What Makes Flamingos Pink : A Colorful Collection of Q & A's for the Unquenchably Curious - Hardcover

The Internet's legendary "Answer Whiz," Bill McLain was Xerox Corporation's official Webmaster. Responsible for the e-mails sent to the company Website, McLain and his team responded to an astounding 750-1,000 questions daily. While most of the e-mails he received were Xerox-related, every day scores of curious fact-seekers wrote with questions ranging from the bizarre to the useful to the downright comical. McLain collected the most memorable of these questions, along with his equally memorable answers, in What Makes Flamingoes Pink? and in its predecessor, Do Fish Drink Water? He lives in Santa Clara, California.

The subtitle of this book nicely describes what lies inside: intriguing, puzzling, and downright trivial. Each topic is posed as a question, which is then answered. The answers, written in a narrative style, have just enough detail to make them useful but not overwhelming. Many of the answers also include a "Did you know?" section that provides related information or facts that are tangential to the actual answer but quite interesting. The work is written in a conversational, accessible style that will appeal to many readers. McLain (Do Fish Drink Water?), who as webmaster for Xerox leads a team that fields inquiries addressed to the company, has a great deal of experience answering questions. Although the questions and answers are interesting, this book has limited value as a reference work. There are not enough entries to make it comprehensive in any topic, no sources are listed, and no cross references are given. It is fun to read in short bursts. It could even pique a school-age child's interest in a subject. Consider for circulating collections, not reference. Manya Chylinski, Ernst & Young, Ctr. for Business Knowledge, Boston
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.