Dictionary Reviews

Madeleine and J Lane Miller have written a valuable resource for the study of everyday life in Bible times. The blurb inside the dust jacket says that there are 74 subjects in 14 sections with 150 illustrations. There are sections on geography, homes, food, clothing, medicine, family events, the life of a nomad, the life of a professional, etc.

Let's say one is reading the story of David and Bathsheba. One might turn to the section on military life and read Soldering under David. There one might read that Saul was the first to establish a professional army in Israel rather than depend upon a militia. David added mercenaries to his army. In Israel mercenaries worked for wages but had no rights as a member of an Israelite tribe. A mercenary so totally belonged to the king that when a king died, like a concubine, a mercenary passed on to the king's heir. This raises the question to mind as to whether Uriah the Hittite was a mercenary along with other members of "the Thirty." One then might decide to read the section on Prostitutes. Prostitution did exist in Israel and there may have been temple prostitutes at Shiloh in the pre-monarchial period. Deuteronmic Law prohibited both male and female prostitution, but prostitution was a fact of life throughout the Ancient Near East.

Though the Millers have included a section on the Industrial Life, their book is lacking in discussing the economics of Bible life. There are no chapters on money or taxation. Even so I found this to be a valuable resource. When a favorite sister-in-law admired the book, I gave her my first copy. And then I missed the book so I went out and bought a second copy.

This book really has an excellent cover!

My wife is Russian. I had searched for a good dictionary and was appalled by the translation of a few test words. The deciding factor in getting this one was the word "funny". Oxford and the others had it as "to make fun of". This dictionary had that and the funny that means "what makes you laugh". When ever we need to find what an English word means in Russian, or my wife does not know what the English word is for her Russian word, we go to this book. A great buy.

Arguably the best, most modern and complete Russian dictionary available. It's pretty thick, so fitting it in a brief case or backpack might take some effort.

There is one potential problem: In the Russian section, the individual letter sub-sections has a header in big ITALICIZED upper- and lower-case letters that look nothing like their non-italicized equivalents. Take, for example, the Russian letter T. A lower-case T does not look like our "t," but rather like the original "T," only smaller. But the ITALICIZED lower-case T doesn't look like "T," but rather like "m." I hope I'm not confusing you; it's just something to look out for.

If you have a chance to browse through a dictionary before buying it, please do so. Make sure it contains all the vocabulary you'll need, and that the word entries are presented as concisely and attractively as you wish. That said, I feel this Russian dictionary lives up to those requirements.

I have used Harrap's French, German, and Spanish language dictionaries extensively and can offer no higher endorsement than this: they will be the dictionary of choice for all my foreign language students from now on. The dictionaries are idiomatic, informative, easy-to-use and wider-reaching than any other resource I've used. You will not be disappointed with this purchase!

I am a high school student who recently decided that I want to learn how to speak spanish. I spent the summer in Costa Rica and struggled a lot with a lot of dictionaries. Harrap's was the one that had the most common words and more. It made it easier in school because I was always sure that the word would be in there.

Bueno, la primera cosa es que no he leido las palabritas ni el diccionario pues no puedo decir. Pero que bonito parece! No me digas que no sabes lo que estoy diciendo porque se puede ahorita por la manera de este libro!

Moderately priced, this book does not short change you on vocabulary. Each word defined is given in context, whether going from English to Spanish or Spanish to English, along with abundant idiomatic uses of the word. This is the perfect reference dictionary that can be carried with ease for reference anywhere; it won't leave you without the word you need and it won't encourage you to misuse the word or word forms, as is easy to do when "word shopping."

I agree with the previous reviewer. This is the best single dictionary on the market (or not on the market it appears). My copy is 7+ years old and still going strong. The vinyl cover is a godsend.

And the content can't be beat. You'll find an incredibly rich variety of definition within even a single word listing. By contrast, I always find the definitions in the so-called 'standard' (Chicago) dictionary to be severely lacking.

Bring back the vinyl, por favor.

