Can a blog about Government books not talk about Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract? I don’t think so. The 2011 edition is now available and, as usual, it’s filled with all kinds of data that tell us who and what we are as a nation and a people. Of course, many of its tables have appeared in edition after edition, but I like to focus on those that seem most in tune with current concerns and interests. After all, the Abstract’s ability to remain relevant accounts for its longevity (since 1878!)
Take, for example, Table 191, Insufficient Rest or Sleep by Number of Days and Selected Characteristics: 2008. I’m writing this on a Monday morning and feeling as if I haven’t had sufficient sleep since the late 1980s. You can’t get any more relevant than that! Data that seems ripped from the headlines is in Table 336, Financial Crimes: 2003 to 2009. Corporate fraud, securities and commodities fraud, mass marketing fraud…you get the picture.
There’s a lot of more upbeat information, too. Table 295 tells us that more and more Americans are receiving degrees every year, while Table 1237 indicates how many of us are turning out for the arts – something personally cheering for me is that 7.8 million people went to a jazz concert in 2008.
Family debt, manufacturing, national security, international statistics – there doesn’t seem to be anything that the Statistical Abstract doesn’t cover. At more than 1,000 pages, it’s an America watcher’s dream. You can lose yourself in its pages here, get a personal copy here, or peruse it in a library. Meanwhile, let me see if I can find anything on book blogs…
govbooktalk
Trudy Hawkins
Government Book Talk 
It won’t succeed as a matter of fact, that’s what I believe.
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[…] Jim Cameron mentioned in his February post about the 2011 edition, “Family debt, manufacturing, national security, international statistics – there doesn’t […]
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thank you very much for the summary statistic of the government of the 2011 census. this is a great contribution. good job!
Regards
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It’s a person with ADD like me’s worse nightmare, but I would love to just sit for hours with it at a quiet library…I can only imagine starting to look something up and see something else that catches my attention and would be off reading about another topic! Off to the library to find a copy I go…that is if I am not sleep deprived thinking about it all night…LOL!
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This Statistical Abstract very necessary book and Paperbound Edition not expensive. Thank you from yapsan insaat.
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But this is to be the last Statistical Abstract in print? One less book to book-blog?
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[…] There are numbers for everyone in the new Census Bureau Statistical Abstract: https://govbooktalk.gpo.gov/2011/02/28/perusing-the-2011-statistical-abstract/ […]
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Actually, I was cheered that so many folks were turning out for America’s great musical contribution to the world. As you say, that’s a lot of people. Whenever I’m at a jazz event, the place is packed, so to me the music is alive and well!
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You are too pessimistic about how many go to jazz concerts. 7.8% of the population went, which is over 15 million people!
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