Jessica Williams (2)

There are 27 million slaves in the world today. Nearly half of Americans believe aliens have landed on Earth. Landmines kill or maim at least one person every hour.

Before I read Jessica Williams' "50 Facts that Should Change the World," I considered myself a fairly aware person when it comes to problems facing the word. Poverty. Global warming. The oppression of women and children. Nailed it! Right?

Wrong. So very wrong. This book is poised and ready to slap you across the face with a big show more dose of awareness. I would challenge anyone who thinks they have a grasp on the world's problems to pick up this book. Also, it would be great for anyone who simply wants to learn more about what's really going on in the world, and enjoys that process. Many argue that, as a country, as individuals, it "isn't our job to solve the world's problems." Even if that's the way you feel, Williams' books can provide valuable snapshots into life in the 21st Century.

BBC journalist Jessica Williams put out the first version of "50 Facts" in 2004. I read the "2.0" version, which was published in 2007 -- and already seems outdated in many ways. The book was published by Disinformation Company Ltd., which brought us such wonders as "Everything You Know is Wrong" by Russ Kick (which I might save for next year, when I need another blast-to-the-brain of awareness).There is also a "50 Facts that Should Change the USA" out, by Stephen Fender.

Because Williams is a British journalist, "50 Facts" contains both American and British statistics. Each fact is backed up by 3-5 pages of explanation, reference and context. However, don't be fooled by it's concise content: this book is heavy.

I'm a rather stubborn learner, but I feel that reading this book straight through, cover to cover, changed me. Brightened with new facts about the world's plights, I would attempt to read them out loud to my boyfriend: eventually he urged me to stop, because they were too depressing.

And, truthfully, it is depressing. There are so many drastic problems facing this world, and most Americans truck along through their lives, unaware. It took me nearly two weeks to complete this book, because sometimes those facts will hit you hard and you have to stop. After reading about executions, torture, the rise of Starbucks, domestic violence in Russia or food additives, I would have to put the book down and hug my cat for a little while.

However, I am deeply glad I read this book. Yes, it is "shocking, sickening and sordid," but in many ways it woke me up, and I had no idea I was asleep to a majority of the world's problems. It has given me a new focus, and blessedly the book provides ways for concerned individuals to get involved and make a difference. I wouldn't reccomend reading it straight through, like I did; perhaps read a chapter at a time, process what you've read and then put it back on the bookshelf for another day.

I am going to keep this book around until 3.0 comes out, and I feel that I'll always have some "50 Facts" books in my library for reference. show less

There are some very interesting statistics in here, new to me, and probably under-known. The book is a few years old, so a bit dated, but largely still relevant; and it's competently written, broadly speaking.

However its main problem is that it doesn't interrogate any of these facts beyond their surface - and so you're left with a sort of Sunday Supplement article written by Naomi Klein. Compare this book to something like "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling, which fully justifies its existence. show more This book doesn't, for instance, interrogate the way these statistics are gathered, any problems therefore with their methodology, the assumptions and values that are implicit in their collection and reporting, the policy steps that may have been taken and succeeded or failed in the past, etc.

The point is most obviously made for me by the chapter which complains that "more young people recognise the McDonalds logo than the Christian cross". Well... so what? The chapter quotes Jonathan Sachs on "values" at length, before stating that "it would be terrible to think of future generations having nothing in their ears other than the insipid piped music of the shopping mall". Again... really? You might think so, but that is an opinion, not a fact. There may be a profound point there, but to justify it, it warrants some modicum of interrogation, rather than some vague anti-consumerist gesture at "shopping malls". show less

This book should be on everyone's shelf. It is a journalist's list and discriptions of some of the most intriguing and important facts that somehow get buried in the news cycle between Britney's escapades and local dog shows. Some are horrifying, some are tear jerking, but the point of the book is to humanize the statistics and raise awareness and, yes, anger in an attempt to provoke some sort of reaction. It's the journalistic equivalent of a splash of cold water in the face.

Here is another example of the bad job done by the mainstream media in informing Americans about the state of the world. This book presents a number of facts, with accompanying essays, that will not be covered on the evening news.

In 2002, more than 80 percent of the world’s executions took place in just three countries, China, Iran and America. Black men born in the US stand a one in three chance of going to jail, while white men have a one in seventeen chance of going to jail. Because of show more the Asian preference for male over female babies, and because of China’s one-child policy, China has 44 million missing women. Over one-fifth of the world’s population lives on less than one dollar a day. One-third of the world’s obese people, and over 80 percent of the smokers, live in developing countries.

Did you know that nearly half of Americans believe that aliens have landed on Earth? According to one estimate, there are over 67,000 lobbyists in Washington, which equals 125 for each member of Congress. Ten languages disappear every year. Every year, America spends $10 billion on pornography, the same amount it spends on foreign aid. More than 70 percent of the world has never heard a dial tone.

This book also includes sources for each of the essays, and organizations to contact for those who are inspired to get involved in any of these areas. It is excellent, and I enjoyed reading it. Compare the subjects in this book to what is shown on the "all-news" channels. To get a very different view of the world, this is a fine place to start. show less