Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac

For the past twelve years, I have used the World Almanac. However, it has been interesting to see what the other almanacs have been up to. This brings us to the Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac. It starts with the general review of the year. Unlike the other almanacs, the Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac profiles the first six months of the previous year and the last six months of the last the previous year. In other words, the 2004 edition covers June 2002 to June 2003. I don't like this. It leads a hole in the coverage. The next section is personalities. This has to be the most detailed list of people. As a test, I looked up an person that was not well known to most Americans. I chose the (then) UK Conservative Party leader, Iain Duncan Smith. The Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac had the basic details on him. Next in the Almanac is awards. It has the big ones, such as the Nobel prizes and the Pulitzers, along with some awards I have never heard of. In summary, the Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac has the best personalities and awards sections I have seen. Next we come to Science, Medicine, and Nature. That section has information on those topics. The Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac repeats the errors of the New York Times Almanac by put the bulk of material in 'World' and 'US' sections. I generally don't like this due to the fact that it cause material to be repeated. Both sections have histories, lists of states and nations and leaders, along with information on the military and religion. However, there are a few gems. The Almanac has the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is the first time any almanac has had this. There is a listing of terrorist groups. Again, a first. However, I am disappointed there are no congressional results nor a listing of books of the Bible. Other areas covered are sports an entertainment. They are filled to the brim with sports (with all the Olympic and World Series results) plus sports I have never heard of along with various entertainment awards such as the Grammies, Tony awards and Oscars. In the end, the Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac is a ok almanac. It still has a long way to go towards being #1. For now, stick with what you currently use.