McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (20 Volume Set) [Hardcover]

McGraw-Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0079136656 | ISBN-13: 978-0079136657 | Edition: 9

For more than 40 years, the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology has been the first source readers around the world have turned to when starting research on any major scientific topic. With more than 7,000 articles written by leaders in their fields - including 30 Nobel Prize winners - the Encyclopedia is famed for the scope and quality of its content. Students, professionals researching areas outside their own specialties, "lifelong learners" - any reader with only modest background in the sciences - will benefit from the ease of access to information, the clarity of the text, and the 12,000 specially prepared illustrations. The new Ninth Edition carries on this tradition. Thoroughly updated, its 20 volumes contain 15,000+ pages and 7,100 articles, many new, rewritten, or revised. Using the 500 page analytical index, the topical index, or the Study Guides, readers will find the information they want on all the hottest areas of science and engineering: astronomy and space science; computational chemistry; environmental science; forensic science; information technology and communications; intelligent manufacturing; molecular biology and biotechnology; neuroscience; theoretical and applied physics, to name just a few. 61,000 cross references and 21,000 bibliography entries enable the reader to see the connections in the more than 90 disciplines covered and to continue their studies in greater depth.With the breathtaking pace at which science and technology are advancing, no science reference collection can afford to be without this latest edition of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up. Updating a 20-volume set for a 5-year revision of Science & Technology is a difficult task. When original articles are written by experts in their fields, basic information may remain the same, but it is hoped that some "recent developments" would be added. Updated materials are evidenced in entries such as Asia, climate modeling, geologic thermometry, and global positioning systems. In some sections, such as compact disc, computer graphics, electric-power generation, gravitation, nuclear engineering, and production of human insulin, there are no changes to the text, but the bibliographies have been updated. Entries on acquired immunological tolerance, aircraft design, fingerprinting, industrial trucks, and narcotics have not been updated. There are new entries in this revision, such as climate history, clinical immunology, fullerene, global warming, geographic information systems, object-oriented programming, and nuclear medicine. Some of the entries have been completely rewritten by new authors, such as those on acquired immune deficiency syndrome, aircraft-collision avoidance system, breast disorders, geological time scale, North America, nuclear magnetic resonance, and radiation chemistry. Topics from 1994-1997 yearbooks, such as hanta viruses, are not included in this revision. According to the publishers, 23% of 7100 entries are new or totally revised, 1750 of 13,000 illustrations are entirely new, and 6 color plates are new. This encyclopedia set is recommended for high schools that do not have the 1992 edition. Note: be sure to keep the 1994-1997 yearbooks.?P. A. Dolan, Illinois State University, Normal
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Known for its tradition of excellence, the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (MEST) sets the standard for science encyclopedias. First published in 1960, MEST serves as an excellent resource for those who need an authoritative overview of a subject within the major disciplines of science and technology. Contributed by 5000 internationally known researchers (1500 more than in the eighth edition), the 7100 articles are well written and well organized. The excellent illustrations, primarily drawings with some black-and-white photographs and color plates, are central to the text. The topical index groups article titles under broad subject categories, while the 500-page analytical index provides more specific indexing. The set is updated every five years, with this edition's comprehensive revisions emphasizing industrial engineering, information technology and computing, chemistry and chemical engineering, physics and astronomy, the biomedical sciences, and the environmental, earth, and climate sciences. The short bibliographies at the end of each article have been revised, and the study guides have been expanded to cover 15 major scientific disciplines such as agriculture, electronics, and environmental science. Aside from this, very little is changed from the eighth edition. Both MEST and the recent Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (EPST) are excellent science encyclopedias and complement each other. Although the sets are comparable in size, EPST has only 790 articles, a difference that results from MEST's breaking up a topic into several individual articles. In contrast, EPST organizes the information into fewer chapter-length articles, making it better suited for self-study. Because MEST has slightly broader coverage and costs about $1000 less than EPST, most libraries would probably prefer to purchase this set if they have to make a choice. Highly recommended for all libraries. [Access Science, the e-version of this encyclopedia, is available at a price based on an institution's FTE, starting at $595 for a single user per year.-Ed.]-Teresa Berry, Univ. of Tennessee Libs., Knoxvill.
--Teresa Berry, Univ. of Tennessee Libs., Knoxville
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 15600 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 9 edition (April 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0079136656
• ISBN-13: 978-0079136657
• Product Dimensions: 18.7 x 16 x 12.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 87.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,219,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Encylopedia is one for the angels, October 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (Hardcover)

There is something almost comical about the thought of reviewing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. It is an amazing work, such a stunning compendium of erudition in such a wide array of difficult and rigorous subjects that the ordinary rules and reasons of writing a review don't really apply to it.

