Russell Ash: 'The Top 10 Of Everything 2008'

One wonders how Sei Shonogan, 10th century master of list-making, would feel upon perusing this modern collection. 'The Pillow Book' it is not. Split into ten categories, encompassing such themes as Life on Earth, Music, and Transport & Tourism, 'The Top 10 Of Everything 2008' excels in the quantitative.

The worst train disasters (in numbers of casualties), most FA Cup Final appearances, deadliest spiders (measured by venom potency), or highest-earning dead celebrities reveal something interesting about the world, and are a great source for pub quiz questions. Photographs and unusual to-scale graphics clearly illustrate the differences between the winners and sometimes quite distant runners up. Also, although the topics and facts are pulled from around the world, there remains a strong UK focus that is a pleasant surprise in the American-dominated “facts” book market.

Qualitative selection criteria make certain topics seem more controversial than they really are. For example, in the stage & screen section, it’s not clear why certain actors are highlighted and others are missed. Why feature Kirsten Dunst’s top ten grossing films, but not Julia Roberts’ or Dame Judi Dench’s? Why Nicolas Cage but not Brad Pitt? And why profile the AFI’s greatest film actors, but not their greatest actresses? To include an example outside of acting, why list the top egg-consuming countries, but not something equally random, like the top tofu-consuming countries? The editor actively solicits feedback on his website in case a burning desire compels you to point out these inconsistencies.

In spite of its deficiencies, it makes a good coffee table book (the psychedelic cover alone is an attractive conversation piece), something to thumb through on long trips, and an excellent source for trivia questions. After all, would you guess four of the top six countries with the lowest death rates are all in the Middle East?

Published 15th October 2007 by Hamlyn.

Written by W. L. Clark.