Van Nostrand's Concise Encyclopedia of Science [Hardcover]

Christopher G. De Pree (Author), Alan Axelrod (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471363316 | ISBN-13: 978-0471363316 | Publication Date: January 3, 2003

The most comprehensive one-volume scientific desk reference available
Based on the new 4,000-page, two-volume Van Nostrand's Science Encyclopedia, Ninth Edition, the best scientific encyclopedia available according to the Library Journal, this authoritative, concise encyclopedia of science features over 5,000 entries that completely cover vital science, technology, and math terms and concepts. Easy-to-use and fun to read, this indispensable reference covers the very latest scientific advances and developments in all areas of science. Plus, it offers basic definitions of scientific terms followed by concise explanations of the concepts. Packed with illustrations, charts, and graphs, this impressive book also features numerous line drawings, diagrams, and black-and-white photos.
Christopher G. DePree (Decatur, GA) is Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Agnes Scott College.
Alan Axelrod, PhD (Atlanta, GA) is the award-winning author of more than twenty books and is a well-regarded popular historian.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This desk reference is based on the new two-volume, ninth edition of Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia (Wiley, 2002). Written at a level accessible to the general reader, the alphabetically arranged entries range in length from about a sentence to a page. The 5,000 entries cover physics, chemistry, earth sciences, space sciences, life sciences, energy, environmental sciences, materials sciences, and information sciences. Sample entries include Arachnida, Bubonic plague, Celery, Constellations, Direct-current circuits, Gravitation, Green flash, Kohoutek (comet), Laser, Phenol, Sidereal day, Silurian period, Television (TV), and Units and standards.

For the abbreviated encyclopedia, some entries were reduced in length and others were omitted. There is an entry for Mercury (planet) but none for mercury, the chemical element; unless they have "significant biological or industrial importance," the elements are covered in the entry Chemical elements instead of having entries of their own. There are no entries for popular topics such as human cloning, red tide, and the Internet. There are a few cross-references, but more would be useful. For example, there is no see also reference from Periodic table of the elements to Chemical elements. Scattered black-and-white line drawings and photographs supplement the text.

This desk encyclopedia is recommended for high-school and public libraries in need of a compact, up-to-date, relatively inexpensive science reference source. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"...fulsome coverage of life science topics." (Reference Reviews, January 2004)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (January 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471363316
• ISBN-13: 978-0471363316
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.9 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,329,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Visually pleasing, June 1, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Van Nostrand's Concise Encyclopedia of Science (Hardcover)

If you are trying to write a science encyclopedia for under 700 pages, the biggest issue is probably what to leave out. In part, this is dictated by what type of audience you are targeting.

The editors seem to have pitched this offering towards a high school crowd, or perhaps also towards primary schools. A nice, colourful reference, with text that is carefully written to a general audience. Understandably, there is an emphasis on topics with visual appeal. Nothing wrong with this, if it gets readers into the book.

The book is also economically priced. Affordable to school libraries on tight budgets.