Editorial Review

You'll find everything you forgot from school--as well asplenty you never even learned--in this all-purpose reference book, aninstant classic when it first appeared in 1987. The updated versiontakes a whirlwind tour through 12 different disciplines, from Americanstudies to philosophy to world history. Along the way, Judy Jones andWilliam Wilson provide a plethora of useful information, from the plotof Read more

Reviews (59)

More Here Than You Can Ever Know
No, you probably didn't learn all of these 3,684 tidbits. If you had you would have been an excellent player of 'Trivial Persuit' but your brain would probably have been fried.
Study this curricum and have fun doing so!
I just finished the taped version of AN INCOMPLETE EDUATION
A Great Book
This book can be viewed as either a repository of interesting knowledge or as a way to one up people in conversation at cocktail parties.There are chapters to correspond with the major departments in a liberal arts college (art, literature, economics, etc.)This is a guide to everything that you learned in college and forgot (or everything you should have learned but skipped out on).If you are still in high school, read this book--you will be able to easily impress your teachers with college-level knowledge.I cannot wait for the new edition to be released! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Encyclopedias    3. Encyclopedias (Multi-Subject)    4. Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc    5. Reference    6. Research    7. Trivia    8. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (2)

I wrote a review, but for some reason
It ended up in the discussion area, so please read that. Poor Stan Lee, his mighty ship has been taken over by the rats!

It's no OHOTMU, but it does the job
In the style of their 2004 publication, "The DC Comics Encyclopedia," Dorling Kindersley have released "The Marvel Encyclopedia," a guide to the characters of the Marvel Comics universe. DK are no strangers to Marvel's universe, having frequently released "Ultimate Guide" books covering the histories of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and next year, Ghost Rider. But how does this tome, touted as "the definitive guide," stack up?
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Subjects:  1. Comic strip characters    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Encyclopedias    4. Fantasy    5. Graphic Novels    6. Graphic Novels - General    7. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    8. History & Criticism    9. Marvel Comics Group    10. Reference    11. United States    12. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (9)

Great contents, but
Bid a new set from ebay and it arrived in two boxes. It has great contents, but:
Finest compilation of the writings of the most brilliant minds over the centuries past ever
These books were first published in 1952.Only 500 sets were published that year, a Private Library Collection it was called, and sold for $500.00 per set.My father was one of the original purchasers, and he passed them down to me when he died.(It's still even in its original custom made bookcase!)
Cost effective when you consider your options...
Regardless of minor squabbling over what should and shouldn't be included, this is a very good collection of western works. I'd call it great in fact, when you consider the amount you'd have to pay to purchase all these seperate, not to mention all the wading you'd do through some not-so-necessary reads.
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Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Anthologies    3. Encyclopedias    4. Literary Collections / General    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Reference    7. Collections & anthologies of various literary forms    8. General    9. Medicine, Greek and Roman   

Reviews (1)

Population by Weeks Review
This is a great introduction to demographics. It provides a easy to read introduction. It is still a college textbook. The author integrates humor into the text, which certainly kept me reading. Infotrac was completely worthless. It was a password to a three-month trial of access to databases. I already have access to databases through other sources, school and the library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Demography    2. Political Science    3. Politics/International Relations    4. Reference    5. Sociology    6. Sociology - Marriage & Family    7. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works    8. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    9. Reference works    10. Social Science / Sociology / Marriage & Family   

Reviews (3)

A MUST FOR THOSE IN THE "KNOW"!
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.
The Best
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.

A must buy for any household
The world book is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written throughout the history of mankind. It is a thorough compelation of everything a person needs to know. I read the book everynight, and its deep characters and intense plots captivate my children. It is a great reference book for school work, and mere curiosity. My children love to delve in between the lines of text of the World Book. And their curiosity and desire to attain knowledge is well fed by the World Book. It is a great resource for anyone to have, and truly encourages children and adults alike to learn the most they can about the world around them
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Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Encyclopedias and dictionaries    3. Reference   

Reviews (1)

the only option
Here is a monument to the current state of the academic study of religion. Thousands of pages of entries, most of them of the highest quality; yet a few slips remain. Typos abound, but I've found none confusing so far.
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Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Reference    3. Religion    4. Religion (General)    5. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    6. Reference works    7. Religion & Beliefs   

Reviews (42)

My favorite
I am an EFL teacher and have dictionaries of different publishers. MW9 was my first dictionary of a kind and it started the life-long romance with this beautiful piece of lexicography. The 11th edition is a step forward,the only thing lacking being the list of colleges and universities in US and Canada, which I do miss. Otherwise, the only competition this dictionary can have is the new edition of Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary by OUP, but I still think MW11 is more up-to-date and interesting to use.

