William A. McGeveran

I keep old almanacs around as a reference for previous information. I buy an almanac ever four or five years. These days, with internet information being so accessible, I doubt I'll ever buy a current almanac again. And used ones go SO cheaply. As a child, I devoured the almanac, reading about disasters, mountain heights, river lengths, most populous cities, etc. Though I no longer just read an almanac, they still fascinate me. There's something in the neat tabular presentation of data that implies that all knowledge could be captured, tamed and presented rationally.… (more)