World Book Encyclopedia
 |
|
| Country |
 United States
|
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | 22-volumes |
| Subject | General |
| Genre | Reference encyclopedia |
| Publisher | Scott Fetzer Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway |
|
Publication date
|
1917 |
| Media type | Publication |
| 031.21 | |
| LC Class | AE5 .W55 |
The World Book Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia published in the United States. The encyclopedia was designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, and medical subjects. It is based in Chicago, Illinois. The first edition (1917) contained eight volumes. New editions have since appeared every year except 1920, 1924, and 1932, with major revisions in 1929 (13 volumes), 1947 (19 volumes), 1960 (20 volumes), 1971 (22 volumes), and 1988 (new typeface and page design, and some 10,000 new editorial features). Today, the company claims that World Book is the most up-to-date commercial encyclopedia, with over 2,500 pages of more than 14,000 updated in 2016.
World Book also publishes children’s non-fiction and picture books under the Bright Connections Media imprint, and educational development and supplemental instructional resources through Incentive Publications by World Book.
The 1917 edition was published by the Hanson-Roach-Fowler Company, but within two years, World Book became the property of W.F. Quarrie & Company. In 1945, the World Book became the property of Field Enterprises. In 1978, World Book was purchased by Scott Fetzer Company, which in turn has been a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1985.
The first edition of The World Book Encyclopedia was published in 1917. "As a rule," writes Editor Michael Vincent O'Shea in the preface of that first edition, "encyclopedias are apt to be quite formal and technical. A faithful effort has been made in the World Book to avoid this common defect." Since the encyclopedia first appeared in print, it has grown from 8 volumes to 22 volumes, from a set with limited color plates to one with color throughout. Over the years, the World Book has been characterized by its design. Unlike most other encyclopedias, it is traditionally published in variously sized volumes, depending on the letter of the alphabet. Although most volumes cover exactly one letter completely, the letters with exceptionally numerous entries ("C" and "S") are divided between two volumes, while adjacent letters with relatively few entries ("J"–"K", "N"–"O", "Q"–"R", "U"–"V", and "W"–"Z") share a volume. World Book editors lay out major articles distinctly, often starting them on a page of their own, perhaps with a two-column heading. Materials are reviewed and authored by experts. It recognizes that one of the primary uses of general-purpose encyclopedias is students' work on school reports. For instance, every article for a U.S. state has a box giving information about such things as the official state bird and tree and each President of the United States gets a very distinctive look with an oversized portrait, a timeline and significant historical events that occurred during that president's administration.
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