Customer Reviews

Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've had the experience of looking up something in the dictionary and then being disappointed either because it wasn't there or the definition stopped just short of what you wanted to know, this is the book for you. It's really great for filling in small gaps of knowledge about thousands of topics, telling you just as much as you need to know to understand a reference to a person, place, or subject in context. The extensive cross-references are an invitation to delightful browsing. Best of all, the material is largely condensed from Britannica, so you know you're getting access to information written by the top experts in all fields. I've been using it for only a few weeks now and I can't imagine being without it; a real gem among reference books.

One gets quite a lot for one's money with this one-volume encyclopedia. It's impressive how the editors at Merriam-Webster are able to make a book that is so comprehensive and concise at the same time.

There are a couple of odd things about it, though. Many of the articles cover topics that concern current events, with articles on recent celebrities like Jerry Seifeld and companies like Microsoft. Unfortunately, such current topics must come at the expense of other less current topics. This excessive concentration on current topics could make the book date quite rapidly.

Also, many of the articles have been lifted straight from the Encyclopedia Britannica. This would not have been a problem if the editors had taken advantage of the opportunity to revise the articles to bring them up to date, but unfortunately they didn't do so in many cases. The net result of these two editorial decisions is to give the book a straight-from-the-headlines feel for one article, and then an ancient feel for the next.

Professionals who turn to an encyclopedia on a regular basis have long had to choose between the bulk and sometimes arcane detail of the 30-volume Encyclopedia Britannica and the heft of the one-volume Columbia Encyclopedia. The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia was a redoubtable alternative in the 80s and early 90s, despite entries that could be maddeningly brief, but Columbia has not published an updated volume in years.

There's always the Internet, of course, but online information is so often of suspect provenance. I've found the Encarta Encyclopedia that was thrown in with the software that came with my computer a few years ago to be inadequate. And there's nothing like a book at hand, a physical presence requiring no booting up or electricity: just the facts, ma'am, without all the flash.

To the rescue come Encyclopedia Britannica and Miriam-Webster, who have combined forces to create a current and authoritative one-volume encyclopedia of the same size as the Miriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. They make an admirable and emphatically useful pair. The encyclopedia is both contemporary and as comprehensive as possible for its size. Intelligently and lucidly written, thoroughly cross-referenced, loaded with maps and photographs, this superb reference book has been effectively answering my questions and settling debates for several years now. I often pick it up just to browse. Highly recommended.

I've been using the new "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Encyclopedia" for several months and can say without reservation, that at long last, there is a matching desk encyclopedia commensurate with its distinguished sibling, the "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary".

For many years, the "Concise Columbia Encyclopedia" was recognized as the best encyclopedia of its size. I have long used that fine reference and have come to know its shortcomings. One of the primary objectives of a general reference work of such limited size must be to offer as much useful information as possible, by judicious use of available space. This is also a major concern of a quality desk dictionary, given the vast extent of English vocabulary.

The good people at Merriam-Webster have much experience in the art of utilizing such limited space to full advantage, and it shows. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Encyclopedia contains much more of everything compared to the Concise Columbia; more pages, more text per page, more illustrations, more thoroughly researched and timely articles, and a more attractive and engaging format. The "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Encyclopedia" is simply the most useful and informative encyclopedia of its size, offering nearly 1800 pages of concise and trenchant articles, presented in crisp clear typography, on thin high-grade white paper, and all bound in a handsome and sturdy volume.

Here then is appropriate, authoritative, and accurate information at your fingertips. ...this book is a remarkable value, and a vade mecum for anyone who reads, writes, or is curious about the world.

Perfect for dormitory rooms, home offices and libraries, this essential volume is affordable,accessible, and authoritative.

Created in cooperation with Encyclopedia Britannica as well as a host of academic consultants, Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia is a one volume treasure of information. It holds more than 25,000 entries covering every facet of scholarship and discipline, such as the arts, business, geography, history, literature, medicine, philosophy, pop culture, religion, science, technology, and up to the minute info regarding computers.

Pursuing an area of interest is easy with alphabetically sequenced listings, and 70,000 cross references which lead to additional data.

A pronunciation guide with some 10,000 words increases fluency and self-confidence.

Graphics heighten interest with photographs, maps, diagrams, and tables, thereby enriching awareness as well as learning.

True to its reputation of producing high quality reference materials Merriam-Webster again offers a first-rate volume.

Collegiate Encyclopedia is an excellent new, comprehensive encyclopedia which features over 25,000 entries and numerous photos, maps and illustrations throughout. The A-Z encyclopedia covers topics ranging from ancient Greece to modern technology, creating a desk companion which is an outstanding library addition. The format lends to leisure browsing as much as reference use, and is a handsome presentation. Highly recommended.

The Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary is an essential tool for any reader. Their encyclopedia is very helpful in addition because there are often times when a simple definition is not sufficient explanation.

If you are interested in a detailed study of a subject found here, you will have to look eleswhere, but this is an excellent place to start: to learn about, amplify or confirm your basic understanding of a subject.

To cram an entire encyclopedia into a single volume requires either fewer articles, shorter articles are both. This encyclopedia seems to focus more on shorter articles. The breadth of coverage is very good. Unless you are looking up a very obscure topic, this encyclopedia is likely to have it. The article lengths are not what you would find in a World Book.

By including shorter articles this puts additional pressure on the editors of this encyclopedia to concisely cover the most relevant information. This is something they do very well. The articles are interesting, and cover exactly what you want to know. I have often found that the article gives me enough information about a topic to now know what additional books to begin to bring into my research on a particular topic.

I also enjoy flipping through it and finding random articles to read about. Or just looking for interesting topics.