The ''Book of Lists'' refers to any one of a series of books compiled by David Wallechinsky, his father

Irving Wallace Irving Wallace (March 19, 1916 – June 29, 1990) was an American best-selling author and screenwriter. He was known for his heavily researched novels, many with a sexual theme. Early life Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Bessie Liss a ...

and sister Amy Wallace. Each book contains hundreds of lists (many accompanied by textual explanations) on unusual or obscure topics, for example: * Famous people who died during

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

* The world's greatest

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

suits * People suspected of being

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

* Worst places to hitchhike * Dr. Demento's 10 Worst Song Titles of All Time * People misquoted by

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

* Breeds of dogs which bite people the most, and the least The first ''Book of Lists'' was published in 1977, a second volume came out in 1980 and the third appeared in 1983. ''Book of Lists for the 1990s'' was published in 1993; yet another volume, ''The New Book of Lists'', was published in 2005. The first volume was initially controversial and banned in some libraries and parts of the United States when it was published due to, among other things, a chapter that graphically described popular sexual positions and their pros and cons. The 2005 volume was essentially "new" in name only; it was made up primarily of reprinted and updated lists selected from the first three volumes, which have gone out of print. Wallechinsky and Wallace were also responsible for editing ''

The People's Almanac ''The People's Almanac'' is a series of three books compiled in 1975, 1978 and 1981 by David Wallechinsky and his father Irving Wallace. In 1973, Wallechinsky became fed up with almanacs that regurgitated bare facts. He had the idea for a ref ...

'', which covered similar ground, as well as '' The Book of Predictions''. They also contributed a weekly column in ''Parade'' magazine. Other authors who have followed this basic format include Russ Kick, author of ''The Disinformation Book of Lists'', Louis Rukeyser, author of ''Louis Rukeyser's Book of Lists'', and Bernard Schwartz with ''A Book of Legal Lists''. During the years, more than a hundred books with the ''Book of Lists'' in their title appeared. In 2005, a Canadian edition of ''The Book of Lists'' was published and credited to David Wallechinsky, Amy Wallace, Ira Basen and

Jane Farrow Jane Farrow is a Canadians, Canadian author and broadcaster and community organizer. Her written works include ''Wanted Words'', ''Wanted Words 2'', and (with Ira Basen, David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace) the ''Canadian Book of Lists''. She worke ...

. The book contained a mixture of content from the original three volumes, mixed in with updated material, and material with a specifically Canadian focus. Wallace's story "The Abyssinian electric chair" (p. 463) was examined by historian Mike Dash in a Cliopatria award winning 2010 blog post which traces the story back to its probable source and concludes that Wallace's story is unlikely to be accurate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Book of Lists Book series introduced in 1977 Almanacs Trivia books Books by Irving Wallace Books by David Wallechinsky Books by Amy Wallace William Morrow and Company books Reference works *

See also

References