Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year 2011

This year's Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year has been awarded to a book advising dentists on how to run their practices Mongolian warlord style. The prize was decided by a public vote on The Bookseller's website.

"Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way" by former dentist Michael Young won the prize on Friday. The book offers a guide on empire-building in the dentistry field. Young argues that warmongering tenacity is required to build a successful business. The book includes chapters on managing conflicts, team-building and planning for disasters.

The book beat finalists including "8th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium Proceedings," which detailed a friction stir welding symposium that occurred in Germany last May, and a romance novel called "The Italian's One-Night Love Child" by Cathy Williams. Other books that were shortlisted for the vote were "What Color is Your Dog? Train Your Dog Based on His Personality 'Color'" (Yes, you read that correctly) by Joel Silverman, "Myth of the Social Volcano: Perceptions of Inequality and Distributive Injustice in Contemporary China" by Martin Whyte and "The Generosity of the Dead: A Sociology of Organ Procurement in France" by Graciela Nowenstein.

Last year's winner, "Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes" by Daina Taimina, saw its sales increase by 1,500% in the first month after winning the prize. Other past winners of the prize include "Living with Crazy Buttocks" by Kaz Cooke, "Greek Rural Postmen and their Cancellation Numbers" by Derek Willan, "Highlights in the History of Concrete" by C. C. Stanley and "Bombproof Your Horse" by Rick Pelicano and Lauren Tjaden.

Actual books, really. I looked them up. They really do exist, though some are expectedly out of print.

Run by trade magazine The Bookseller, the prize was founded in 1978. Its rules say the books must be serious and their titles cannot just be a gimmick.

Source: Mongol warrior’s tooth tips wins odd book title prize
Source: Genghis Khan dentistry book wins odd title prize