The Macmillan Visual Desk Reference [Hardcover]

Diagram Group (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 002531310X | ISBN-13: 978-0025313101 | Publication Date: November 1993

Designed to give quick access to the most widely sought information, this reference book presents a wealth of facts through diagrams, charts, illustrations, maps, timetables and other graphics in addition to text. "The Natural World" invites you to see how crystals grow, locate the earth's zoological regions, find chronologies of evolution and extinction, or notice the differences between major dog and cat breeds. "Science and Technology" shows you how kites fly and describes and illustrates electricity, magnetism, gravity and simple machines. "Communication" illustrates alphabets from Egyptian hieroglyphics to Assyrian cuneiform characters to Mayan glyphs, and depicts the symbl systems used in astronomy, weather forecasting, underwater communication and sign language. In "Religion and Philosophy" you can look up the twelve tribes of Israel, the deities and sacred texts of various religions, a floor plan of a mosque, the Hindu calendar and a diagram of the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Traditional encyclopedias with their alphabetical arrangement of information separate like things from each other; for example, Mars and Uranus, though both planets, would be far apart. This work, designed for general readers, arranges information in eight thematic chapters (e.g., "Sports," "The Arts," "Communications") covering 1,100 key topics. Things are explained visually with 4,000 charts, graphs, tables, and diagrams and with minimal text.

The red-and-black illustrations show how things work (e.g., simple machines) or the largest waterfalls or deepest caves. In the "Religion" section, several pages on Islam contain a time line of history, the plan of a mosque, prayer positions, a world distribution map, a calendar, and pictures of sacred objects. A few topics not amenable to illustration, such as literature, consist mostly of lists. Most sections contain glossaries and brief biographies.

Access is through a color-coded table of contents and three indexes: "Topic Finder," "Word Finder," and "People Finder," which indexes the more than 2,000 biographies. For example, a user wanting to find information on the alphabet would go to the "Word Finder" and be directed to entry 3136. This code, clearly explained at the beginning of the book, translates as follows:

The Macmillan Visual Dictionary [RBB D 1 92] helps readers find the name of an object when they know what it looks like. The Macmillan Visual Desk Reference, while also heavily dependent on pictures, also uses text to explain things. This attractive book is recommended for researchers, writers, students from middle school on up, and those who will enjoy browsing through it just for fun.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 002531310X
• ISBN-13: 978-0025313101
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,738,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy them books, send them to school, May 31, 2006

By 

Bill W (Spirgfield Va. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Macmillan Visual Desk Reference (Hardcover)

This is a "great" all in one reference book! It is only liberal in terms of providing an outline of a liberal (small "l") education.
Text on each subject is short and provides only the key points with very little in the way of commentary. It is organized under broad subjects such as history, sports with numerous sub-heading final a vocabulary and definitions. The whole book is simply yet concisely illustrated. (Small complaint on the "over use" of mono color "red".) This would make a fine addition to anyones library as a "quick" reference. Especially undergrad students or writers.

5.0 out of 5 stars valuable book even with 1993 copyright!, November 17, 2009

By 

C. Jones "bascelflt" (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Macmillan Visual Desk Reference (Hardcover)

I found this at a library book sale and loved it so much I immediately ordered another copy from Amazon for a Christmas present for our neighbors with 2 teen-aged sons. Not to worry about that 1993 copyright as it packs in SO much information that is just fun to read. Science - how things work is fascinating and in the mathematics section there are diagrams of shapes, measurement glossary, historic number systems. Famous people in history with brief descriptions and little drawings, major events through history, religion and philosophy, sports and how to play games with their histories, and the list goes on. I read a few pages every night before bed.