Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very Disappointed, December 10, 2008
As a purchaser and frequent user of THE WORLD ALMANAC for over thirty years, this is the first time I can recall being so disappointed and annoyed with this wonderful compendium of facts. Following is why.
The 2009 WORLD ALMANAC has made some major changes in the U.S. population, zip codes, area codes and metropolitan area rankings data which are included. This is all information I use frequently and among the first I checked.
1. Previous issues included U.S. population statistics by state for Places 5,000 Population or More (i.e. by town). Last year, data by town included 1990 population, 2006 population estimate, area code and zip code. Instead of updating with 2000 census data compared to the 2007 estimate, the entire section was eliminated.
2. Re zip codes, the only ones included are for Outlying Areas only such as the Northern Marianas and Guam. Useful to be sure, by some, but much more useful to most would be zip codes for the 50 states. Not an unreasonable expectation since most of those purchasing this book live in one of those 50 states.
3. Re area codes, the only ones provided are sorted by the area code itself followed by the state to which it is assigned. Not very useful if one wants to find the area code for a specific city or how many area codes exist for a particular state. One must conduct a time-consuming search through all columns and to find them all, making notes along the way. Area codes were included this was way last year, however it was not such a big deal because they were also available categorized by state and town. It is a big deal now because this is the only area code information provided.
4. U.S. Metropolitan Area population rankings were also eliminated. This was very useful since it provided populations for 1990, 2000 and the 2006 estimate. Importantly, it also ranked the Metros by population. A great tool and metro growth indicator. These rankings were replaced by an alphabetical listing of Metropolitan & Micropolitan Statistical Areas. This replacement section does provide updated population statistics but limits data to two years and would be more appreciated if it were available in tandem with a metro ranking.
For my ALMANAC uses, I must now keep both the 2009 and 2008 issues readily available. Last year's slightly dated information is still better than 2009 with its omissions.
No longer will the WORLD ALMANAC be my default almanac purchase. I will now check the others to see which ones best suit my needs. This is one very annoyed formerly loyal user.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What fun! What a source of information!, November 25, 2008
Each year, I look forward to this volume. I love the masses of trivia and minutiae contained within the pages of this book. I literally find it fun to rifle through the pages and see what tidbits are there. For those unfamiliar with this publication, it provides facts and figures on all manner of things--from the state of the economy to election results to sports to flags and maps to historical facts (e.g., the roster of American presidents) to science and technology (e.g., disasters) and so on. A cornucopia of facts and factoids.
One things I do when I first receive this is to literally randomly select pages and see what is there. For this review, I'll do something similar. The first page that I came up with was the results of Congressional elections in 2008 (Pages 13 and following). Another page that popped up? Pages 95 and following, speaking of portraits on treasury bills and other products from the government (Did you know that George Washington shows up on $50 savings bonds? I did not.). Or that Abraham Lincoln is on $1,000 treasury notes? Imagine how popular one might be at a cocktail party with such trivia!
Pages 246 and following focuses on "Writers of the past." Of particular interest to me is a family legend. One branch of my family came from Varmland in Sweden and some bore the name Lagerloff. Needless to say, some in my family claimed the Nobel prize winner Selma Lagerloff as a family representative. True? I don't know, but many families enjoy thinking of a luminary in the family tree.
On pages 295 and the following is the category "Awards, Medals, and Prizes," including--oddly enough--Nobel prizes. I get another chance to luxuriate in the family legend, with Selma Lagerloff having been the 1909 literature winner. Also listed are Pulitzer Prize winners, Miss America winners, Emmy winners, and the like. It's simply fun to go through the winners over time and recall some of one's special favorites. It often triggers wonderful memories!
An odd subject that showed up in my random walk through the pages of this 1000+ page work--taxes. There is discussion of recent tax legislation, meeting with your tax preparer, income tax rates and brackets, and state tax rates. On pages 524 and following, there are mini-biographies of American Presidents from Franklin Delano Roosevelt onward.
I cheated when I randomly came upon state and county populations. I checked out my home county, Henry County in Illinois, to see how things stood. Bummer. A decline of about 1,500 souls from 2000 to 2007.
Enough. The point is well made by the preceding. If you are interested in data and information, to get a better handle on the world around you, this is a fine work. Each year, I await the arrival of the latest volume and am seldom disappointed. This year was not a disappointment!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Summing up, November 26, 2008
If an alien landed in Idaho and wanted to learn about the strange place it had dropped in on, this is the book it should start with. After picking up a pair of reading glasses.
The typeface is definitely on the small side, but don't let that stop you. This book is amazing. It has more information stuffed into it than you'll believe, it fits easily into your hand and it's not too heavy. It's way smaller than a Harry Potter book, and has about a million words.
My favorite sections are at the beginning of the book, with the top news stories of the year, and good coverage of the election. A page called The World at a Glance is fascinating. For example, did you know the world's most popular tourist destination? France, with 91.9 million annual arrivals. Did you know that in 2008 U.S. farmers grew less than half the quantity of tobacco they grew in 1990? Did you know that Game 5 of the World Series was the first World Series game ever suspended due to rain?
Everything is in plain old black and white, except for three color sections: The Year in Pictures (divided into two parts) and a collection of world maps and flags. Even the pages with just black ink have lots of photos, and tables and lists galore.
You can even download a "quiz night kit" at the book's website so you can use this book to prove that you are the smartest person in the room. It has dozens of questions in seven different categories, game instructions, even signs and invitations to advertise your party. What a blast!
Here's the chapter list:
Special Features
* Top Ten News Topics of 2008
* The World at a Glance
Election 2008
2008: Year in Review
* Chronology of the Year's Events
* Obituaries
* Offbeat News Stories
* 2008 Time Capsule
* Historical Anniversaries
* Notable Supreme Court Decisions
* The Economic Crisis of 2008
* The Year in Pictures
Economy, Business & Energy
Crime
Military Affairs
Health & Vital Statistics
Personalities, Arts & Media
Science & Technology
Consumer Information
U.S. Government
U.S. Facts, History & Elections
U.S. Cities, States & Population
World History & Culture
Sports
Directory
General Index
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