Reddit mentions: The best trivia books

Since I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the questions right now, I'm going to copy and paste two answers I've given to similar question in earlier threads. (One of which is a copy-and-paste job itself.)


1. General books:

I'm going to copy and paste an answer I once gave to someone who asked me for book recommendations via private message.

>Hi there!

>No Problem! Always glad to help. If you need a quick overview over the topic or are rather unfamiliar with it The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings gives a good first impression. Else Roesdahl's The Vikings is a bit more in depth but with less pictures. There's also Peter Sawyer's Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. All three of those are slightly outdated but they give a great first impression of the Age. If money's thight, start with Sawyer, then Roesdahl, then the atlas.

>If you want to go more in depth there's The Viking World by Stefan Brink and Neil Price. Do not confuse it with the book of the same name by Graham-Campbell and Wilson, which is rather outdated. This "Viking World" is a collection of essays by the world's leading experts on the period an the de facto standard of the discipline at the moment. It's well worth the price.

>If you are (or at least read) German (which is possible from your username) try to get the current catalogue of the Haithabu museum. It gives a good overview over that important trading settlement. Or even better: visit there! (Or any of the large Scandinavian National Museums (Moesgård, Statens Historiska museet, or the Viking ship museums in Roskilde and Oslo, respectively).

>If you are interested in the world of the sagas you can't go wrong with Jesse Byock's Viking Age Iceland.

>If you are looking for a quick ressource or if you have a specific question there's the site of The Viking Answer Lady. She appears to be a reenactor not a scholar but her answers are very well sourced and I have yet to find a major error on her site. Or you can always ask me/post to AskHistorians...

>cheers, wee_little_puppetman


Also, you might want to check out this huge annotated Viking movie list.

There's also a rather good three part BBC series on the Vikings on Youtube.

And for some quick Viking fun there's the animated short The Saga of Biorn.

Oh, one more thing: You might also enjoy Viking Empires by Angelo Forte, Richard Oram and Frederik Pedersen. It goes beyond the traditional end of the Viking Age into the Middle Ages and should therefore tie in nicely to your main interest in the crusades.



2. Sagas

Egils saga and Njáls saga are usually the ones that are recomennded for first time readers. They feel very modern in their narrative structures. Grettis saga is also quite good for a start. And then maybe Laxdæla saga. If you aren't specifically interested in Iceland and want to start with something that conforms more to the public picture of "Vikings" try Eiriks saga rauða, Jómsvíkinga saga or Sverris saga. But afterwards you have to read at least one Icelander saga (i.e. one of the ones I mentioned first)!

Icelandic sagas are fascinating but you have to commit to them. Don't be disappointed if a chapter begins with two pages of the family tree of a minor character! And always keep in mind that this is medieval literature: although it might look like it it is not history. These things were written in the 12th to 14th centuries, even if the take place much earlier!

I rather liked Guy Deutscher's The Unfolding of Language, which is about how language may have first developed (all conjecture of course, we can never really know, but he makes some interesting points). Bonus: He writes for the average person, meaning you don't necessarily have to know anything about linguistics to read the book. Downside: It's a bit pop-science. But I liked it anyway. :)

Edit: I've also heard good things about Ken Jenning's Maphead. Ken's really awesome anyway, you should read his stuff. Great sense of humor. And along the same line, AJ Jacob's The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World was really funny and interesting.

If you're really interested in it, I'd be happy to go find actual scientific articles for you, but I don't have any sitting at my fingertips. There's a book I'll attach the info for


But I do have personal experience working with owls and other raptors and parrots. This experience/others who have worked in falconry and with raptors in rehab and education have slowly taught me that owls are not intelligent in comparison to other species.


Owls because of their eye shape owls actually don't have much room for a brain. Because of this, that means that their brain is actually smaller then other birds, and depend more on their instincts (an important component of their brain) and superior senses.


To put it from a training point of view, an owl is much harder to train, and therefore doesn't always connect events.


Example: "if I fly to the glove, I get a mouse"
They tend to see "i fly to glove. Wow cool I got a mouse".


This doesn't mean it's impossible to train them, but it is harder and does vary among species of owls. This is actually why it's a lot less common to see owls used in falconry.

