New York, New York, March 23, 2006
Nearly 400 in-depth profiles of prominent individuals from a wide range of fields of accomplishment are now available in two new Current Biography volumes: Current Biography Yearbook 2005 and Current Biography International Yearbook 2005.

Current Biography Yearbook 2005 delivers the complete content of all 2005 issues of the popular Current Biography monthly magazine, with updated information. Current Biography International Yearbook 2005 focuses exclusively on people making history and headlines outside the U.S., with original profiles written specifically for this resource, none of them previously published in the monthly issues of Current Biography or in the regular Current Biography yearbooks. Both volumes deliver objective, well-documented narrative articles (averaging 2,500 words), of value both for biographical research and casual reading.

Current Biography Yearbook 2005 features 187 profiles in total
--rich, engaging exploration of the lives of such notables as former FBI official W. Mark Felt (revealed to be "Deep Throat" of Watergate fame), "social" investment manager Amy Domini; actress Cameron Diaz; Vogue fashion director Grace Coddington; artist Michael Ray Charles; Department of Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff; FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin; NFL quarterback Steve McNair; wine expert and author Robert Parker; Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell; professional surfer Laird Hamilton; NASA administrator Michael Griffin; opera singer Susan Graham; broadcast journalist Ed Gordon; photojournalist Eve Arnold; and many others. The volume also features a 71-page section of obituaries, a list of profiles by profession, and an index to profiles in the Current Biography monthly back to 2001.

Current Biography International Yearbook 2005 features 198 profiles, among them British Prime Minister Tony Blair; German actor Udo Kier; Indian documentary filmmaker Amar Kanwar; Italian businesswoman Carla Cico; Russian scientist Yuri Aleksandrovich Chizmadzhev; French chef Alain Senderens; Nigerian military commander Festus Okonkwo (head of the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur); Australian cricket player Shane Warne; Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; South African banker Enos Banda; Irish writer and television producer James Burke; British mathematician Simon Kirwan Donaldson, and many others. The volume also features lists of profiles classified by profession and by country, as well as an index of profiles from this volume and the 2004, 2003 and 2002 editions.

The Current Biography family of references also includes the WilsonWeb database Current Biography Illustrated, which features more than 25,000 articles and obituaries.

Current Biography has been described as "the most reliable source for biographical information on a wide range of current celebrities" by American Studies International. WilsonWeb's Current Biography Illustrated also holds the honor of being named a Library Journal Best Reference Source.

Review copies of Current Biography Yearbook 2005 and Current Biography International Yearbook 2005 are available to the press.

Current Biography Yearbook 2005
701 pages Photographs March 2006 0-8242-1056-5 $150 ($175 outside U.S. & Canada)