Reviews

According to the preface, this is "a fully integrated reference book" that offers a "greater depth of information than is normal in a dictionary." This depth rests in the appendixes, which include a chronology of world events, countries of the world, a 16-page atlas, etc.--addenda that may be a plus for the home user but are not that useful for librarians, who will choose more obvious sources when hunting for this information. The dictionary itself, which is based on the Concise Oxford Dictionary (8th ed.), offers 3000 new words and senses but at times gives obtuse definitions. "Wolfsbane," for example, is defined as "an aconite," which is in turn defined as "a poisonous ranunculaceous plant of the genus Aconitum, esp. monkshood or wolfsbane." (Compare the definition from Merriam Webster, 10th ed., which refers the reader to Monkshood and provides the information that it is dangerous: "a highly variable yellow-flowered poisonous herb.") Another drawback is the pronunciation scheme (the International Phonetic Alphabet), which is found only at the beginning of the book, making it difficult to puzzle out pronunciations without flipping back. Finally, this is a British English dictionary, not a U.S. English dictionary. Recommended only for academic and public libraries looking for an updated British English dictionary.--Cynthia A. Johnson, Barnard Coll. Lib., New York Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.