Book Description
The new standard in reference from the nations leading newspaper, The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge is an indispensable resource of information. Years in the making, this one volume reference is designed to offer more information than any other book on the most popular subjects, as well as to provide easy access to data vital for everyday living. Designed to address the most-sought-after categories of information, while offering rich and detailed historical context, The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge informs, educates, illustrates, and clarifiesits the only one volume reference you need.
Customer Reviews:
For Trivia Fanatics.......2007-08-08
Next time you have an argument over facts, don't open your laptop, reach out for this huge book. I recommend it to everyone who's crazy about trivia. I also recommed another book, Eightstorm to anyone fanatic about innovation.
I like this book. .......2007-04-11
There is a lot to this book and I am still exploring it.
Should be on all desks!.......2007-02-24
This book have become my substitute brain. Not really a lexicon, not really a thriller novel -- though a little bit of both, this book is really something special. It is simply a great work of reference, from the biography-pages that has the basic info on just about anyone, to a list of the most common misspellings in the English language, and the correct way to spell them. But I often find me just flipping to a random page, and learning completely new things about the Mesopotamian empires...
Great book!.......2007-01-28
I ordered this for my brother-in-law who is a trivia buff and has been for decades. It was full of things even he didn't know
Boring, shallow, inept.......2007-01-19
OK, I admit, so far I've only checked out the mathematics and physics, and apparently, not only have they not bothered to typeset the equations in any respectable manner (i.e. LaTeX), but according to NYT, mathematics consists of calculus and analytic geometry, and "measurement". You would be excused from thinking this book was written in the 18th century. This isn't really that important; after all, if you want "advanced" mathematics, you buy the corresponding books. But, the NYT certainly won't point you to even topology, much less some of the more recent areas like algebraic geometry. It casts doubt on the fitness of the rest of the work, which I am not fit to judge.
Moreover this book is full of short, boring and self-contained definitions. I'm sure there are people out there who enjoy pouring over 1100 pages of terse un-connected paragraphs, but I am not one of them. I enjoy narrative. Particularly the kind written from an erudite perspective (e.g. Barzun's works) that "gives you the bigger picture" instead of just dates and names for events. Perhaps the authors did not dare to be so vain as to imagine they can provide this. Perhaps they should be applauded for this remarkable act of introspection. But no, wait. A better thought offers itself: they should not have undertaken writing at all. Instead, they should continue their valiant efforts to drown the West with their grotesque distortions... Erm.
Oh, by the way. Good luck finding Slovenia in this book. Apparently, being in the EU and NATO means nothing. Neither do visits from world luminaries such as Clinton, Bush and Putin, or winning a war in 10 days that took the Croatians years. The NYT guide is a formidable weapon, said to be forbidden in Britain and Saudi Arabia, and heavy enough to cause hernia in old gentlemen and ladies; but, alas, despite having every other nation under Sol, there just wasn't room to include Slovenia. Or the NYT mistook it for Slovakia. In any case, this will be my doorstop.
Amazon.com
If time is of the essence, you can find what you seek in a jiffy (an actual unit of time meaning 1/100 of a second) in the New York Public Library Desk Reference's chapter 1: "Time and Dates." Once there, however, beware. You may begin by looking up what time it is in Addis Ababa when it's 12 noon in New York (8 p.m. is what you'll discover), but ere long you'll be browsing the perpetual calendar (1775 to 2098), refreshing your memory as to what fortnightly means (once every two weeks, just as you thought), and skimming the lists of major holidays worldwide. But "Times and Dates" is just the beginning. Section I--"The Physical World"--also contains vast data pertaining to weights and measures, biology, the physical sciences, mathematics, and technology, plus inventions and scientific discoveries. Delving therein you can find how many cubic inches are in a pint, how to diagnose and treat constipation in your pet, which plants are poisonous, what tropism means, when the next total eclipse of the sun will take place, the URLs for major Internet search engines, and the toll-free phone numbers for major national Internet service providers.
