Encyclopedia Britannica: With 2004 Book of the Year (Britannica Books) (Hardcover)

~ Britannica Editors (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Encyclopaedia Britannica (EB) continues to be an authoritative resource. The 64,900 articles are signed by more than 4,300 contributors and have extensive bibliographies. The latest printing of the fifteenth edition retains the Micropaedia/Macropaedia/Propaedia structure that originated with great fanfare in 1974: short articles for quick reference in the Micropaedia, in-depth treatment of broad topics in the Macropaedia, and an "outline of knowledge" in the Propaedia.

New entries cover the September 11 attacks, al-Jazeera, and al-Qaeda, all in the Micropaedia. September 11 attacks includes a map showing the flight plans of the doomed planes and a picture of the World Trade Center in flames. Others among the 115 new entries include Barbie, Botox, Designer drugs, Ecoterrorism, Ethnic cleansing, and Swiss Army Knife . Among the 64 rewritten or revised articles are Cru sades, Geometry, Intelligence and counterintelligence , and Solar system. Twelve new maps and 180 new illustrations make the material more current. There is no coverage of SARS (too new), but users will find West Nile virus. Unless attached to rewritten entries, the bibliographies have not been updated.

The Macropaedia article on Afghanistan is 12 pages long and has been updated in several places to reflect changes in 2002, although there is no mention of Hamid Karzai's election on June 13. The index misses the reference in the article to the September 11 attacks. The Micropaedia article on George W. Bush, which ends with the November 2002 elections, mentions his efforts during that year to focus world attention on Iraq. The Macropaedia article on Iraq ends in 2000, but users are referred to the Britannica Book of the Year for later developments.

We particularly like EB's coverage of non-U.S. topics. Macropaedia articles on other countries and on cities outside the U.S can be extensive. United Kingdom is 137 pages; Vienna and Venice are 6 and 8 pages, respectively; West Indies is almost 70 pages. We also like the extensive, scholarly Macropaedia bibliographies. The three-part structure can be cumbersome, so users should check the index first (in fact, the Micropaedia often prompts them to do so) in order to take fullest advantage of what EB has to offer.

Conclusion: EB retains its position as an excellent scholarly reference source for public, academic, and secondary-school libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

The four-part organization of "Encyclopaedia Britannica" caters for any age and makes it a useful encyclopaedia for quick, basic information or for an overview of major fields of study.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32640 pages
• Publisher: Encyclopedia Britannica (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0852299613
• ISBN-13: 978-0852299616
• Product Dimensions: 29.8 x 19.2 x 12.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 144.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,042,126 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedia Britannica, August 24, 2004

By	Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The latest Britannica contains full-color illustrations which
accompany the text. It is easy to read. The articles are
comprehensive with an exhaustive listing of references. The
volumes are quite valuable for their up-to-date coverage of
the new world geography. i.e. The Russian Republics

This version would be very useful for any student project in
the arts or sciences. The technical content of the engineering
topics is superb. The presentation is helpful for studying
complex topics for the first time. Suppose you were studying
thermodynamics and required additional background beyond the
basic text. The Britannica provides a wealth of information on
the subject together with the major engineering processes.
i.e. Carnot The presentation is valuable because the authors
present the subject in an uncomplicated format. Formal textbooks tend to be highly technical from the start of the subject.

Britannica is an excellent teaching aid because
the articles on each subject area are complete with helpful
supplemental references for further study. These volumes would
be an outstanding addition to any private library collection.
The price is reasonable. In addition, the editors offer a
CD presentation for use on the computer. Britannica is known to
be the authoritative source on almost any research topic.
The volumes would be good for utilization as a starting point
in formal dissertation research because each subject has a
plethora of research references.

The purchase is worth the price charged for the pictures alone.
If storage space is a problem in your home, then I would recommend getting the CD rom.

21 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An expensive edition printed on the chippest quality paper, January 9, 2004

By	Polisson "only truth" (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

Encyclopedia Britannica does not need a promotion - it itself is one of the best creations of the mankind. That's why it is so humiliatng to see it printed so poorly.

14 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 32 Volumes - The Best Encyclopedia Ever, March 13, 2005

By	G. Reid (Roseland, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have always considered this to be the best encyclopedia available to the consumer. It is available in printed and in CD-ROM formats. One person actually read the entire encyclopedia. It takes about 15 months reading about 8 hours per day. The information is awesome. Many technical topics are covered in layperson's language.

Encyclopedia (Memorial 328/1)