Britannica Concise Encyclopedia [Textbook Binding]

Britannica Editors (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0852298323 | ISBN-13: 978-0852298329

Comprehensive and Concise!

The one-volume Britannica Concise Encyclopedia provides quick answers to everyday questions about history, art, science, and other fields of human knowledge. A comprehensive collection of knowledge in a manageable-sized volume, the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia contains 28,000 articles condensed from the flagship 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Containing more articles than similarly priced one-volume encyclopedias, the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia is authoritative, accessible, and affordable.

What you can expect to find:

28,000 entries, condensed from the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Articles on art, business, history, pop culture, science, and more!

600 new & revised entries including current references to topics like world terrorism, media news, women's rights, and J.K. Rowling.

More than 2,000 photos, maps, tables, and illustrations.

Extended world coverage, from flags of every nation to World Heritage sites.

Easy-to-use A-Z format.

More than 10,000 pronunciations to help with unfamiliar words.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This one-volume desk reference, which is actually a condensed version of the massive 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica, includes about 28,000 clearly written entries covering various branches of human knowledge, such as science, history, business, art, culture, geography, and geology, as well as more contemporary issues, such as cloning, terrorism, and globalization. Edited and supervised by the Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, it features an attractive layout, with alphabetical divisions color-coded along the page edges and over 2000 lavish photographs, maps, tables, drawings, and color illustrations of nations' flags. The plentiful See also references are clearly indicated within the text in capital letters. The currency of the statistics varies: for example, while population estimates for most major Western countries date from 2000, for many countries, such as Chile and India, estimates date from 1997. (In comparison, the online CIA World Factbook has 2001 estimates for these countries.) The concise Britannica is perhaps most comparable to the well-known Columbia Encyclopedia, another one-volume reference containing substantially more entries (approximately 51,000) that are not, however, as concise. On the other hand, the Columbia, now in its sixth edition, provides references for further reading at the end of some entries a useful addition that is altogether omitted in the concise Britannica. Overall, this well-produced and easy-to-use tool is recommended for libraries in need of a multitude of ready-reference resources. Cynthia A. Johnson, Barnard Coll. Lib., New York
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Here is an updated edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia (Merriam-Webster, 2000). There is a new editor, and some entries have been revised, including those for Afghanistan, the Pentagon, the Taliban, and the World Trade Center. This is an appealing one-volume encyclopedia but not a necessary purchase if the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia is owned. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Textbook Binding: 2067 pages
• Publisher: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0852298323
• ISBN-13: 978-0852298329
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Britannica Concise versus Columbia, February 25, 2004

By 

Billy Budd "an_encyclopedias_addict" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (Textbook Binding)

I think both books are outstanding, and more complementary than rivals. In fact, I use both. Nevertheless, there are some differences.
Columbia's big dimensions and weight (8.9 pounds/4 kg) make almost necessary to read it on a desk. Britannica Concise (BCE) is 6.7 pounds/3 kg and smaller.
Both utilize an extremely small font size. Columbia contains 6.5 million words. BCE "only" 2.6.
Britannica C has over 2000 photographs, maps, tables, drawings, color illustrations; nations flags ... In Columbia, illustrations are sparse, limited to about 500 black-and-white line drawings.
Columbia's 6th edition stopped in 1999. BCE is of April 2003 and is edited every year in spring, but I don't know if they are going to update it or not.
Britannica Concise has articles like Super Bowl, Viagra, Coca-Cola, Big Stick Policy, Mother's Day and Father's Day ... that don't exist in Columbia.
Quantity does not always mean Quality. B Concise seems to be more shrewd, witty and, by the way, less subjective. For instance, Columbia's article Homosexuality concludes in this way: "But AIDS (.....) also sparked moralistic reactions; some felt, for example, that it represented a form of judgment on homosexuality". BCE's same article is shorter, but neutral, and does not say such a thing.
As I said before, both books are outstanding and complementary.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb one-volume reference, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (Textbook Binding)

The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia is the best one-volume, desk-size reference I've ever perused. It is wonderfully user-friendly and is indeed sufficient for most home and office use. Frankly, most adult users don't really need a 30-plus volume encyclopedia, considering the available public libraries and the home access to internet encyclopedias, etc. I have the most recent copy of its closest (one-volume) competitor, The Columbia Encyclopedia. The latter has quite a few more entries (and is quite ungainly to handle too, by the way), but many of the Britannica's entries are simply more concise, comprehensive and feature illustrations, many in color.

The Britannica is a great reference, and an excellent and enjoyable "browser". I'd give it seven stars if that option were available. =)

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile reference work, December 6, 2002

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (Textbook Binding)

This is a condensed version of the great 32-volume work. You can't have too many reference works that you never actually use anymore in your life (now that most of it is on the web), so I thought I'd check this out. What's one more weighty tome that I never read that sits on the shelf?

Well, that was my first reaction. Actually, this is a very nicely done book. It has 28,000 articles and many beautiful, color illustrations, and it's actually a pretty good book to just browse through and look at. It's comparable to the well-known Columbia Encyclopedia, which I have often used in libraries, and now in its 6th ed. It has many more entries, at 51,000, but it's not as concise either, but the Columbia work has suggestions for further reading. Both books are fine reference works, however, and should serve you well whichever one you decide to buy.