Other sections of the desk reference include music, literature, and the visual arts, religions, philosophy, and museums around the world, alphabets, grammar, and daily etiquette. Life-saving first-aid procedures are described, as are cooking tips, stain-removal advice, personal-finance details, and legal information, plus useful addresses and phone numbers relating to adoption, disabilities, and domestic violence, alcoholism, family planning, and television networks. With sections on travel, sports and games, as well as the United States and the political world, this is an irreplaceable reference of great scope and value. It is the mark of a great reference that the information you desire be readily accessible when deadlines threaten, and endlessly entertaining in your leisure hours; the New York Public Library Desk Reference flawlessly passes both tests. --Stephanie Gold
Book Description
If time is of the essence, you can find what you seek in a jiffy (an actual unit of time meaning 1/100 of a second) in the New York Public Library Desk Reference's chapter 1: "Time and Dates." Once there, however, beware. You may begin by looking up what time it is in Addis Ababa when it's 12 noon in New York (8 p.m. is what you'll discover), but ere long you'll be browsing the perpetual calendar (1775 to 2098), refreshing your memory as to what fortnightly means (once every two weeks, just as you thought), and skimming the lists of major holidays worldwide. But "Times and Dates" is just the beginning. Section I--"The Physical World"--also contains vast data pertaining to weights and measures, biology, the physical sciences, mathematics, and technology, plus inventions and scientific discoveries. Delving therein you can find how many cubic inches are in a pint, how to diagnose and treat constipation in your pet, which plants are poisonous, what tropism means, when the next total eclipse of the sun will take place, the URLs for major Internet search engines, and the toll-free phone numbers for major national Internet service providers.Other sections of the desk reference include music, literature, and the visual arts, religions, philosophy, and museums around the world, alphabets, grammar, and daily etiquette. Life-saving first-aid procedures are described, as are cooking tips, stain-removal advice, personal-finance details, and legal information, plus useful addresses and phone numbers relating to adoption, disabilities, and domestic violence, alcoholism, family planning, and television networks. With sections on travel, sports and games, as well as the United States and the political world, this is an irreplaceable reference of great scope and value. It is the mark of a great reference that the information you desire be readily accessible when deadlines threaten, and endlessly entertaining in your leisure hours; the New York Public Library Desk Reference flawlessly passes both tests. --Stephanie Gold
Customer Reviews:
Good Quick Source of Information.......2006-02-25
This is an excellent resource for a short description of a very wide variety of subjects that one sometimes is curious about. In addition it makes an interesting book to page through as there is information about subjects that almost anyone will find interesting and it will broaden a persons general knowledge.
Brimming with an array of facts, tables, and instructions.......2004-03-31
The New York Public Library Desk Reference is a high-density information source brimming with an array of facts, tables, and instructions. The strength of this book is its preponderance of "evergreen" facts such as lists of U. S. presidents, major holidays from around the world, cooking tips, financial and legal information, astronomical events, grammar, etiquette, first aid, tables of weights and measures, and stain removal instructions. Other information, such as URLs for Internet sites, various telephone numbers, and addresses will be outdated
As some have noted, there are some shortcomings and typos, but while puzzling, such flaws should not deter folks who want fast access to data, facts, dates, and schedules from including this volume to their desktop reference set.
moonwalking.......2003-11-11
It is a book typical for any public entity.It confirm my opinion
library is for librarians not for regular public.
The idea behind is simple book have to be suitable for kids under 12.Sure plenty of pages for sport.
When I visited New York public library and ask for New York phone
books the answer was simple - we dont have it.
But they sure have desk reference.
I love this book!.......2003-11-04
You can't get a better book than this to page through on a whim. From a list of major composers to the basic rules of mathematics to traveling tips, this fat reference volume has entries that surprise me every time I open it. You want to know the symptoms and treatment of food poisoning? It's in there. The addresses of major U.S. passport agencies? Got it. How about the names and reigns of every Roman Catholic pope? How to set financial goals for retirement? The length of a day on Pluto? You'll find those answers here as well. The sheer amount of trivia is staggering. If you want to know the answer to a question, no matter how ordinary or obscure, look here first.
