Facts About the 20th Century - Hardcover

Chapter one, "Chronology of the Century," is a year-by-year time line of world events from 1900 to 1999. Entries for each year are divided into seven topic headings (e.g., "Arts and Entertainment," "Politics"), and items are further categorized by country. Supplemental lists include Nobel Prize winners from 1901 to 1999 and a chart of the years and locations of the Olympic games.

Chapter two, "Events and Ideas of the Century," is an alphabetical (Abdication crisis to Zionism) survey that briefly defines more than "300 selected events, movements, trends, and concepts that defined the century." Chapter three, "Who: People A-Z," offers 900 short biographies of noteworthy individuals. Birth and death dates are provided, as are nationality and profession or occupation, followed by a brief summary of the individual's accomplishments. Chapter four, "Nations of the World," contains the "where" of the twentieth century. More than 190 countries are treated in brief histories that range from two paragraphs (St. Lucia) to more than four pages (U.S.). Each entry includes a chronology of leaders, geographical location, official name (if applicable), capital, area in square miles, population, languages, type of government, religions, monetary unit (pre-Euro), and main exports.

Additional features include tables, a "Historical Gazetteer," a bibliography, and an index. The gazetteer "shows at a glance how the world of 1900 was transformed into the world of 2000." Name changes of countries or territories are noted, as are unions of countries and their gain or loss of independence.

Facts about the Twentieth Century is a compact, browsable work with extensive coverage and an appropriate addition to most library collections. RBB
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