Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia

by Anonymous and Merriam-Webster

Book Overview

Includes over 25,000 entries with information on topics such as art, business, history, philosophy, popular culture, and technology. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877790175
• ISBN13: 9780877790174
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Merriam-Webster
• Length: 1792 Pages
• Weight: 4.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 7.3" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

One of the most useful encyclopedias you'll ever use

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.

A FIRST-RATE REFERENCE

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.

The Lexus of desktop encyclopedias

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.

Excellent, handsomely appointed, comprehensive encyclopedia.

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.

Essential Desk and Armchair Companion

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.