Books to Read: Reference

“The true University of these days is a Collection of Books.”
— Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), The Hero as a Man of Letters

Reference Books: instant information at your fingertips...
	*John W. Wright (Editor), The New York Times 2007 Almanac* (2006), Penguin USA, ISBN: 0143038206*— The New York Times Almanac 2007* is the almanac of record. Drawing on the resources of the worldąs premier news organization, it provides readers with a wealth of data about the United States and the world‹in a readable and more easily accessible form than other fact finders. The New York Times Almanac is the first choice for students, journalists, and researchers— for anyone who needs timely, accurate information about the world we live in. This volume includes: • Comprehensive coverage of every nation in the world as well as environmental and economic issues. • The most complete sports section of any almanac. • More information than any other almanac about global terrorism, the Internet, epidemics, world population, and much more.
	*Ken Park (Editor), The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2007* (2006), 1008-pages Paperback; ISBN: 0886879957*— The World Almanac* is the one almanac that millions of people turn to each year when they need quick, comprehensive, and authoritative information on just about every subject imaginable. Now in its 139th year, World Almanac 2007 is packed with the information people need every day of the year. This completely new and updated edition delivers 1,008 pages of authoritative information, information that would take thousands of hours to find elsewhere, if you could find it all! For fun facts; for quirky stories, features, and quizzes; and for data that comes from only the most dependable sources, Americans from the Oval Office to local classrooms depend on The World Almanac.
	Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, Janet Podell, Famous First Facts: A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries and Inventions in American History, 5th Edition, (1997), H. W. Wilson; ISBN: 0824209303— American historian Joseph Kane has provided a handy alphabetical reference on first happenings, discoveries, and inventions from 10,000 BC, the date of the earliest human artifacts found in America to 1997, the year which witnessed the first female Secretary of State, the first space burial, the first kosher cyber cafe, and the Dow Jones topping 7,000 points. The book is indexed by subject, years, days, personal names, and geographical location. This book came in handy when I helped my nephew in his annual high school Millard Fillmore Trivial Hunt as it is efficiently organized to find answers quickly. Avg. Review (2):
	Agnes Hooper Gottlieb, Henry Gottlieb, Barbar Bowers, Brent Bowers, 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium (1998), Kodansha International, ISBN: 1568362536— Gutenberg, Columbus, Luther, Galileo, Shakespeare, Newton, Darwin, Aquinas, Leonardo, Beethoven are the top 10 in this fascinating list of the 1,000 most important, influential, and intriguing figures of this past millennium. The authors (reporters & journalists) rank the top ones and profiles each with a brief biography and a discussion of his or her importance in history. The appendix includes three interesting tables of the 1000 people: Where They Lived, When They Lived, How They Lived, and Ten Who Almost Made It. This book is a conversational piece and will stir lots of arguments on who's included and who's not. The authors are to be commended for including these enlightened sages to their list— Albertus Magus, Averroes, Chu Hsi, Meister Eckehart, Ibn Arabi, Ibn Sina, Maimonides, Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, Rashi, Rumi, and Tulsidas. I would have included a few more— Chou Tun-yi (father of Neo-Confucianism), Dogen (founder of Soto Zen), Wang Yang Ming (Ming Philosopher studied by Japanese samurai), Marsilio Ficino (initiated Renaissance with translation of Plato to Latin), Thomas Taylor (initiated Romanticism in England with translation of Plato to English), and D. T. Suzuki (introduced Zen to the West). Avg. Review (23): Click here to see “Top 100 List” & Biography Links.
	*Russell Ash, Top 10 of Everything 2000* (Sep.1999), DK Publishing, ISBN: 0789446324— This book provides lists on the universe and the earth, animals and vegetation, births, deaths, and political achievements. There are city lists and country lists, building lists and park lists, as well as lists pertaining to music, books, movies, theater, transportation, sports, and the commercial world, plus a special section of millennium-milestone lists to prepare us for the next century. Best-selling postcard in the Tate Gallery is John Waterhouse's “Lady of Shalott” whereas at London's National Gallery it is Van Gogh's “Sunflowers.” Top 10 countries with the most video rental outlets: U.S., Pakistan, China, South Korea, Romania... Copiously illustrated, this book is educational and entertaining to browse through. Avg. Review (1): Russell Ash, Top 10 of Everything 1999 (Nov. 1998), DK Publishing, ISBN: 0789435233**
	*Mark C. Young, The Guinness Book of Records 1999* (Revised Edition, 1999), Bantam Books, ISBN: 0553580752— The world's most authoritative family reference. The Guinness Book of Records itself holds the record for being the world's bestselling copyrighted book! The 1999 edition highlights all of the current record-holders for events common (the largest single auto plant in the world belongs to Volkswagen) and strange (the "human arrow" Ariana was fired 75 feet from a crossbow); funny (Fabian Pretou, 6'2" married Natalie Lucius, 3'1") and macabre (Jed Shaner was covered by a mantle of 343,000 bees!). From unknown people to famous (Michael Jordan, Kenny G, Jerry Seinfeld), this book has them all! Avg. Review (44): Guinness Media Inc. (Ed.), Guinness 2000 Book of Records: Millennium Edition (Oct. 1999), Guinness Records, ISBN: 1892051001**
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