The Definitive Guide to the Best and Worst of Everything

Discusses the best and worst people, places, and things, including the most published writers, the states with the highest death rates, and the most popular plastic surgery procedures

Of these two new trivia/reference collections, Cohl's (Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death? St. Martin's, 1997) is the more solid work, with chapters covering geography, disasters, crime, politics, and 18 other subjects. Each entry contains background, source citation, and a list of the top five to 30 "mosts" in that category. While Cohl hoped to offer "outlandish excesses," most of the book covers run-of-the-mill subjects like most popular baby names, deadliest wars, and tallest mountains. Good subject arrangement makes The Book of Mosts browsable despite the lack of an index. Veteran statistics guru Krantz expands and updates his Best and Worst of Everything (Prentice-Hall, 1991) with records based on measurable criteria or expert opinion. The most popular coffee brand, the loneliest workers, the dumbest dogs, and other matters deemed quantifiable are included. The work suffers from a too simplistic arrangement that funnels entries into three categories: people, places, or things. Also, there are entries under both actors and movie stars, but musicians are listed under entertainers. Cross references, when given, are vague. Most disappointing, however, are the source citations: often they cite only The Best and Worst of Everything, and many entries list only a periodical title with no date or just a year. Overall, neither work brings anything new to the field, but both will appeal to the trivia-minded. Both works are suitable for circulating collections, where Krantz's books are always popular; Cohl's more carefully constructed book also has a place on the reference shelf.?Kelli N. Perkins, Herrick P.L., Holland, Mich.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.