Overview
Thoroughly revised and updated for 2010!
Here are thousands of the most up-to-date facts on a world of topics -- answers that address almost every subject on earth. Every page is illustrated with photographs, illustrations, maps or charts, and every corner of the book is packed with the newest lists and rankings, the unexpected and the astonishing.
Firefly's World of Facts is extensively updated and covers a rich diversity of topics arranged by subject, including the natural world and life sciences; science and technology; world cultures, countries and beliefs; language, literature and education; art, music and entertainment; and much more.
The book has been improved to include new sections and better ways of presenting the facts, including:
- New and updated sections for topics experiencing exciting developments
- The latest important discoveries
- Significant revisions to the computers and the Internet sections
- New sections that keep in time with changing interests, e.g., weird pets, genealogy
- Technology in 21st-century life
- Changes in the world of work
- New forms of energy, reducing your carbon footprint
- Social networking.
Readers of all ages will be fascinated by the abundance of facts in this remarkable and up-to-date reference.
Synopsis
A well-illustrated and well-organized compendium of facts and trivia. Organized by subject, it includes lists, rankings, facts and more compiled to entertain as well as inform. Indexed. The second edition is fully updated.
Editorials
Canadian Jewish News
[Review of earlier edition:] Endlessly fascinating.BookNews
[Review of earlier edition:] This colorfully designed reference-for-fun volume offers facts including lists of milestones, firsts, and bests on approximately 150 subjects divided into 20 categories.YALSA
[Review of earlier edition:] Selected as a 2008 'Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers' by the Young Adult Library Services Association.Bookpage
[Review of earlier edition:] Abundantly illustrated ... every page is chock-full of unexpected and astonishing lists, rankings, facts and juxtapositions.Burnaby Now -
[Review of earlier edition:] A handy instant reference for adults and children, with no need to start up your computer -- just check the book.The Canadian Jewish News -
[Review of earlier edition:] Brilliantly designed and illustrated with photographs, maps, drawings and charts that jump off the page.Resource Links, vol. 13, no. 4 -
[Review of earlier edition:] Visually appealling ... Each page is as intriguing and fact filled as the one before. This text would provide many hours of Oohs and Did you know? From the reader as they share new knowledge with others.... Readers are fascinated as the world's facts unroll at their fingertips. This text would make a great addition to a classroom/school library.Booklist -
[Review of earlier edition:] May compete with Internet searching because [it is] interesting eyecatching!... A perfect quick-reference source elementary and middle-school students.... Depending on the type of library, [this] reference [source] will be popular in elementary, high-school, academic, and public libraries.American Reference Books Annual -
[Review of earlier edition:] The authors' interesting text and lists along with the publisher's use of colorful photographs and sidebars makes the one that users will want to browse long after finding the answer to their original question. In fact, the publisher used more than 1,500 full-color photographs, maps, charts, and illustrations in this 320-page book. Sure, this information is available elsewhere, and sure, librarians can probably pull the information for patrons from other sources, but this volume is so compact, colorful, concise, loaded with photographs, and so easy to read, that libraries really ought to have this work, especially at the relatively low price of $29.95. Librarians will not want to put it down either.Shelf Life -
[Review of earlier edition:] This excellent and diverse book has been updated for 2009 and is packed with astonishing lists and unexpected facts.... Abundantly illustrated, this coffee-table book is informative, splashy and fun.Burnaby Now
A handy instant reference for adults and children, with no need to start up your computer.— Annie Boulanger
The Canadian Jewish News
Brilliantly designed and illustrated with photographs, maps, drawings and charts that jump off the page.— Sheldon Kirshner
Booklist
May compete with Internet searching because [it is] interesting and eyecatching!... A perfect quick-reference source for elementary and middle-school students.— Christine Bulson
Shelf Life
Excellent and diverse...packed with astonishing lists and unexpected facts.... Abundantly illustrated, this coffee-table book is informative, splashy and fun.— Larry Cox
American Reference Books Annual
Users will want to browse long after finding [their] answer.... Librarians will not want to put it down either.— Shannon Graff Hysell