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The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything: The Essential Companion for Everyday Life
Bringing the curiosity and expertise of The New York Times to the art and science of everyday life
The wisdom of New York Times experts in every field is packed into one easy-to-use volume, making it an indispensable reference for every coffee table, kitchen, or bookshelf.
Would you like know how to choose the best insurance policy? How to get a copy of your FBI file? How to pick the best vegetables to grow in your garden? How to cure a hangover? The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything answers all of these questions and much, much more. From the office and the classroom to the kitchen and the garden, this book covers every setting of everyday life with insightful advice insider tips, which are accompanied by hundreds of helpful illustrations, diagrams, maps, and charts.
Expert Advice from New York Times writers, including:
- Eric Asimov on how to stock a wine cellar on a budget
- Mark Bittman on how to grill fish perfectly
- Marian Burros on choosing the best produce
- Michael Kimmelman on the best new modern art museums both in the U.S. and abroad
- Nicolai Ouroussoff on underappreciated architectural gems from around the world
- Michelle Slatalla on tips for shopping on the Internet
- Anthony Tommassini, Allan Kozinn, Jon Pareles, and Ben Ratliff on their album picks for a "desert island"
- Eric Asimov on how to stock a wine cellar on a budget
- Mark Bittman on how to grill fish perfectly
- Marian Burros on choosing the best produce
- Michael Kimmelman on the best new modern art museums both in the U.S. and abroad
- Nicolai Ouroussoff on underappreciated architectural gems from around the world
- Michelle Slatalla on tips for shopping on the Internet
- Anthony Tommassini, Allan Kozinn, Jon Pareles, and Ben Ratliff on their album picks for a "desert island"
848 pages, Hardcover
First published September 19, 1995
7 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 10, 2022
Review originally published August 2007
The La Crosse County Library has a book titled The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything. The first sentence in the introduction to this book says:
So, according to the New York Times, they have created this 800-plus-page all-in-one, do it-yourself instruction resource, jam-packed with all the information you could need to lead a rich, full life. What this book is not is a detailed lesson on every subject.
It’s not like checking out a book on how to repair a window air conditioner where every page will be about the fan, coolant, and everything to do with that appliance. Or if you want to learn how to play an electric guitar, there will be several books that will take you from the first page where you find out how to hold the guitar and pick, to the last pages where you are taught how to change the strings.
The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything is concise tips and strategies on hundreds of different topics that are divided into key areas such as "Health," "Food and Drink," "Money," "Spending and Saving," "Education," "Careers," "House and Garden," "Travel," "Sports and Games," "Arts and Entertainment," and "Everyday Science and Law," and rarely does any one subject get more than one page in this hardcover.
The New York Times writers, reporters, and critics who are respected in their own fields, also used the opinions and expertise of doctors, lawyers, scientists, cooks, and other professionals to provide the research, advice, and high quality information for this book.
This isn’t a book that I would recommend you read cover to cover. I went page by page, stopping to read the topics that I was interested in, some serious and some entertaining.
I was curious what it costs to raise a child. Page 173 tells me that child-rearing is expensive! The average cost of raising a child from birth until age 18 is $196,000. And the same page tells me that it’s probably not going to be realistic to expect to win the lottery to help pay for raising your children, because the odds of winning a pick of six of 42 numbers are one in more than five million.
In the "Sports" section, there’s a paragraph about the Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park that the writers have summed it up in one paragraph:
That seems like a fair description to me, except the one time I was there I had a hamburger and so did everyone I was with.
So if you’re interested in knowing the 20 terms to avoid on a resume or where the best jobs will be in the next few years or if you want a list of the very “best movies” for adults or kids, then you’ll find it in The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything.
Find similar titles within our catalog.
The La Crosse County Library has a book titled The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything. The first sentence in the introduction to this book says:
"These days of information overload and instant everything, when a Google search takes a nanosecond and gigabytes of data are a click away, who needs a practical guide to life? The answer is practically everybody."
