The Larousse Desk Reference - Hardcover

Larousse

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752350064 ISBN 13: 9780752350066

Publisher: Larousse, 1995

Synopsis

Every bit of historical, geopolitical, or scientific information one would expect is included in this superior reference book, including over 1,000 essays on everything from multimedia to SADS (Seasonal Affective Disorder) to wines of the world, baseball rules, and endangered animals. Full color.

About this title

Review

It's 800 pages of smarts; it's your nerdy pal who knows everything (but will never sneer, lecture, or bore). Need to know the major Hindu deities, how to play rugby, or when the Visigoths took Constantinople? With comprehensive chapters on the Earth, Universe, Science, Arts and more, the writing is clear enough for the dabbler, accurate enough for the pro, and interesting for anyone with a modicum of curiosity.

From Booklist

This full-color desk reference has seven thematic units: "Earth and the Universe," "Life on Earth," "People," "History," "Science and Technology," "Arts and Culture," and "International World." Each section contains a chronology, charts and tables, a glossary, and brief biographies; all told, there are more than 3,500 biographies of people from more than 600 fields of interest. Tables in the "Life on Earth" section include lists of species with their length, food and habitat, and their original home and a list of national parks and preserves around the world. Boxes have fascinating information, such as the number of extinct languages in Africa and the world's top banks. Information is up-to-date; for example, the table of major earthquakes includes the 1995 Kobe quake, and tables of literary awards are current through 1994. The attractive illustrations include photographs and drawings. There are color maps for every country of the world. Those for large countries stretch across two pages; for smaller countries, maps take up half a page. Though this British work appears to have been revised for an American audience, there is one confusing example of usage. The introduction states that the American usage of billion is used, but the human body is described as having billions of cells while American sources state that it has trillions.

There is an extensive map index including more than 10,000 place-names, followed by a comprehensive subject index. The Larousse Desk Reference is an attractive, inexpensive resource for both public and secondary-school libraries.

About this edition

• Publisher: Larousse
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0752350064
• ISBN 13: 9780752350066
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 800