An entertaining and trivia-filled account of our obsession with trivia.If you are intrigued by the fact that Jack the Ripper was left-handed, or that Heinz ketchup flows at 0.7 miles per day — and, more importantly, intrigued by why you are intrigued — then this book is required reading. Convinced that our love of trivia must reveal something truly important about us, Mark Mason sets out to discover what that something is. And, in the process, he asks the fundamental questions that keep all trivialists awake at night: why is it so difficult to forget that Keith Richards was a choirboy at the Queen’s coronation when it’s so hard to remember what we did last Thursday? Are men more obsessed with trivia than women? Can it be proved that house flies hum in the key of F? Can anything ever really be proved? And the biggest question of them all: is there a perfect fact? And if so, what is it?

The Importance of Being Trivial: In Search of the Perfect Face

Mason, Mark

Reference

Arrow

Mason traces the history of Japanese involvement and investment in Europe from the early part of this century to the present day. Focusing particularly on Japanese activities in the automobile industry, consumer electronics, and banking, he addresses the broad policy reaction to these activities in Europe and compares it with the reaction to Japanese investment in the US.

Europe and the Japanese Challenge: The Regulation of Multinationals in Comparative Perspective

Business & Money

Economics

Oxford University Press

Mail Obsession: A Journey through Britain s Postcodes from AB to ZE

Orion Publishing

This pioneering study of United States direct investment in Japan will interest academic specialists, business managers, and government policymakers in America, Japan, and elsewhere. Drawing on rich historical materials from both sides of the Pacific, including corporate records and government documents never before made public, Mason examines the development of both Japanese policy towards foreign investment and the strategic responses of American corporations. This history is related in part through original case studies of Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, Ford, General Motors, International Business Machines, Motorola, Otis Elevator, Texas Instruments, Western Electric, and Victor Talking Machine.
The book seeks to explain why s little foreign direct investment has entered modern Japan. In contrast to the widely held view that emphasizes an alleged lack of effort on the part of foreign corporations, this study finds that Japanese restrictions merit greater attention. Many analysts of the modern Japanese political economy identify the Japanese government as the key actor in initiating such restrictions. Mason finds that the influence of Japanese business has often proved more potent than these analysts suggest. This book offers fresh insights into both the operation of the modern Japanese political economy and of its relations with the world economy.

American Multinationals and Japan: The Political Economy of Japanese Capital Controls, 1899–1980 (Harvard East Asian Monographs)

Harvard University Asia Center

Tim and Rob are 20-somethings who both fall madly in lust with an American who has to come to work in their office, the fabulously sexy Clare. In a drunken moment they devise the "Clare Jordan Five and Three Quarter Feet Handicap Stakes," wherein the first to sleep with five women can ask her out.

What Men Think About Sex

Romance

Contemporary

Little, Brown Book Group

The Catch

Time Warner Paperbacks*

This readable, well researched, book examines why Christianity is stagnating when there is such a hunger for the spiritual in our society. It gives the insight into the church needed to overcome the guilt and fear of God Christianity has instilled in us, it shows how to build a personal relationship with the loving God through meditation, and concludes with a simple but effective meditation technique all can use. The first part of the book takes a fresh, incisive, look at the history of Christianity and the development of the Bible -- information you need to know in order to understand the religion which so extensively underpins our society and culture. The second part examines some of the issues which are bringing Christianity into disrepute, and suggests reforms which could, finally, bring the religion centered on Jesus into line with the teachings of Jesus. This book can liberate you from the guilt you grew up with, and the underlying fear that maybe you just might end up in everlasting punishment in hell. And it can show you how to find God's love.

In Search of the Loving God: Resolving the Past Traumas of Christianity, and Bringing to Light Its Healing Spirit

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Dwapara Press

The cat's are not finished with the Big Owner yet! They're back with NEW TRICKS in CAT DIARY 6! Life goes on. Indiana and Mars are now the de facto rulers of the household . So you thought there's no new ways for the cats to cause trouble? They've found 'em.. Heck, they invented them! They're determined to be remembered alongside Butch and Sundance, Robin and Little John, the Blues Brothers! This sixth chapter inside the mind of an alpha-male feline tops them all. Trouble is, you'll recognize your own furballs on every page. Finally, a cat treat humans can enjoy!

New Tricks ... Cat Diary 6

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Cat Diary

Which major UK retailer has the same name as Odysseus's dog in Greek mythology? In the original version of the Band Aid hit 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', who sang the opening line? Which is the only US state whose name can be typed on a single row of a QWERTY keyboard? Travel writer and quiz fan Mark Mason decided to combine two of his greatest loves by setting off on a tour of Britain's quizzes. From a pub quiz in Edinburgh to a charity quiz in Hampshire, from a corporate quiz in Birmingham to a journalists' quiz in Parliament, he finds answers aplenty while asking some questions of his own. Just what is it that attracts us to these tests of our knowledge? What are the ingredients of the perfect quiz question? And which is the only English city whose official name begins with H? The only travel book ever to discuss Winston Churchill's use of language and reveal Donald Duck's middle name, QUESTION TIME is an affectionate tribute to Britain and one of its most cherished institutions - the quiz.

Question Time: A Journey Round Britain’s Quizzes

Travel

Weidenfeld&Nicolson

Puzzles & Games

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Books by Mason, Mark