In my university bookshop the other day, inquiring about the availability
of a book for my research, I told the lady behind the counter that I had
all the details of the book, and asked if she wanted the Title, Author list,
Publisher, or what ?

The ISBN number is all I need. Its the world standard ! With the ISBN
number, I can locate the book on the computer and order it for you

I handed over the sheet of paper with the details and pointed to the ISBN
number.

Oh, damn, youve got the American ISBN number, and we need the European ISBN
number.