What's That?: The Oxford Visual Dictionary of Nearly Everything
John A. Pheby
Tess Press
Nonfiction, Reference
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DESCRIPTION: How high is the troposphere? What are the elements of a building site? What is the name of that shoe with the thick sole and low sides? From atoms to astronomy and textile production to clothes, this book uses diagrams and pictures to put words and concepts in their place.
REVIEW: I grabbed this at Half Price Books for reference (obviously,) but it's kind of fun just to page through now and again. The only similar book I own is What's What?, which also uses diagrams to name parts of everyday items, and this book is much more extensive. I only wish the diagrams themselves were bigger and not quite so cramped. Otherwise, it's a handy little guide, good for specific information or just for paging through on a lazy day.
You might also enjoy:
Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words (Josefa Heifetz Byrne, Nonfiction - A reference book of unusual words in the English language)
The Little Giant Encyclopedia of... books (The Diagram Group, Nonfiction - Quick-reference books on a variety of subjects)
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