The Concord Desk Encyclopedia

New York: Concord Reference Books, Inc, 1982. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback in slipcase. Good/No DJ issued. 3 volumes in slipcase (worn, edge tear, in fair condition).1311 pages, Illustrations (some with color). Maps. For the contemporary research, the CONCORD DESK ENCYCLOPEDIA offers a unique combination of strengths: first, basic coverage of all fields of knowlddge appropriate for the student and the intelligent reader; second, up-to-date coverage of the conermporary world scene--politics, literature, science, art, film, sports--to an extent impossible for larger, more costly encyclopedias. In no major encclopdeia, for example, is the reader likely to find articles on Bill Tilden and John McEnroe, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, Space Exploration and Voyagers I and II, Computers and Electronic Games, Baseball and Baseball Strike, Economics and Supply-Side Economics, Fundamentalism and Moral Majority, Iran and Hostage Crisis. The CONCORD DESK ENCYCLOPEDIA--concise, compact, up to date, contains over 18,000 articles and one million words. Location maps accompany the articles on 175 countries and 50 US states. Two 32-page color portfolios provide a world atlas and a series of instructive picture essays on the human body, the earth, and astronomy. All entries are listed in alphabetical order. Keywords appear in the form most familiar to the majority of readers. An encyclopedia (American English), or encyclopaedia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by article name or by thematic categories, or else are hyperlinked and searchable by random access. Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries. Generally speaking, encyclopedia articles focus on factual information concerning the subject named in the article's title; this is unlike dictionary entries, which focus on linguistic information about words, such as their etymology, meaning, pronunciation, use, and grammatical forms. Encyclopedias have existed for around 2,000 years and have evolved considerably during that time as regards language (written in a major international or a vernacular language), size (few or many volumes), intent (presentation of a global or a limited range of knowledge), cultural perspective (authoritative, ideological, didactic, utilitarian), authorship (qualifications, style), readership (education level, background, interests, capabilities), and the technologies available for their production and distribution (hand-written manuscripts, small or large print runs, Internet). As a valued source of reliable information compiled by experts, printed versions found a prominent place in libraries, schools and other educational institutions. The appearance of digital and open-source versions in the 21st century, such as Wikipedia, has vastly expanded the accessibility, authorship, readership, and variety of encyclopedia entries.