The trivia lover's guide to the world : geography for the lost and found

The trivia lover's guide to the world Geography for the lost and found

Gary Fuller, 1941-

Book - 2012

Gary Fuller's entertaining and engaging guide enhances geographic know-how with good, old-fashioned fun, using trivia to open up new worlds of knowledge for all readers. Often dismissed as unimportant, trivia here highlights issues that are far from trivial, pondering, for example, what peaceful country requires citizens to keep guns in their homes? what continent contains at least 75 percent of the world's fresh water? and why aren't New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia the capitals of their respective states?

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Subjects
Geography > Miscellanea.
Published
Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc c2012.
Language
English
Main Author
Gary Fuller, 1941- (-)
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
xviii, 270 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm
ISBN
9781442214033
9781442214040
  • List of Maps
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • 1. The Effects of Geographic Ignorance on the Modern World
  • 2. We Think Big, Sometimes Too Big
  • 3. Maps Are Flat, the World Isn't
  • 4. Africa Bashing? What's That?
  • 5. Places Aren't Always Where You Think They Should Be
  • 6. State Capitals and American Politics
  • 7. The Exception to Everything
  • 8. Married to a Stranger
  • 9. Why Old Maps Look Funny
  • 10. Military Uses of Geography
  • 11. Really Big Cities
  • 12. Agriculture and Tourism
  • 13. Geography and Religion
  • 14. Geographic Pockets of Isolation: Preserving Old Ways
  • 15. Geographic Incoherence
  • 16. Countries Breaking Apart
  • 17. Unity in Disunity
  • 18. Maps Fool Us Again!
  • 19. Culture Hearths: Ancient and Modern
  • 20. Population Decline: Change on the Horizon
  • 21. Geographic Differences and Civil War
  • 22. New Agricultural Crops
  • 23. Domestications
  • 24. Continental Tidbits
  • 25. Islands Divided
  • 26. Oceans and Seas
  • 27. Bridges
  • 28. Rivers
  • 29. Medical Geography
  • 30. Border Issues
  • 31. Geography of Sports
  • 32. Geography and Religion Revisited
  • 33. The North
  • 34. Prison Islands
  • 35. Canals
  • 36. Land and Sea Battles
  • 37. Buildings
  • 38. Mountain Peaks
  • 39. Lakes
  • 40. Outliers
  • 41. Cities: Planned and Fiat
  • 42. Whatever Happened to ...?
  • 43. The Wild West
  • 44. Spatial Diffusion
  • 45. Parks
  • 46. Climate and Weather
  • Index
  • About the Author
Review by Choice Review

In this enjoyable book Fuller (formerly, Univ. of Hawai'i) explores and answers 150 geographical trivia questions. However, instead of listing the questions and providing the corresponding answers, which would make for a very boring read, he spins his responses into geographical explorations of various topics: climate and weather, maps, islands, rivers, parks, sports, and more. In 46 chapters addressing the questions and associated topics, Fuller does a wonderful job of providing historical context for his answers, in a way that is both entertaining and engaging. So why would Fuller write such a book? For one thing, he was a winning contestant on the television program Jeopardy! and chaired a championship College Bowl team. Trivia is clearly in his blood. In addition, he has a PhD in geography and has taught at universities for 35 years. Being named "Teacher of the Year" by the National Association for Geographic Education probably explains how he does such a great job of telling stories, while increasing one's knowledge of geography as a whole. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. K. P. McDonough Northern Michigan University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review

It is, unfortunately, an oft repeated (and probably true) maxim that most Americans are woefully ignorant about the geography of both their own country and the wider world. Fuller taught geography at the University of Hawaii for 35 years and is also a former winning contestant on the game show Jeopardy! Using a game-show format and trivia questions, Fuller goes beyond short answers to expound on a wide variety of geographic topics that provide enjoyment and enhanced knowledge to general readers hoping to fill in the gaps in their understanding of the world. The chapters are arranged around particular themes, which include state capitals, the why and where of various cities, and the links between religion and geography. Readers can learn why many state capitals were built away from large cities, or which nations, surprisingly, can expect population decline. Although the uninformed will benefit most, even those who consider themselves knowledgeable can enjoy the tidbits in this breezy, informative work.--Freeman, Jay Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Fuller hits the road around the world with this accessible and fun guide to global geography. The author couches "trivia" in an engaging narrative, but his knowledge is anything but trivial in an increasingly globalized world, where an understanding of the lay of the land on the other side of the planet may prove as important as knowing one's neighborhood. He introduces chapters on state capitals, continent-straddling countries, and "Really Big Cities," and more with questions that are sure to coerce the curious to delve into Fuller's informative olio-"What is the oldest language in Europe?" (Answer: Basque.) "Where was basketball invented?" (Answer: Springfield, Mass.) Interspersed throughout are fun anecdotes culled from Fuller's 35 years as a professor at the University of Hawai'i-one student "thought it was unfair to call some lakes `great' and thus, as she put it, `to dis other lakes.'" Featuring more than 50 maps and countless bits of miscellany, Fuller's "Guide to the World" will provide geography buffs with plenty of interesting facts. Folks will be happy to read thru or peruse at random. Maps. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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