Missing some stuff
I bought this dictionary for the CD ROM that comes with it.Websters makes by far the best computer dictionary available and when you combine it with the computer thesaurus you have a very powerful writing tool.
Scholastic Dictionary
So far I am pleased with this dictionary.I had to make the purchase for my 6th & 8th graders, and I believe they are finding it easy to use. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. English language    4. Reference    5. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works    6. English   

Editorial Review

Skillfully done, research can be the solid cornerstone of your term paper (or dissertation, essay, or article); inadequately executed, it can cause your whole project to crumble and fall. Yet essential as research is to the ultimate success of your work, performing it is not an innate talent. The precepts, steps, and skills of solid research are readily acquired if you spend some time with Read more

Reviews (30)

Somewhat Useful...
I am a master's student just beginning graduate studies in the humanities.I picked up this book during my first semester and devoured it over the course of a few days (my undergraduate degree is in mathematics, so I figured I was a little behind the curve in my present area).It's the kind of book I think I will return to occasionally throughout my studies.There's some useful stuff here, but the main point of the book is "make sure you make a good argument!"That's really what it boils down to.As someone with a solid background in logic, however, I found much of the book to be reducible to basic principles of common sense.There's a section on "warrants" for example that sounds very sophisticated and difficult, but is really just an exercise in constructing a logical argument by using universally accepted propositions.Now this is fine, but I think the material could be presented in a much simpler manner.Instead of using large tables and graphics with arrows and textboxes and all that jazz, the authors could have taken a more minimalist route and avoided a lot of confusion. I don't know... maybe I would have just preferred a different format.Some of the things in the book really bug me.For example, chapter seven introduces the ideas of claim, warrants, reason, and evidence.To put it simply, you base claims on reasons.Evidence is the cold hard reality upon which the reasoning process rests.Warrants are like propositions which connect reasons to claims in the way antecedents are connected to consequents.If your warrant is something like A=>B then your reasons will need to coincide with A and your claims with B (if your warrant is going to successfully connect reasons to claims).If your claim is more specific than B then your warrant isn't strong enough (and your claim is unjustifiably strong).If your reason is broader than A then your claim won't necessarily follow because your not sticking to the limits of the proposition.This kind of stuff is very basic logical reasoning which everyone is familiar with.So why do the authors say "as we said, this is not easy stuff."Maybe it's not easy because the presentation is muddled.It could have been simplified by taking a more symbolic route (perhaps in addition to, or as a a preliminary, what is already here).

The Craft of Research
Excellent way to learn the steps required to write an quality research paper.Learning the proper way to do reseach will remove stress and make writing fun.I am a 1 year MBA student at WSU but I wish I learned these techniques in high school.The next edition should have examples and resources for business students.

Notes from an English Instructor
The Craft of Research is an excellent guide for students of all ages and levels.I teach Freshman Composition, and I am using it this year as a basis of lectures in my Research Class.I am considering requiring my students to buy it next year.The book is not written as a textbook, but as a guide that individual students could read and use.The language is straight forward and easy to follow.The authors, English professors, take students through the research process, step by step.I highly recommend this book for anyone from high school seniors through graduate school, especially for those who are a few years removed from Freshman Comp. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Methodology    3. Reference    4. Research    5. Research & Methodology    6. Science    7. Technical writing    8. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works    9. Research methods: general    10. Science / Methodology    11. Writing skills   

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Reference    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children's encyclopedias and d    4. Children's encyclopedias and dictionaries    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Encyclopedias and dictionaries    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Encyclopedias    10. Reference | Subject area reference   

Reviews (1)

