Ocean State Libraries

"A 7-volume illustrated, alphabetically arranged set that presents profiles of individual nations and other political/geographical units, including an overview of history, geography, economy, people, culture, and government for each. Includes a history of the settlement of each world region based on archaeological findings; a cumulative index; and Web resources"--Provided by publisher.

A New York Times Notable Book

The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary—and literary history.

The making of the OED was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray,

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"Peter Winceworth, a disaffected Victorian lexicographer, inserts false entries into a dictionary - violating and subverting the dictionary's authority - in an attempt to assert some sense of individual purpose and artistic freedom. In the present day, Mallory, a young overworked and underpaid intern employed by the dictionary's publishing house, is tasked with uncovering these entries before the work is digitised. As the novel progresses and their...

"Zia remembers the exact night the Shadoom arrived. One moment she was laughing with her best friends, and the next a dark room of shadows had crept into her chest ... Until Zia discovers an old family heirloom: the C. Scuro Dictionary ... Hidden within its magical pages is a mysterious blue eraser ... When Zia starts to erase words that remind her of the Shadoom, they disappear one by one from the world around her ... But things quickly dissolve...

An encyclopedia of principles, concepts, and people in the various fields of science and technology.

A general elementary encyclopedia with brief illustrated articles covering an alphabetical array of topics.