Top Ten of Everything 2004 [Paperback]

So it is not surprising that we love things in ten. Included in the top ten reasons that David Letterman is still doing late night comedy is his top ten list. And here we have a book biz phenomenon now into its 15th Edition: The Top Ten of Everything.

Well, not quite (but never mind). The emphasis here is on the famous and the popular: ten richest men (Bill Gates is #1, but Warren Buffett is closing in), ten richest women (Alice L. Walton of Wal-Mart is #1); ten biggest buffos at the box office (men: Harrison Ford; women, Julia Roberts); highest paid sports stars (Alex Rodriguez, $252-million when he was with the Rangers), popular singers, films, songs, poems (William Blake's "The Tyger" is the most anthologized, but Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" is the "most popular").

The top ten most populous cities are listed (Tokyo is #1) as are the top ten most populous countries (the US is #3 behind China and India). I was surprised to learn the production of corn now exceeds that of rice and wheat. The top ten list of religions has Christianity at the top with Islam second, Hinduism third and "non-religion" fourth. Atheism is #7.

Some science is included. Oxygen is the most common element in the earth's crust with silicon second and aluminum third. The deadliest spider is the banana spider from Central and South America. (The black widow is fourth.) The largest butterfly is Queen Alexandra's birdwing with a wingspan of eleven inches.

Every page contains color photos supporting the text with plenty of shots of movie, sports, and record stars along with animals and just plain people. The text is set off in boxes with white backgrounds for easy readability.

I spent a couple of hours with this book. It's addictive, like eating chocolates. I kept turning the pages. You could just buy a world almanac and get more info, but this book is more fun and easier on the eyes.

Russell Ash who heads up the team that put this book together (led by Senior Editor Nicki Lampon) asks for ideas and corrections. Here's an idea for the 16th Edition: "Top Ten Most Visited Websites"; indeed a section on the Internet would be great. (You're welcome. Just send me a copy of the new book!) And here's a correction. One page ten it is written that "Ganymede is the seventh-largest of Jupiter's moons." Actually it's the largest, and in fact (as noted in a list on the same page) it is the largest moon in the solar system.

This comprehensive compendium includes:

Over 700 lists
First Facts
Guides to Websites

The pages vary in background colors and each chapter has a theme color, which makes for a very colorful book. There are also plenty of full-color pictures.

The Contents:

The Universe & The Earth - Are you looking for the top 10 "Most Isolated Inhabited Islands" or just want to find the principal components of air, this book provides some interesting lists.

Life on Earth - You will recognize common facts like the Cheetah being the fastest mammal, but what about the heaviest turtle? I also had no idea beetles were the most common insects, although ants, bees and wasps where third. May I say, beware the banana spider.... There is also a list of deadliest spiders. I was not happy about the list of animals used in experimentation. I had no idea they used cats.

The Human World - I was not surprised to see depression listed as the most common health disorder, but was a bit shocked that Schizophrenia is not far down the list. I had no idea that Nuts were the most common allergy. Yes, I'm not alone! But people are allergic to fresh fruit and fresh vegetables? Yikes, what is the world coming to. If you want your child to have a more unique name than most of the population, the top ten name lists will be helpful. It was not overly comforting to see that America has the sixth largest army although we have the largest defense budget. Want to know the top 10 religions of the world? You will find it all here.

Town & Country - There are times when the US does not make it into the top ten, so they have put the "US" in Italics at the end and also included "World" calculations for comparison.

Culture & Learning - So the Internet population is at 940,000,000. Oh, then it gets really fun. They list all the top 10 books! I loved that the "Jabberwocky" is one of the most popular poems in the world and who hasn't read: How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways." If you want to know how much someone paid for John Lennon's Steinway upright piano, this is where you find the prices.

Music & Musicians -When you look through the song titles, do you notice anything? I see a lot of common themes.

Stage & Screen - A great section to browse through if you are still trying to catch up with the top movies. They also have lists of "leading men and leading women" and most of their movies or those that made it to the top 10. You can also find the "raspberry awards."

Commercial World - It is pretty shocking to read that suicide is one of the top unnatural deaths in the US. Traffic accidents and homicides make sense, but who would have thought that we are all so dangerous when cooking! That is the top cause of domestic fire. Well, Amazon made it to the top of the Internet Retailers list. Well, second only to eBay. You will no longer wonder why Switzerland is so clean and be even more wary of online auctions. The "Food Favorites" section was great. Switzerland is still eating the most chocolate and must all be on an "in love" high.

Transport & Tourism - Anyone ever heard of the "Seawise University?" Apparently this was the largest passenger ship ever to sink. Seems ships sinking in 1912 make better movies. The Titanic is all over this book, in lists galore. Was pleased to know I'd been to one of the busiest airports in the US and world. But then again, who hasn't? lol Nothing like getting lost in Atlanta. Frankfurt wasn't much fun either. Dreaming of riding the world's fastest roller coaster? Want to know where America goes on vacation overseas? Apparently I'm not the only one in love with France.

Sport & Leisure - For the sport fan in you! Baseball Stars, International Soccer, Hockey Highlights, Racket Sports, Golfing Greats, Water Sports, Auto Racing, Sports Media and Leisure Pursuits.

Other tantalizing details include information on coffee consumers, celebrities, crime, diseases, economies, Emmy Awards, literary awards, musicals, Nobel Prizes, Olympics, Presidents, poetry, plays, languages, telecommunications, unemployment and the all important sugar consumption.

Pretty amazing information when you think of all the time it took to collect this data. If you love trivia, want to expand your general knowledge or are just darn curious, you will love paging through this 2004 edition.

The Music section offers interesting sections on songs and songwriters, record firsts, stars of the decades, all-time greats, chart toppers, gold and platinum, music genres, broadcast music and movie music. The particular lists include Most successful songwriters, Rock songs of all time (Satisfaction, Respect and Stairway to Heaven to name the first three), Most popular bands through the decades, etc. The biggest singles of all time has Candle In The Wind at number one and biggest album honours is carried by The Beatles with St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The book contains more than 700 lists and many short paragraph features elaborating upon important topics, like for example the first million selling record. The text is enhanced by color pictures and the book concludes with a bibliography reflecting the aforementioned chapter headings and an index. The Top 10 Of Everything 2004 is a fact-filled and up-to-date reference work and also offers hours of fun for the casual reader, no matter what their hobbies and interests are.