A perennial #1 New York Times Bestseller, with comprehensive, reliable, and up-to-date information on every subject imaginable, right at your fingertips
For 135 years, The World Almanac has remained the source of choice for people who want quick access to information they know they can trust. More comprehensive than a web site, quicker and easier to use than the Internet and other on-line sources, and cheaper that 15 days of Internet access, The World Almanac is found in more homes, schools, libraries, businesses, and media outlets than any other reference source.
The World Almanac 2003 provides over 1,000 pages of facts and figures, including:
* A complete recap of the 2002 Winter Olympics, including the results of every event
* The Year in Pictures: Two color photo sections highlighting the year's most dramatic news, sports, and entertainment events
* The Facts Behind the News: Up-to-date and comprehensive information on the arts and entertainment, awards and prizes, U.S. cities and states, nations of the world, sports, the environment, vital statistics, lifestyles, education, travel and tourism, science and technology, astronomy, sex, health and nutrition, the economy and business, and much more
Almanacs have long been a staple of the library's ready-reference shelf. Publishers say the Internet age has not diminished the popularity of almanacs in print form, and reference librarians still consider the print version of an almanac a favorite source for concise, current, quick information.
The World Almanac and Book of Facts is the grande dame of almanacs, with a first publication in 1868 and published annually since 1886. The World Almanac certainly has name recognition and has sold more than 80 million copies since 1868. In the last five years "Quick Quiz" and "It's a Fact" boxes have been added, and there are annual special features--"The Elderly" and seven fact-filled pages on all aspects of terrorism can be found in this year's edition. Trivia still abounds, with statistics on vehicle miles per licensed driver by state, a transplant waiting list by type of organ, the harness horse of the year from 1947 to 2001, and the components of the Dow Jones Averages as of last fall.
The price, size, and number of pages for almanacs are about equal, so which is best? Of course all reviewers (see any online bookstore) have their personal preferences based on their interests, eyesight, etc., but this reviewer-librarian still chooses The World Almanac and Book of Facts as number one in terms of coverage, currency, and usability. RBB
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