The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything: The Essential Companion for Everyday Life

When The New York Times says ""practically everything,"" it really means everything. This extensive guide covers a wide range of topics-from ""Getting and Staying Trim"" to ""The Braille System""-broken up into broad subject categories such as ""Health,"" ""Food & Drink,"" ""Money,"" ""Careers,"" ""House & Garden,"" ""Sports & Games,"" ""Arts & Entertainment"" and ""Everyday Science."" Each of these subjects is broken up into subcategories (""Food & Drink"" breaks up into ""Diet & Nutrition,"" ""In the Kitchen,"" and ""Wine, etc.""), sub-subcategories (""Wines,"" ""Beer,"" ""Spirits,"" ""Coffee & Tea""), and specific topics (""The Perfect Cup of Espresso,"" ""Java Jolts to Start You Up,"" ""A World Tour of Teas""), making the massive guide somewhat manageable. Every topic includes background information, followed by a set of guidelines; few entries cover more than a page, and most are buttressed by sidebars, charts and illustrations. ""Insider Info"" and ""Timely Tips"" supplement the sections, offering websites and phone numbers for further information; unfortunately, those helpful resources are scattered throughout the book, rather than being collected in an appendix or bibliography. The guide would also have benefited from an index. As it is, this is a browse-worthy collection of general knowledge that should come in handy next time you're traveling to the Galapagos, building an igloo, or in any of more than 800 other ""everyday"" situations.