Word: encyclopedia
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...Encyclopedias, according to the encyclopedia, are books containing basic knowledge in all areas of life. Many publications have answered that description in their time, from the medieval compendiums to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, first published in 1768, to three contemporary one-volume works. Which one of that trio is best? It depends on the size of the reader's requirements, bank account and bookshelf...
...RANDOM HOUSE ENCYCLOPEDIA...
...third edition of The Random House Encyclopedia weighs as much as a standard Christmas turkey (12 lbs. 5 oz.) but provides longer-lasting nourishment. On its pages are some 3 million words of text and 13,500 illustrations, most of them in color. The cost is commensurate. Even at $129.95, the volume is so cannily organized and illustrated that many families might consider it a bargain...
...long as it emphasizes the sweep of history, this encyclopedia has dignity and flair. When it tries to keep up with current events, the book often resembles a hardbound USA Today. An untroubled Donald Trump appears, along with Wayne Gretzky, Jimmy Breslin and Oprah Winfrey. Parapsychology and the occult are given two massively illustrated layouts; the Holocaust merits less than half a page. In the section on American writers, James Baldwin stares out from a large color portrait, while Mark Twain is granted a small black-and- white snapshot, and Henry James is not seen at all, though oddly enough...
...with its faults of brevity and trendiness, The Random House Encyclopedia still represents a unique attempt to gather and illuminate knowledge in a manageable space. Any serious research demands a steady leaping from one section to another -- the bibliography is in the back, far from the original entry. But this singular book can settle virtually any argument about science, art, sport, politics or culture. Few high school or even college papers would fail to benefit from an examination of its pages. Bright adolescents, not to say curious adults, will find all they need here from theories about the first nanoseconds...