1992 TOP TEN ALAMANAC: The Best of...

1992 TOP TEN ALAMANAC: The Best of Everything According to the Numbers by Michael Robbins & Nicole Gregory (Workman: $5.95, illustrated). This annual compilation of lists of the best, most expensive, most popular, etc. offers valuable information for readers who find People too detailed and recondite. The film that lost the most money in 1991 was the Bruce Willis vehicle “Hudson Hawk” (an estimated $52 million); the most popular drink in America is currently gin or vodka and tonic (25.3% of orders in bars); Levi Strauss ranks as the nation’s largest apparel manufacturer, with $4.24 billion in sales. Anyone who doubts the existence of the gender gap should compare the $18.3 million salary of the country’s highest paid male CEO (Stephen M. Wolf of UAL) with the paltry $2.45 million earned by the nation’s top female executive (Linda Wachner, president and CEO of Warnaco). Mark Twain once noted there were three categories of falsehood: “lies, damn lies and statistics.”