The Book of Numbers: The Ultimate Compendium of Facts About Figures - Softcover

Hartston, William R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1900512939 ISBN 13: 9781900512930

Publisher: Metro Books, London, 2010

Synopsis

This entertaining reference book is for anyone interested in numbers, arithmetical coincidences, statistics and random information. How many acres of pizza are eaten daily in the USA? How many accidents involving tea cosies were recorded in Britain in 1993? What is the mystical significance of the number twenty-two? How long is an aardvark's tongue? This collection of facts about figures is arranged in numerical order, from zero - the number of times the word "Bible" occurs in the works of Shakespeare - to 4,985,567,071,200 - the amount of dollars of US national debt when the clock stopped near Times Square, New York, on 14 November 1995. As a work of reference, it is designed to answer any question beginning with the words "How many...?", particularly questions that you would never have thought of asking in the first place.

About this title

Review

What do these have in common: people who have set foot on the moon, signs of the zodiac and the letters of the Hawaiian alphabet? The answer is the number 12, as this Ultimate Compendium of Facts about Figures will tell you, along with dozens of related facts and statistics, including numerical films (Twelve Angry Men), books (The Wind's Twelve Quarters), and lists (the 12 labours of Hercules).

Arranged in numerical order, the book sets out to reference number facts and trivia. Smaller numbers get the fullest treatment, but selected larger numbers are also covered, into the billions. A typical entry, for the number 124, reveals:

Japanese emperors in an unbroken line from the same family
kilometres length of the coastline of Benin
pounds record weight for a pumpkin
people per square mile in New Hampshire.

Many measurements are included, although strictly these only approximate whole numbers and depend on the units used. Lengths and weights (metric and imperial), ages, temperatures and even percentages make it in, as do moving targets like the largest entry: 4,985,567,071,200--the size of the US national debt in 1995. Mathematicians will despair, and a reader looking for facts about numbers themselves would do better with a book like David Wells' Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers.

But William Hartston, best known for his chess expertise, follows his earlier Ultimate Irrelevant Encyclopedia and Odd Dates Only, with a collection that will appeal to anyone looking for a store of quirky facts having a numerical element. --Frank Pennycook

Edition details

• Publisher: Metro Books, London
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1900512939
• ISBN 13: 9781900512930
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320