Science author Allaby (Illustrated Dictionary of Science; A Dictionary of Earth Sciences) has compiled more of a dictionary than an encyclopedia, covering roughly 3000 alphabetically arranged terms pertaining to climatology and meteorology, as well as geology, biology, and astronomy.

This is not a dictionary of academic terms you might have been expected to learn in school. Nor is it a dictionary directed to travelers in foreign lands from which you are supposed to learn scores of terms about ordering your dinner in restaurants, or learning to get about in a train station, or arguing with concierges about the state of your hotel room or the high amount of your bill. It is, rather, a dictionary to help you elucidate what you come across every day in newspapers or hear on television. Its choice of terms and directness of style reflect the immediacy of everyday discourse. Thus it is a unique and exceptionally useful addition to the genre of special dictionaries.

Take an eyewitness view of the complexities, atrocities, and heroics of war with World War II, from DK's Eyewitness series. In keeping with all the books in this remarkable reference collection, pages are jam-packed with crisp, vivid photographs, illustrations, documents, and maps, as well as fascinating narrative and captions. Under chapter headings such as "A world divided," "Bombing raids," "Women at work," "Road to Stalingrad," "Propaganda and morale," "The Holocaust," "D-Day invasion," and "The atomic bomb," the events of the war are described and illustrated in compelling detail.

Incorporating the new terms and research compiled in the last few years in this field, The Facts On File Dictionary of Biology, Fourth Edition clearly defines the basic principles and terms used in this widely studied branch of science. Approximately 300 new entries have been added to reflect new information, and current entries and back matter have been revised as needed. Pronuciation symbols have been added, and many photographs have been replaced. Pairing rich content with an accessible format, this science dictionary is ideal for high school and college classrooms and libraries, and will be useful to specialists and laypeople alike.