Don't get me wrong. I really appreciate owls. I think how they've evolved their senses to be so heightened is fascinating, it just has led to their brain being a little less evolved. All in all, it makes them very interesting to study and work with.

Once again, sorry for the lack of journal articles, I don't have my computer with me, but once again, if you'd like me to do the reesearch for you, I'd be happy too.

Since she's into weather, maybe she'd like this book, Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities - it's very interesting and humorous.

For the other stuff, well, she's a shoe-in for the things we have on our website, like the book Cooking for Geeks, really great for the how and whys of cooking, a Mini Cupcake Makers that does exactly what you'd expect it to do or -giggle- 50 Shades of Chicken, my personal favorite as it's absolutely hilarious and, surprisingly, useful.

Since she's outdoorsy, maybe she'd like a Picnic Backpack with Blanket with all the stuff you 2 would need when going on a picnic.

Actually, that would be nice to do without the backpack, you could invite her to a picnic for her birthday (plus presents), I bet she'd love it if she's an outdoorsy person.

Here's some things I enjoyed when I was a kid, and that are even more fun sharing with my son. Some of them may have to wait until he's a little older.


Sounds like you're already on the way to giving him the best thing that he could ask for -- an older brother who treats him like an individual and spends time with him.


Keep in mind that kids don't have the same sense of time as adults and they don't focus on the same types of goals. Try not to have too set a timetable for these things -- if he wants to spend all afternoon exploring the stream he found 15 minutes from the parking lot, let him. You'll still have had a great afternoon with him, even if you didn't get to take him on the two mile hike to the scenic view you'd planned.

• Hiking and exploring in the woods, especially if there's a stream or pond involved.
  
• Go fishing. Don't be surprised if he ignores the poles after a short time to try to catch frogs and minnows.
  
• Take a canoe trip, even if it's just a couple hours.
  
• Go to a big amusement park and go on rides with him. Go back to the same one each summer. He'll remember when he was too young to be allowed to ride on ABC, or the first time he rode on XYZ. Lots of little milestones and memories. Goals and incentives too -- eat your vegetables and meat so you'll grow enough to ride on the new roller coaster next summer. If rides that spin make you nauseous (they will someday), Dramamine helps. Take one tablet the night before, and another a couple hours before your first ride. Old diver's trick.
  
• Visit a good sized cave
  
• Make and launch model rockets
  
• Visit the local science museum or children's museum
  
• Take him to the library a couple times a month. My folks let me read anything I could check out, which made me feel grown up and independent
  
• Ride bikes
  
• Put some of your favorite books on his shelf for him to find and read when he's the right age
  
• Get him some books like The Dangerous Book for Boys. Flip through them together and find fun things to learn or do.

> When referring to this time period its better to refer to the culture in question as Norse, over Viking. Viking actually only cover a particular (very part time) profession, namely a combination of Pirate and Trader. The name Viking is actually derived from a Old Norse verb, describing the action of what we modernly call Vikings actually did. I'll stop now...

Sub-question: do historians care about this distinction? Because as far as I'm aware, it's an entirely acceptable colloquialism. I see serious book titles referencing the "viking age" all the time, I see archaeologists happily calling settlers and explorers "vikings", and I see general reference books happily discussing that while "viking" does have a technical meaning rooted in a specific language, it's become a common term for all sorts of people originating in early medieval scandinavia.

So, do they care? Because I'm pretty certain they didn't back in the 80s, based on my subjective reading of book titles like "the viking dig" which often have nothing to do with sea-borne raiders, and on the way in which I see modern finds relating to the same people normally called "viking". To me it just makes sense not to worry about it.

Hi there,

Kudos to you for wanting to learn more!

Here is a book I love. It's called The Timetables of History, and it's essentially a comprehensive chronological.... history timeline, for lack of a better term. If you'd like to take a look, I've linked it on Amazon here.

