Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia - Hardcover

Mark A. Stevens

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0877790175 ISBN 13: 9780877790174

Publisher: Merriam Webster, 2000

Synopsis

"A comprehensive, one-volume desk reference created in cooperation with Encyclopędia Britannica®. Features more than 2.5 million words, 25,000 clear and precise articles, over 1700 illustrations, and 225 maps. Includes pronunciations."\\

About this title

Review:

There are times when a dictionary definition simply does not suffice, but one hasn't the time, inclination, or industry to work one's way through an extensive encyclopedia entry. Enter the desk reference. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia is no larger than your average collegiate dictionary, yet it packs enough punch to make one feel, if not fluent in a subject, then certainly conversant. Gone are the days of dry, just-the-facts-ma'am desk encyclopedias. This one, created in cooperation with Encyclopaedia Britannica and with the assistance of 25 academic consultants, has personality. The entry for Fassbinder, for example, goes beyond merely listing his nationality, dates, and films. "Defiantly homosexual and provocative," it tells us, "he led an outrageous life and died from a drug overdose at 36." The nighthawk is so exceptionally described that one can almost hear its "sharp nasal call" and the whirring sound it makes when it dives during courtship. The 25,000 entries are illustrated by more than 1,650 photographs, drawings, maps, and diagrams. And, at nearly 1,800 pages, this volume is surprisingly not unwieldy; a spectacular addition to anyone's reference arsenal. --Jane Steinberg

About the Author:

Since 1937. Merriam-Webster is America's foremost publisher of language-related reference works. The company publishes a diverse array of print and electronic products, including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition – America's best-selling desk dictionary – and Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster can be considered the direct lexicographical heir of Noah Webster. In 1843, the company bought the rights to the 1841 edition of Webster's magnum opus, An American Dictionary of the English Language, Corrected and Enlarged. At the same time, they secured the rights to create revised editions of the work. Since that time, Merriam-Webster editors have carried forward Noah Webster's work, creating some of the most widely used and respected dictionaries and reference books in the world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Merriam Webster
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0877790175
• ISBN 13: 9780877790174
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1792