Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2006 2006: Written by Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006 Edition, Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica (UK) Ltd [Hardcover]

I think both books are outstanding, and more complementary than rivals. In fact, I use both. Nevertheless, there are some differences (but both are made in USA, and very USA focused).Columbia’s big dimensions and weight (8.9 pounds/4 kg) make almost necessary to read it on a desk. Britannica Concise (BCE) is 6.7 pounds/3 kg and smaller.Both utilize an extremely small font size. Columbia contains 6.5 million words. BCE “only” 2.6.Britannica C has over 2000 photographs, maps, tables, drawings, color illustrations; nations flags ... In Columbia, illustrations are sparse, limited to about 500 black-and-white line drawings.Columbia’s 6th edition stopped in 1999. BCE is of April 2003 and is edited every year in spring, but I don’t know if they are going to update it or not.Britannica Concise has articles like Super Bowl, Viagra, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Big Stick Policy, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day ... that don’t exist in Columbia.Quantity does not always mean Quality. B Concise seems to be more shrewd, witty and, by the way, less subjective.As I said before, both books are outstanding and complementary.

Let me give you an example of the great comprehensiveness of this volume...Yesterday, I happened to watch a re-run of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, the episode in which Picard talks about Fermat's Last Theorem, how it might never be proved. Remembering that it was proved some years ago, I looked up "Fermat's Last Theorem" in my BCE and saw that it had been finally been proved in 1994. Finding an episode guide for ST:TNG online, I saw that that particular episode had been first broadcast in '89. It was really cute to see that the theorem, first referred to in Fermat's notebook in 1637 (!!), was finally proved only 5 years after Picard was made to say that it might never be done.(Moral of the story: "Never say never"!!)

Nice and to the point. This is a productive way to increase your knowledge economically. This encyclopedia can serve as a "filter" to determine whether the subject that you are reviewing merits more commitment of your time, and subsequent understanding. The use of maps, tables, photos and other illustrations is complementary and well-considered. If one is looking for longer length articles more akin to those found in a multi-volume encylopedia, one should consider The Columbia Encyclopedia. The CE sacrifices relative portability, photos and illustrations and it is largely a word-only tome.

I am very happy with this power of knowledge in my bookshelf. Thanks.