Product Description

Completely updated with hundreds of new entries and features,
the second edition of the bestselling Schott's Almanac presents the
essential biography of the year. From Islam's outrage at cartoons of the
Prophet to the winner of Eurovision, from the Nobel Prize for Literature to
the Bad Sex in Fiction award, from the threat of avian flu to Guantánamo
Bay's language of interrogation - Schott's Almanac records and analyses the
stories of the year across thirteen informative, entertaining and eloquent
sections:

CHRONICLE - the events if the year, day by day; WORLD - the four corners,
the three worlds, the seven seas; SOCIETY & HEALTH - from cradle to grave,
and everything in between; MEDIA & CELEBRITY - from the Big Brother house
to the cover of Vanity Fair; MUSIC & CINEMA - pop, classical, Hollywood,
and art-house; BOOKS & ARTS
bestsellers, theatre, fashion, events, and exhibitions; SCI, TECH, NET -
the scientific and the technological year dissected; TRAVEL & LEISURE -
planes, trains, automobiles, and the rest; MONEY - personal finance, from
pay-day to tax freedom day; PARLIAMENT & POLITICS - the facts and figures
behind the spin; SPORT - sporting endeavour and achievement; EPHEMERIDES -
key calendar dates and miscellany for the year ahead.

Schott's is an almanac written to be read.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85553 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-27
• Released on: 2006-10-27
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Sunday Times
`A social barometer of genuine historical value.'

Guardian
`A record of historic reference.'

News Statesman
`A wonderful achievement.'

Customer Reviews

Informative and entertaining
Ben Schott's trivia collections lend themselves to the format of an annual almanac and the good news is that this tome is up to the same standard as his previous books, with lots of nuggets of information you didn't know you didn't know but which are strangely fascinating.

I love the mix of modern up-to-date information with the Victorian-style presentation and quaint illustrations. There is also a review of major news highlights of the year.

Overall this is an ideal Christmas present, the sort of thing you can dip into again and again. It beats socks anyway.

The Modern Year With an Archiac Twist
For quite some time, I had been an annual buyer of such almanacs such as "The World Almanac", "Harris' Farmer's Almanac", and the "Farmer's Almanac" - Until I came across Schott's Almanac. The book is a wonderful compilation of the year - providing more information than the three aforementioned almanacs together. Separated into 13 sections (Chronicle, The World, Society & Health, Media & Celebrity, Music & Cinema, Books & Arts, Sci, Tech, Net, Travel & Leisure, Money, Parliament & Politics, Establishment & Faith, Sport, Ephemeridies), Scott's Alamanac presents the modern year with an archiac twist. A MUST have.

Finally - a seriously entertaining Almanac
SCHOTT'S ALMANAC answers a need that, while not exactly pressing, had existed for many years: namely, the need for a serious, yet entertaining almanac. For too long, yearbooks have either been dull (Whitacker's) or frivolous (Guinness) - SCHOTT's is neither. Rather it tells you everything you need to know about the year, as well as the more unusual and entertaining aspects. I have often thought, when reading old newspapers, that the adverts are just as interesting as the articles. SCHOTT's ALMANAC manages to convey the "feeling" of the year (from its curious words to its curious characters) while also presenting the key "news" facts. And, like all Ben Schott books, SCHOTT's ALMANAC is very beautiful. Lovely type, wonderful graphics, and superb little pen-portraits. It is a joy to read, and a joy to flick through. Certainly one to collect.