Historical Statistics is broken up into different sections like population, national income and wealth and social statistics. The sections begin with an explanation of what is to follow and who is responsible for the gathering of the statistics. There are smaller sections of information on each type of statistic telling not only where the numbers come from but what numbers might be excluded and exactly what certain terms mean. This is useful because statistics are only useful if you know what they mean. Otherwise they are just a bunch of numbers without any real meaning behind them. There is a time period index in the back in case you want to find something quickly without looking through the entire section and also a subject index aimed at making your search much easier.
This book could be very useful to someone doing research comparing today to the past. Even if you are not looking for a specific purpose, it can be fun to thumb through and see the earnings in selected occupations from 1865 to 1970 or individuals’ saving by components, in current prices. If you are bored, you could look up the population of a certain state in 1790 and compare the number to what it is today. There are plenty of ways to use this book. Hopefully, you will find at least one.
Onto other important topics-the Badgers ruined Kentucky’s dream of a 40-0 season by beating them 71-64 on Saturday night. Now they are faced with defeating Duke to become the National Champions. Let’s hope tonight’s game is as much fun to watch as Saturday’s game. Go Badgers!