The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia

How do you spell 'didgeridoo'? The index of this weighty work confirms the above version, but in the text we are introduced to a 'didgeredoo'. This just goes to show how careful everyone has to be when putting together a mammoth tome like this. But to pick such a nit is not to classify the whole thing as lousy and as a well-expressed reference tool this 'encyclopedia' has much to commend it. The world of 'science' is presented in ten 48-page 'chapters' (although the last one - 'conservation and the environment' - has to make room of eight pages of 'ready reference' as well). So organic chemistry rubs shoulders with organic farming, fibreglass with fibre optics and death-cap fungus with the Dead Sea, as you would expect. Particularly commendable are the illustrations - photographs are only used when they are truly illustrative and most pictures are carefully drawn to demonstrate what they explain. Essential to any subject-classified collection like this is a reliable guide to it - and here a well-composed index, useful glossary and plenty of 'see also' references help. All in all this is a user-friendly, approachable and sensible collection of information which will reward the browser as well as the seeker of specific truths.