Facts About the 20th Century [Hardcover]

George Ochoa (Author), Melinda Corey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Part of Wilson's Facts About series, this volume "combining the features of a chronology, encyclopedia, and almanac" is aimed at a general audience. Four main chapters cover the "who, what, where, and when" of the years 1900-1999.

Chapter one, "Chronology of the Century," is a year-by-year time line of world events from 1900 to 1999. Entries for each year are divided into seven topic headings (e.g., "Arts and Entertainment," "Politics"), and items are further categorized by country. Supplemental lists include Nobel Prize winners from 1901 to 1999 and a chart of the years and locations of the Olympic games.

Chapter two, "Events and Ideas of the Century," is an alphabetical (Abdication crisis to Zionism) survey that briefly defines more than "300 selected events, movements, trends, and concepts that defined the century." Chapter three, "Who: People A-Z," offers 900 short biographies of noteworthy individuals. Birth and death dates are provided, as are nationality and profession or occupation, followed by a brief summary of the individual's accomplishments. Chapter four, "Nations of the World," contains the "where" of the twentieth century. More than 190 countries are treated in brief histories that range from two paragraphs (St. Lucia) to more than four pages (U.S.). Each entry includes a chronology of leaders, geographical location, official name (if applicable), capital, area in square miles, population, languages, type of government, religions, monetary unit (pre-Euro), and main exports.

Additional features include tables, a "Historical Gazetteer," a bibliography, and an index. The gazetteer "shows at a glance how the world of 1900 was transformed into the world of 2000." Name changes of countries or territories are noted, as are unions of countries and their gain or loss of independence.

Facts about the Twentieth Century is a compact, browsable work with extensive coverage and an appropriate addition to most library collections. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1004 pages
• Publisher: Hw Wilson Co (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824209605
• ISBN-13: 978-0824209605
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.9 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "user friendly" and accessible record, October 16, 2001

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Facts About the 20th Century (Hardcover)

Facts About The 20th Century is a single-volume reference that combines elements of a chronology, encyclopedia, and almanac. Ranging from the trivial to the essential, and from local to global information, this is a "user friendly" and accessible record of all countries' history in the 20th century and the worldwide events destined to shape the future. With 1,020 pages organized around the focus of "who, what, where, and when," Facts About The 20th Century covers everything from Nobel Prize winners to World War II. Enhanced with a comprehensive subject index, Facts About The 20th Century is very highly recommended for both school and community library world history reference collections.