Notable Last Facts: A Compendium Of Endings, Conclusions, Terminations And Final Events Throughout History [Hardcover]

William B. Brahms (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2005

Notable Last Facts: A Compendium of Endings, Conclusions, Terminations and Final Events Throughout History is a core reference book for libraries. More than 16,000 facts have been expertly researched and presented in an easy-to-use format. Its sturdy construction and user-friendly format will make this book a trusted and much-used resource for librarians, historians, authors, news writers and others. A “Notable Last Fact” is any historically significant event, person, place or thing that marks the end of its kind or its era. Lasts carry symbolic demarcations of our advances, failures and changes.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This unique work serves as a reference bookend to Joseph Nathan Kane's classic, Famous First Facts (5th ed., Wilson, 1998). Notable last facts, as defined by the compiler, are "any historically significant event, person, place or thing that marks the end of its kind or its era." These facts are remarkably eclectic: the last self-service Horn & Hardart Automat in Manhattan, the last theatrical performance of Sir John Gielgud, the last year hurricanes had no name, the last game played by Red Sox legend Ted Williams, and so forth.

The hefty volume is arranged alphabetically by broad topic, from "Ages and Eras" to "Weather." Some of the broader topics are subdivided: "Nations," for example, encompasses separate sections for countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Information is presented in two ways. Individual "lasts" are listed as bulleted items with the subject highlighted in boldface and a brief description. "Lasts" that can be grouped together--" Last Works of Some Major Authors," "Last Year Trolleys Operated in Some American Cities" --appear in tables, and although a few of these are just lists of names and dates, many contain additional data. A useful expanded table of contents offers an overview, and a superb index provides easy access. Running heads would make it easier for users to see where they are in the text. The volume concludes with a list of the many print and Internet sources the author consulted in the course of compiling the work.

Similar to Kane's diligent solo work, Brahms has done a remarkable job in compiling this volume. He is a librarian, after all, and his work should make our profession very proud! An outstanding source, this unique ready-reference work is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries. Donald Altschiller
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Packed with more factoids than a game of Trivial Pursuit, and enormously addictive." --Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 848 pages
• Publisher: Reference Desk Pr Inc (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976532506
• ISBN-13: 978-0976532507
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William B. Brahms (Bill) is best known for his research work on famous or "notable last facts" and famous or "notable last words," specifically the reference works Notable Last Facts (2005) and Last Words of Notable People (2010). He was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1966 (a distant relative of German composer Johannes Brahms). Bill attended public schools in Haddon Township, New Jersey before entering Rutgers College in 1985. At Rutgers he garnered departmental and general honors as well as being a Henry Rutgers Scholar (his thesis was a proposal for harmonizing intellectual property laws worldwide). For his leadership service to the Rutgers community, he was selected as High Skull of the prestigious Cap and Skull Society. Brahms was also awarded membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and was a member of the Delta Phi (St. Elmo) fraternity. He graduated with college honors in 1989 with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Music. Originally intent on a career in law, he entered Rutgers Law School in 1990. However, he soon discovered his true calling was librarianship and research. He entered the graduate program at Rutgers University Graduate School of Communication, Information and Library Studies (SCILS) where he graduated with an M.L.S. and a perfect 4.0 GPA, and was selected for membership in Beta Phi Mu. During and after graduation he worked at the South Brunswick, New Jersey Public Library; where in 1991, he worked with Michael Arnold on what was one of the pioneering searchable digitized historical photograph databases in a community library in the United States. From 1993 until 2004 Brahms worked at the Franklin Township Public Library in Somerset, New Jersey where he served as the Head of Reference. At Franklin, Brahms wrote his first three books including Images of America; Franklin Township (Arcadia, 1997; a photographic history of the township prior to the 1960s) and the large-scale work, Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ: A History (FTPL, 1998; the first comprehensive work about this important New Jersey community). His work of Franklin Township history garnered him two commendations from the township and scholar/author award from the Marconi Foundation in Somerset. In 2000, he compiled The Cap and Skull Society of Rutgers College Centennial History and Biographical Directory (C&S Rutgers, 2000; the first written history of this important Rutgers group). In 2004, Brahms founded Reference Desk Press, Inc. a Haddonfield, NJ based publishing company dedicated to publishing books by librarians for librarians and supporting ecologically and economically smart publishing and library causes. Today Bill is a Chief Librarian (Branch Manager) of the administrative headquarters and largest branch ( M. Allan Vogelson Regional Branch / Voorhees Branch) of the Camden County Library System in Southern New Jersey. At Camden County he co-developed a retail-style storefront mall branch called Shelf Life and an innovative hi-tech self-contained teen library center called The Corner. In 2006, as part of an initiative to spur early library card registration he issued a library card to a child immediately after birth, undoubtedly the youngest library card holder in the world. Brahms has served on the advisory board of the New Jersey Digital Highway and is a member of several boards related to history, preservation and the arts, as well as being a member of numerous library and publishing associations and organizations. He is listed in both Marquis Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in America.