The first autobiographical reference book in the world and, after 175 years, still the most accurate and reliable resource for information on people of influence and interest in every area of public life.

Each edition is exhaustively updated using information supplied and checked by the entrants themselves, alongside research from many other independent sources. The book provides biographical information for people from all areas of society, including government, law, medicine, business, the church, media and the arts, with details not only of entrants' careers, but also their family, education, recreations and clubs.

The 2024 edition includes more than 33,000 autobiographical entries, including approximately 600 new entries, an obituaries section, listing the entrants who have died since the previous edition, and a two-page Royal Family section.