Whitaker's almanack 2003 (Leather bound ed)

Whether you need to answer a crossword clue, lobby an MP or help a child with their homework this reference book tells you everything you need to know about the world - its people, places, organizations and infrastructure.

It offers thousands of facts, figures and statistics plus descriptive and directory information on astronomy, sport, literature, current affairs, communications, government and politics, societies and institutions, countries of the world, religion, education, environment, IT, law, media, finance, peerage and royality.This almanack was first published in 1868 and was buried beneath Cleopatra's Needle in London.

Sherlock Holmes used it to crack a code in the 1914 story of "The Valley of Fear" and in 1940 Winston Churchill worried abiut it after a publisher's premises were destroyed by bombs.