WHAT COUNTS What Counts assembles the most useful, enduring, and compelling statistics from the Harper's Index, which has measured the drifting tide of human events and recorded them in Harper's Magazine since 1984. Eighty-one rubrics, or mini-indexes, touch on themes such as marriage, weather, crime, high finance, and sex. Each rubric provides a numerical snapshot of a political, social, or cultural phenomenon. When the moment demands authoritative weight of a reliable statistic - to punctuate a speech, a toast, a professional presentation, or merely to settle a family argument - this book provides the necessary information.