Dictionary readers will switch their allegiances once they get a hold of this desk reference. All others will refer to it at surprising times. A must have for every reference shelf.
plethera.......2002-09-30
It's PLETHORA. Perhaps you should get a dictionary for your desk.
Average customer rating:
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The New York Public Library Desk Reference, Second Edition
The New York Public Library
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Encyclopedias
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
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| Books
Library Management
| Library & Information Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
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General
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| Teens
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ASIN: 0671850148 |
Customer Reviews:
A Must-Have for Everyone.......1997-10-21
This is not only a source for a wealth of information, but a great coffee-table book. It's very entertaining and informative. You'll want to get the update every few years.
Book Description
How much do you really know about Judaism? After reading The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions, you may be in for a surprise! Did you know that:
· Dividing the Bible into chapters and verses was a Christian innovation · Although a recital of the Ten Commandments was once part of the daily service at the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews elsewhere were forbidden to recite them · The Kaddish, which now closes every Jewish service, as well as sections within the service, was originally not even part of the synagogue ritual
Ronald Eisenberg has distilled an immense amount of material from classic and contemporary sources into a single volume, which provides thousands of insights into the origins, history, and current interpretations of a wealth of Jewish traditions and customs.
Divided into four sections—Synagogue and Prayers, Sabbaths and Festivals, Life-Cycle Events, and Miscellaneous (a large section that includes such diverse topics as Jewish literature, food, and plants and animals)—this latest title in the JPS Desk Reference Series is an encyclopedic reference for anyone who wants easily accessible, accurate information about all things Jewish.
Eisenberg writes for a wide, diversified audience, and is respectful of the range of practices and beliefs within today's American Jewish community—from Orthodox to liberal. The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions is certain to be a meaningful addition to institutional and personal libraries. It is also an excellent gift for b'nai mitzvah, and other lifecycle events and holidays.
Customer Reviews:
Information on every Jewish tradition practiced today.......2005-01-06
The JPS Guide To Jewish Traditions by Ronald L. Eisenberg is an 806-page encyopedic compendium of comprehensive information on every Jewish tradition practiced today, from Orthodox to liberal. Written with respect and close attention to detail, The JPS Guide To Jewish Traditions includes ceremonies for rites of passage and marriage, holidays and observances, personal prayers, Jewish literature, ethics for living, dietary laws, and much more. Written in plain terms and accessible to lay readers and theologians alike, The JPS Guide To Jewish Traditions is a superb, easy-to-follow reference for personal and professional use. Also very highly recommended is Ronald Eisenberg's previous Judaic study, The Jewish World In Stamps: 4000 Years Of Jewish Civilization In Postal Stamps (1887563-768; $36.00; 288 pages; Schreiber Publishing).
Average customer rating:
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Mccarthy's Desk Encyclopedia Of Intellectual Property
J. Thomas McCarthy ,
Roger E. Schechter , and
David J. Franklyn
Manufacturer: Bureau of National Affairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Administrative Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Intellectual Property
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Encyclopedias
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Legal
| Encyclopedias
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General
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General
| Administrative Law
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
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All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
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Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
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Reference
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
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ASIN: 1570184011 |
Book Description
A powerful, encyclopedic tool that clarifies the complex language of this rapidly expanding field.
The Third Edition of McCarthy's Desk Encyclopedia of Intellectual Property is a multifaceted practitioner's guide of first reference. It defines patent, trademark, and copyright terms of art and uses them in context to better explain each one and the various legal scenarios in which they may be found. The Encyclopedia also analyzes relevant cases and statutes and provides citations to more cases and IP treatises for additional research.
The authors' unique, three-level treatment of each term allows the reader to delve into as much detail as is required for the immediate need at hand. This approach allows experienced practitioners and newcomers alike to immediately find the most relevant material. The first level for each term is a concise and simple definition. The second level of coverage is a more complete and detailed explanation, which for more complicated subjects, includes use of the term in context by courts, Congress, and others. The third level of information includes citations for further research in leading IP treatises, cases, and other legal resources and, where appropriate, URL references to relevant web sites.
