Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary [Hardcover]

Merriam-Webster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1995 | ISBN-10: 0877797439 | ISBN-13: 978-0877797432 | Edition: 1st

Newly revised and updated, Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary provides essential information about important people from throughout history and around the world. This comprehensive reference is one of the most extensive collections of biographies ever presented in a single volume--from Michelangelo to Richard Nixon, Liang Ch'i-ch'ao to Theidore Geisel.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Weighing in at a hefty 1,170 pages, this addictive reference volume supplies brief lives of more than 30,000 men and women--the famous, the not-so-famous, and the downright obscure. Coverage of the non-English speaking world is particularly comprehensive. And thanks to the helpful pronunciation guidelines, names like Domitius Ahenobarbus and Abu al-Faraj alIsbahani will soon roll trippingly from the reader's tongue.

Review

It is so valuable and so reasonably priced that it can be considered essential. -- The Bloomsbury Review

The lives of over 34,000 men and women from around the world are celebrated in a dictionary reference which includes birth information, career highlights and profiles, and over 300 new entries in a revised edition. Highly recommended! -- Midwest Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1184 pages
• Publisher: Merriam-Webster; 1st edition (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877797439
• ISBN-13: 978-0877797432
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.2 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #864,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FILLS THE BILL, November 26, 2000

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary (Hardcover)

This dictionary has over 30,000 entries with preferred pronounciation. I particularly wanted an American publisher so I would have more American entries. The material is detailed enough to begin referencing. The print is adequately sized--just barely(approx. 8 pt. headings and 6 pt. entries). It is easy to use, though I would have liked a thumb-guide. It's a very good price. I am quite satsified with my purchase.

A note on the choice of entries. A biographical dictionary does not contain living entries. For that sort of information you need a Who's Who type of publication that has constant updates. It is usually a very expensive purchase, and the buyer has to be meticulous to be certain he is getting the "type" of persons in which he is interested. In this day and age of 15-minute celebrity, to include everyone anyone has ever heard of would take a constantly shifting entire library.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as it gets, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary (Hardcover)

If the browser in Jacksonville had read the preface, he or she would have discovered that the dictionary does not cover living persons. So as estimable as Mr Crystal, et al, surely are, they aren't as yet eligible for inclusion. That aside, the book is as accurate as any reasonable person could need it to be and as complete as it can be without becoming unwieldy. And the price is excellent.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This biographical dictionary is simply the best!, September 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary (Hardcover)

Merriam Webster's Biographical Dictionary is an excellent source of information on more or less important dead persons (yes, only someone who has already died can qualify for an entry!). It covers all fields of human activities - politicians, rulers, writers, inventors etc. Even a small Slovenian nation has its representatives in this comprehensive volume (e.g. composer Jacobus Gallus, poet France Preseren, writer Ivan Cankar, politician Anton Korosec), though, unfortunately, the real nationality of two very important Slovenes who lived in Austria (physicist Josef Stefan and Nobel laureate Fritz Pregl) haven't been revealed.

It's not surprising that in such comprehensive and informative book (it has circa 30,000 entries!) there are some mistakes (e.g. wrongly spelled first and even last names like in the cases of Viet Stoss - correctly spelled first name is Veit - and B. J. Feijoo y Montenogro - correctly spelled last name is Feijoo y Montenegro), and overlooked important persons (e.g. famous Welsh novelist and playwright Richard Llewellyn, who died in 1983, doesn't have an entry!)

However, it's still definitely one of the most authoritative biographical dictionaries available (it's simply the best, just like its twin brother Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary is in its field - see my review there!), and is worth every single penny or cent. I use it pretty often and hardly wait for a new edition with new entries and, of course, some necessary corrections (some of them contributed by me).