Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

This one-volume desk reference, which is actually a condensed version of the massive 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica, includes about 28,000 clearly written entries covering various branches of human knowledge, such as science, history, business, art, culture, geography, and geology, as well as more contemporary issues, such as cloning, terrorism, and globalization. Edited and supervised by the Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, it features an attractive layout, with alphabetical divisions color-coded along the page edges and over 2000 lavish photographs, maps, tables, drawings, and color illustrations of nations' flags. The plentiful See also references are clearly indicated within the text in capital letters. The currency of the statistics varies: for example, while population estimates for most major Western countries date from 2000, for many countries, such as Chile and India, estimates date from 1997. (In comparison, the online CIA World Factbook has 2001 estimates for these countries.) The concise Britannica is perhaps most comparable to the well-known Columbia Encyclopedia, another one-volume reference containing substantially more entries (approximately 51,000) that are not, however, as concise. On the other hand, the Columbia, now in its sixth edition, provides references for further reading at the end of some entries a useful addition that is altogether omitted in the concise Britannica. Overall, this well-produced and easy-to-use tool is recommended for libraries in need of a multitude of ready-reference resources. Cynthia A. Johnson, Barnard Coll. Lib., New York Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.