The Encyclopedia also includes a table of cases, appendices that list the treatises used by the authors, plus historical lists of all patent and trademark directors, commissioners, and registers of copyrights. Key historical data on patent grants and trademark registrations are also included. This multilevel approach makes McCarthy's Desk Encyclopedia of Intellectual Property your first stop for research.
The Third Edition details nearly 800 words, phrases, statutes, and conventions on patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, entertainment, and computer law. The Third Edition also adds several new entries in order to keep pace with emerging areas of IP law, including:
-The Digital Millennium Copyright Act -Digital Performance Rights -The Anti-Cybersquatting Act -The Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy -Business Method -Anti-Circumvention -Markman Hearing -First Inventor Defense, and more As a resource to quickly find answers to your questions in a simple and easy-to-understand format, or as the springboard to more extensive research, this convenient desktop reference should be kept close at hand so you can provide fast and reliable counsel to your clients.
Book Description
More than 12 million American men and women entered the U.S. armed forces during World War II, and millions more worked and sacrificed at home to help the Allied cause to defeat the Axis powers. At the close of the war, America had become the leading nation on the global stage, and its veterans returned home to forge a vibrant postwar society. Written under the direction of two distinguished historians, The World War II Desk Reference explains in clear prose, backed by rosters of statistics, time lines, and maps, the global cataclysm that was World War II.
But this volume is not a typical almanac. With material ranging from battlefronts to important military commanders to armaments, among the backdrop of all the necessary political, social, and economic factors, Douglas Brinkley and Michael E. Haskew's reference will prove invaluable to readers. Photographs, lists, time lines, tables, glossaries, and maps encapsulate many pieces of complicated information, making The World War II Desk Reference immensely browsable. The book also includes a helpful resource on national World War II monuments, organizations, and museums.
Throughout the book, you'll find oral histories culled from several sources, including the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans, which holds the world's largest repository of valuable letters, journals, and other war-related records. Excerpted from those who fought on both sides, these accounts add a deeply touching, profoundly personal dimension seldom found in other books on World War II.
In a modern world plagued by terrorism, dictators, and weapons of mass destruction, Brinkley and Haskew's seminal work reminds us that America's role in World War II led to a truly monumental victory. For World War II enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone interested in our nation's history, this is the one book to own.
Customer Reviews:
The World War II Desk Reference.......2004-06-18
At last! A reference that includes all the major topics relating to World War II and not just the military and political history. I was 10 when Germany entered Poland and 16 when the war ended. Yet, at that young age, I followed the war assiduously. I listened to nightly newscasts and read the local newspaper accounts, even making scrapbooks of the war's progress. The Desk Reference of World War II recently published by Harper Collins is the best single reference to that epochal struggle. There have been many books published on the years 1939 to 1945, many dealing with the military campaigns and other with the causes or other specific aspects of the war. This book is not a narrative,although some chapters chronicle the material in story form. Rather, it is a reference; and what a reference it is. The 33 maps are excellent and easily followed. Numerous tables detail a wealth of information. Whatever topic of the war interests you, you will probably find it here. Timelines outline the major events from 1918 to 1950, the political history from 1918 to 1945, and the holocaust. The causes of the war are discussed. Other chapters relate how the countries -- allies and axis -- paid for the war. Treaties, pacts, alliances, charters, and conferences describe how the countries of europe made decisions relating to peace and war, land and aid from Versailles at the end of world War I to the end of the second World War.
Brief accounts sketch the politicians, dictators, military personnel, spies, and propagandists on both sides of the war. Maps, tables, and narrative provide an excellent overview of the military campaigns in Europe, Africa, and Asia. It's all here: military arms and eqjuipment, how the home front in the major participating countries of the war coped and maintained morale. This book even deals with the arts: books, films, songs, visual art, and entertainers.
