Amazon.com Review
If you were in elementary school the last time you saw The Guinness Book of World Records, the 1998 version might surprise you with its hardcover, high-gloss format; more than 350 color photographs; and a slick layout that's decidedly easy on the eyes. You'll still find the world's tallest man here, as well as the largest collection of refrigerator magnets--but there are also such decidedly '90s touches such as the longest online interview and most-visited Web site. The biggest change from the musty paperback of days gone by, however, is the emphasis placed on sports and entertainment records, from most expensive TV series renewal (Seinfeld) to biggest one-day box-office gross (The Lost World). Thirty-one "On the Record" interviews profile such record-breaking celebs as Madeleine Albright (the highest-ranking woman ever in the U.S. government) and Adrian Targett (who was genetically identified as a relative of the 9,000-year-old human remains known as "Cheddar Man").

One thing that hasn't changed is the sheer weirdness of the whole enterprise. Above all, The Guinness Book of World Records is an amiable portrait of human eccentricity, chronicling the great lengths to which some will people will go to become--if only for their allotted 15 minutes-- "famous." From the world's biggest burrito (4,456.3 pounds) to the record-breaking long- distance tap dance (23.219 miles), there's a record on file for every conceivable human achievement, pastime, or abnormality.