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The Top 10 of Everything 2004
Bursting with thought-provoking and often hilarious facts -- from the world's richest people to the world's deadliest spiders -- The Top 10 of Everything 2004 is the latest annual edition or DK's perennially popular compendium of knowledge. Fully updated, the book contains more than 1,000 Top 10 lists and is sure to educate and entertain.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2003
About the author
Russell Ash
164 books29 followersRussell Ash is best known for his annual 'The Top Ten of Everything' and other popular reference works, but he is also the author of numerous humour titles. His extensive research work encompasses biographical studies and genealogy.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 11, 2019
Most colorful than a world almanac
The appeal of top ten lists goes back in the west to at least the Bible where we have the Ten Commandments, and in the east there are the yamas and niyamas of yoga that are ten in number. Ten is the basis of our number system and ten are the digits on our hands and toes.
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. On 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.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
The appeal of top ten lists goes back in the west to at least the Bible where we have the Ten Commandments, and in the east there are the yamas and niyamas of yoga that are ten in number. Ten is the basis of our number system and ten are the digits on our hands and toes.
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. On 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.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
Displaying 1 of 1 review