Father Knows Less - Tapa dura

The ultimate book of Questions and Answers for any adult who was faced with posers such as "Why do ships have round windows?, Is houmous like dinosaur poop? or What are testicles?" It all began with a question from the author's 4-year-old son, Dean: "Dad, what would hurt more: getting run over or getting stung by a jellyfish?" The enquiry seemed to suggest a unique, not to mention dark, view of the world. Dad was impressed, and duly wrote it down. He did the same with every question that followed, with the vague idea that when Dean was older they would go through them and laugh. But late at night he found himself wondering: "What really would hurt more?" He had to find out...Being the City Editor of the New York Times gave him the perfect opportunity to find answers for all his son's questions, so he approached everyone from the Fire Department to the Department of Transport to the film director, Peter Bogdanovich. All were happy to help and soon a feature was written and appeared in the Times' morning edition. It became one of the most popular articles of the year. This book features all of the best questions that Dean put to his dad, and is divided into quirky, loosely themed chapters such as "Science", "Things that Hurt", "Tough Questions" and "Illicit Things", each of which feature a short essay on why children are fascinated with that topic. These are accompanied by dozens of questions set by children for their long-suffering parents and answered by experts from around the world, making it the ultimate survival guide for anyone wishing to protect the myth that grown-ups really do have all the answers.

Wendell Jamieson is a longtime native of New York who has worked on all four major newspapers in the city. He is currently City Editor with the New York Times.