The Experts' Guide

Here's a good book to buy for yourself or as a gift, The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do, by Samantha Ettus.  She asks 100 experts for their advice on how to do a variety of things like tie a bowtie (by Tucker Carlson from CNN's Crossfire), and make eggs (by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the famed chef and restauranteur.)  The items cover a variety of categories spanning cooking, social etiquette, sports, personal grooming, and more.

All of the contributions are fairly light but some things are more useful than others.  Some of the more practical things are How to Tie a Windsor Knot by the President of Thomas Pink, N.A., How to Write a Personal Note by the CEO of stationer Crane & Co., and a chocolate chip cookie recipe from Mrs. Fields.  Other things are not as informative - the disappointments include How to Negotiate by Donald Trump (only a few soundbite nuggets), and How to Tell a Joke by Howie Mandel (too philosophical.)

It's a quick, interesting read and a useful reference book that you can go back to often. The book itself looks nice too - a hardcover cross between an owner's manual and a coffee table book, and decently priced at $13.57 ($19.95 list) at Amazon.