Larousse Dictionary of Science and Technology

Defines terms in astronomy, chemistry, Earth sciences, computing, electronics, life sciences, engineering, and physical sciences as well as common terms from architecture, building, mathematics, and medicine

Compiled in Great Britain, this dictionary has been previously published in this country as the Chambers Science and Technical Dictionary (1988) and the Cambridge Dictionary of Science and Technology (1990). It briefly defines more than 49,000 terms, 4,000 of them new to this edition. Each entry has a tag noting the field in which the word is used (e.g., food science, meteorology, space). Main entries are under the British spelling of a word, with a cross-reference from the American spelling (e.g., "esophagus US for oesophagus" ). The definitions, which range from one to eight sentences, are not written for the novice. For example, DNA binding proteins is defined, "In prokaryotes, promoters, repressors, etc.; in eukaryotes, similar proteins, excluding the histones." About 500 line drawings illustrate entries such as earthquake intensity and laser. Appendixes include tables of paper sizes and weights, classifications of the animal and plant kingdoms, subdivisions of geological time, and lists of constellations, planets, and their satellites. There are no biographical entries.

Definitions are provided for a wide range of terms, from diseases to those used in electrical engineering, forestry, mining, and psychology, but this book is not a first choice for high-school or public libraries because of its British orientation. Academic libraries may want it for ready reference because of its convenient desk size, compared with such mammoth works as the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms or the Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology. Sandy Whiteley

Valuable because of its scope (covering technology in addition to science), its comprehensiveness, and its reasonable price, the Larousse Dictionary of Science and Technology is an updated edition of the Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary (LJ 3/1/89). Subjects featured include astronomy, chemistry, computing, electronics, engineering, geology, life sciences, math, physical sciences, and technology. Over 40,000 terms and 500 small black-and-white illustrations are presented. This reviewer could not stump this dictionary. Terms only recently in the news are all included, from Ebola, DNA, vitiligo, and scalable font to Windows (complete with illustration), dengue, ecotone, and Internet. Appendixes cover everything from the periodic table to a chronology of inventions. This directory is recommended for public and academic libraries unless you already have the McGraw Hill Dictionary of Science and Technological Terms, 5th ed. (1993) and/or the Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology (1992). Both are excellent but cost twice as much.?Laura Lipton, Miller Horticulture Lib., Seattle
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.