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Also by David Matalon:

The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties, October 2006
Paperback

Also by Chris Woolsey:

The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties, October 2006
Paperback

THE CONCISE GUIDE TO SOUNDING SMART AT PARTIES
By: David Matalon, Chris Woolsey

An Irreverent Compendium of Must-Know Info from Sputnik to Smallpox and Marie Curie to Mao

Broadway
October 2006
On Sale: October 10, 2006
320 pages
ISBN: 0767922999
EAN: 9780767922999
Paperback
Add to Wish List

Self-Help Relationships | Non-Fiction

Banish awkward silences, boring weather talk, or (worst of all) the embarrassing conversation gaff with this pithy, hilarious guide to effortless party banter.

We’ve all been there. You’re at a party, surrounded by the most important people in your life. You’re cool. You’re casual. You’re witty and urbane. Until suddenly, quite unexpectedly, things take a turn for the worse when a subject thought to be common knowledge is lobbed your way. A hush falls over the room and every head seems to swivel expectantly in your direction.
[ART: SET THESE OFF IN A DIFFERENT COLOR?]
“Rasputin. Sure, Rasputin. The Russian guy, right? Who . . . who . . . whooooo was Russian.”

“Che Guevara? You mean the dancer?”

“Oh my God! Mao Tse-tung? They have the best chicken with cashews!”
The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties was written with just this moment in mind. In fourteen pain-free, laughter-filled chapters, authors David Matalon and Chris Woolsey brush away years of cobwebs on subjects as wide-ranging as the typical round of Jeopardy: war, science, politics, philosophy, the arts, business, literature, music, religion, and more.
Armed with The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties, you’ll know that Chicago Seven wasn’t a boy band, Martin Luther never fought for civil rights, and Franz Kafka isn’t German for “I have a bad cold.” You’ll be the smart one who’s the center of conversation—and nothing beats that feeling.

Media Buzz

Good Morning America - December 6, 2006