The Cambridge Encyclopedia Updated - Hardcover

Crystal, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 052143176X ISBN 13: 9780521431767

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1992

Synopsis

This is an updated edition of "The Cambridge Encyclopedia" which provides guidance to the facts, events, issues, beliefs, ideas and achievements which constitute the sum of human knowledge. Usability is enhanced by illustrations, thousands of cross-references and access to DATASEARCH.

About this title

Product Description:

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Date of Publication: 1990
Binding: hard back
Edition:
Condition: Good
Description: 052143176X jacket worn at the edges

Review:

Remarkably, the fourth edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia manages to improve on its impressive predecessors. This is no small feat when you take a look at some of the reviews previous editions have garnered: The Daily Telegraph declared that "the essential facts are instantly available ... better written, more concise and intelligent"; the Independent on Sunday felt that it is "as comprehensive as a single-volume encyclopedia can hope to be"; Time Magazine wrote of "Thousands of enlightenments"; and the Mail on Sunday purred about "a superbly organised reference book."

The editorial content is clear and wastes no words. It manages to be accessible without over-simplifying, to a remarkable degree. Take the entry on Aesop as an example. After a pronunciation guide, we read:

"(?6th-c BC) Legendary Greek fabulist. He is supposed to have been a native of Phrygia and a slave who, after being set free, travelled to Greece. The fables attributed to him are anecdotes which use animals to make a moral point and are, in all probability, a compilation of tales from many sources. The stories were popularised by the Roman poet Phaedrus in the 1st-c AD, and rewritten in sophisticated verse by La Fontaine in 1668." There are cross-references to "fable; Greek Literature; La Fontaine; Phaedrus."

The same clarity and economy are maintained consistently throughout the whole vast tome. And it is massive: there are about 40,000 "separately identified people, places and topics" with thousands of those useful cross-references to link entries together, a 24-page colour atlas section, and 800 black and white illustrations to back up the text. The book really does succeed in its aim of being a standard reference for "home, school, library or office," useful for both adults and teenage students. --David Pickering

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 052143176X
• ISBN 13: 9780521431767
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1478