Sounds boring but I promise it's not. I have spent countless hours just flipping through and have learned a lot from it. What's cool about it is that it lists in columns, mostly year by year, what was happening in fields such as music, art, politics, and daily life spanning many thousands of years. It's a little overwhelming and a large book, but that's just history. It lists events as they happen, and doesn't go into detail-I usually keep Google open nearby when I'm reading for that reason-but it's a great place to start learning and find things that interest you.

this isn't a specific example, but you guys should check out a book called "the etymologicon" by mark forsyth. it's got a ton of good examples of this kind of stuff. and it's a pretty entertaining read, too. pretty witty and funny.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Etymologicon-Circular-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

Another great book on beer I have enjoyed: The Big Book o' Beer It's a good fun book with lots of random facts and color illustrations. Great for a coffee table for your friends to pick up and check out.

Also the Same I love Quantum Mechanics. String Theory.Forever trying to grasp it =D
That is very interesting that you memorized all the climate statistics.
I love History so yes comes down to Current Events and Geopolitics.

I also really enjoy Remembering things. I have a bad short term memory. But I have a strong episodic memory for events and weird facts

you would like this book
https://www.amazon.com/Order-Things-Hierarchies-Structures-Pecking/dp/0761150447

Hi, I'm Doug Ireland, I'm the PA Announcer, Music Co-ordinator, Statkeeper, Goal Horn Operator and Timekeeper for the Toronto Patriots, Toronto Jr Canadiens, Markham Royals and Newmarket Hurricanes of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, as well as fill in PA announcer for the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL, and I Co-Host Offside Talk, a weekly Toronto Maple Leafs oriented podcast. This week we were lucky enough to interview the author of Hockey 365: Daily Stories from the Ice which I highly recommend checking out if you like hockey history, even if you don't like our podcast. If you're looking for something to listen to on the way to/from work consider checking us out, and if you retweet us you could win a free copy of Hockey 365! GO LEAFS GO!


If you're interested in the interview specifically, it starts around the 37:00 minute mark.

The book fair at school was one of my favorite things growing up, I spent so much of my free time in there looking at books. I'd love This book because it looks fun!

Agreed, loved Rivers of London. I've read the sequel Moon Over Soho as well. I think I liked the first one better bit it was still good :). Pick up a signed copy from the Waterstones in Covent Garden, that's where the author works / worked. Their London book section is quite good as well.

I happen to collect Londony books, way hey!

Mark Mason's Walk the Lines is pretty great. Guy takes on the task of walking the Underground routes overground. The book has lots of Underground and general London facts and stories.

Paul Talling's London's Lost Rivers and Derelict London are nice to just pick and look through every now and then.

Ackroyd's Biography is great, but for something a bit lighter there's I Never Knew That About London.

Don't be afraid to "man up", so to speak. There are plenty of things that "boys" should learn that are quite lost on a bunch of kids these days.

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319658461&sr=1-5

Depending on your location, and resources, not everything in this book will apply to you (like building a tree house for instance). But this book and others like it can teach some of those things that are great for life. Tying knots for instance. Heck, you might learn a thing or two yourself.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!

I just picked up this book from the library yesterday but haven't read it yet. It looks like a great read and could be exactly what you're looking for - you can read about strange things that happened in certain cities/towns and then visit those places :)

I would check out Ben Fry's book first.

Then Beautiful Visualization.

There is another good McCandless eyecandy.

Manuel Lima did an amazing book on network visualization with excellent essays from other people. Visual Complexity. Network vis is very difficult and if you want to "game up" understanding the taxonomy he built for network vis will give you a real perspective on the taxonomy in other types of vis.

There are things outside of the "take data and render visualization" world that are critical to data vis, imo. For moving data vis, start with the godfather, Muybridge

And look way way back for the long human history of data vis in cartography with stuff like Cartographia.

Hope to see some more books and discvoer a reading list on this thread! Great idea for a post.

It depends on what "theory" you go with.

There's the attachment angle, but...More interesting to me personally is the idea some have advanced that "ghosts" are just some kind of echo or imprint from traumatic events.

Remember a story from one of my favorite books when I was a kid, Reader's Digest's Strange Stories, Amazing Facts about two women vacationing on the beach at Dieppe, France in 1951 who were awoken by the sounds of gunfire and men shouting.

They kept a journal, noting time and what they were hearing. Reader's Digest printed that journal side-by-side with the official timeline of the 1942 raid on Dieppe (official account was still classified in 1951). Kinda amazing how what the women heard synced with what actually was taking place during the same time span in 1942.

