|
|
|
April 14, 2002
REVIEW: Fords, Minis, Beetles &....
IT must be challenging to bring out an encyclopaedia in book form in this computer age where reference is easily accessible from CDs and the innumerable sources available on the Internet, both cheaper and much less time consuming. Still Macmillan has attempted to bring out their latest, 2002 version, a thick, 1400-page, single-volume encyclopaedia that may serve as a good source for basic information.
Comprehensively revised each year, The Macmillan Encyclopedia boasts of covering the most recent events and developments. New entries in the 2002 edition include: political developments around the world; new people of significance, including the new US President, Nobel Prize winners and musicians, innovations in science and technology; and sport, including outstanding results of the Sydney Olympic Games.
Being a British publication, it focuses more, in political matters, on the UK scene. At the end of the book there is also a list of prime ministers, from 1721 to 2000, but only of Great Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In the beginning there is also a family tree of the Kings and Queens of England and Scotland. There is also a 19-page chronology but no index.
Good quality paper has been used between the covers to endure wear and tear which may occur during frequent referring. There are many pictures and illustrations to ensure reader-friendliness but none except a few unnumbered pages added in the middle of the book are coloured. It is one thing to explain something like the game of chess, sign language, ballet positions, the difference between the Indian and African elephants, popular cars (such as The Ford Model T, Volkswagen Beetle, Mini Morris, etc), sailor knots through detailed black and white illustrations. But it is another thing that photographs can look dull and unexciting without colour.
The coloured section is referred to as “colour plates”. The colour plates include a double-page spread of different country flags but it would have been better had these appeared next to the info of the country they represent.
A particular symbol (shaped like an arrowhead), which is explained in the preface, when used against a certain word indicates that further information on it can also be found.
Similarly a raised square indicates that an illustration, relevant to the article, will be found at or near the marked word.
The Macmillan Encylopedia 2002 is recommended for school homework and office use but one can’t call it an “unrivalled research source” as the cover claims.
The Macmillan Encyclopedia 2002
Distributed in Pakistan by Paramount Books, 152/O, Block 2, PECH Society, Karachi-75400 Tel: 021-4310030.
Email: paramount@cyber.net.pk
ISBN 0-333-90618-7 1399pp. Rs1795
|
|
|
|
