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The People's Almanac
by Irving Wallace (Editor: David Wallechinsky)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Doubleday (1975-11)
ISBN: 0385040601
EAN: 9780385040600
Dewey Decimal #: 031.02
Paperback
SKU: 20505
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Paperback. All pages unmarked and free of writing.
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Customer Reviews
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Informative, Readable, Fun
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-02-18
This superbly readable almanac has loads of interesting tidbits and narratives, and is as relevant today as when it arrived in the mid-1970's. The authors look at such varied topics as world events, history, science, politics, U.S. Presidents, psychic predictions, religion, authors, sex, inventions, etc. Whatever your taste, there is almost certain to be many things of interest to you in this readable and informative book. The authors also have a properly skeptical view of politicians, politics, and propaganda. You can pick this book up for a couple minutes or for several hours, read it in one long sitting, or use it constantly and briefly as a source of reference. The book should be of keen interest to trivia buffs, and though slightly dated, is very much worth having even in this day of internet information.
The father/son author team of Irving Wallace (1916-1990) and David Wallechinsky wrote easy prose that proved very popular with readers. They followed up this winning 1975 effort with PEOPLE'S ALMANAC Volume 2, plus THE BOOK OF LISTS and THE INTIMATE SEX LIVES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE.
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It's like Wikipedia in book form
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-06-28
My parents gave me the money for this book when I was in junior high school. I lost it but found another at a used bookstore in Chicago. I still have that copy and refer to it quite often. The epitaphs are my favorite: ("Here lies Lester Moore/four slugs from a .44/No Les/No Moore." or "Here lies Ann Mann/who lived an old maid/but died an Old Mann.") We need a new version to tell us about all that happened in the last 25 years!
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Outside in the cold distance the wildcats did growl
Rating (5)
Date: 2001-06-22
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is a treasure for the predictions alone. They lead off the book in chapter one "the other side of the looking glass: predictions of present-day psychics". It also has predictions by psychics of the past and modern day scientists. Notables include the Berkeley Psychic Institute, Nostradamus, Leo Tolstoi, Daniel Bell-Sociology prof at harvard, Arthur C. Clarke, Paul Ehrlich of Stanford who wrote the population bomb, Orville Freeman- former secty of Agriculture, Herman Kahn- the 300 pound economist, Margaret Mead, McGeorge Bundy, and Roger Revelle: Dean of research at the Univ. of Calif. and Al Gore's original mentor on the environment. The rest of the book is chock full of interesting tidbits. The self-purported difference between this Almanac and others is that this one avers that it gives you facts with truth and honesty. That is to say it avoids special-interest propaganda and government double-talk. The authors present it as a reference book that tries to be entertaining while giving the reader in-depth material on selected topics rather than endless, dry, bare-bones dates and figures on all subjects. Buy it and be the judge. This is a collector's item for all aging hippies from the Age of Acquarius.
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My "Desert Island" Book
Rating (5)
Date: 1999-07-16
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
I bought my copy of this great book over twenty years ago as a teen. What I love most is that it is not a dry compilation of facts, but a wonderful collection of information presented in a fascinating and entertaining way. After all this time, I still get it down from my bookcase and read for the hundredth time about "Footnote People in U. S. History" or "Man-Made Disasters." If you can find a copy, buy it. You won't be disappointed.
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My all-time favorite book
Rating (5)
Date: 1999-06-11
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace have compiled a veritable tome of useful information, widely held and little known facts, and astonishing revelations about the world around us. But it's not merely a fact book or a reference book, it has personality, humor and a kind of charm. It feels like an old friend whenever you consult it. This book is indispensable for your home book collection. Read through this book and you'll find you can't put it down. I've owned this book since it was first published in 1972(?) And find myself consulting it frequently ever since. It's quite tattered and taped now, having been loaned out and re-read so often, but it's still my favorite book.
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