Usually I stay away from this sort of book -- not because I don't enjoy them but because I have no more willpower over them than I do salted peanuts. I gave in on buying this one, though. What the heck . . . at only $6.95, chalk it up to Sesquicentennial Fever.

Utah Trivia is a fun little book, just the sort of book to get you in the mood for the 24th and the Sesquicentennial. There isn't really much you can review on these trivia books. There are the usual nuggets of gold in among all the pyrite clinkers.

The basic format is a question (some times pithy, sometimes long and convoluted) and then a short answer. Powell and Murphy have divided the book up into topical categories: Geography; Entertainment; History; Arts & Literature; Sports & Leisure; Science & Nature. Some of their classifications left me scratching my head. Take the following:

     Q: Navajo men in military service made what unique contribution
        during WWII?

     A: They sent messages in the Navajo language, thus confusing the 
        Japanese codebreakers.

I would have assigned this to the History section. Instead, Powell and Murphy decided it was Science & Nature.

AML-List members may or may not find the Arts & Literature section interesting. (The topic starts out asking about Touched by an Angel.) The authors seem less up on the literature portion of the topic than I'd like. A question of what fiction genre is Orson Scott Card most recognized for not exactly what I'd call trivia. For the limited number of questions, too, having "The Utah Arts Council" as the answer for two of them shows me they could have dug a little harder for questions.

Even so, there were several nuggets I quite enjoyed: even after growing up near the area, I had no idea that African-American soldiers were stationed at Fort Duchesne in the 19th century, or that the Utah sales tax was originally introduced in 1933 in order to qualify for federal funds during the Depression.

There were a few carefully worded questions/answers that looked more like commercial product placement (as done in movies) than actual trivia questions -- question on NuSkin's product line, etc. -- but overall, this was a fun little book, well worth the money. (The authors, though, never do answer my first trivia question about the project: why did they have to go to a Tennesee publisher to print a Utah trivia book?)

Still, what more could I ask for? After spending only $6.95 I now know when the first game of chess was playing in Utah over the telephone. After buying the book (and turning to page 147), you will, too!