The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2008 (Paperback)

by World Almanac Books (Author), C. Alan Joyce (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Description A staple in homes, libraries, and offices everywhere, The World Almanac and Book of Facts delivers authoritative information you can trust. With a 140-year tradition of editorial accuracy, The World Almanac and Book of Facts contains hundreds of thousands of facts from only the most reliable sources, and each year features topical articles by well known figures such as Coretta Scott King, Wendy Wasserstein, and Mr. Fred Rodgers. Including over 1,000 pages of information compiled by a full-time team of editors and a handy quick reference index, The World Almanac and Book of Facts puts information at your fingertips.

The 2008 edition of The World Almanac and Book of Facts includes updated information on every topic, from the every day to the obscure. Whether you're doing your taxes, watching the news, doing a crossword, or settling a discussion, The World Almanac and Book of Facts serves as a dependable desk-reference. Topical features and a "Year In Pictures" section also make The World Almanac and Book of Facts a great scrap-book of the previous year. For students, reporters, infomaniacs, or anyone seeking accuracy, The World Almanac and Book of Facts remains the most trustworthy, easy-to-use source.

"My #1 reference work for facts." -- Will Shortz, The New York Times Crossword Editor

"For the most information in one source, The World Almanac remains the champion." -American Library Association

"The World Almanac is the most useful reference book known to modern man." --Los Angeles Times

"An institution -- The range of records and data the book collects is staggering." Dallas Morning News

"It's the best in the business." --Manchester Union Leader

Product Details

• Paperback: 1008 pages
• Publisher: World Almanac; Anv edition (November 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600570720
• ISBN-13: 978-1600570728
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #97,217 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The standard in almanacs, November 8, 2007

By	Brian Melendez (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are many imitators on the market, some of them quite good, but this almanac has set the standard for more than a century. The New York World newspaper began publishing an almanac in 1868, "a 120-page volume with 12 pages of advertising." The newspaper suspended the almanac's publication in 1876, but publisher Joseph Pulitzer revived it in 1886 as a "compendium of universal knowledge." The almanac has been published annually since, outliving the newspaper whose name it still bears. (The World Almanac is not the oldest almanac in publication, however: that distinction belongs to The Old Farmer's Almanac, which is "North America's oldest continuously published periodical," founded in 1792.)

The World Almanac contains much useful information that belongs in any serious basic-reference set. For the world, the almanac presents basic statistics about each nation, and about the world's major religions; and summarizes the world's history, with more detailed histories of the United States and of the preceding year. For the United States, the almanac reprints the nation's organic documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; lists every community with a population over 5000, with its ZIP code and area code; lists every county (or parish or division) and county seat; presents basic statistics about each state and major city, and a short biography of each president; and much more. The almanac also contains bountiful information about education, science, sports, and many other topics. No other single volume offers such a wealth of information on such a variety of subjects.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another edition--2008--of this classic, November 23, 2007

By	Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"The World Almanac" is a great resource. Especially for people who just have to know minutiae such as (I just flipped through pages randomly to get the following): Top 20 reasons people give for visiting the ER (page 135), SAT scores by state (page 403), Hispanic voting power (page 602), names of North American Cardinals (Roman Catholic) (page 715), basic information on countries such as Malta or the Maldives or Mali (page 797), boxing champions by weight class as of October 1, 2007 (page 955).

This volume has a long historical record, going back to the last century (according to the introductory comments, it has been published for 140 years). The introductory section also notes that the FBI worries that the Almanac may provide useful information to terrorists, indicating that a book that many would think stodgy has come to exemplify Post 9/11 America.

There are a set of sections, each dealing with a set of related subjects, from "Economy, Business, & Energy" to "Crime" to "Military Affairs" and so on to the final section, "Sports." In short, there's something for almost everyone here.

The 2008 version does not disappoint, for those who are interested in having a reference such as this. Highly recommended! And, if you're like me, a lot of fun as one randomly peruses the volume to pick up interesting and little know facts.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Addition to Any News Discussion!, December 2, 2007

By	Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Almanac 2008" begins with a synopsis of 2007's top ten new stories (eg. from Iraq to the Minneapolis bridge collapse), interesting changes of the last several decades (eg. fat consumption/capita in the U.S. increased from 37.7 lbs. in 1910 to 85.5 in 2005; the trade deficit/surplus went from +$92 billion in 1975 to -$817 billion in 2006), a brief news quiz (eg. "Which Republican contender paused during an NRA speech for a call from his wife?"), an election guide, key international issues for 2008 (about the same as 2007), etc. Then its oodles of fact-filled pages to add depth to most any news discussion - except those involving Hollywood stars' latest escapades or notable murders. "Almanac 2008" then ends with short statistical summaries of countless nations - some of which I didn't even know existed.