The New American Desk Encyclopedia

I do a great many crossword puzzles and this is a great reference. Also, I read many historical books mostly on the Civil War and this is a great reference as to the events and players in that war

This is a great space saver of having an encyclopedia in one paperback. Brief entries instead of a multivolume.

We have found this very helpful to students in our home. They always expect the internet to provide answers now, but this is often faster, and the internet and computer don't always work! The entries are surprisingly thorough and helpful for such a compact book - hence the small print. Portable for a backpack.

An enormous amount of information is packed into this one volume, compact enough to keep on one's desk, and though the entries are short, they are quite thorough, on people, places and things of every sort. For those like me who like to read writing on paper more than on a computer screen, this can be better that a search engine, and more accessible. As a youngster I used to read the dictionary as if it were novel, and now as an oldster, I find myself going through the pages of this mighty little volume fascinated by its many subjects. As an example, I will cite an entry for a composer not enough people know about: "Vivaldi, Antonio (c 1680-1741). Venetian composer, notably for the violin. He wrote vocal music, sonatas, some 450 concertos for violin and other instruments (helping establish the three-movement form; see CONCERTO) and concerti grossi including the famous Four Seasons. His work has sparkling clarity, strong rhythms, and a wealth of melody". It doesn't go into his life, but you get an idea of who he was, and why he merits an entry. Yes, you need a good light to read it, and spectacles if your sight isn't all it should be without them; the font size is small, but that is to be expected, with so much packed into a book you can pick up with one hand. An essential along with a dictionary and thesaurus, this is a reference book that I use constantly, and appreciate.

I own an older edition of this book (published in 1989), and it helped to get me through my freshman year of college. Granted, it isn't an all-encompassing compendium, you can't expect that from a 1,400 page book that covers 15,000 subjects. However, I found it to be a wonderful resource when all you need is a short, general introduction to a topic.I highly recommend a copy of The New American Desk Encyclopedia for everyone's desk. I guess that's why they call it the "Desk Encyclopedia"!