MacKiev 10579 World Book Encyclopedia 2008 - Macintosh

While we didn't want to invest in an encyclopedia set, we wanted something more than hoping around the internet for information. So we purchased this for our 10 year old. While there is a lot of information presented in this encyclopedia, what is presented is very brief with very depth. The addition of media audio and video is something a book based encyclopedia can't provide, but the small size and short clips almost don't seem worth it. Lastly, the maps are small, and with the advent of Google and Yahoo Maps interactivity, the maps are archaic.If you're looking for very brief summaries on a variety of topics, this is a good place to start. If you're wanting something just a bit more, you'll be disappointed.For what you get, I believe the price is too high and overrated.

Nice encyclopedia. I use it from time to time. However I wish that it had the full World Book dictionary.

I am a teacher and graduate student (over 60 hours) and have used this resource for several projects. It came installed on my iBook G4 which I got in January '06. When the '08 version came out, I was contacted as the registered user and purchased the new edition immediately. For $25 how can one go wrong?The web is an open book - no telling where a child or student can end up. With the software edition of the World Book Encyclopedia, the resources are validated. Further, every subject article is written by a scholar from a well-known university. Hardly lightweight, brief, or of questionable truth, as can happen "on the web" and even with google, and other search engines, which are only as valid as the materials they bring up.Having researched Italy for a cultural project, I learned that the materials available were anything but brief. The maps were lovely, and easily enlarged (just zoom in, or resize), and I was able to copy and paste, and attribute these resources to the source. I wish I had more reasons to use the encyclopedia, I have enjoyed using it that much.Today I am online looking it up so I can include a hyperlink to it from my web site for my students to find this it on Amazon and purchase. I suggest that you do the same. :)Enjoy!