The Canadian Global Almanac 1999

Sarah Robertson is the trade, scholarly, and reference editor of the
Canadian Book Review Annual.

The Canadian Global Almanac, now in its 13th edition, is an invaluable
and user-friendly compendium of Canadian and international information.
Main sections include Canada (with subsections “The Land,” “The
People,” “The Nation,” and “The Economy”), Global Information,
Science and Nature, Arts and Entertainment, Canadian Hall of Fame,
Sports, Obituaries, and News Events of 1997–98. There are 16 pages of
full-color maps; short biographies of Canada’s prime ministers, with
accompanying photos; an abundance of government-generated tables;
informational boxes whose content ranges from the trivial (“Which day
of the week is the snowiest?”) to the practical (Blue Box protocol);
and “Focus On ...” features devoted to such topics as the Euro,
government Web sites, and the Supreme Court ruling relating to the
succession of Quebec.

October 1998 appears to be the cutoff point for this edition, which
includes results for the 1998 Winter Olympics and features on Nunavut
Territory, Ice Storm ’98, and the ill-fated Swissair Flight 111.
Winners of Governor General’s Literary Awards are listed for the years
1986 to 1997. The omission of Giller Award–winners is a puzzlement
that should be addressed in future editions. That caveat aside, The
Canadian Global Almanac’s status as Canada’s best single volume
reference annual remains unchallenged.