From Bow Bells to Byzantine art, from Komodo dragons to kamikaze pilots, and from literary pseudonyms to a chronicle of global history, Pears condenses a world of information on almost every conceivable subject into one concise volume. In fact, you could say it is the Swiss army knife of reference books, to be found on nearly every family bookshelf.

It is still updated by experts every year without fail, making it more reliable than most things in life (and a lot more accurate than many things you'll find online). This year there is new information on everything, from cat's eyes to Kosovo, and from great novels to landmarks in astronomy, but it still retains all the familiar features - such as the World Gazetteer, Medical Matters, the Literary Companion and the General Compendium - that have made Pears Britain's favourite book from the world's favourite publisher.