The Essential Desk Reference [Hardcover]

Oxford University Press (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002 | ISBN-10: 0195128737 | ISBN-13: 978-0195128734

What immunizations do you need when travelling to Burkina Faso? Which movie won the Academy Award for Best Film in 1977? What is the mailing address in the U.S. for the Danish embassy? Who is the patron saint of booksellers? The Essential Desk Reference can help you find the answers to these questions--and thousands of others--in a matter of seconds.
Everything is covered--Roman emperors, the books of the Bible, the text of The Gettysburg Address, height and weight standards, mathematical terms and symbols, human anatomy, the rules of the sea, 50 major manned flights into space, and hundreds of other topics. The book provides extensive sections covering science and medicine, arts and leisure, prizes, work, and home. Numerous illustrations are riddled throughout the volume and each section ends with sources of information, making the Desk Reference an excellent starting point for further research.
Whether applying for a patent or simply browsing a list of famous inventors, The Essential Desk Reference is a resource that should always be within arm's reach. In an easy-to-use and affordable format, it offers a wealth of information on essential topics.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This wide-ranging resource contains a variety of fast facts and useful information on just about any topic imaginable, from the agricultural exports of Burkina Faso to the creator of the Bobbsey twins to the patron saint of booksellers. It is divided into about 50 chapters, each covering a specific field of human knowledge, e.g., world and U.S. geography, science and medicine, arts and leisure, sport, politics, religion, history, technology, literature, business, and finance. Although the respectable World Almanac-now in its third century-costs about the same, provides an enormous amount of information not found here, and is perhaps the only reference work that genuinely merits the description "essential," the Desk Reference does offer a few innovative features. These include high-quality graphics and illustrations, proofreader symbols, human anatomy pictures, and addresses and contact information for various organizations (e.g., foreign embassies and consulates in the United States). Other advantages include the large font, user-friendly format, numerous cross references, and affordable price, making the Desk Reference a good starting point for further research. Major public and academic libraries should consider purchasing this volume as a supplement to the World Almanac.
Donald Altschiller, Boston Univ. Libs.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Filled with factoids covering every conceivable subject area, The Essential Desk Reference combines the attributes of an almanac, directory, specialized dictionary, encyclopedia, and more. A table of contents facilitates browsing; the book is separated into the broad categories of "World," "United States," "The Sciences," "Arts and Leisure," "Prizes and Awards," and "Work and Home." An alphabetical index allows a user to conduct more precise searches.

The scope of the content in this single volume is overwhelming. Within the "World" category one can locate lists of the world's largest islands, highest mountains, and longest rivers. There are chronologies of dynasties and monarchies; overviews of 172 nations' geography, people, governments, and economy; a good deal of data on the United Nations; and several pages of information regarding religion (who knew that grocers had a patron saint?). The book dedicates a fairly substantial section to the U.S., and it is here that one can locate lists of lobbyist groups, presidential election results from 1789 to 2000, the texts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, brief descriptions of landmark Supreme Court cases, and more. The "Arts and Leisure" category takes up about a quarter of the book and provides the user with unending trivia in the form of lists: major authors, artists, orchestras, musicians, ballets, actors, and museums, among others. "Work and Home" includes helpful tips on personal finance and home safety, lists of area and international dialing codes, postal rates, measurement and temperature conversions, and English-language usage and style. There is even a page on Morse code, closely followed by the Braille alphabet!

The sources used to compile the various lists and tables are provided. If the information used was taken from a Web site, the page's address is given. It is important to note that much of the data can be gleaned from other print and Internet sources and that other one-volume compendia are available--notably the New York Public Library Desk Reference (3d ed., Macmillan, 1998) and the Cambridge Factfinder (4th ed., Cambridge, 2000), not to mention the perennial favorite, World Almanac and Book of Facts. The Essential Desk Reference is appropriately priced and is recommended for libraries that need another current, one-stop resource. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 832 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195128737
• ISBN-13: 978-0195128734
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.9 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,162,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended as a library basic reference for browsers, June 6, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Desk Reference (Hardcover)

This organizes and presents answers to reference questions, providing a quick way of finding facts on subjects ranging from practical information to entertaining fun facts. History, science, and culture blend in a coverage that includes illustrations, tables, and excellent sources for further information. Highly recommended as a library basic reference for browsers.

4.0 out of 5 stars Handy Desk Reference, July 10, 2011

By 

Scott Selby (Cincinnati, Oh USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Essential Desk Reference (Hardcover)

I tutor students of varying grade levels and in varying subjects. And, when it comes to events or topics that I haven't studied for quite some time, or perhaps not at all in detail, it is essential to have a ready reference; if I need more detail, I at least have a starting point. Certainly, a Desk Rerence text is not an exhaustive source; but it can be sufficient for many tasks, and provide basic information for further study. Many people rely on the Internet these days, but I find more erroneous or flatly incorrect information than helpful. And, I don't always have a computer on my desk to surf with. I may be a throwback, but I still find books to be my best sources.