THE WASHINGTON ALMANAC by Lawrence J....

THE WASHINGTON ALMANAC by Lawrence J. Haas (Henry Holt: $25; 669 pp.) and THE RATING GUIDE TO LIFE IN THE AMERICA’S FIFTY STATES by G. Scott Thomas (Prometheus: $19.95; 575 pp., paperback original). As election results indicate with depressing regularity, large numbers of Americans either ignore their government or decline to participate in it. In his newly revised almanac, Lawrence Haas presents a great deal of information about who in Washington wields power in the specific areas of education, housing, the elderly, the environment, etc. Each chapter includes addresses, phone numbers and capsule biographies of senior Congressional committee members, executive branch personel and heads of important non-governmental bodies. If American voters are truly frustrated with the way the government functions, “Washington Almanac” provides a starting point for implementing change. In contrast, “Rating” epitomizes the factoids Americans consume in place of real information. Working from the dubious premise that the quality of life in a place can be determined statistically, Thomas juggles figures--from the number of Olympic athletes per million residents to the sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places--to determine the “best” place to live. Vermont wins the mathematical contest, with California coming in 10th. Thomas’ rating system bears the same relationship to real knowledge of the 50 states that fast food does to real food.