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Publisher: Thomson Gale, Detroit, 2008, $685.
ISBN: 978 1 4144 2877 2. Also available as an e-book (ISBN 978 1 4144 2884 0)
It was once said that dictionaries, for all their apparent objectivity, really are the mirrors of societies that created them. The same might be said of dictionaries and encyclopedias of science and technology, and certainly of the fourth edition of this well-established reference work. Being mirrors, however, does not make them merely passive, and at best, as here, they can be skillful mediators of important ideas. The target market for this encyclopedia is "younger students and general readers", and the aim to provide them "with a foundation upon which to build an understanding of modern science". Topics "are carefully selected to present fundamental information in key areas across the science curriculum and to provide essential information for topics related to current events and issues" (Introduction).
Its availability in print and e-book formats makes good sense given the ways in which such sources are currently used in school and college libraries. The print version (five out of the six volumes were received for review) was reviewed: it is attractive, well-bound, robust, printed in two-columns-per-page on clear strong paper, and contains a wealth of colour illustrations and striking and helpful diagrams. For the fourth edition, the editors tell us that the material throughout has been updated: there are signs of that new material and citations, though at times earlier editions peep through (e.g. "recent research" from 1996 in one entry). There are long and short entries, arranged in sequence rather than in scientific categories. Resources sections are provided for many entries (books, articles, web sites), and cross-references provided that complement the generous index.
To capture the overall flavour, volume 1 contains Aardvark to Centrifuge, volume 2 Ceramics to Eutrophication (where lakes and ponds have too many nutrients in them, in case you have forgotten), volume 3 Evaporation to Lemurs, volume 4 Lens to Plant Diseases, volume 5 Plant Pigmentation to Stress (Ecological), and volume 6 String Theory to Zooplankton, and the general index. Reviewing such a large work, like eating an elephant, is best carried out in small stages, and I used three approaches over several weeks with this elephant - one was to...