The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004

This is my favorite almanac. It is compact, easy to use, with well organized information. I think it is more complete than other almanacs, offering extensive coverage of the US Presidents, elections, and a state by state breakdown of Presidential elections since 1952, even going so far as a county by county breakdown in the hotly contested 2000 election. It has excellent sports coverage, as well as arts and entertainment. It presents the US Constitution in its entirety, along with brief synopses of landmark Supreme Court Decisions. This almanac also provides a short history of the National Anthem and the contentious Pledge of Allegiance, which had "under God" amended to it in 1954. It is packed with other vital information such as a breakdown of membership of religious groups in the US, the location of these religious groups headquarters, and a record of Easter Sundays up to 2100, so that you can plan ahead for this ever-shifting holiday. There is a very good section on health and nutrition, including dietary requirements for children and other salient information on how to better maintain your health. And, there is a comprehensive section on the nations of the world, including many timely statistics that will clue you into the demographics of the vast multitude of people. In short, everything you need to know to keep abreast if this ever-changing world we live in, as well as help you solve the NY Times crossword puzzle.

"The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004" packs a lot of information into its 1008 pages. The book is well organized and easy to use. Included are three separate indexes: an extensive general index, a quick reference index, and (on the back cover) a quick thumb index. The book covers information in many different areas: the U.S. government, world history, religion, science and technology, sports, etc.The almanac is full of interesting and timely features, such as the following: a review of the top news stories of 2003; profiles of major party U.S. presidential candidates; a special section on the "Baby Boom Generation"; and a year in review chronology. Internet surfers will find a treasure trove in here; the book includes Web addresses of U.S. government departments, international organizations, sports organizations, U.S. and Canadian religious groups, major U.S. business corporations, and much, much more.There is also a color section with maps and pictures of the flags of the world. Other interesting features: a glossary of computer and Internet terms; a special section on Antarctica; a sidebar article on the seven wonders of the ancient world; a list of words new to the English language; and much more. I consider this book to be an essential reference source for work, school, home, and library.

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.