Top Ten of Everything 2004 [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Russell Ash's data sources include government departments from the United Nations, research groups, specialists in just about everything, and commercial organizations.

This comprehensive compendium includes:

Over 700 lists

First Facts

Guides to Websites

The pages vary in background colors and each chapter has a theme color, which makes for a very colorful book. There are also plenty of full-color pictures.

The Contents:

The Universe & The Earth - Are you looking for the top 10 "Most Isolated Inhabited Islands" or just want to find the principal components of air, this book provides some interesting lists.

Life on Earth - You will recognize common facts like the Cheetah being the fastest mammal, but what about the heaviest turtle? I also had no idea beetles were the most common insects, although ants, bees and wasps where third. May I say, beware the banana spider.... There is also a list of deadliest spiders. I was not happy about the list of animals used in experimentation. I had no idea they used cats.

The Human World - I was not surprised to see depression listed as the most common health disorder, but was a bit shocked that Schizophrenia is not far down the list. I had no idea that Nuts were the most common allergy. Yes, I'm not alone! But people are allergic to fresh fruit and fresh vegetables? Yikes, what is the world coming to. If you want your child to have a more unique name than most of the population, the top ten name lists will be helpful. It was not overly comforting to see that America has the sixth largest army although we have the largest defense budget. Want to know the top 10 religions of the world? You will find it all here.

Town & Country - There are times when the US does not make it into the top ten, so they have put the "US" in Italics at the end and also included "World" calculations for comparison.

Culture & Learning - So the Internet population is at 940,000,000. Oh, then it gets really fun. They list all the top 10 books! I loved that the "Jabberwocky" is one of the most popular poems in the world and who hasn't read: How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways." If you want to know how much someone paid for John Lennon's Steinway upright piano, this is where you find the prices.

Music & Musicians -When you look through the song titles, do you notice anything? I see a lot of common themes.

Stage & Screen - A great section to browse through if you are still trying to catch up with the top movies. They also have lists of "leading men and leading women" and most of their movies or those that made it to the top 10. You can also find the "raspberry awards."

Commercial World - It is pretty shocking to read that suicide is one of the top unnatural deaths in the US. Traffic accidents and homicides make sense, but who would have thought that we are all so dangerous when cooking! That is the top cause of domestic fire. Well, Amazon made it to the top of the Internet Retailers list. Well, second only to eBay. You will no longer wonder why Switzerland is so clean and be even more wary of online auctions. The "Food Favorites" section was great. Switzerland is still eating the most chocolate and must all be on an "in love" high.

Transport & Tourism - Anyone ever heard of the "Seawise University?" Apparently this was the largest passenger ship ever to sink. Seems ships sinking in 1912 make better movies. The Titanic is all over this book, in lists galore. Was pleased to know I'd been to one of the busiest airports in the US and world. But then again, who hasn't? lol Nothing like getting lost in Atlanta. Frankfurt wasn't much fun either. Dreaming of riding the world's fastest roller coaster? Want to know where America goes on vacation overseas? Apparently I'm not the only one in love with France.

Sport & Leisure - For the sport fan in you! Baseball Stars, International Soccer, Hockey Highlights, Racket Sports, Golfing Greats, Water Sports, Auto Racing, Sports Media and Leisure Pursuits.

Other tantalizing details include information on coffee consumers, celebrities, crime, diseases, economies, Emmy Awards, literary awards, musicals, Nobel Prizes, Olympics, Presidents, poetry, plays, languages, telecommunications, unemployment and the all important sugar consumption.

Pretty amazing information when you think of all the time it took to collect this data. If you love trivia, want to expand your general knowledge or are just darn curious, you will love paging through this 2004 edition.

~The Rebecca Review

This book of fascinating lists is divided into the following chapters: The Universe and Earth (the galaxies, stars, continents of earth etc.), Life on Earth (all about animals), The Human World (about health, the body, etc.), Town and Country (info on the countries of the world), Culture and Learning (including fascinating information about languages), Stage and Screen (lists include DVD, video and movies), Commercial World (including websites, advertising, science an technology), Transport and Tourism, Sport and Leisure (including the Olympic Games.)

The Music section offers interesting sections on songs and songwriters, record firsts, stars of the decades, all-time greats, chart toppers, gold and platinum, music genres, broadcast music and movie music. The particular lists include Most successful songwriters, Rock songs of all time (Satisfaction, Respect and Stairway to Heaven to name the first three), Most popular bands through the decades, etc. The biggest singles of all time has Candle In The Wind at number one and biggest album honours is carried by The Beatles with St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The book contains more than 700 lists and many short paragraph features elaborating upon important topics, like for example the first million selling record. The text is enhanced by color pictures and the book concludes with a bibliography reflecting the aforementioned chapter headings and an index. The Top 10 Of Everything 2004 is a fact-filled and up-to-date reference work and also offers hours of fun for the casual reader, no matter what their hobbies and interests are.

This is the 15th edition of this book. I just went through it for the first time this week. Suffice it to say, I will be reading this book many times over in the near future. This book is loaded with cool facts. It's fun to read, and it will intrigue you for hours on end.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

The Universe and Earth

Life on Earth

The Human World

Town and Country

Culture and Learning

Stage and Screen

Commercial World

Transport and Tourism

Sport and Leisure

Each section contains a group of lists. The cool thing about it is that the source is listed so the information can be cross referenced and verified. There's also wonderful pictures throughout.

There are some omissions I wondered about. In the natural disasters section, there is no list for the most distructive tornadoes. Whatever the author's reasons, more things are included in this book than are omitted.

The Music section offers interesting sections on songs and songwriters and all the basic benchmarks of best selling music. The biggest single of all time: Candle In The Wind by Elton John. Biggest album: The Beatles with St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The book contains more than 700 lists and many short inserts that explain more about a subject. The text is complimented by the many stunning pictures in the book. The bibliography and index are also both very useful. To top it off, the publisher spared no expense and the print quality is great!

The Top 10 Of Everything 2004 is a great book filled with great info. This book can certainly be used by scholars and trivia junkies alike! Buy this book now!