The Top 10 of Everything 2002

If you love books, this one had the top 10 listings for libraries in the world and for the best selling books and literary awards. Like J.K. Rowling and Jack Canfield took up all of the top Children's book spots for the top 10 Children's Books in 2000. Which made me think there must be a real spiritual hunger and also a need to escape reality. The Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul I, II and II all made the list. Of course I don't keep up with these sorts of things on a consistent basis, so a book is always helpful. The "Who wants to be a Millionaire" board game also made the top of the board games list. That is one fun game! If you have a favorite actor, you can look up all their films and find out the year they were made. There are quite a few quiz questions that have multiple choice answers. The "Did You Know?" entries focus on offbeat sidelights on the subjects being discussed. The Contents Include: The Universe & The Earth -stars, islands, weather, natural disasters, etc. Life on Earth - animals and nature The Human World - human body, health, lifestyle, marriage and divorce, names, The Nobel prize, criminal records, military matters, religions Town & Country - populations, world cities, states of the US, tallest buildings, bridges Culture & Learning - word power, children at school, higher education, libraries, book records, literary awards, the press, toys & games, art on show, art on sale, 20th century artists, women artists, objects of desire Music & Musicians - popular songs, chart hits, chart toppers, singles, hit albums, female singers, all-time greats, top of the pops, music genres, gold and platinum disks, classical and opera. Stage & Screen - Film hits, film genres, Oscar-winning films, stars, leading ladies, directors & writers, studios, animation, radio, top TV, top video Commerce & Industry - Wealth of Nations, workers of the world, companies, advertising, retail, natural resources, energy, environment, science, invention, communication, The World Wide Web, Hazards, Industrial Disasters, food, sweet dreams, beverages On the Move - Speed records, cars, road transport, road accidents, rail transport, water transport, air records, air transport, world tourism The Sports World - summer Olympics, winter Olympics, football facts, athletic achievements, basketball bests, combat sports, baseball teams, baseball stars, International soccer, free wheelers, racing, golfing greats, horse racing, hockey highlights, what a racket, water sports, winter sports, sports trivia Beautiful layout, plenty of pictures and lots of fun! ~The Rebecca Review

Although it can be used as a reference book to look things up, it's the type of book that demands browsing. Just open it up on any random page and you'll be hooked. Lots of lists compare various countries of the world, but this is the U.S. edition which contains many U.S.-specific lists where U.K. lists appear in the British edition. I have the Canadian edition myself, which is different again.

Lovely book, lots of fun, but I feel I must warn American readers that many of the lists (top ten of this or that)are often in terms of England and the British Isles. I know that some Americans find this somewhat frustrating, so forewarned is fore-armed!