The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2002

This is by far the best of the many annual American reference books (and it is better than its equivalents in the UK as well). This is because it is so comprehensive - I have been using it as a writer for years, because it gives all that you could possibly want to know and a lot more besides. It covers politics, business, sport, literature, music, what happened on what day in the year before, science... Well, you can get the picture. Since it is a stand alone publication it does not have any particular ax to grind either, so is as objective as you can expect. I buy it every year and have done so for years - do the same and you will get as hooked as I have these many years past. Christopher Catherwood, author of CHRISTIANS MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)

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; contains a directory of the entire Federal government, including Congress and all congressional committees, every executive department, and every court and judge; 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.

This is without a doubt the best reference book on the market. I've had other almanacs, but none provide a more wide-ranging topic field in tight-knit organization. From governments to sports to entertainment to financial to sociological, The World Alamanac covers every miniature detail. Need to find the GDP of Argentina or the what day your birthday falls on in, say, 2023. It's all in there.It makes for a great companion to any writer, student or a pair trying to settle a bet.

Did you know that the average American watches 31.5 hours of TV a week? Yikes!That's the kind of info you'll find in this book, along with everything from weights and measures to the history of the world. It's endless fun. I recently used it to help pass the time on a long road trip. Everyone should have one of these!

No other almanac comes close. This one is hands-down the best. This book, in its various annual editions, has always proven to be among the most reliable of reference texts for both of my professions. With this edition, I particularly enjoyed the deailed census data as well as THE WORLD ALMANAC's thorough coverage of Major League Baseball. This year's news photos were excellent. So was the coverage of the events of September 11 and its aftermath, a story that was still evolving as the almanac was being prepared for publication. All in all, THE WORLD ALMANAC 2002 is a extraordinary work.