Similarly, I would also reccommend The Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were.

One of my favorite books as a kid with great stories of all kinds of mythology and beautiful (and some incredibly creepy) illustrations.

It's always useful to have an idea of what's going on in the world. Books like [The Timetables of History](https://www.amazon.com/Timetables-History-Horizontal-Linkage-People/dp/0743270037/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=timetables+of+history&qid=1550007612&s=gateway&sr=8-2
) or Timelines of History are always useful for figuring out current events of the time. For more recent time periods, you can sometimes find books that give a summary of the news for every day.

If possible, it's also useful to take a look at primary sources. You might be able to find maps, newspapers (for example the Google newspaper archive), photos (check local museums, libraries, and the National Archives), and census records.

My grandfather had that book. I also absolutely loved it so he let me have it. Then one day in middle school I stupidly let a cute boy borrow it and he never returned it. I recently got it as a gift from a friend https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0895770288/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_23?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3W7UPGV208J4

Things to do with your imagination (either alone or with friends) and don't be afraid to use whatever is around you as props to help out (Sticks, balls, foam noodles, these all work well as super awesome things) - explore and take on the world; rescue the princesses; defeat dragons; Win a race car race; Stop bad guys; Ride Dinosaurs; Be a sneaky ninja stealing the plans to save the day; (You know... Easy stuff.)

In the 'real' world try to fix something WITHOUT looking up ANYTHING on it. If you don't understand it, take it apart and explore it so you can see how it works. Leave it for a day or two and see if you can put it back together, working; Go camping and learn that you can ONLY count on yourself, as everybody seems to forget 'stuff' and to make due, use the things in nature to get by.

It's all a learn by doing. If you MUST study for this then I'll suggest (2) books as starter reference materials - This one and then this other one.

It's a type of information portrayal called an infographic. The goal is usually to clearly present data in a visually striking and informative way by combining text with graphics. They can be used for pretty much anything (I had a class assignment to make one about San Francisco Bay water quality) and are often, but not by any means exclusively, made by graphic designers. Here's an awesome book on the topic.

You're right in terms of a detailed and nice looking, focused map of all Viking settlement (I just looked around). The ones in this atlas spread it out over several maps:

https://www.amazon.ca/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings/dp/0140513280

And a few of my go to's before this:

https://i.imgur.com/ehvDkW5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/B8wVBvd.jpg

So, nicely done!

Here’s a slightly different idea: a WORD history book. I absolutely love this book, and have bought several copies for my history minded friends and family.

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language https://www.amazon.com/dp/0425260798/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.J1.zbZAF72P4

Actually, I think it's one of the “removable fascimile documents” from this book: History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time

/u/MudrakM

Evidence? Compare:

• This exhibit
  
• Or this one
  
• The card, other side
  
  They all seem to have the same “Exhibit/Subject” stamp
  
  edit even better: here in page 79, in a discussion of the Thule Society, it tells you to look at Exhibit 5B.

Books.
The Way Things Work is a must have.
The Dangerous Book for Boys is pretty good too. Might be a little over his head although the first amazon review claims their six year old loves it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061243582

The Dangerous Book for Boys

I bought it as a 'right of passage for dummies guidebook for imparting masculinity on your son through awesome childhood memories' but it has a lot of the stuff in it that I feel every man should know.

I wish my Dad had something like this when I was young.

There's a book called An Incomplete Education that is made for people just like you! I love it!

Nonfiction: The Penguin Historical Atlas: Vikings http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280

Fiction (but historical/realistic): The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell - Book 1 is The Last Kingdom: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Kingdom-Saxon-Chronicles-Series/dp/0060887184

Also worthwhile:

Beowulf: http://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-New-Verse-Translation-Bilingual/dp/0393320979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795525&sr=1-1&keywords=beowulf

Sagas of the Icelanders: http://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795544&sr=1-1&keywords=sagas+icelanders

GURPS Vikings (tabletop RPG): http://www.amazon.com/GURPS-Vikings-Roleplaying-World-Norsemen/dp/1556342012/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795572&sr=1-1&keywords=Vikings+gurps

Vikings (comic): http://www.amazon.com/Viking-1-TPB-Ivan-Brandon/dp/1607061694/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795563&sr=1-1&keywords=Vikings+comic

Enjoy!!

