Elledge's Nontrivial Trivia: The Seriously Enlightening Stories Behind Supposedly Simple Facts

From the inquisitive mind behind the #1 international bestseller A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders, all the facts you didn’t know you wanted to know—and the stories of how we’ve come to know them

This illuminating compendium follows the captivating stories behind far-ranging facts, wherever they lead. No topic is too trivial for serious consideration, from how one might determine the most average-size country in the world to determining who would win in a fight between Harry Potter and Spider-Man. Author Jonn Elledge covers the breadth and depth of human experience, weaving his way through words and numbers, science and the arts, the spiritual and the secular. It’s a feast of facts for a hungry mind, including entries on the cosmos, the planet (and the lines we draw on it), questions of measurement, history and politics, the natural world, leisure, and many “oddities” that don’t fit neatly into any category but are no less irresistible for it. Bizarre, brilliant, and overflowing with things you didn’t know you wanted to know, Elledge’s Nontrivial Trivia evokes a sense of awe at the scale of this planet—and the universe of wonders in which it sits.

Publisher’s note: Elledge's Nontrivial Trivia was previously published in the UK as The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything.