The Order of Things: Hierarchies, Structures, and Pecking Orders

by Barbara Ann Kipfer

Paperback, 2008

Status

Available

Call number

031.02

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Workman Publishing Company (2008), 625 pages

Description

Utterly compelling! Barbara Ann Kipfer has elevated the list to high art and bestselling pleasure. A foremost expert of classification, in The Order of Things, she does for life what her previous books do for happiness and wisdom--organize it in a way that is brilliantly conceived. The The Order of Things is practical, entertaining, eclectic, and impossible to put down. Beginning with Earth--Smog Alert States, Rain Forest Layers, Coal Sizes-- and ending with General Knowledge and Philosophy (the I Ching's 64 "chapters," Ludwig Wittgenstein's four-step Method of Overcoming Puzzlement), it is a 14-chapter taxonomy of the world as we know it: * The Seven Hills of Rome, the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Seven Dwarfs--check. * The belt degrees of karate and judo, weight classes of professional and amateur boxing, flower names of the golf holes at Augusta--check. * The hierarchy of the FBI, publication order of Shakespeare's plays, cuts of beef, Freud's divisions of the human psyche, order of rank in world armies and navies, Jupiter's satellites, ships' bells, traditional and modern wine measures, blood-pressure levels, fastest animals--check. A completely indispensable reference--check.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member chellerystick

Many of us heard of this book by reading David Sedaris' memoir Me Talk Pretty One Day. What the book consists of is lists, lists, and more lists assembled by an experienced lexicographer of ideas: knots, alphabets, architectural elements, leaders of state, anatomy, and more.

The only thing keeping

me from endorsing this book as a five-star must-have is the number of mistakes that made it into the book and the lack of an errata sheet easily findable online. Also note that some facts, especially things like lists of prime ministers, only go up through 2001, so you may need a more conventional almanac (online or off) as well. These problems make this book too weak for study (e.g. for quiz bowl). However, it is great for casual browsing, writer brainstorming, etc., where you can then confirm details elsewhere if they become important.

Highly recommended, with reservations noted above.

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LibraryThing member IreneF

I was horribly disappointed with this book. It is not about the order of things. It's a reference book of lists of things. And it's not even accurate. It may have been useful when published a decade ago, but it's been superseded by the internet.

LibraryThing member benuathanasia

An interesting collection. All of this is, of course, available free on-line, but it's the 'collective' aspect of it that's interesting. It's a fun little curiosity to have around.

LibraryThing member Auntie-Nanuuq

Subtitle: "How Everything in the World is Organized Into Hierarchies, Structures, and Pecking Orders"

Preface: "From the inner workings of the smallest things to the complex system of the universe, The Order of Things is an attempt to cover all those things that we ourselves have organized, or what

we have found naturally organized, into:
hierarchies
structures
orders
classifications
branches
scales
divisions
successions
sequences
rankings."

Does this give you an idea of the book's contents?

Chapters: Earth Sciences & Geography; Life Sciences; Physical Sciences; Technology; Mathematics & Measurement; Religion; History; Society & Economy; The Arts; Domestic Life; Sports & Recreation; and General Knowledge

If you LOVE Lists (especially scientifically ordered ones), this is the book for you. There are numerous B&W illustrations, but I would have preferred colored photos.... as this book is more of a textbook than a pleasure read.

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