The Book of Amazing Facts and Feats 2 The Creator's World and All That Fills It By Nattan Hurvitz and Aharon Yosef Hoffman Feldheim Publishers, 2011, 276 pages ISBN: 978-1-59826-769-3

Reviewed by Israel Drazin - September 7, 2011

This is the second volume of facts that will interest Jewish youth. A third volume will be published shortly. The book is well written and is filled with colorful pictures. It is broken up into eight groups: Holy Men, Holy Books, and Holy Places; Mankind; Nations and Government; The World; Strange, Yet Interesting; Who Nourishes All; Armies and War; and Who by Chariot. Each of the eight groups is in turn subdivided into between four and nine smaller groups. While all of the facts are interesting and frequently amazing, some focus on Jewish issues and some on those of general humanity.

Many of the facts are actually legends, which are not identified as legends. Examples are: The patriarch Jacob entered the Garden of Eden and left it alive. The largest army was the one sent by Sancheriv to conquer Jerusalem; it contained 2.6 billion soldiers minus one. King Solomon signed more treaties than anyone else; he signed peace treaties with every nation in the world. The angel Gabriel taught Joseph 70 languages before he went to interpret Pharaoh's two dreams.

Examples of the facts about Jews are: information about the Jewish kings; what was the first book published about the oral law; the most expensive book of Psalms; and the longest commentary by Rashi on the Talmud.

Examples of facts of a wider interest are: The Vatican is the state with the smallest population; 830. The divorce rate in the US is 43%; in Israel 28%. Biblical names are the most popular names in the US. The country with a city with the shortest name is Norway; the city is called A. The most common non-contagious illness is tooth decay. The US has the largest number of psychiatrists and psychologists. Laughter is the best medicine. People in the US talk on the telephone more than any other nation. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more people than English; 918 million vs. 355. Eleven nations have larger crude oil reserves than the US, including Canada and Iran.

Also available, The Book of Amazing Facts and Feats, Book 1

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