I bought this book my eleven year old grandson. He checked out last year's book from the library, read through it over and over and loved it. So I knew hands down this gift would be a hit.

This is a cool book. Not only do you get the up-to-date list of the latest world records, but 3D photos as well (always loved that 3D glasses stuff when I was a kid). Some of the bizarre things people do to set world records never ceases to amaze (or amuse) me.

I must admit I'm a bit of an adict when it comes to records and statistics of any kind, and I've always loved this series of books. I buy a copy every few years and I'd rate this one (especially with the 3D glasses) the best edition yet. Have fun and have a read. Good stuff.

This is perfect for ages 7 to .... well 70, I guess - especially for those hard-to-buy for boys around 3rd to 5th grade. My son and his friends will spend hours pouring over this.

Good service and product.

Thank you, Bill

this is simply a great book. I believe I am the first person in Nigeria to obtain a copy, which in itself should qualify me for a record entry in the next edition of the guinness book of world records

It's a good book,I like it! But for me ,it's too hard,I have to read it with a dictionary by my side :)

The book contains spectacular pictures of Jupiter.
There are other curiosities like the world's smallest
hippo. The fastest growing tree is shown in full
color. A gigantic mantis is depicted. In addition,
a grotesque picture of a man with highly elastic
or stretchy skin is shown. A beautiful rendition
of the Arabian Desert indicates that the terrain
is quite sandy compared to other environments.

Overall, the acquisition would be a substantial
curiosity with the 3D photography.

The 2009 version comes complete with 3D glasses to view some of the pages. Material is divided into Space, Living Planet, Human Achievements, Science and Engineering, Sports, and more. Four thousand records are summarized in the book, out of Guinness' 40,000 in their database; 2,707 are new in 2008.

Interesting facts such as the temperature in the center of the sun (28 million), pressure (250 billion times that at sea level) - created by fusing 600 metric tons of hydrogen into helium every second; the largest liquid mirror - 6,613 lbs. of mercury spun to form a 19' 8" concave mirror for astronomical observations (clever), the deepest dive by a seal (5,017'), most destructive insect (about 2' long, the desert locust found in Africa, West Asia, and the Mid-East eats its own weight each day; a "small" swarm of 50 million eat enough each day to feed 500 people for a year), tallest flying bird - cranes, at 6' 6", the heaviest pumpkin (1,689 lbs), innumerable sports records (eg. covers Bret Favre's first year - 0/4 attempts, the fastest average speed in the Tour de France - Lance Armstrong's 25.9 mph), most millionaires per capita - Norway, with 1 in 86, excluding their main residence, farthest-leaning tower (the bell tower in the Protestant church in Suurhusen, German leans 5.19 degrees, vs. the Leaning Tower of Pisa at 4.0), loudest noise (Krakatoa in Indonesia on 8/27/83 - heard 3,100 miles away, largest city population (Tokyo - over 35 million), largest badger tunnel network (2,883 feet with 50 chambers and 178 entrances.

Definitely will keep you busy!

I have bought the Guinness: World Records since 1978 for my son's birthday gift. He is now 42 and still looks forward to receiving it. He has two teenage boys loving it as much as he did and still does. A perfect gift for a male or female at any age!

This was for my 9 year old son, he is totally into these Guinness books and believe it or not books. He loves it.

I still buy and read the Guinness Record book every year, because it's become like an old friend that I like to catch up with, but I have to disagree with Birch East. I like the way it has changed and brings out a fresh look each year. The changes, like holograms, 3D whatever, make it fresh every year. My nephews also are big fans of the 3D gimmick.

I do agree with the recommendation for Getting into Guinness: One Man's Longest, Fastest, Highest Journey Inside the Most Famous Record Book, the new book by Larry Olmsted about the history and culture of the Guinness World Records book. After reading his review I snapped up a copy and it is great--very entertaining and a fun read! I have read the record book for years but never stopped to wonder where it came from (Guinness Beer!), how it got so big, and how large a role it has played in pop culture, and just how crazy some of the record holders seem to be. Getting Into Guinness is the story behind the records and a fun, well researched, adult read.

I first read the Guinness Book of World Records when I was kid back in the 70s, and it's comforting to see it still going strong. I'll say that I definitely preferred the old school text-heavy versions from back in the day to the flourescent lime, 3D photography, picture-fest of today. It's a new world we live in now, so I guess it's hard to fault the Big G for keeping up with times.

As much as I've long loved the Guinness book itself, I was always a little disappointed that there wasn't a good resource written ABOUT Guinness -- its history, evolution, and especially about how it became the phenomenon that inspires people to carry out such dedicated acts of nuttiness. About two weeks ago, I saw a book profiled in USA Today titled GETTING INTO GUINNESS by Larry Olmsted. Olmsted is a journalist as well as a GBWR record-holder, and I gave it a try. Well, it's the perfect companion piece to the Guinness book; it puts everything into context and lets you feel like a real insider. 300 pages of fascinating real life stories about the quest for Guinness recordhood, and Amazon has it for about 16 bucks! Buy them as a tandem (which is what I should have done) and you'd even get free shipping with Prime. Getting into Guinness: One Man's Longest, Fastest, Highest Journey Inside the Most Famous Record Book