How jam-packed with info is John Farndon’s DO NOT OPEN? So jam-packed that the book has to be caged. No, really – the book comes packaged rather ingeniously in a cardboard cage with magnetic lock. Promising to be an “encyclopedia of the world’s best-kept secrets,” it really delivers on that note, with some of the best page designs you’re likely to see all year.
Although ostensibly a kids’ book, DO NOT OPEN has so much to offer that adults may want to confiscate it from their children rather than argue over it for reading time.
Among the literally hundreds of subjects covered, there’s a cutaway view of Air Force One and all its features, a look at the minutiae hidden on a dollar bill, a glimpse at an underground military base in Colorado, a line-by-line breakdown of how UPC codes are read.
Various charticles theorize about the real “men in black,” reveal how we’re tracked via surveillance throughout our everyday lives, point out the secret messages placed in old paintings, spill the beans on creating codes and ciphers, explain how brainwashing is achieved and let you know why you may want to ditch that mattress (after two years, 10 percent of its weight is poop from dust mites).
Others debunk Christopher Columbus, the Bermuda Triangle, Nostradamus, the Shroud of Turin, spontaneous combustion, vampires, werewolves, various conspiracy theories and famous hoaxes throughout history.
One aspect that makes DO NOT OPEN so winning is its ingenious approach to making the book interactive. For instance, a spread on buried treasure includes a map with hidden cut-out flaps you can open to learn more. Another that contains nothing more than an image of handcuffs unfolds from the middle to reveal four pages on Harry Houdini and an explanation of how he accomplished one of his escape tricks. The curse of Tutankhamun is told via a five-page comic. And there’s also a couple of those nifty “magic eye” illusions, along with an explanation on how they’re created.
Like a DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS with a broader scope, no bias toward gender or age, and a feast for the eyes, this is a first-class presentation on all the stuff “they” don’t want you to know. –Rod Lott
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The mattress thing… yuck!
May have to grab this one. Thanks for the heads-up.