Sierra manual in Dome's best books

HAYNES Guide to the Ford Sierra, The Owner's Guide to Dog Health, and How to Build a Perfect Golf Swing are among the "1,000 greatest books ever" that have been selected for the Learning Zone in the Millennium Dome, writes Cole Moreton.

They will take their place in a giant mural bookcase alongside Shakespeare, Dickens and Tolkien - and a volume entitled The Very Best of Abba. The books have been selected by the supermarket giant Tesco, sponsor of the Learning Zone, after a survey of its customers. Charlotte Bronte and Joseph Conrad will share shelfspace with Andy McNab and Jilly Cooper. Kevin Keegan's autobiography will appear next to that of Nelson Mandela, with Joan Collins's nearby.

Shoppers in Tesco stores across Britain were asked to name their favourite book of all time, the one which had made the most impact on them, and the best-loved among those they actually owned.

"The Millennium Dome is supposed to be an exhibition for the ordinary people of Britain, so it made sense to ask them for their choice of books too," said Andrew Coker, a spokesman for Tesco.

"They are the books that people actually read, rather than those we pretend to read, or wish we had read," he said. Alongside The Good Opera Guide, will be school textbooks on maths and geography, home improvement guides, cookbooks and gardening manuals, children's favourites such as The Railway Children, and more obscure titles such as Goldfish & Koi.

The Learning Zone will use outsized desks, the smell of boiled cabbage and the sound of a teacher bellowing to recreate childhood experiences of school.

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