The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2015 (World Almanac and Book of Facts (Paper))

Firstly, let's clear this up for my fellow Britizens: The almanac is called 'The World' because it was first published by 'The New York World' newspaper (known as 'The World'). It never claims to be anything other than UScentric but does cover other nations in a useful gazetteer. In fact, at this price-point, you will not find this density of information in any other yearbook. If you are looking for UK data then may I recommend Whitaker's Concise (at over twice the price and almost ENTIRELY UKcentric)That out of the way, let's take a look at what you are getting.The World Almanac and Book of Facts is a renowned yearly publication that gathers together all of the important information that affected the US in the previous 12 months. It covers a wide array of facts starting with a review of the major topics of the year and going on to cover Economy, Crime, Military Affairs, Health, Celebrities, Science, US History, World History and Culture and Sport (among others). In the middle of that there is a weighty gazetteer of the Nations of the World covering each of the 196 UN recognised nations and providing information on Population, Geography, Government, Economy etc. the info is exhaustive and for the most part neutral. You are also treated to full colour maps of the continents and flags of the countries.Are you going to find out who won Britain's Got Talent? No! America's Got Talent? Yes! (it was Mat Franco apparently)Clearly there are swathes of this book that I don't tend to refer to but should I wish to know who was our Monarch in 1456 (Henry VI), who was our Prime Minister in 1754 (Duke of Newcastle, Whig) or who was Pope in 710 (Constantine) the information is there to be had.If you are only going to purchase one almanac this year should it be this one? Tough question to answer but I would say you wouldn't be too far from the mark. For less than £10 you are getting the essential information that you need from the previous 12 months in a convenient package. The downside is that you aren't going to find out who your MP is or who won the BRIT award for best warbling prima donna.Following the demise of Schott's Almanac, I have found the best way to cover all my bases is to get myself copies of The World, Pear's Cyclopedia and the Whitaker's Review of the Year ebook but I find myself gravitating far more to The World than to either of the others. This system, coupled with the internet, works for me but I don't necessarily absolutely NEED to know the phone number of my local MP.Pros:Good value for moneyColour photos, maps and flagsNot 100% UScentricCons:Tiny print (obviously - this is huge resource)Thin paper (keeps the cost down)

Bought this as a World Almanac..........it should actually be entitled "The American Almanac 2015" as the majority of facts inside this mighty tome relate to the USA. I suppose that something like this should be expected from a country that is so insular that it calls it's Baseball Championship the "World Series" even though it is only played in North America.............. At least my Aunt wont have any problems answering crossword clues about the USA now, but I will have to buy her another Christmas present to cover the rest of the world!!!!!!Can't fault the supplier though - very good service.

An American production, so, whilst there is a lot of worldwide information a large part of the volume has American based information. That apart, it is a veritable cornucopia of facts across many categories,although the print size per page is tiny.Read and remember and the Mastermind crown will be yours.

As a regular purchaser of this annual, there is nothing I could possibly say that hasn't already been said hundreds of times already. It's a good dependable book that goes on pleasing year after year. Anyone who has never purchased one - I would urge them to do so - it's jam packed with interesting and obscure facts.

It's ok,loads of facts,but better suited for the American market.

Full of facts ideal for the quiz compiler . print a bit on the small side. but ok

Excellent book. Hundred of data. Highly recommend it.

Very useful and handy . I always buy World Almanac every year .