In 2003, a curious, old-fashioned, pocket-size book transformed the way we look at information. Since then, "Schott's Original Miscellany" and its two sequel volumes have been translated into more than fifteen languages and have sold some three million copies.

Now Ben Schott returns to the miscellany format with a brand-new cabinet of curiosities. Inside, you'll find fascinating facts cheek by jowl with information you can't live without. All things are considered, from footwear labeling symbols, airport runway markings, and sign-writing brush sizes to the traditional method of counting sheep and how to smoke cigars while reading the news.

Nothing escapes the jeweler's eye of this curator of unconsidered trifles. An essential addition to the bookshelf of all who love life's rich tapestry, "Schott's Quintessential Miscellany"-equal parts encyclopedia, almanac, treasury, and lexicon-will remind you that there is only one Ben Schott.

Praise for "Schott's Miscellanies"

"If we live in an information age, then Ben Schott has become something of a maestro, or perhaps a master chef, ranging over the whole of knowledge and seasoning his...books with a pinch of this, a drop of that." -"Chicago Sun-Times"

"Genuine practical value...Elegantly designed...A vast empire of informational flotsam and jetsam." -"New York Times"

"One of the oddest and most addictively readable reference books in print."-"Boston Globe"

"Completely earnest and mischievous at the same time."-"Newsday"

Schott's Miscellany makes few claims to be exhaustive or even practical. It does, however, claim to be essential. It will afford you great wisdom in the morning, several conversational bons mots for the afternoon, and many an enlightened smile after dark.

Where else can you find, packed on to one page, the thirteen principles of witchcraft, the structure of military hierarchy, all of the clothing care symbols, a list of the countries where you drive on the left, and a nursery rhyme about sneezing? Where else, but Schott's Miscellany, will you stumble across John Lennon's cat, the supplier of bagpipes to the Queen, and the brutal methods of murder encountered by Miss Marple?

An encyclopaedia? A dictionary? An almanac? An anthology? A treasury? An amphigouri? A commonplace? A vade-mecum? Well — yes. Schott's Miscellany is all these, and, of course, more.

Read more about the author, a selection of samples from the Miscellany, and sign up for the Schott’s monthly newsletter, all on the Schott's Original Miscellany pages.

Ever thought, "There should be a German word for that"? Well, thanks to the brilliantly original mind behind "Schott's Original Miscellany," now there is. "Schottenfreude "is a unique, must-have dictionary, complete with newly coined words that explore the idiosyncrasies of life as only the German language can. In what other language but German could you construct "le mot juste "for a secret love of bad foods, the inability to remember jokes, Sunday-afternoon depression, the urge to yawn, the glee of gossip, reassuring your hairdresser, delight at the changing of the seasons, the urge to hoard, or the ineffable pleasure of a cold pillow? A beguiling, ideal gift book for the "Gelehrte "or anyone on your list--just beware of rapidly expanding (and potentially incomprehensible) vocabularies.

'A masterpiece in every sense' Daily Mail The Drones club's in peril. Gussie's in love. Spode's on the warpath. And His Majesty's Government needs a favour. Thank goodness Bertie Wooster is back! From the mean streets of Mayfair to the scheming spires of Cambridge, prepare to meet a joyous cast of characters: chiselling painters and criminal bookies, eccentric philosophers and dodgy clairvoyants, appalling poets and pocket dictators, vexatious aunts and their vicious hounds. Have we ever needed Jeeves and Wooster more?

'Peerless in its wit, elegance and silliness.' Evening Standard BOOKS OF THE YEAR A Sunday Times PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR __________________________________________________________________ Storm clouds loom over Europe. Treason is afoot in the highest social circles. The very security of the nation is in peril. Jeeves, it transpires, has long been an agent of British Intelligence, but now His Majesty's Government must turn to the one man who can help . . . Bertie Wooster. 'A most thrilling return of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster . . . it vibrates with the spirit and the rhythms of his heart.' 'Remarkably good . . . in its similes, pace and general zing, this yarn is eerily Wodehousian.'