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Title: The American Heritage Dictionary : Fourth Edition by Houghton Mifflin Company ISBN: 0-440-23701-7 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 26 June, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.04 (27 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Curious omissions mar an otherwise good effort
Comment: Overall, I have been favorably impressed with "The American Heritage Dictionary," fourth edition (paperback). At under 1,000 pages, it strikes a good balance between compactness and comprehensiveness. But on closer look, I found some faults.
The dictionary's good points are plainly visible. It has an easy-on-the eyes arrangement. There are many good illustrative photographs. There are brief biographical and geographical entries interspersed among the general entries.
Now for the drawbacks. First: Where are the cuss words? That might seem like an odd criticism, but slang and vulgar words ARE a part of the English language--a part which, furthermore, often turns up in works of literature. I see no justification for leaving out the notorious "f-word" and its colorful brethren.
The dictionary is also oddly inconsistent in noting that some "acceptable" words also have uses as vulgar slang. Yes, the compilers note that "bitch" has a rude meaning in addition to its proper definition. But they fail to provide similar data for many comparable terms.
I also noted another curious flaw: the definitions of certain words derived from people's names (Kafkaesque, Wagnerian, etc.) are not given at all. These words are just tacked on as undefined appendages to the brief biographical entries. So if someone tells you that their life is a Kafkaesque nightmare and you don't know what they mean, this dictionary will be useless to you.
I just recently purchased this dictionary, but my early inspection of the product has certainly left me with some doubts. Hopefully the next edition will correct these problems, and other flaws that my fellow users discover.
Rating: 4
Summary: Journying through the English Language -- AHD 4th Edition
Comment: The Fourth Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary has preserved all the best features of the Third Edition -- and the illustrations are now in color! While it is easier to look up words on a CD-ROM, it is worth buying the book, too, because readers can find much interesting information browsing through it. Everywhere, there are interesting word histories, usage notes, notes on regional usages and notes on recent changes in the English language.
An appendix with Indo-European roots, while somewhat technical, provides a wealth of interesting information. Readers can learn, for instance, that a commonly-used obscenity is derived from the same Indo-European root as the word "science."
The new edition has added an index of roots from the Semitic languages which have found their way into English, including in the names of people in the Bible.
The many features of this dictionary make it more than just an ordinary reference book. It can provide many hours of pleasure wandering through its pages.
Rating: 5
Summary: My Favorite Dictionary
Comment: I first saw this dictionary in a bookstore. I'll admit I was initially drawn to it because it was on sale, but upon leafing through it I was impressed with its layout, design and ease on the eyes. I ordered one from Amazon (which was cheaper than the bookstore even on sale) in the next few days.
I'm so happy I did because this is the best dictionary I've used. It's so easy to search through mainly because of one important detail - color. The words are not just bolded, but bolded in green while the definitions are in black. This makes the word you are looking for pop out at you. Also there are many pictures and pages upon pages of language, its history and roots. Perusing all this added information is fascinating as well as educational. It's obvious from the amount of detail that much care has been put into this dictionary. It's begun me on a journey of appreciating language in a way I never would have ever considered before.
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Title: Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus by Bartlett's ISBN: 0316101389 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 01 August, 1996 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition by University of Chicago Press Staff ISBN: 0226104036 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $55.00 |
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Title: Roget International Thesaurus Indexed Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer ISBN: 0060185759 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 15 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus : Updated & Expanded 2nd Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer ISBN: 0440235138 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 13 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language CD-ROM by Editors of The American Heritage Dictionaries, Editors of The American Heritage Dictionaries ISBN: 0618094555 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 15 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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