The Harper's Index Book

by Charis Conn

The Harper's Index Book assembles the most useful, enduring, and compelling statistics from the Harper's Index, arguably the most original (and most imitated) invention in magazine journalism. Since 1984, the Index has measured the drifting tide of human events and recorded them in Harper's Magazine as numerical snapshots. Organized by political, social, and cultural themes and phenomena marriage, sex, weather, crime, high finance, and dozens of other aspects of life. This new book will raise eyebrows and settle arguments. When the moment demands the authoritative weight of a reliable statistic to punctuate a speech, a toast, a professional presentation, or merely to spice up party chatter, this book delivers fresh, new perspective.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Humor

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Randal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Past its sell-by date or too much of a good thing?
The Index in Harper's magazine is a monthly wonder: a list of single lines of fact set in conjunction so as to suggest larger themes. The percent of American adults who believe the Bible is the literal word of God on one line, the percent who think Joan of Arc was Mrs. Noah on the next, that sort of thing.
Sadly, this compilation has too few of those a-ha moments, and it suffers because its contemporary political references are 20 years out of date.
Stick with the monthly version ...

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great popular reference on everything in general but nothing in particular.