I am currently reading Braniac by Ken Jennings, about the world of trivia nuts (such as myself) and his tale of his time on Jeopardy!

I also previously read his second book, Maphead.

He is interesting and a very funny guy. I really hope he writes more books.

Maybe check out The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were by Robert Ingpen & Michael Page, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's a very broad book covering a lot of historical folklore/myths :)

It's probably showing some age now, but when I was a kid I loved Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. It's very much a "general mysteries of the world" book, it has short, accessible articles about subjects like the Voynicht Manuscript and supposed ghost hauntings, with lots of pictures. Nothing overly gory or violent but I think there might be a Renaissance nude painting or sculpture or two in it.

I'd suggest a few resources:

1. D3.js for working out data visualizations, and 2) the work of Edward Tufte, especially "Beautiful Evidence."
   
   Also, David Mccandless' The Visual Miscellaneum, as well as his website, Information is Beautiful

does it have to be fiction? i love Strange Stories and Amazing facts. it's full of myths, tales of religious visions and creepy stories of devils. it has EVERYTHING you mention he likes. i poured over as a kid and i still enjoy re-reading it now. it was published in 1981 so it's a little outdated (like the science section) and it's out of print so you'd have to buy it used but i still think it's worth it.

I was interested in the Vikings and Scandinavian history a few years back. I read a selection of things that were Viking histories and English histories that pertained to the Vikings. As far as Egyptian history I read a few egyptian history book my university has and I also read a book called Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie David. It traced the history of Egyptian faith practices from the civilization's beginning through its growth into an empire and its later years as a Roman province. And for the Latin American Civilizations and feudal japan i cant help you there. Also, check out the History subreddit's reading list https://www.reddit.com/r/history/wiki/recommendedlist

Vikings: https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Wolves-History-Vikings/dp/1909979120/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486836520&sr=8-2&keywords=vikings+book

https://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1486836584&sr=8-10&keywords=vikings+book

Egypt: https://www.amazon.com/Religion-Magic-Ancient-Egypt-Rosalie/dp/0140262520

Outcasts by Steve Menary is about international teams not affiliated to FIFA (Greenland and the like) and is less than 3 quid.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1905449313/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_sOlxzbNRNAJ72






This is a pretty good film about South Sudan's team when they first got independence -

https://youtu.be/3ugg8Sfm6hQ

I haven't read it yet, but Mapping the Nation: History & Cartography in 19th Century America looks really cool. I also suggest Maphead by Ken Jennings for an interesting take on geography and those obsessed with it, and stuff by geographer Mark Monmonier on the social impacts of mapping.

The Order of Things: Hierarchies, Structures, and Pecking Orders by Barbara Ann Kipfer. If you like lists, enjoy trivia or have OCD, then this book is for you. The amount of facts and stats it contains is mind-boggling.

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language https://www.amazon.com/dp/0425260798/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_I4C1wb2X59RVC


Thank you for your generosity!!

Reading Rainbow

It's now stuck in my head.

I love sifting through this book.

There's a great chapter in Ken Jenning's book Maphead that deals with fantasy maps.

Strange Stories, Amazing Facts?

You should read The Etymologicon. Or listen to it if that's your preference. It's amazing.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Etymologicon-Circular-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

The author has another book that's on sale via Audible for $5 (at least for members) that I picked up today, too. https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/The-Elements-of-Eloquence-Audiobook/B00O1GCA5M

Can't vouch for it as I haven't read it, yet.

Save some time with a primer/survey of most if not all those disciplines and then some...An Incomplete Education by Judy Jones and William Wilson.

https://www.amazon.com/Incomplete-Education-Revised-Judy-Jones/dp/0345391373

> http://www.amazon.com/The-Etymologicon-Circular-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

Interesting !

An anecdote tied to yours : Sabot, in french, means horse's hoof.

Yes, he is a geography expert. HE EVEN WROTE A BOOK ON IT!

