This highly intricate, illuminating, and informative book contains nuggets of knowledge, brain-teasing trivia, and mind-blowing facts for even the most committed know-it-all. Readers are treated to a generously over-stuffed, one-stop collection of useful information about the universe and everything contained within it, including galaxies, planets, stars, geology, climate, the human body, plants, animals, nations of the world, and the dazzling history of human endeavor. This compact compendium also supports standards for the reading of scientific texts and accounts, and the analysis of how a text makes connections among, and distinctions between, individuals, ideas, or events.