Now in its fifth bestselling year, Schott's Almanac redefines the traditional almanac to present an informative, entertaining, and fascinating record of the year just past and a guide to the year to come.

Brand new and completely updated to cover the defining moments of 2009, Schott's Almanac includes:

The unfolding of 'Expensgate' - from duck islands and moat cleaning to 'flipping' and fraud ~ Phenomenon or fad? The inexorable rise of Twitter ~ The rise, fall, rise, and fall of PM Gordon Brown ~ Barack Obama's tough first year ~ The global pandemic of A (H1N1) swine flu, and the threat of an 'Aporkalypse' ~ Mounting fatalities and equipment controversy in Afghanistan ~ The tragedy of Baby P ~ The Fourth Plinth ~ Britain's 2009 Ashes victory ~ Joanna Lumley and the Ghurkhas ~ The words of recession including Taxodus and Econocide ~ Iran's disputed elections ~ McBridge, Draper and 'Smeargate' - the power of the political blogosphere ~ Australian Bush Fires ~ Josef Fritzl ~ Piracy in Somalia ~ 'Operation Cast Lead' - Israel & Gaza ~ Britain's longest recession on record

Schott's Almanac defines the year.