An Uneven Work
When I look at some of the entries in the Encyclopedia, I found unfortunate errors and very superficial research. The entry on Orangeburg County relies on the 1898 (that's right, 108 years old) history of the county by Alexander Salley, an ancient secondary source notorious for its inaccuracies. Several entries describe the early Swiss settlers (who dominated the earliest settlement of several large SC counties) as Lutherans, when in fact they were overwhelmingly Swiss Reformed, or Calvinist. Familiarity with primary sources would have told the authors and editor this. When we look for the settlers in Swiss parish records, they are in Reformed congregations. When we find records of the ordinations of ministers (prior to Giessendanner converting to the established Church of England in order to be paid by the colony) they are Reformed ordinations in Europe (for example Zubly, Theus) or Presbyterian if in South Carolina (for example, Giessendanner).When knowledgeable contemporaries refer to the religion of the Swiss settlers in Carolina, they say or imply that they were Reformed or Calvinist. Even Reimensperger's brochure encouraging Swiss to settle in Carolina specifies that potential settlers should be Reformed. Secondary sources would also provide the same information. Modern histories of the Presbyterian and Lutheran denominations in South Carolina acknowledge that the Swiss immigrants were Reformed. The Lutherans appear in SC only with the somewhat later immigration of Germans, who differed from the Swiss in other aspects of culture and history, as well as in religion. It is hard to understand how such a basic error regarding a significant part of early settlement in the state could be made in the Encyclopedia. Another entry tells us that the most "vibrant" German-speaking community in SC was in Charleston. I'm afraid the authors didn't have much information on which to base a comparison.
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Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: World    5. Reference    6. South Carolina    7. United States - State & Local - South    8. American history    9. American studies    10. Reference works   

Reviews (1)

Epi for Public Health Practice
The book is very well written. Clean examples are given. The authors do a great job of avoiding complex and confusing examples. The book made epidemiology more interesting and much easier to understand than it could have been. Charts, graphs, and tables help clear up differences between similar concepts and provide examples of concepts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Epidemiology    2. General    3. Medical    4. Medical / Nursing    5. Public Health    6. Public health personnel    7. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works   

Reviews (1)

This Encylopedia is one for the angels
There is something almost comical about the thought of reviewing theMcGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. It is an amazing work,such a stunning compendium of erudition in such a wide array of difficultand rigorous subjects that the ordinary rules and reasons of writing areview don't really apply to it. Read more

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Reference    3. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (7)

Yes itis an Encyclodedia.
Book Report:
A heral magic
I love this book. I use its medicine for almost everything from headaches to stomachaches. I would remained this book to anyone looking to an alternate root for medicine.

Excellent beginner text book and quick reference...
I am fond of this book because it is the first of it's kind that I have read.It presents relevant information logically and doesn't go too far with the more advanced information.It is no replacement for a biochemisty degree, but it sure does help you learn about each plant and gives you a general knowledge of what it does and how. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Allied Health Services - General    2. Consumer Health    3. Diet / Health / Fitness    4. Encyclopedias    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health/Fitness    7. Herbal Medications    8. Materia medica    9. Materia medica, Vegetable    10. Medicinal plants    11. Reference    12. Health & Fitness / Herbal Medications    13. Health   

Editorial Review

The history of "history"--our changing perspectives on the act of narrating and trying to "recapture" the past--encompasses the most profound seismic shifts in modern consciousness.Once seemingly commonsensical, the science-aspiring ambition of historiography to recount the past "as it actually was" (to borrow Leopold von Ranke's famously misunderstood phase) now betrays anachronistic naivete, if not a dangerous arrogance masquerading as objectivity. And the business of cultural history provides a particularly fascinating--and contentious--index to the larger issues at stake. The very urgency of the debate over "how" to tell the story (and indeed what the story is) continues to intensify in proportion to the uncertainty of our times.Read more

Reviews (6)

