A reference work of the broadest possible utility, this dictionary contains not only conventional material—over 49,000 vocabulary items with definitions, pronunciation and etymology—but more than 6000 encyclopedic entries, varying from fifty to 250 words on a wide range of subjects, including history, literature, music, cinema, theater, languages, myth and legends, theology, science and technology. Ninety pages of specially drawn illustrations and eight pages of maps enhance the text. Some twenty pages of appendices contain useful weights and measures, chemical elements, U.S. presidents, and much more.Thoroughly up to date, the Dicionary features entries on specific inventions (e.g., the airplane, computer, traffic lights), an entry for each major language, and a brief history of every independent country in the world. Among the general subjects are anesthetics, astrology, astronomy, evolution, Impressionism, the Industrial Revolution, linguistics and printing. Proper name entries cover capital cities and other major metropolises as well as rivers and mountains and significant figures ranging from Charlemagne to Charlie Chaplin, from Darwin to Dickens.About the Author :Joyce M. Hawkins is a member of the Oxford dictionary staff in England. She was a compiler of the Oxford Paperback Dictionary as well as the Oxford American Dictionary , among other works.