2001 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Deluxe

The intelligent organization of this encyclopedia makes it a wise choice for home use. Users can search for any topic by keyword, but they can also access information in other useful ways. For effective browsing, we liked the topical hierarchy, which breaks material into basic categories such as geography, history, language and literature, and the performing arts, among others. Users can also browse through several hundred longer articles--on topics ranging from the Tenth Amendment to Russian Communist Gennady Zyguanov--that make for interesting reading.

There's also an online atlas containing dozens of world maps. (Though there is no zooming functionality, we liked the range of historical maps presented, which show shifting political geography for every continent.) And a separate section for getting started with the often-dreaded research paper can help students find and organize sources.

Boasting plenty of pictures and sound (including excerpts of actual recordings and MIDI files for musical excerpts), this title is truly a multimedia resource. With links to online versions of Grolier's Encyclopedia Americana and its Book of Knowledge, as well as numerous other online sources, this tool makes the most of the Internet. (Parents, rest assured; these links are all responsible sources of information.)

Simple to use and filled with thousands of entries, Grolier's updated version of their electronic encyclopedia continues to set a high standard for online reference. Using both multimedia and Internet resources to good effect, it strikes a wonderful balance between entertainment and education. --Rich Dragan

Amazon.com Product Description
The comprehensive, easy-to-use 2001 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia is packed with the sights and sounds that make learning fun! This two-CD deluxe edition includes more than 60,000 articles (on disc and online) and 46,000 Internet links. Also provided are the new research center with 140 research starters, new related-media gallery, new thesaurus and Spanish dictionary, 200,000-word dictionary, 137 new timelines and chronologies, 16 hours of sound, 1,200 maps, 151 panoramas, over 15,000 images, and much more. Find information more quickly and easily than ever before with a simple interface design, and powerful search and browse features. One-click access to over 50,000 Web links and online resources, plus hundreds of free article updates monthly, make this encyclopedia the right research tool for students of all ages.