The World Almanac is the #1 best-selling American reference book of all time. It isthesource for essential and authoritative facts for entertainment, reference and learning. The book contains thousands of facts and statistics that aren't publicly available which are sourced and double-checked by the staff of World Almanac experts. The 2008 Edition spent 12 weeks on the NYT Bestseller list reaching #2; 10 weeks on the USA Today Bestseller List reaching #51; and 9 weeks on the Book Sense List reaching a high of #11. New publicity-generating features inThe World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009: -science, economics, sports, arts and media, and more -Beijing Olympics Recap: faces, places and records from the Summer 2008 games. -Celebrity Picks: notable names serve up their very own lists of Favorite People, Places, and Things -Year in Pictures:16 page color photo section of the top stories of 2008, as well as 16 pages of world maps and flags and easy-to-use side tabs.-Plus thousands of facts and statistics that aren't publicly available; sourced and double-checked by our full-time editorial staff who are reference experts by category World Almanac Online: www.WorldAlmanac.com2009 will feature the third year of Bonus Content Online, extended reading to the printed edition for the same combined price of $12.99. Plus lots more free information available year-round at worldalmanac.com: historical presidential information, health news and features, and early access to WA09 info. Once online, look for The World Almanac Blog, launched in 2006 and every weekday featuring-Two new original entries including provocative postings such as Unbreakable Sports Records, the American Kennel Club's top ten dog breeds, and Edward's Untimely Death Series-This Day in History, Notable Birthdays and unusual anniversaries such as when Nixon met Elvis Presley in the Oval Office (1970)-More useful links and tags to essential reads