Many of these books have very little to do with genealogy but are fascinating anyway.
I have been reading one called "Popular Errors Explained and Illustrated" which was printed in 1841. (Which is weird because the original owner seems to have singed it in 1840!!).
It is an effort to correct scientific errors, urban myths and old wives tales prevalent in England at the time.
I love the authors claims such as the tongue is not the organ for taste!
One incident I found amusing occurred in Norway.
The year after they started inoculating against small-pox, the fish numbers were way down.
Without any logical connection, the entire population blamed the inoculation and refused to allow any further immunization!
Another of my favorites is how the author pronounces the south of France to be one of the unhealthiest places on earth to have a holiday or live.
Oh, I couldn't resist and found the original owner in the census
