Thread: Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Old 12-04-2014, 06:59 AM   #2
crich70
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
I don't know why, but I've always had a secret lust for a good printed encyclopaedia, so I've just shelled out £50 for an "as new" 1998 edition of the 30-volume "Encyclopaedia Britannica" on eBay . A pretty good price, I think, considering that it sold for several thousand pounds when it was originally published. Even in these days of "Wikipedia" I think there's a great deal to be said for an "authoritative" encyclopaedia which is written by people who actually know what they're talking about? And for me, at least, there's something about a printed volume that a web site doesn't match.

I go to pick it up from the seller on Saturday - it would cost a fortune to post. Now all I have to do is clear some space on my bookshelves to actually store it. It's lucky that I've got rid of almost all my paperbacks over the last few years, so I do have some shelf-space now.

I don't know if anyone's read the very funny book "The Know-It-All" by A.J. Jacobs, in which he sets himself the goal of reading the whole of the EB? I don't know if I want to try to emulate him, but it's certainly a thought! (I highly recommend the book, BTW, if anyone hasn't read it!)

Anyone share my secret passion for encyclopaedias?
I used to have a copy of a set of Britannica from the 50's that I bought cheap from a used book store. Of course I also had a copy of EB on CD-Rom (they stopped supporting it so I can't access it any more). I understand George Washington had a complete set. Of course back then a complete set was just 2 volumes.
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