So, according to the New York Times, they have created this 800-plus-page all-in-one, do it-yourself instruction resource, jam-packed with all the information you could need to lead a rich, full life. What this book is not is a detailed lesson on every subject.
It’s not like checking out a book on how to repair a window air conditioner where every page will be about the fan, coolant, and everything to do with that appliance. Or if you want to learn how to play an electric guitar, there will be several books that will take you from the first page where you find out how to hold the guitar and pick, to the last pages where you are taught how to change the strings.
The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything is concise tips and strategies on hundreds of different topics that are divided into key areas such as "Health," "Food and Drink," "Money," "Spending and Saving," "Education," "Careers," "House and Garden," "Travel," "Sports and Games," "Arts and Entertainment," and "Everyday Science and Law," and rarely does any one subject get more than one page in this hardcover.
The New York Times writers, reporters, and critics who are respected in their own fields, also used the opinions and expertise of doctors, lawyers, scientists, cooks, and other professionals to provide the research, advice, and high quality information for this book.
This isn’t a book that I would recommend you read cover to cover. I went page by page, stopping to read the topics that I was interested in, some serious and some entertaining.
I was curious what it costs to raise a child. Page 173 tells me that child-rearing is expensive! The average cost of raising a child from birth until age 18 is $196,000. And the same page tells me that it’s probably not going to be realistic to expect to win the lottery to help pay for raising your children, because the odds of winning a pick of six of 42 numbers are one in more than five million.
In the "Sports" section, there’s a paragraph about the Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park that the writers have summed it up in one paragraph:
"41,900 capacity; grass surface, opened in 2001, distinctive fan-shaped roof. Retired numbers of Milwaukee legends like Robin Yount hang above the center-field wall. Tailgate facilities overlook the Menomonee River. Grilled kosher dogs and bratwurst are big here. Parking is tight."
That seems like a fair description to me, except the one time I was there I had a hamburger and so did everyone I was with.
So if you’re interested in knowing the 20 terms to avoid on a resume or where the best jobs will be in the next few years or if you want a list of the very “best movies” for adults or kids, then you’ll find it in The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything.
Find similar titles within our catalog.
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July 8, 2010The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything: The Essential Companion for Everyday Life, does just what its title states. The book is comprised of 12 sections; the first is Health and Fitness and the last Laws and Mores with House and Garden, Travel, Everyday Science several of the sections in between. This is a great source to have if you don’t have access to Google or you just want to use a good old fashioned reference book to answer a question, (you know, like you used to in the days before the Internet).
Each of the sections is divided into subcategories and topics. Entries are well written and not too technical. Each entry is signed and there is often link to a website or address if the reader wants to find out more information. The answers are authoritative - the book’s editors called upon the staff at the New York Times – editors, reporters and critics who in turn had their own sources of experts. It also has a handy index.
The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything is one of
those works you might want to have at ready at a dinner party when two
people think they both know the correct answer but only one of them is
really right. --Maeve
From Staff Picks Blog
Each of the sections is divided into subcategories and topics. Entries are well written and not too technical. Each entry is signed and there is often link to a website or address if the reader wants to find out more information. The answers are authoritative - the book’s editors called upon the staff at the New York Times – editors, reporters and critics who in turn had their own sources of experts. It also has a handy index.
The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything is one of
those works you might want to have at ready at a dinner party when two
people think they both know the correct answer but only one of them is
really right. --Maeve
From Staff Picks Blog
April 10, 2014
Incredibly poorly written. its filled with articles and opinion articles that belong in catty magazines. Probably dozens of pages filled with meaningless lists like all of the Calendar types (there 7*2 -- each starting day of the year * 2 for leap years) and all of the movies to have ever won major awards. Useless.
January 13, 2010
I did not like this book at all. Any of the information that could be considered actually useful is common sense already. It was about as interesting to read as a phone book and not good enough to keep around for reference.
March 30, 2007
I love guides to stuff...
September 16, 2009
Had some interesting and useful things in it.
March 15, 2012
same as others like this. There is some good stuff though.
June 2, 2015
This book had some interesting information.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews