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Show Me How: 500 Things You Should Know Instructions for Life From the Everyday to the Exotic | 
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| Authors: Lauren Smith, Derek Fagerstrom
Publisher: Collins Design
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.61
You Save: $10.34 (41%)
New (24) Used (8) from $14.55
Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 14631
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 9 x 8.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061662577
Dewey Decimal Number: 028
EAN: 9780061662577
ASIN: 0061662577
Publication Date: November 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Show Me How is a revolutionary reimagining of the reference genre, one part how-to guide, one part graphic art showpiece, and one part pure inspiration. In a series of 500 nearly wordless, highly informative step-by-step procedurals, readers learn how to do hundreds of useful (and fascinating and important and sometimes downright bizarre) tasks, including: Perform CPR, dance the tango, pack a suitcase, win a bar bet, play the blues, make authentic sushi rolls, fight a shark . . . and 493 more essentials of modern life. Packed with useful hands-on reference material, Show Me How is a work of art that just happens to also be an indispensable real-life resource. Visit showmenow
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| Customer Reviews: Read 50 more reviews...
 A Fun, Instructive Guide for Learning and Relearning January 6, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great, colorful book, especially for the visually inclined for learning something new. Personally, I'd always been meaning to figure out how to find my way about via the stars or learn to read a compass, but had never gotten around it, and was pleased to find both covered in the Surviving section of the book.
Only a couple gripes - despite the icon index in the back, some of the picture icons that indicate what is needed (for example, a needle and thread to hem pants) can confusing due to their small size. It would have been easier to understand if the authors had labeled the pictures directly under them, rather than having the reader refer to an index.
Also, while the book does cover a lot of practical information, it's unlikely that it would be my first source for information in the case of an emergency - best to read for fun! Enjoy!
 More Exotic han Everyday January 5, 2009
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the ultimate instruction manual. It shows you how to do 500 things ranging from " the everyday to the exotic." Some things are quite useful. It teaches you how to do a breast self-exam and how to remove old wallpaper. Other things are interesting but not very useful. For example, the book teaches how to fire roast a tarantula, escape from a straightjacket, and guzzle from a beer hat. This is an ambitious undertaking and I applaud the authors. I thought the book would be more practical than it turned out to be, but the occasional gems make it a worthwhile read. And, if you get yourself in the right frame of mind, the book is pretty humorous!
Very Entertaining but Only Moderately Useful January 5, 2009
As I am a person that prides himself on knowledge of many unusual things and processes, I was extremely intrigued with the opportunity to read and review this book. It is a well constructed book, with a hard cover look but a soft cover feel. The 320 pages are filled with some moderately useful and a lot of completely useless information; all of which are laid out in a plethora of colorful illustrations. As it is a fairly large book (roughly 9" x 9" x 1"), it makes for a great coffee table book.
The book is split into 11 categories: Make, Eat, Drink, Style, Love, Nest, Grow, Thrive, Go, Survive, and Wow. Below is an abbreviated example of some of the subject matter covered in each category:
Make
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How to hang a tire swing
How to press pretty flowers
How to decorate eggs
How to mold clay animals
How to sew a spooky voodoo doll
How to assemble a super slingshot
How to weave a friendship bracelet
How to blow a humongous bubble
How to do a knit stitch
How to do basic embroidery
Eat
***
How to open a pomegranate
How to pit an avocado
How to crack a coconut
How to boil, fry, and poach eggs
How to prepare guacamole
How to carve a radish rose
How to use chopsticks
How to peel and devein a shrimp
How to shuck an oyster
How to roast and carve a turkey
How to pair pasta with sauce
How to weave a lattice-top pie
Drink
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How to serve and pair champagne
How to serve and pair assorted wines (pinot, chardonnay, merlot, etc.)
How to evaluate a wine
How to mix refreshing sangria
How to mix a classic martini
How to brew tea fit for a queen
How to use a French press
How to pull a perfect espresso
How to pour a latte leaf
How to open a beer with a lighter
Style
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How to pick a suit for each season
How to shine shoes
How to get a clean shave
How to weave a French braid
How to identify men's facial hair styles
How to create an oozing fake wound
How to apply and remove false eyelashes
How to apply lipstick like a pro
How to exfoliate properly
How to tie a bowtie
How to tie a traditional Windsor knot
How to hem a pair of jeans
How to sew on a new button
How to iron a button-down shirt
Love
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How to read a date's body language
How to flirt the night away
How to get out of a car in a miniskirt
How to tie a cherry stem in your mouth
How to give your sweetie a foot rub
How to dance a steamy tango
How to have a memorable first kiss
How to select a gemstone cut
How to tend to a drunk wedding guest
How to fill your home with romance
Nest
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How to hang wallpaper seamlessly
How to remove old wallpaper
How to strip peeling paint
How to fix a hole in drywall
How to dab a sponge-paint texture
How to make the perfect bed (including flawless hospital corners)
How to install a dimmer switch
How to unclog a toilet
How to organize with feng shui
How to create the ultimate tree house
Grow
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How to grow an avocado tree
How to report a houseplant
How to prune a rosebush
How to plant bulbs at the right depths
How to transplant seedlings
How to repel backyard pests
How to make a suet snack for birds
How to groom a horse
How to brush a puppy's teeth
How to clips a cat's claws
How to burp and diaper a baby
How to remove gum from a child's hair
Thrive
*****
How to select the right golf club
How to nail a free throw
How to deliver a killer tennis serve
How to throw a fastball
How to heal with acupressure points
How to stop a nosebleed
How to soothe a first-degree burn
How to bandage a nasty wound
How to perform CPR
How to save a choking victim
How to breast-feed an infant
Go
**
How to fold clothes for travel
How to choose the perfect destination
How to stay limber on an airplane
How to use bike hand signals for safety
How to triumph over seasickness
How to rip some gnarly surf maneuvers
How to jump-start a car battery
How to fix a flat tire (on a car)
How to build a roaring campfire
How to mount a horse (or camel or elephant)
How to make a delicious s'more
Survive
******
How to orient yourself by the north star
How to make a sun compass
Now to dig a snow cave
How to treat a snakebite
How to throw an effective punch
How to escape from a choke hold
How to save a hypothermia victim
How to light a fire with a soda can
How to treat a case of frostbite
How to understand Morse code
How to signal an airplane
Wow
****
How to lasso a calf
How to skip a stone across water
How to spin a basketball on your finger
How to dance like a robot
How to make crop circles
How to cast shadow puppets
How to pull a tablecloth from a set table
How to pick a tumbler lock
How to pop a sweet wheelie
How to master simple juggling
Please keep in mind that the above examples are what I considered to be some of the more useful and interesting information contained in this book. There are several instructions for completely ridiculous things as well. Some examples include: How to drink from a boot, How to create a chain-mail bikini, How to decode kimono styles, How to parade in Rio's carnival, How to run with the bulls in Pamplona, and How to be a human canon ball. However, as ridiculous as some of these things are, they can be somewhat entertaining to read.
Overall I am fairly satisfied with the book, given its rather low price. It is full of information (some being rather useless), packed with colorful illustrations, and can be a handy reference to learn some basic tasks. But be advised that the steps they provide are rather vague and lack the detail needed to perfect some of these tasks. For instance, their steps for making the perfect espresso are "Fill with fresh grounds, smooth off the excess, tamp until tight, align the basket and cup, and pull the shot." Anyone that has made espresso before knows that there is a lot to know about getting the right grind of coffee, how much pressure to apply when tamping, the need to "polish" the grounds, preheating the brew-head, etc. This is just one example of how this book will give you the basics, but falls short of providing all of the needed information to perfect any of these processes. I find the book to be more entertaining than useful, and I am thinking of ordering a couple more copies for friends and family members. It is definitely a book that is fun to flip through, and it will most certainly get plenty of attention from guests, if you have it openly displayed in your home. It's not expensive, so I definitely think most people will find it worth the money. However, I wouldn't recommend buying this book if you are truly expecting to learn extremely valuable information. Still, it can be a handy reference for tasks that you wouldn't normally perform, and it is laid out in a very easy to understand manner. For entertainment value I would give it 4 stars, but for providing useful instruction I would only give it 2 stars. So overall I give this book 3 stars, and I recommend it for those that enjoy learning about unusual tasks, and that may want a conversation piece to keep on their coffee table or in their bathroom.
 Half the book is a joke the other half is nice to know but not need January 5, 2009
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
The book is organized into 11 sections some sections have very helpful information others do not. The sections are make, eat, drink, style, love, nest, grow, thrive, go, survive, and wow.
The make section I think has the most exotic item. Number 25 shows you how to create a chain-mail bikini. Something that everyone needs to know - I DON'T THINK SO. The eat section is pretty good. It tells you things like how to cut a pineapple or pit an avocado. The drink section is also very helpful if you need to know mix a classic martini or what foods go with a merlot or a chardonnay. The style section is ok. You can learn how to give yourself a pedicure, turn yourself into a zombie, and learn to identify men's facial hair styles.
I think the love section is the worst section. They have a zodiac love match that I found very hard to make sense of and the Chinese zodiac match also made little sense. I also don't know many people who can learn to dance to waltz or the jive from one picture. There are also two pages regarding flirting some who (>")> means dancing.
The nest section has some good things and some weird things. For example, you can learn how to hang wallpaper seamlessly, prep and paint a room, fold hospital corners, how to create a plastic-bag throw rug, or construct a bamboo fence. The grow section is pretty general. The thrive section seems to be all over the place it as how to select the right golf club, understanding your vitamins, heal with acupressure points, how to pack a first aid kit, and how to dive like an Olympian. Yes, you can learn how to dive from looking at two pictures. The go section has general travel information nothing to great or horrible. The survive section has some good general information like how to make a compass, throw an effective punch and escape from a choke hold. The rest of the section is full of information that I hope no one will ever need like how to evade a panther attack, wrestle an alligator, and survive a shipwreck. The last section called wow is another section that is just all over the place. For example, it contains how to lasso a calf, how to breathe fire, how to be a human cannonball, and how to trick radar with a fake ufo.
On the whole, I think this book is more a joke then a serious how to book.
Quantity Exceeds Quality January 5, 2009
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a very well-produced book: lots of colorful illustrations, good quality paper, index, etc... But in terms of content, the book barely qualifies for bathroom reading for three reasons:
1. Lots of useless information. For instance, item 473 shows pictures how to perform a keg stand.
2. No depth - each item is given only cursory treatment, so you cannot really learn most items that require skill.
3. Low quality. For instance, items 376-377 show Men's and Ladie's room labels in various languages. At least in Russian, the word for Men's is wrong; and in Hebrew, Men's and Women's are precisely switched.
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