The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2008 (World Almanac and Book of Facts)

I think amazon is one of the best ways to buy, especially no S & H when
you spend a certain amount of money. I save gas by not going to the
store.

Almanac is updated and published annually, sort of a stone age wikipedia that doesn't require web access to use. Lots good stuff.

I get a new one of these every year, it is loaded with so much information that I refer to it all the time. one of the main things I look up is famous people for birth dates and such. very good book

This is one of the few books in my library which gets weekly (sometimes daily) use, and which I feel obligated to replace every few years, in order to have the most updated information. Granted, the historical data does not change, but the usefulness of the book is in finding important *recent* facts or statistics. Highly recommend it!

I buy three or more every year for my husband. One for each room in which he spends any amount of time.