Talanta
As a source of scientific information it must be rated highly.
Library Journal
It has been seven years since this well-known science reference has been updated, and in appearance and format much remains the same. The number of entries has expanded from 7300 to more than 8000, with new articles in areas such as genetics, computer science, climate, medicine, and space exploration. Although there are over 300 contributors, most articles are not signed. The articles range in length from a one-sentence definition to several pages. The longer pieces have a list of suggested readings, which have been updated and now include important web sites. Biographical entries are new to this edition, as are the time lines and glossaries included with larger articles. The simple alphabetical arrangement, cross references, and index help the user find the appropriate section, but the organization is somewhat puzzling. For example, there is an entry for "Volcano," but the tables listing major volcanoes and eruptions are within the "Earth" article. Van Nostrand's is comparable to the one-volume McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 4th ed. Both span a wide range of disciplines, but each covers a number of unique topics, making the two sources complementary. Aimed at a more academic audience, Van Nostrand's is ultimately more in-depth and more technical than McGraw-Hill's. Although Van Nostrand's has a few typographical errors and could improve its organization and indexing, it is still one of the best concise encyclopedias for the sciences. Recommended for all libraries.-Teresa Berry, Univ. of Tennessee Libs., Knoxville Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
This, the seventh edition of a well-known reference work, now appears in a two-volume format. That in itself is probably incentive enough to encourage replacement of the unwieldy sixth edition, published in 1983. Since there is little doubt that most local libraries have a copy of a scientific encyclopedia, the only question is whether this new edition has kept pace with the knowledge explosion. It has. The greatest changes are exactly where one would expect to find them. There are whole new sections on computer-related topics, such as local area networks (LANs) and machine vision; similarly, developments in materials science, such as the section on semiconductors, are given expanded coverage. Perhaps the most satisfying revisions are those on planetary astronomy, which incorporate the new information garnered by the Voyager fly-bys of the outer planets. Thus, the article on Uranus has been expanded from two to six pages, enough to provide a solid introduction for a student. One drawback is that certain broad topics are difficult to find; in mathematics, for example, there was no apparent entry for either chaos, catastrophe theory, or dynamical systems. Additionally, there is almost nothing on history of science or biography of scientists. Thus, if one looks up Fermi, one finds the definition of a unit of length but no mention that it was named after a person. Similarly, there is an article entitled ``Evolution,'' but nothing under Darwin. Nevertheless, this is probably the best scientific encyclopedia available.Harold D. Shane, Baruch Coll., CUNY
From The Critics
First published in 1938, this desktop science encyclopedia has been published in two volumes beginning with the sixth edition. It is edited by Douglas Considine and Glenn Considine. Distinguished in their respective fields of engineering and information management, they are also the editors of several other well-known technical reference books (e.g., "Van Nostrand Reinhold Encyclopedia of Chemistry"). Approximately 250 scientists, engineers, and educators from eight different countries contributed to this new edition "Van Nostrand's" covers the six general areas of earth and space sciences, life sciences, energy and environmental science, materials science, physics and chemistry, and mathematics and information sciences. Where appropriate, entries have an identifying tag (e.g., "Bond" [Chemical]). The length of entries varies from one sentence ("Aeolian Tones") to 11 pages ("Climate"). Only the longer entries are signed by their authors and have appended reading lists. The entries appear to be current. For example, "Jupiter" mentions the "Ulysses" satellite flyby of the planet in 1992, and 13 new readings have been added to its bibliography. "Telescope" has been expanded from 8 to 12 pages, has several new illustrations, and its bibliography is twice as long. This entry mentions the 1993 corrections to the "Hubble Space Telescope". Similarly, the coverage under "Television" has been expanded to include a discussion of high-definition television, with mention of developments as recent as 1994. This work does not contain any biographies. Information on symbols and mathematical conversions is found under "Units and Standards" This encyclopedia has a good history of revision. A comparison with the previous edition shows that about 200 new pages have been added to the text. There are approximately 7,300 entries, an increase of several hundred. Throughout the text are many appropriately placed black-and-white photographs, line drawings, tables, charts, and diagrams. In the past this work has been criticized for the quality of its illustrations. There are several instances in this new edition of attempts to improve the contrast and size of photographs The index now appears at the end of each volume so the volumes can be used independently. A sampling determined that there are approximately 12,600 index entries and more than 5,300 cross-references in the text. This dual system of cross-references and indexing is barely adequate The only comparable work is the "McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science & Technology" ["RBB" N 15 94]. It has 7,700 alphabetically arranged entries, 1,700 illustrations, and an outstanding index of 30,000 citations. More than 3,000 authors contributed to the work, and all articles are signed. There is a bibliography of databases and appendixes of conversion units, symbols and abbreviations, and a classification of living organisms. In addition, there is a list of important scientists. "McGraw-Hill" is clearly superior in illustration quality and indexing. In contrast, "Van Nostrand's" has almost twice the number of pages and longer entries than "McGraw-Hill". Academic, public, and high-school libraries should consider "Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia" for their collections.
Booknews
<:st>This quick and easy to search CD-ROM contains an updated version of the 1996 two-volume eighth edition, about which wrote: "A new edition of the massive and definitive science encyclopedia (cited in and , originally appearing in 1938 and continuing its expansive tradition in this volume to include the most up to date scientific findings and controversies. umbrellas earth and space sciences, energy and environmental sciences, materials sciences, physics and chemistry, and mathematics and information sciences. Each major category is subdivided into its related parts and presented with careful attention to the social ramifications of the subject matter, as well as explaining material in a comprehensible and witty manner. Some of the new information tackled in this publication includes chaos theory, new glass processes, oncology, galaxy drift, and genetic mapping. Liberally salted with illustrations, photographs, and diagrams." Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