Interested in 'Classical Music'? A MUST READ!
This 6-volume history is both entertaining and highly idiosyncratic. For a 'survey', that's an unusual combination, but in this case the idiosyncracies are a great advantage. The reader is treated to a comprehensive tour of Western music, from a cultural perspective infused with brilliant social and political insights. For example, the extended discussion of 'Romanticism' and 'The Folk', with all the psycho-social baggage attendant to the latter is a stunning tour-de-force. You won't agree with all of Taruskin's observations: the charm he finds in Mozart's 'Magic Flute' (with its high dose of 'Das Volk') falls flat with me. Mozart wrote several operas head and shoulders above that one, to my ears. But one need not agree with Taruskin to find the journey wondrously edifying.
A Landmark Work of WorldCulture
This work is amazing in every way, a magisterial survey that has long been needed. It equals Edward Gibbon stylistically for starters. It is a model for all such historicalworks in the arts: music, poetry etc. We need such surveys of the arts by a single person. The section on Britten gets him absolutely right and "Max" is a hoot (Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen of Britain's Music since 2002). One problem is that the Index is in typography that is too small for easy reading. I also cannot see the value in the hardcover despite the work's brilliance. This work far surpasses Lang, the prior survey, now very outdated with new knowledge and discoveries. One omission is that the author does nto deal with non European and US "western" music (eg in China, Japan, Australia, South America etc) but you can't have everything. A paperback is urgently needed.
Taruskin *****, Oxford *
Oxford gets two very black eyes for this one.Here are five magnificent textbooks for graduate music-history classes.But they can't be ordered separately: myclass of 15 are sharing a single library copy of vol. 4 (and lapping it up).
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Subjects:  1. History & Criticism - General    2. History and criticism    3. Music    4. Music/Songbooks    5. Reference    6. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works    7. History of specific subjects    8. Music / History & Criticism    9. Music | Music History, Western   

Reviews (1)

Superb in every way but one
This is a tremendous resource for anyone needing concise information about anyone involved in or any concept, however obscure, concerning classical music. The one thing missing that I think would be invaluable is a phonetic pronunciation guide. This would be particularly helpful with the composers, conductors and other musicians who are referenced. Everyone probably knows the big dogs, but the strength of this publications is the inclusion of practically everyone of note in this music field; many who are quite unknown to most of us. The pronunciation guide would be extremely helpful. Otherwise, I find this text to be a clearly superior and exhaustive resource. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Genres & Styles - Classical    3. Music    4. Music Appreciation    5. Music/Songbooks    6. Reference    7. Music / Classical    8. Reference works    9. Western music: periods & styles   

Reviews (9)

Excellent Book
I bought this book before buying a house and it helped me a great deal, explained in detail the different types of mortgages and gave great advice.I recommend this book for anyone who wants to better understand the mortgage process.

A MUST HAVE
A must have book for everyone in the mortgage industry and consumers. I'm a new Loan Officer and the book has really helped me understand the terminology I need to better serve my clients well.

A Must Have
I love it. It read well and is just the right book for someone learning the Mortgage biz... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Encyclopedias    5. Finance    6. Mortgage loans    7. Mortgages    8. Real Estate - General    9. Real Estate - Mortgages    10. Real Estate Finance    11. Real Estate Investment    12. Real property    13. Reference - General    14. Business & Economics / Real Estate    15. Business & Management   

Subjects:  1. Asia    2. Asia - General    3. Asia - History    4. Encyclopedias    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: American    8. History / United States / General    9. Humanities    10. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    11. Reference works    12. USA   

Reviews (3)

Would be 5 stars except for some errors I found
I have been interested in pro football stats since the late 1950s, so I ordered this new encyclopedia immediately (I have all the other ones referred to in this one).And as the authors said might might happen, once I got the book yesterday, I was up until the wee hours of the morning perusing it!
Incredible Value, A Must Have, Room For Improvement
I have been buying Football stat books since the 1970's so I feel like I can offer a well informed opinion. I have been waiting for a book like this since Total Football II became out of date and overall I am very pleased. This book raises the bar, it's got pretty much everything and then some, but there are some areas that need to be improved.
Oh, Baby.
It has all the crap you'd expect for something like this, like the main stats for every player, a list of all the head coaches and their yearly records, hall of fame members (including yearly finalists), pro-bowl rosters, yearly standings (with more detailed stats than you'll easily find anywhere else) complete with a blurb on the season, and top-five finishers in a variety of categories.