My Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World -- When I Was 12

In 1977, when I was 12 years old, a book was published that quite literally changed my life. I had always liked reading well enough, but I was at the stage in life where sports reigned supreme in my and other boys' lives. I became the kind of kid who would shovel the driveway in order to shoot baskets in the dead of winter. Reading was no longer a favored activity. But then The Book of Lists book found its way into my hands.


My mother and father recently visited and as is her habit, my mom brought along a few things from The Sullivan Archives -- also known as the garage -- that have long been forgotten. "Oh my gawd," I can hear her saying. "I'll bring this out to Joseph. He'll love it."

I loved it then and I love it now.

When I was 12, The Book of Lists read like Ripley's Believe It or Not and the Guinness Book of World Records rolled into one, but with a nice little addition: it had stuff about sex. A whole chapter about sex. Chapter 15, in fact. And it started off with a biggie: "6 Positions for Sexual Intercourse -- In Order of Preference" and only got better from there: "23 of the Busiest Lovers in History," "Sexual Curiosities About 9 Well-Known Women, "Three People Who Died During Sex." In the pre-Internet world of a pre-pubescent boy, this was heady stuff indeed.

Now, of course, The Book of Lists is a time capsule, a snapshot of beliefs and mores from 30 years ago. Richard Nixon was hated more than Idi Amin in 1972 and more than Adolph Hitler in 1973. The favorite hero of both boys and girls in 1976? O.J. Simpson. And there's a list called "10 Top American Arabs -- Or Didn't You Know?" I guess some things don't change all that much.

PS: Your reward for reading until the end: man on top, woman on top, side by side, "dog fashion" (hey, their words, not mine), sitting, and finally, standing.