Holidays

September 1, 2002
The unstoppable Piven and Borgenicht are at it again, producing another in the seemingly endless series of "Worst-Case Scenario" books. This time, the authors turn their attention to the potentially disastrous holiday season, and the result is more or less the same-an entertaining quick read in the bookstore aisle. To be fair, though, this volume does contain some interesting information: for instance, it's good to know how to extinguish a burning turkey, put out a grease fire, drive in a blizzard, handle a canceled flight, "repurpose" a fruitcake, and resize a Christmas tree. Some readers will welcome this addition to the Worst-Case family, as the books make reliable all-purpose gifts and their oddball advice (how to dodge an angry reindeer, how to "thwart gift snoopers") is always good for a few chuckles. Those who've reached their saturation point with the genre, though, may very well wonder when someone will release a book explaining how to repurpose one of Piven and Borgenicht's ubiquitous guides.

November 1, 2002
The unstoppable Piven and Borgenicht are at it again, producing another in the seemingly endless series of "Worst-Case Scenario" books. This time, the authors turn their attention to the potentially disastrous holiday season, and the result is more or less the same-an entertaining quick read in the bookstore aisle. To be fair, though, this volume does contain some interesting information: for instance, it's good to know how to extinguish a burning turkey, put out a grease fire, drive in a blizzard, handle a canceled flight, "repurpose" a fruitcake, and resize a Christmas tree. Some readers will welcome this addition to the Worst-Case family, as the books make reliable all-purpose gifts and their oddball advice (how to dodge an angry reindeer, how to "thwart gift snoopers") is always good for a few chuckles. Those who've reached their saturation point with the genre, though, may very well wonder when someone will release a book explaining how to repurpose one of Piven and Borgenicht's ubiquitous guides.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.