Ultimate Visual Dictionary [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0756626064 | ISBN-13: 978-0756626068 | Publication Date: December 11, 2006 | Edition: Rev Upd

Updated and expanded, this easy-to-use reference covers everything from prehistoric Earth and science, to sports, art, and music. Also includes more than 6,000 full-color photographs and illustrations, and visual definitions of more than 33,000 terms.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Ultimate Visual Dictionary certainly lives up to its name. With a broad scope that covers topics as far-reaching as tempura paint, chemical reactions, and the equestrian saddle, this book manages to attain an inclusiveness that will bring a smile to the faces of even the most die-hard researchers. But though its topical range is amazing, The Ultimate Visual Dictionary's real attraction is ultimately its illustrations; containing more than 5,000 photographs and 1,000 detailed visuals connected to 30,000 terms, it provides a link between words and pictures in a way that few other books can or do. The photographs alone will keep any reader entertained for hours, but be warned: the pictures are presented in such a brilliantly clear and distinct fashion that you may start to believe you're aboard the HMS Alacrity or being chased by a full-grown male lion with a wide-open mouth. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-A beautiful dictionary that uses more than 6,000 full-color photographs, illustrations, and cross sections to explore most aspects of the natural world: the universe, prehistoric Earth, architecture, and much more. Arranged by subject but indexed in great detail, this volume will be especially helpful in schools supporting large ESL populations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT; Rev Upd edition (December 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756626064
• ISBN-13: 978-0756626068
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #659,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Synonyms & Antonyms

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Visual Dictionary out there, October 5, 2002

By 

C.S. Haviland "CSHaviland.com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Visual Dictionary (Paperback)

This is the most detailed visual dictionary that I've seen. If you're a well educated adult in the English language, perhaps a writer, and you're trying to choose between The Firefly Visual Dictionary, The MacMillan Visual Dictionary, The Scholastic Visual Dictionary, even the old What's What dictionary (which I think got the craze started), and DK's "Ultimate Visual Dictionary" - this book is absolutely your choice. As an alternative you can choose one of DK's "Eyewitness" Visual Dictionaries--these are sections from the Ultimate Visual Dictionary sold separately. Don't make the mistake of buying both unless there's a reason you want duplication. You CAN, however, get both this book and DK's "Ultimate Visual Dictionary of Science" which is a highly expanded version of the more generalized science sections of this book.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Reference, January 25, 2002

By 

Carolyn Howard-Johnson "Author 'This is the P... (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ultimate Visual Dictionary (Paperback)

Old habits are hard to break. It's possible, though, that the "Ultimate Visual Dictionary" will cure you of yelling to anyone within hearing distance, "Do you remember what those little petals that sit on the top of a strawberry are called?" but I can tell you that when no one in the house comes running to your aid, you will be really glad to have this reference sitting right on your desk.
Libraries are nice. Heavens, the NET is even nice. But nothing can surpass a good, well-worn reference that you come to know intimately, know its strengths and its weaknesses.
The pictures in this book are colorful, clear and not so cute they're annoying; it is divided into sensible categories like "The Universe," "Prehistoric Earth," and "The Human Body." There is a concise index and an appendix of useful data like mathematical symbols and the ever-confounding metric conversions.
Now, sometimes you will need the name for something like the hole in the face of a guitar. You are praying there is a term that alliterates with the adjective you have already chosen to describe it. You rush to the wonderful book (after getting blank stares from anyone you ask about it first, of course), find the section for "music," and are disappointed to find that it is called a "sound hole." It's not a poetic term. It doesn't have any potential for a lyrical metaphor. Still, that's not the fault of the book, is it? At least you'll know that you are on your own for coming up with a term that is kinder to the ear or that, if you settle for "sound hole," there is nothing more accurate available.
Check out the page for "Books." You'll find wonderful terms about your own craft that you've forgotten or never knew--like "mull," "buckram corner piece," and "tail."

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Visual Buffet!, March 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ultimate Visual Dictionary 2000 (Hardcover)

This book takes everyday objects (and some historical objects as well), and makes them tremendously exciting by truly demonstrating how form follows function. The graphics are outstanding, and the attention to detail is unsurpassed by any text of its type of which I am familiar. The Ultimate Visual Dictionary 2000 is outstanding as a reference text for educators and students alike: I wish I had access to such a book when I was in school!