The yellow pages are organized into categories- each section is a category someone would want to look up phone numbers for, mostly businesses selling similar products. For example: restaurants, plumbers, lawyers. The topics are organized alphabetically.
When you want to look up something specific, like places to order pizza, think of categories that might describe it. There might be a “Restaurants” category, but “pizza delivery” is popular enough that it may have its own section. Once you have a category in mind, find it by searching the book alphabetically; if you need more information about that, maybe gwern can help (see gwern’s comment).
Once you have found a relevant section of the yellow pages, you will see a list of names and phone numbers, as well as some paid advertisements, also with names and phone numbers. Every entry in the section is a member of the same category. Then pick one entry and call.
Note that all of the entries are paid advertisements; you pay extra for a big one or one that’s not part of the main alphabetical list. (I try to ignore the latter, although of course they are even bigger and easier to see, which is their reason for existence. The corresponding entry in the alphabetical list will still refer you to them if you want the additional information that they contain.)
The yellow pages are organized into categories- each section is a category someone would want to look up phone numbers for, mostly businesses selling similar products. For example: restaurants, plumbers, lawyers. The topics are organized alphabetically.
When you want to look up something specific, like places to order pizza, think of categories that might describe it. There might be a “Restaurants” category, but “pizza delivery” is popular enough that it may have its own section. Once you have a category in mind, find it by searching the book alphabetically; if you need more information about that, maybe gwern can help (see gwern’s comment).
Once you have found a relevant section of the yellow pages, you will see a list of names and phone numbers, as well as some paid advertisements, also with names and phone numbers. Every entry in the section is a member of the same category. Then pick one entry and call.
Note that all of the entries are paid advertisements; you pay extra for a big one or one that’s not part of the main alphabetical list. (I try to ignore the latter, although of course they are even bigger and easier to see, which is their reason for existence. The corresponding entry in the alphabetical list will still refer you to them if you want the additional information that they contain.)