometimes become mired in the long-winded details of his obscure falsehoods. Yet, connoisseurs of the Schott's Miscellany titles and the Onion will still find more than enough deliciously absurd faux facts to make for a worthwhile listening experience.
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Review
One of the funniest and most entertaining books to play on readers' imaginations in recent memory. Highly recommended. -- Library Journal

Customer Reviews

regarding mailing lists
I am the author of the book in question, and I am concerned by the report here regarding multiple, unwanted mailings on my behalf.

I have a small mailing list to whom I sent a weekly update about my book during the fall. Those updates have now ceased, though they may resume in the future. Membership on this list is voluntarily and frequently discouraged by me in order to avoid fraying readers' nerves as little as possible.

If you feel you have received spam in my name, please feel free to contact me via my website. So as not to seem wholly crass, I will not list the URL here, though you can figure it out, I trust. Once you are there, simply click on the words "John Hodgman" and then "desperate."

I would be glad to investigate this matter and resolve it if I can. I also have some excellent investment opportunities and low rate mortgages on prescription drugs that I am sure you will want to hear about.

Sorry to briefly commandeer these reviews for this matter. It is cheesy, I realize, to give my own book five stars; but I am not going to give it zero stars on principle, because despite what you may have heard, I do not loathe myself quite that much yet.

I apologize for the interruption. End transmission.

That is all.

Worth it for the Cover Alone
Hodgman's contributions to McSweeney's led me to this book, and THE AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE is almost entirely without disappointment. This isn't a book to read straight through, in a week; it's a book to sample from all year long. This is the sort of collection of stories and musings and articles that's best kept nearby to be accessed when the mood strikes.

The style here is vaulted, relaxed, and perfectly ridiculous all at the same time. Some authors have imagination, some have language, and Hodgman has both, in excess.

Funniest Book I have ever read
That last couple days, during some quiet moments, I have picked up this book and read a few pages. Within moments my 5 year old is asking me "Why are laughing?" I don't usually laugh out loud during books or movies. I'm more of a quietly reflecting in the back of my brain "that was amusing" kind of guy. But this book is amazingly funny.