God forbid you should try and put the readers on with a joke
or two. Everybody takes everything so seriously these days.
Recently, we had a little fun with a guy named Galen Govier.
He’s known as the “numbers guy” in the Mopar
hobby. He sells decoding books, and makes a pretty good living
decoding fender tags, build sheets and such, and documenting
cars. So, we ran the following "book review":
Numbers
By Golan Grove
1013 pages
Published by Grove Press $34.94
On Sale: Fall 2005
Let’s face it, we’re a hobby hung up on numbers:
matching numbers this, date coded numbers that, firsts,
lasts, middles, etc. Books on numbers, such as decoding
numbers, production numbers and the like, sell like hotcakes.
So, we predict that this new title, “Numbers,”
from noted numbers expert, Golan Grove will be at the top
of every Mopar fan’s wish list.
We had a chance to obtain a review copy of Grove’s
new book, and we gotta tell you up front this is hot stuff.
It’s one book we guarantee you’ll read from
cover to cover. Frankly, we couldn’t put it down --
not even to go to the office (we called in sick--as we’re
sure all of you will, too).
In his masterful style, Grove makes his subject come alive.
You soon realize that these are not just plain, mundane
numbers you are reading. You quickly sense a higher meaning.
Grove actually elevates numbers to a spiritual plane, and
you become one with the cosmos.
The depth of the research in this book is phenomenal. Grove,
who dedicated the book to himself, does not repeat any information
found in his previous titles. In “Numbers,”
he begins by defining “What is a Number?” and
“How to Count” in the introduction. Then, he
swings into the first chapter, “History of Numbers.”
Grove goes all the way back to the beginning of recorded
history and follows the evolution of numbers through the
centuries.
Once you have a basic understanding of what numbers--and
their significance--are, you’ll be able to appreciate
the following chapters on “Matching Numbers”
and “Non-Matching Numbers.” These lead logically
into the next chapter, “Stamping Numbers.”
Subsequent chapters deal with winning-and losing-lottery
numbers, telephone numbers, cooking the numbers, page numbers,
how to memorize numbers, large numbers, small numbers, first
numbers, last numbers, bus route numbers, and a really fantastic
chapter on random numbers that lists no less than 10,000
random numbers in no particular order.
A bonus chapter, “Winning at Bingo,” has very
practical applications--especially for the senior set.
At the end of the book are several blank pages for you
to enter your own numbers.
As far as covering the subject, Grove has no equal. If
you ever wanted to know anything about the fascinating subject
of numbers, it's in this book!
As a caution, we have to remind you that all the stuff
in “Numbers” is copyrighted, so if you use any
number without permission, you’re liable to get sued.
In which case, get on the waiting list for Grove’s
next book that will contain lawyers’ numbers.
“Numbers” is scheduled to hit the bookstores
this coming fall. Grove will be going on a whirlwind multi-city
book signing tour, where, for a small fee, you can have
your copy autographed. If we were you, we’d get on
line outside the bookstore now!
Coming soon from Golan Grove: “Letters.”
We can’t tell you how many orders for this book Govier
received, or how many people called to tell him that his name
had been spelled incorrectly in the review, and how ticked
off everybody was when they found out that no such book existed.
Maybe we should have published the book ourselves, so it
could become part of the body of automotive information—as
gospel!