Reviewing any other work would function with the assumption that you *had* actually read it; that you were familiar with it; and also that you were implicitly prepared to face intelligent rebuttal with regard to the opinion you offered and the comments you made. However, when it comes to The Encyclopedia, it would require more than ordinary intellectual stamina and range of interests to *read* it for review and the same notion applies to the possibility of rebuttal: if you are enough of an intellectual giant that you can talk intelligently about the sum of what is in The Encyclopedia, then who is there to rebutt you? Who is going to come out of the woodwork and dissaggree with what you have to say about it? No real 'revue' is possible or meaningful when talking about it, but some things can be said about it and nearly all those things are golden.

My experience with The Encyclopedia goes back to my days in highschool, more than twenty years ago, when I regularly went to the library between classes and used the encyclopedia to answer the questions that occured to me at random. Back then, The Encyclopedia was a godsend for me, something that had answers to questions to that my teachers didn't have the time to answer. It was a browser's book for me; the kind of text that offered the cross-referenced characteristics of intertwined questions leading to other questions leading to yet other questions that exactly foreshadow the hypertext concepts that run the web today. Article after article pointed toward things that I would later find out more about only in adulthood, long years after I left the library.

I can still clearly see the photo illustrating The Monroe Effect__where the forces generated by the shape of an explosive charge concentrate the force and direction of the explosive force. The illustration was a small gray photo showing the words 'Monroe Effect' stamped in reverse into a light-colored block of plastic explosive which lay next to a metal ingot which had had the words the same words imprinted into it by explosive force.

I remember this and many other things from other articles that awakened my curiosity with regard to things and that remain with me and enrich my life to this day. However, I think that There is one clear flaw in The Encyclopedia: I can find no electronic edition of it. I have never seen a CD- or DVD-ROM edition of it and, the commercial considerations of McGraw-Hill aside, that seems like a great failing. When the Oxford Dictionary exists both on CD-ROM and on paper, and when all of National Geographic back to 1888 can be found in a DVD-ROM collection, it seems silly to have this great repository of scientific and technical erudition limited to non-computer readable forms. I could be wrong, an electronic edition mightt actually exist for all I know, but if I am right, I think that the world would profit by having a portable edition of the work available for scientists, technicians, doctors, teachers and any of the other groups who might want the information it has to offer at their fingertips in a portable form. Aside from this single flaw, I can honestly say that I my experience with The Encyclopedia is something that glows in my memory and I frankly admit that I covet the high-quality electronic edition that I wish were available.

I suppose that this is less a review than it is a homage to the people and the will that worked to put The Encyclopedia together. All in all, I would like to say, 'Thank you' and that I can heartily recommend the encyclopedia not just to scientists and students in scientific fields but to anyone who is fascinated by things of the mind.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars so expensive ( = $3000 ), September 19, 2007

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (20v.)) (Hardcover)

The only unfortunate aspect about this encyclopedia is its sheer cost. The list price is $3000. Which effectively limits the customer base to libraries. But perhaps you are fortunate to have a school, college or public library that has a recent edition.

The span of topics is impressive. All the sciences. Even if you are well trained in several sciences, chances are there will be entries here on matters completely new to you.

Take glaciology, for example. Now very topical in the general media, because of pervasive fears of global warming. The 10th edition of the encyclopedia came out this year, 2007. It has a lengthy section on glaciers and glaciation. Very carefully written. It explains global glaciation and the distribution of ice sheets. In a context of current knowledge of ancient climates. Taking a cautious view of the possibility of global warming. By warning the reader that current projections are based on models of imperfect knowledge. Overall, it does present qualified support for glaciers being affected by global warming. Without a shrill polemical style.