Perhaps the most enlightening feature of this volume is its equal treatment of both protagonists and antagonists. Anyone interested in World War II will want to add this volume to their library and refer to it frequently.
Book Description
The New York Public Library Desk Reference series, a trusted source for frequently sought information, adds an updated and comprehensive volume on a timely subject-American History-to this bestselling series he fascinating history of America has now been condensed into a compact, easy-to-use overview of the nation's development. The New York Public Library American History Desk Reference is packed with information on a variety of topics from military and foreign affairs to education and science. Information is organized into detailed timelines highlighting events throughout America's history, along with numerous sidebars, photos, maps, brief biographies, and trivia tidbits, making this book the ultimate 'look-it-up' book.
Book Description
Fully revised and updated for 2005, DK's best-selling Financial Times World Desk Reference gives a complete overview of the modern world. With more than 600 maps, 5,000 charts and diagrams, and including over 25,000 facts and statistics on the world's 193 nations, this practical guide is a perfect reference for the home, school, or office.
Amazon.com
Legendary scholar-activist W.E.B. Du Bois labored to complete an "Encyclopedia Africana" before his death in 1963. Just over 35 years later, two Harvard educators, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Ghanaian-born Kwame Anthony Appiah, have brought Du Bois' intellectual dream to life in Africana, the most complete and comprehensive record of the Pan-African diaspora compiled into one volume. With over two million words and 3,500 entries from more than 220 contributors, Appiah and Gates sought, as they put it, to "give a sense of the wide diversity of peoples, cultures, and traditions that we know about Africa in historical times, a feel for the environment in which that history was lived, and a broad outline of the contributions of people of African descent, especially in the Americas, but, more generally, around the world." To fulfill this aim, they consider biographical, political, artistic, economic, historical, and geographical data; a brief sampling of topics includes "Food in African-American Culture," "Creolized Musical Instruments of the Caribbean," and "Anthropology in Africa." The section on Africa fills about two thirds of the book, loaded with invaluable information--from the ethnic and colonial factors that contributed to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Eritrea, and Sierra Leone to the educational, linguistic, and social advances in Tanzania, Gabon, and South Africa. The legacies of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe are also presented in great detail. The encyclopedia also contains documented evidence of African-derived peoples in Asia, including the exploits of Malik Ambar, who arrived in India from Ethiopia as a result of the East Indian slave trade.
Turning to the Western Hemisphere, Africana skillfully and succinctly synopsizes the lives and achievements of a multitude of African Americans, from 18th-century inventor-astronomer Benjamin Banneker to late-20th-century heroes like Colin Powell, Tiger Woods, and astronaut Mae Jemison. You'll learn about the little-considered black presence in Canada; Africana also uncovers hidden pockets of black culture in surprising places like Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina (where the Negro population, we discover, was reduced by a process of miscegenation known as blanqueamiento, or whitening). The upper-crust veneer of the Argentine tango is peeled away, revealing the dance's roots in the rhythmic innovations of 19th-century Afro-Argentines. With all of the aforementioned headings and topics, however, it's the special essays that best detail the treasure chest of scholarship of Africana. Robin Kelley examines the volatile clash between "Malcolm X and the Black Bourgeoisie"; Thomas Skidmore deconstructs "Race and Class in Brazil" and the myth of "racial democracy"; Mahmood Mamdani, in "Ethnicity in Rwanda," brilliantly decodes the complex and maddening colonial manipulations that erupted in genocide and made the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups "more political than cultural identities ... one is power and the other is subject."
