The People's Almanac
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The People's Almanac was a series of three books published in 1975, 1978 and 1981 by David Wallechinsky and his father Irving Wallace, the novelist responsible for co-authoring the series The Book of Lists.
The format of the almanac departs from a conventional almanac and included many obscure facts, lists and esoteric knowledge. Under “World Nations and People,” for instance, the authors list every country and try to describe not only who is officially in charge, but also which entities hold greater power unofficially. Some corporations are listed together with nations. Special sections include ones on natural and man-made disasters, "Footnote People in World History," biographies of fictional characters (such as Superman), past predictions by psychics – both correct and incorrect, and predictions for the years 1975 and on. Odd and unexplained happenings are also discussed (such as the Devil's Footprints), though authoritative references are not generally given.
