The Dorling Kindersley Visual Encyclopedia A - Hardcover

DK Publishing

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1564589854 ISBN 13: 9781564589859

Publisher: Dk Pub, 1995

Synopsis

A highly illustrated visual reference provides detailed charts, lists, diagrams, maps, photographs, and illustrations that highlight significant facts about everything from natural science to history.

About this title

Reviews

The Dorling Kindersley Visual Encyclopedia promises 50,000 facts illustrated with more than 15,000 photographs or other artwork. It differs from visual dictionaries in that it is more than a collection of labeled pictures; there is considerable text as well. While similar in appearance to the Random House Children's Encyclopedia (1993), there are important differences, even though DK was the source of that volume too. The volume under review is not arranged in A^-Z sequence, nor is there any indication of its audience, except for a mention of "young readers" on the jacket. Based on its small print, its thematic organization, and the treatment of these themes, however, it seems aimed at young adult readers rather than the younger readers targeted in the Random House volume. Among the 11 thematic units used are "Living World" ; "Human Body" ; "Beliefs, Customs, and Society" ; "Arts and the Media" ; "Sports" ; "Transportation, Communications, and Industry" ; and "History." The book closes with an index set in very small type.

Books like this appeal to the reluctant reader who may be put off by unadorned pages of text. Unfortunately, so much space devoted to illustration can result in overly summarized facts. A good example of insufficient treatment can be found in the two pages on computers, where skimpy treatment is given to the history of the subject. Charles Babbage, George Boole, Herman Hollerith, and Alan Turing, among others, are omitted. The "Great Thinkers" double-page spread includes William James but not Charles S. Pierce, whom James acknowledged as the founder of pragmatism. Almost every page has boxes of fascinating information, such as that an ananconda measured 33 feet, eight inches longer than a bus; linking a fact with a concrete example is a good learning technique. The charts in this volume lack sources, and there is no explanation as to where information was found. For example, figures for world religions do not agree with those found in The World Almanac, 1995. For American youngsters needing ready information on how a bill becomes a law, names of vice presidents, or Latin or Greek prefixes, a straightforward source such as The New York Public Library Student Desk Reference (1993) seems more useful.

Small errors can be detected, such as index numbers that do not match up with the expected item (newspaper is on page 188, not 189 as indicated in the index). On the positive side, the diversity and clarity of illustrations and the effort to lure readers by humor and tantalizing facts are commendable. But for libraries with up-to-date encyclopedias and single-concept visual books (many of which are published by DK), this encyclopedia is not an essential purchase.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dk Pub
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1564589854
• ISBN 13: 9781564589859
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 456