National Geographic Answer Book: Fast Facts About Our World
National Geographic magazine has always delighted its readers with wonderful photos and fascinating information about all parts of the world. No surprise that this title combines that with today�s expectation of quick, specific facts. As the cover material claims, �Designed for enjoyable browsing, the Answer Book is a treat for the inquiring mind.� Two-page spreads are organized into nine thematic chapters (�Maps and Globes,� �The Universe,� �Planet Earth,� �Life on Earth,� �Climates and Habitats,� �The Human World,� �World History,� �Science and Technology,� and �Countries of the World�). The main contributors are National Geographic and Washington Post writers and editors. Illustrations are credited to a variety of sources, including National Geographic, Getty Images, and Encyclopedia Britannica. The illustrations aren�t just decorative�for example, on the Fish spread are a color close-up photo of a New Guinea fairy basslet, a diagram of a fish respiratory system, and a photo of leaping sockeye salmon.   Other features include �Fast Fact� boxes on nearly every page (for example, by 2050, India will be the world�s most populous country); �Click It� boxes with links to a variety of excellent web sites; page tabs to distinguish chapters; cross-references, with page numbers, to other articles; and a glossary defining 190 terms. Treatment tends to be broad; the two-page Monotheism entry encompasses Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Countries are treated almanac-style, each given only a flag, a statistical summary, and a single paragraph. Recommended as a ready-reference tool for most school and library collections�wonderful to suggest for home libraries, too. --Susan Gooden