France Profiled: Essential Facts on Society, Business, and Politics in France (Syb Factbook) - Softcover

Barry Turner is the editor of The Statesman's Yearbook. He has been a full-time writer for twenty years and has worked as a journalist and broadcaster in the fields of politics, biography, travel, and education. He holds a Ph.D. in political history.

From the current editor of The Statesman's Yearbook now comes, well, The Statesman's Yearbook, only with a few omissions and a new name. The World Today, 2000, purporting to be "skillfully abridged," is in fact an almost word-for-word reproduction with some statistics or sentences chopped out to decrease the length. Those of us who know and love The Statesman's Yearbook already find it sufficiently compact. Both books contain concise overviews of every country, including data on government, society, economy, and industry. The only substantial difference here is the price--$17.95 for this paperback, compared with $120 for the hardbound original. Thus, The World Today is a good choice for the individual buyer or for small, specialized libraries. Public and academic libraries should opt for The Statesman's Yearbook. Also new from Turner is "The Statesman's Yearbook Factbook" series, offering titles like China Profiled, France Profiled, Germany Profiled, and Italy Profiled. These books provide brief political and cultural histories; current information and statistics on government, economy, society, and culture; and breakdowns of major cities and regions. While some contact and tourist information is included, the books do not function as travel guides. They will appeal mostly to readers seeking background for traveling or living abroad. Recommended for large public libraries.
-Anna Youssefi, Univ. of Houston Lib., TX
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.