I'm a Spanish teacher and have looked at many, many Spanish English dictionaries for my use, but especially for my students. Harrap's Mini (with the vinyl cover) is, by far, the best one I've found. I doesn't fall apart, like the paperbacks I have bought for classroom use, and it has more words and better definitions than any other compact dictionary I've found. I give it five stars. However, it is out of print and has been replaced by a paperback, which has the problems of all paperbacks after continuous use by students. The new one falls apart. Please write to the Publisher (MacMillan USA) and ask them to reprint this dictionary.

One word. Wow! This book, combined with The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, makes a great resource for serious musicians, amateurs, and students alike. The near 6000 entries make this reference the best for its price. I've used the Baker on several occasions. While the Baker is certainly more comprehensive, a glance at its price (~$90) is enough to make one think twice. The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, with its bargain price, is a must buy. Couple it with The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (which is the same price as the Biographical Dictionary), and you will have an unbeatable musical resource at your disposal. If you are REALLY tight on budget, then perhaps you may want to check out the Oxford Dictionary of Music. It accomplishes in 1 volume (and ~$34 compared to the Harvards' $54 combined) what the Harvard Dictionaries do in 2, though (understandably) to a much lesser extent. Nevertheless, the Harvard music references are still great buys, especially if you have a little extra cash to expend.

Written by over 70 top musicologists, this splendid reference focuses on composers but also includes a generous selection of performers, theorists, and instrument makers, of all eras and genres, in nearly 6,000 entries.
Biographical details are of course provided, with a brief professional resume, (with longer entries for composers of greater significance), an accounting of major works, and a discerning bibliography where appropriate. The authors mention lifestyle issues when they bear heavily on the career of the subject (e.g., Chet Baker's heroin addiction), but the emphasis is on music, as it should be.
Coverage runs from Edouard Lalo to Little Richard, Johann Friedrich Fasch to Johnny Rotten, so whatever the musical taste, this dictionary will be useful. Highly recommended for music lovers of all persuasions.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

You will never see a book like this again. Mark Hale has created the perfect manual to research metal history. This is the History of Metal, all meat no filler! This book also has some great promo photos of bands that a true fan of metal will enjoy

I first saw this book at my local library back in 1995. I had to have one for myself. This book lists hard rock/heavy metal bands from the 60's to about 1991. it cross-references bands and their members and give record label and catalog number information. This is a must for any metal head. Do not bother with Martin Popoff's Heavy Metal Guide, it's very biased. This book just lists the facts as Mark Hale researched them. i recently showed it to Jon Schaffer of iced Earth and James Rivera of Helstar and they were very impressed. It's well worth the price.

The fourth edition of Slee's Health Care Terms is an outstanding reference. Health care has become too complex to live without this book on your office shelf. It provides thousands of clean and crisp definitions, each carefully constructed to get right to the point. Written by a physician and two attorneys, this comprehensive book is an essential desk reference for physicians, health care managers, nurses, and students.

You may think you know the terms in your field and perhaps you do - but your field, whatever it may be, is just one part of the large world of health care. Management, finance, purchasing, quality, managed care - you name it the terms are covered.

You probably have a nice dictionary and thesaurus in your home and your office. Well, if you are involved in the business of health care, you also need Slee's Health Care Terms.

If one's field touches on the medical profession, insurance, or any other area concerned with the bureaucracy. . .this is an essential aid in unraveling and clarifying-insofar as is possible-the verbiage that assails one from all sides.

As reviewed by Laurence Urdang, in the Winter, 1997 (Vol. XXIII, No. 3) issue of VERBATIM, The Language Quarterly.

The degree of cross-reference terms is superb, with acronyms as well as expended terms. Very useful ... I carry it with me!

This book hits a large cross section of audiences for the complex healthcare IT industry of vendors, user, federal, DoD, Long-Term Care, Hospitals, HMOs, and other.(...)

A quote from my tutor, Ruchama Schechter, (she is from Jerusalem) "Teaching Hebrew with this book made me realize again how much I love Hebrew!"

This is a text book that kept me interested at all times. Each unit begins with a story - each one is warm, funny, and/or touching. They involve everyday life, as well as bible stories. The book is alive, and if you put in only a few hours per week, you can finish it in three months or less. After finishing the first book -Level 1- and this one, you will then be able to read Hebrew text from the Chumash, and it will change your sense of the Five Books of Moses