A splendidly packaged reference work that will adorn libraries and homes for years to come, Africana defines the black experience in the same sweeping way that the Encyclopedia Britannica defined Euro-American civilization. More importantly for young readers, the magnificent collection shows that Africans and the continent's descendants are a truly global people who have made tremendous contributions to human civilization. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Book Description
Drawn from the acclaimed landmark in reference publishing, this incomparable one-volume encyclopedia of the black world is now within reach of every family, student, and educator. It brings the entire Pan-African experience into sharp focus, with entries ranging from "affirmative action" to "zydeco," from each of the most prominent ethnic groups in Africa to each member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Africana will provide hours of reading pleasure through its longer, interpretive essays on the religion, arts, and cultural life of Africans and of black people everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
A Pan-African Dream Deferred Made Real.......2007-02-18
Scholars Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., paid homage to the great W.E.B. Du Bois' dream to produce an encyclopedia cataloguing the achievements and history of the African Diaspora with the publication in 1999 of the massive 2,095-page AFRICANA: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Appiah and Gates duly acknowledge Du Bois' many contributions to history, literature, and the struggle for human rights around the world with: their dedication of the book to him, a regular encyclopedia entry on his achievements, and an "interpretation" by Cornel West of his historical significance.
While AFRICANA is exactly what the title implies, it is also quite a bit more. The book itself represents a major achievement of publishing technology. What Du Bois was not able to accomplish by sheer brain power and intellectual camaraderie, Appiah and Gates achieved through developments in modern communication technology, the computer, and a global team of dedicated intellectuals. The scope of AFRICANA encompasses literature, religion, music, dance, sociology, politics, and, above all, history. In reading the book for pleasure or referencing it for specific topics, one realizes just how much of the African-American and African experience has shaped and defined the greater modern human experience.
Aberjhani
Author of THE WISDOM OF W.E.B. DU BOIS
And ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
No comprehensive Index again!.......2006-05-03
As a university professor in African American Studies, I looked forward to the first edition and bought it. But I was disappointed by the woefully lacking index which is also the case with the 2nd edition.
The five-volume 2nd edition is much easier to handle in terms of weight for each volume than the VERY heavy one volume 1st edition. However, one must wonder how Harvard professors (the editors) could allow a lack of a comprehensive index the second time around.
I bought the 1st edition, but I recommend not buying the 2nd edition. If a future edition has a comprehensive index, I will buy and would urge you to buy, as there is a wealth of information.
As for this (2nd) edition, save your money. Use the volumes at your school/university or community library for good general background information on the African and African American Experience.
Great Coffee Table Book..........2005-09-20
This encyclopedia has plenty of useful information and gives the reader easy access to black history that is not easily researched (especially considering this Eurocentric world we live in). Great to have on your coffee table, exposed, so that guests can have a quick and random look at some black facts and history. This encyclopedia has entries that I would suggest be used to wet your appetite for knowledge and spark your desire to learn more, but not to be used as the sole source of info on any given topic.
Bernadette Pruitt, Ph.D........2005-07-25
Thank you for your promptness. The recipient truly loved the gift. Thank you once again. Bernadette
Where are the black fraternities and sororities?.......2005-07-24
As the author of The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities, I was disappointed to not see any reference to the nine African American Fraternities and Sororities, particularly since W.E.B. DuBois was a member. It seemed like a strange omission for such a comprehensive book.
--
Lawrence C. Ross, Jr.
The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities (author)
The Ways of Black Folks: A Year in the Life of a People (author)
Sometimes Rhythm, Sometimes Blues (contributor)
Friends With Benefits (author: September 2005)
Book Description
Completely updated an expanded Over 1.5 million copies in print The only one-volume mass market paperback encyclopedia available More than 15,000 entries Includes current people and topics such as Bill Gates, Ebola virus, NAFTA and virtual reality Covers virtually every field of knowledge 16-page guide to space, and more than 240 location maps for the United States and foreign countries
Customer Reviews:
Compact and helpful.......2005-12-15
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.
a treasure trove of knowledge.......2005-02-26
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.
A Great Portable Reference!.......2001-01-01
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"!
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- The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
- The Wonder of Boys
- Therapeutic Exercise for Lumbopelvic Stabilization: A Motor Control Approach for the Treatment and Prevention of Low Back Pain
- There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
- There's No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System (Cat in the Hat's Lrning Libry)
- Top-Secret, Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (and Me!)
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