The World Book Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

World Book editors (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Parents, teachers, and librarians consistently rank The World Book Encyclopedia the best general reference source because of its easy-to-use format that students find so appealing. World Book editors present information in a clear, direct style that makes each article readable. Articles start at a relatively basic level and advance in depth as they progress. More than 28,000 rich photographs and illustrations are combined with award-winning text to produce the perfect encyclopedia for students and families. No wonder it has been a staple on home, library, and classroom shelves since the first edition in 1917.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

World Book (WB) continues to be a first choice for libraries, schools, and homes. The 2003 print edition has 114 new articles. They include Blood doping, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals , Hot spot , and Intellectual property. John Ashcroft, Hugh Masekela, Marcia Muller, and Sara Paretsky are a few the people covered in new biographical entries. Some 184 articles have been extensively revised or rewritten, among them Cancer (disease), Basques, Element--chemical, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Khyber Pass, and Food additive. More than 190 maps have been revised, and 350 new photographs have been added. The editors have revised 294 bibliographies. This year's special volume is World Book Focus on Terrorism, which contains encyclopedia articles and special reports on topics such as "The Attacks of September 11" and "Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism at Home."

World Book is almost always up-to-date, although its early revision deadline--printing of the 2003 edition began in October--means that it misses events that some other encyclopedias are able to include. New entries cover the Department of Homeland Security, al-Qaeda, Tom Ridge, and the Taliban. The Afghanistan entry has been rewritten and is current through the establishment of the transitional government in April 2002. The article on terrorism covers new airport security procedures. The entries on Tony Blair and George W. Bush both make reference to the war in Afghanistan but have not yet been updated to reflect later events. Also not yet updated are the entries for Saddam Hussein and Iraq. There is no entry for Hamid Karzai. The index is detailed and easy to use, including page numbers for illustrations and maps.

Conclusion: World Book is recommended for its high-quality, current, and accurate information in an attractive package. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

World Book is recommended for its high-quality, current, and accurate information in attractive print and online packages. --Reference Books Bulletin, June 2004

World Book Encyclopedia is an outstanding, beautifully illustrated, current general reference source for all age levels. --Booklist, October 2004

Highly recommended. --Catholic Library World, November 2004

Product Details

• Hardcover: 10000 pages
• Publisher: World Book Inc (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716601036
• ISBN-13: 978-0716601036
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.4 x 2 inches
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, November 18, 2005

By 

Notnadia (Currently upstairs.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The world book encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Even in the age of the internet, a good set of encyclopedias on a bookshelf adds dignity, depth and quality to a home library, and of all the encyclopedias available on the market, I have always found World Book to be the most readable, comprehensive and all-around best when it comes to being up-to-date. As far as reference material goes, World Book is more approachable than all its competitors and it imparts information without pedantic verbosity. I also love the illustrations and maps, many of which qualify in their own right as impressive works of art. World Book is a sheer joy to read and worth the investment.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST FOR THOSE IN THE "KNOW"!, May 16, 2006

By 

M. Grant "MacGyver of the Books" (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The World Book Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

It's hard to stop reading the World Book Encyclopedia. They're so jammed with thorough and timely information that you'll feel your brain bursting with new knowledge. I sat down one afternoon with a glass of milk and a bag of Oreos and before I knew it the sun had gone down and I was already reading about Zimbabwe.

IT'S THAT GOOD!

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comparison review, November 15, 2003

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The World Book Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Please note that this is for the CD version of the encyclopedia. I couldn't find an Amazon listing for the multimedia version, so I thought I would make my comments here for the print set. The World Book is one of the four or five great 'pedias out there, and I have been very pleased with mine, so I thought I'd make a few comments and compare it with the other major sets since I have all of them and you might find my comments useful in picking out the best one for you.

First, the Britannica set is no doubt the most scholarly and technical of these, and many of the articles in technical subjects, such as modern epistemology and phenomenology, classical western and eastern philosophy, comparative linguistics and philology, mineralogy, petrology, and geomorphology, in which I've read a fair amount, are pitched at the advanced college level. In fact, 40% of the Britannica is devoted to science and it is definitely the strongest there. But the history articles are also very solid, along with the other areas of the humanties. The CD version contains 10,000 more articles than the print version, and there are 24,000 major articles in that, and 65,000 if you include the Britannica's shorter Ready Reference ones. However, no matter what Britannica says, this set is not appropriate to anyone under at least basic college level, and most of the articles read as if they were written to provide technical overviews for professionals who are working in the field, rather than for the average college student.

The World Book is consistently rated the best in terms of ease of use by professional librarians, and they prefer it to the Britannica. This is because the articles are written for the expected level of the reader, rather than like the Britannica's, which are all at the under or upper undergrad college level or higher. For example, the article on CATS will be easier than the one on PHYSICS. The World Book is very strong on history and biography and I would say that is its main strength. It has 17,000 articles, plus an extra 1800 in the CD version.

Grolier's puts out the Encyclopedia Americana as well as the New Book of Knowledge and the Grolier's Academic Encyclopedia. The New Book of Knowledge is also very good and Grolier's gives you that free as a bonus along with the Encyclopedia Americana (the online versions, that is) when you buy the Grolier's Encyclopedia. I like having all three so this is a very good deal for the price of one. Grolier's is a good, all-around reference tool and I like it as well. It is pitched at about the same level as the World Book, so it isn't quite as technical as the Britannica and would be useful as a family reference set in much the same way as the World Book.

Encarta has the most multimedia bells and whistles, and the best integrated atlas of the world, which is a truly wonderful atlas, much better than the ones included with the other encyclopedias here. It has the best interface and navigation and over 10 levels of magnification and detail for the maps. The others atlases aren't nearly as detailed or flexible. Encarta has been enhanced by Microsoft's acquisition of Collier's Encyclopedia, which contributed an extra 3000 articles to the current version, boosting the scholarly level quite a bit.

Encarta is good for both science and history, and the history articles for major countries such as China, Japan, Russia, England, and so on, range from 80 to 120 pages long, which is pretty impressive. The biographical articles on founding fathers such as Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and so on, range from 20 to over 30 pages, which is also pretty impressive.

The Oxford Encyclopedia is shorter that the above ones but has very concise and to the point articles on history topics that are excellent. A surprising find was the Simon and Schuster encyclopedia, which I was impressed with, and I would say is comparable to the Grolier's or World Book in level of difficulty and coverage.

Hope my little comparison guide helps. Happy encyclopedia buying and reading!