Customer Reviews

The Macmillan Visual Dictionary

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This past summer, I worked as a private tutor of English as a Second Language for students from Burma. While their English was rapidly improving, there still remained items which were virtually indescribable--it was difficult to match exactly their Burmese language with its English equivalents. We worked extensively on all aspects of the English language--from grammar, to comprehension, to writing and reading--yet a gap between our understandings of each other was still unfilled. I searched, desperately, for some educational tool or text which could facilitate our mutual learning; and to my relief, I discovered The MacMillan Visual Dictionary. I purchased it for my students as a gift, yet I found myself--a speaker of English for all my life--entirely fascinated and curious to discover the vast array of terms and items of which I had previously been ignorant! From all of the minute parts of an oceanliner, to styles of clothing, to biological terms of plants and animals, this book contained huge quantities of information which I had once known but had forgotten--or of which I was previously unaware. My students were thrilled with their present--to see their smiles when they discovered how easily this reference tool facilitated their acquisition of English vocabulary was extremely rewarding. I must emphasize, though, that this text is not simply--in the least--for those to whom English is a second language; there is something here for everyone. All those little nuances and intricacies of life, which we would always like to describe or identify but are unable--here they are named; here they are defined. This book is an invaluable tool for everyone to use; whether it be to learn more about the complex parts of the automobile, to identify weather systems, to describe a style of scarf or name the coating of a crayfish's body--for anyone who is a lover of language, words, and naming, this book provides endless amounts of knowledge.

This book has over 800 pages of visual items and then arrows that point to them and tell you what they're called. For example, on one two page spread an entire passenger liner ship is drawn with all the names of all the rooms and terraces and parts and compenents. just looking at the drawing inspires a mystery set aboard a cruise ship! Chapter Headings include "Astronomy" "Geography" "Farming" "Architecture" "House" "House Furniture" "Gardening" "Clothing" "Communications" "Road Transport" "Rail Transport" "Air Transport" "Weapons", and many, many more.

This an excellent tool and I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to know their way around places you might not already know your way around!

I used to design publications and what I love about this book is the amazing quality of the color illustrations. There are thousands of them and they have all been computer generated so the style and quality is uniform. Looking at the spreads, for example, on Airport, Downtown or Wind Instruments and the time and creativity involved must have been tremendous. The design and printing of the book is excellent.

The authors want this book to be as practical as possible, Indoor Games includes a page on hands of cards, a House Furniture page shows six different spoons.

Another reviewer has noted that this lovely book would seem ideal for those learning American English and also for anyone who is just interested in finding out the name of everyday items.

A similar treatment to words can be seen in the Dorling Kindersley 'Visual Encyclopedia' (at a very much cheaper price) here the images are mostly photos and as the name implies there is a lot more information about each subject.

Both books are a joy to look at and unfortunately this only points up the bland design and production of most other highly visual books.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

For thirteen years, I've been consulting my 1992 edition of "The Macmillan Visual Dictionary." Searching its publisher's web site for a newer edition, I got 0 results. If I ran the world, this fine work would be on the Internet, its entries updated daily.

To artists and writers: it's such a classic, I don't really miss the would-be updates. Using computer technology, the authors use vivid descriptive color, each component delicately outlined. You start by finding the term you're looking for within one of the general categories, each color tabbed for clarity. Or you may find the page numbers for it in the index. What is a fetlock? Within the animal kingdom, you will find two double-page spreads of the horse, its exterior and its skeleton. Or look for your term in the index: curb bit, page 649, how it fits in the horse's mouth, and page 650, pictures of nine types of bits.

Let's say you have a picture of a thing in your mind, but you don't know its name. Find this image in one of the 28 color tabbed categories.

For artists, this visual dictionary is loaded with sources for inspiration. Take gems alone. Sketching facets, I want to compare my imaginary world found in the facets of a sapphire to that found in those of an emerald. What medium would best represent your idea? Photography? What kind? Here you will find cameras and accessories, for both still and video. For writers, specific terms along with clear pictures of what you are writing about increase accuracy and help bring your poetry and prose to life.

I thought it's a very decent piece of work. However it needs update particularly the technology part.

I remember I got this when I was about 12-13 years old... I was amazed by the quality of the illustrations... Note that NONE of the illustrations in this book are photographs, they are all computer-drawn illustrations (probably illustrated using adobe illustrator or coreldraw). The quality of these illustrations is top-notch, looking almost like photographs. I am still amazed at the amount of pictures this book contains, it has every single aspect of human life including industry, agriculture, lifestyle, sports, business, finance, and more... Anything that has a word on this planet is surely illustrated in this book. Take advantage that this book itself is relatively cheap if you buy it used (about 5 bucks... not bad at all considering that this book has over 800 pages of highly detailed pictures).

This fabulous book serves as an instant vocabulary enhancer and is packed with finely illustrated pictures that not only widen one's knowledge but also make for hours of wholesome entertainment.

Enlarge your vocabulary instantly.

This resource saves you a lot of time and hassle when you want to describe a tangible noun but are at a lost for words.

I bought this book as a speach aid for a relative who suffers from aphasia and cannot speak clearly. Unlike a phonetic dictionary, this book is divided into subject areas that become familar after a few minutes of browsing. Each detailed illustration has identifying text names pointing to various areas. The user can quickly locate an appropriate picture, allowing the care giver to better understand the attempted speech. This technique would also be useful for a learning imparied person, and perhaps also for foreign language interactions. The main "downside" of this book is its large size, making it inconvenient to use in casual settings. A "lite" version that presents only basic illustrations (rather than including jet engines!) would be a welcome addition to this series.

The seller [Petes Book Store, FLA] was extremely understanding in correcting the damaged book problem and providing a refund for the item.
The US Postal Service is not noted for handling with care.