Guinness Sports Yearbook, by Peter Nichols. Guinness Publishing in association with Sportspages, £11.99.

Promoted as a complete reference work for the past 12 months, this is a neat and tidy guide to 1993 for anyone with catholic sporting tastes. From the obscurity of trampolining and curling to the media saturation of soccer, cricket and, dare we say it, Formula One, all major results of the past year are included, with comment and pertinent, often amusing, quotations where appropriate.

The contents of the motor sporting section are a trifle odd. The need to have this in the shops before Christmas, one presumes, has led to the omission of the final two Grands Prix, which will be rather belatedly included in the 1994 edition. Also, there are results of most F3 rounds (one of which, incidentally, is wrong, though Warren Hughes might be pleased to learn that he won at Donington in May, where he actually speared into the gravel at the first corner), but no mention of higher profile categories such as the British Touring Car Championship or European F3000. For all that, the industry gets just recognition. Are there are other Hughesesque glitches? Who knows? I’m not qualified to comment on the accuracy of the World Gas Balloon Championship results. In a volume of this magnitude (given the compact nature of the book, the quantity of information is extraordinary), perhaps the odd mistake is inevitable. Personally, I also find it forgivable. This is more than a reference work. It’s compelling reading for sports lovers, trivia maniacs and anoraks everywhere.

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