Parts of a Book -- 2/5/10

Information on Title Page, in Order from Top to Bottom
• Editors: Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janet Podell
• Title: Famous First Facts
• Edition: Fifth Edition
• Subtitle: A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries, and Inventions in American History
• Publisher: The H.W. Wilson Company
• Places of Publication: New York and Dublin
• Year of Publication: 1997

Information on Verso of Title Page, in Order from Top to Bottom
• Copyright Information: Copyright 1933, 1935, 1950, 1964, 1981 by Joseph Nathan Kane. Copyright renewed 1961, 1963, 1978 by Joseph Nathan Kane.
• Printing Information: First Edition 1933, Second Edition 1950, Third Edition 1964, Fourth Edition 1981, Fifth Edition 1997.
• More Copyright Information: Copyright 1997 by The H.W. Wilson Company. “All rights reserved. […] ...specifically for inclusion in that magazine, newspaper, or electronic publication.”
• Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Kane, Joseph Nathan Kane, 1899-
o Famous First Facts / by Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, Janet Podell. –5th ed. P. cm.
o Includes Indexes.
o ISBN 0-8242-0930-3
o Encyclopedia and Dicitonaries. I. Anzovin, Steven. II. Podell, Janet. III. Title.
o AG5.K315 1997
o 031.02—dc21 97-31252
o CIP
• Publisher’s Contact Information: The H.W. Wilson Company, 950 University Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10452. http://www.hwwilson.com.

Scope of the Resource
• This reference book covers “firsts” of various topics. The first topic is agriculture and, many pages later in the table of contents, the last topic is writing implements. Each topic is divided into alphabetically arranged subcategories to further help the reader. As the subtitle suggests, Famous First Facts concentrates on American history. The 1997 edition includes over “1,000 new firsts” that have taken place since the 1981 edition was published.

Information in the Preface
• The preface, written by current editors Janet Podell and Steven Anzovin, discusses the history of Famous First Facts since its first publication in 1899. It also highlights new information in the fifth edition, and the editors extend thanks to various people and organizations for their help with the book.

How to Use Famous First Facts, and Information in the Back of the Book
• Following the preface, there is a section titled “How to Use This Book.” This section explains that categories are listed alphabetically, and that each category has alphabetically arranged subcategories. Within subcategories, entries are listed chronologically and numbered by the order in which they appear in the book.
• Furthermore, Famous First Facts contains a table of contents and indexes of the following categories: subject, year, day, name, and geography.