The 1997 CIA World Factbook

"The 1997 CIA World Factbook" by the United States Central Intelligence Agency, is a thorough late 20th-century guide, offering facts about countries – their lands, governments, economies, and societies – for U.S. officials. Each profile includes demographics, leadership, armed forces, and key issues. The book starts by explaining its own setup, roots, and how it helps U.S. intelligence. It tells how data from different U.S. government groups are gathered to paint a picture of each country. The introduction also mentions which countries are included, organized by region, and what's new in the 1997 version, like updated maps and stats. It then gets into detailed looks at each country, starting with Afghanistan, showing the book's importance in understanding the world.