Another good one in the same vein that you can kind of flip through: An Incomplete Education

http://www.amazon.com/An-Incomplete-Education-Revised-Edition/dp/0345391373

Covers all kinds of things on subjects you'd never study in school but which you sorta feel like you ought to know somehow.

By the sounds of it, you might really like this book. :D

> I'm fascinated by non-FIFA soccer, and have always wondered how some non-UN members are part of FIFA, while others aren't.

You will like this: https://www.amazon.com/Outcasts-Lands-That-FIFA-Forgot/dp/1905449313/

Kind of a longshot as the book was quite big but maybe the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were?

If you were not the beneficiary of a true liberal arts education, start with a copy of An Incomplete Education as a foundation.

> Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were

You can browse inside that book at Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Things-That-Never-Were/dp/0140100083

I don't really know what to do with a 5yr old, but 8yr olds eat this sort of shit up:

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293580632&sr=8-1

It's like a guidebook on how to care for an inquisitive boy.

Proven? No.

The conspiracy is that it's the most successful skyjacking in world history. People believe it had to be an inside job since there was no evidence or trail to follow.

Brad Meltzer thinks he found DB cooper, an ex-military paratrooper who worked for Northwest during the skyjacking. For some reason, the police investigated the man and dismissed him as a suspect. The mans entire family believes he's DB Cooper, and the Brad Meltzer investigation revealed the house he lived in for some 30 years found trap doors in the attic that hide store rooms.

You should check out the episode, or buy the book HISTORY DECODED - THE 10 GREATEST CONSPIRACIES OF ALL TIME written by Brad Meltzer. It's pretty cool, he presents the stories and evidence in clear terms, and the book even has reproduction evidence such as letters, plane tickets, etc. He leaves you to come to your own conclusion, and covers DB Cooper, the Georgia Guidestone, John Wilks Booth's supposed full life after the Lincoln Assassination, the Kennedy Assassination, UFOs at Area 51, and more.

Here's the link to the book, I highly recommend it.

The Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/11qmxb/which_dictator_killed_the_most_people/

Bzw. http://www.amazon.com/The-Visual-Miscellaneum-Colorful-Consequential/dp/0061748366/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Information-Beautiful-David-McCandless/dp/0007294662/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Visual-Miscellaneum-Colorful-Consequential/dp/0061748366/ref=cm_lmf_tit_2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Aid-Never-Enough-Stuff/dp/1906155836/ref=wl_it_dp_v_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1BU0GWLWXVRBT&coliid=I3W2KRV0X5UX2R (This one is great!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Aid-Forgotten-Thought-Learning/dp/1906155488/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1BU0GWLWXVRBT&coliid=IPRP6XRGI791

http://www.amazon.com/An-Incomplete-Education-Revised-Edition/dp/0345391373

What you are looking for and much, much more.

Is it time life's The Encyclopedia of things that never were?

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Things-That-Never-Were/dp/0140100083 ?

Etymologicon

https://www.amazon.com/Etymologicon-Circular-Through-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

Is it Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were: Creatures, Places, and People by Robert Ingpen and Michael Page?

http://www.amazon.com/An-Incomplete-Education-Revised-Edition/dp/0345391373

The Dangerous Book For Boys is something I really wish I had when I was 9.

I recommend then to read The Dangerous Book for boys. Its got everything. Knots, How to build a tree house, how to macgyver rig things, and different battle schematics pretty much any knowledge a guy needs to be a guy http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582

793 wasn't the first raid on England. According to the Anglosaxon chronicle 3 ships from here in Norway attacked Portland in 789.

I can recommend this book as a historical atlas: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Atlases/dp/0140513280/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368064713&sr=1-1&keywords=viking+atlas

> It's not too late! Plus now I have a new one out, about maps, which I wouldn't dream of plugging here because that would seem so crass.

FTFY.

"An Incomplete Education".

A crash course on basically everything.

I can't believe no one has mentioned this. Get "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and read it. Has an abundance of good/cool information for boys/young men/adults. http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323357396&sr=8-1

The Dangerous Book for Boys

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Buy him The Dangerous Book For Boys.

Get him climbing trees and catching frogs. Eight years old is no time to be sitting indoors, and certainly not the age to be exposed to the internet.