Rating: 
Summary: Four star content, minus two for poor binding.
Review: This big, heavy, thick volume is quite a good choice for someone looking for a fairly recent (fully revised 1987, compared to the 1961 Webster's 3rd) unabridged dictionary. The "new words" section at the beginning is a nice feature, if not all that practical, covering lots of new technology terms up to the year 2001. Their choices are a bit haphazard - there's an entry for ACE inhibitors, but nothing for MAOI, SSRI, or proton-pump inhibitors. But the new words section is not the point; it's the rest of the text that matters. It covers just about every word from American English you'll ever need, plus a good number of geographical and biographical entries. So why the two star rating? When I received the book, the front cover binding was already torn and separating. I think Random House may have misstepped when they moved from oversize library cloth binding to 9 x 11 hardback. Maybe it was just a printer error, but I think the binding on this volume is just not enough to support the weight of 2,300 thick pages. In addition, the innermost print columns are too close to the inside binding, making 1/3 of the entries difficult to read. I commend Random House for making an unabridged dictionary available at this price point, but if the book can't hold its own weight, it isn't worth it. I'm exchanging mine for a copy of the New Oxford Dictionary of English (available at Amazon UK), which should cover just as many terms, plus international English, in a more manageable size. The New Oxford American Dictionary is a similar alternative for American English.
Rating: 
Summary: A mixed blessing
Review: This dictionary is of course very complete and easy to you. It gives you a number of ways to find a word including wildcards, Boolean searches, definition searches, and of course a good old A-Z search. What I found particularly useful was the 120,000+ audio pronunciations. Frankly, phonetic spelling has always given me a headache, especially with words like "ennui". I also found the spot maps and illustrations helpful. What's more, you can run this dictionary without the CD-ROM in the drive. (providing you are willing to give up a couple of the bells and whistles)The only thing I really don't like about this software is that it is a full on pain in the neck to get it to function as your Word Dictionary. (even thought it is supposed to) This could possibly been alleviated by at least some rudimentary instructions. There are some on the CD, but they are vague at best. Oh well, not a perfect world. All in all a good product for what it does, although I must admit I do miss the weight of a hardcover unabridged dictionary..
Rating:
Summary: Not a New Edition
Review: This is an excellent dictionary if you do not already have an earlier edition, but this is not a new edition. It is an exact reproduction of the 1987 Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, Unabridged, in a smaller page size, with six and half pages of "new words" in a separate section, and most of the original front matter and supplements (appendices) removed. Many of the "new words" are are new to this dictionary but not to the language, such as "wishing well" and "gematria," which the etymology says first appeared in 1685-95. The CD-ROM is a newer version (3.0) of the software engine than previous editions, but contains the same text as the book, with the "new words" and a few last-minute additions integrated into the main dictionary. In a couple of months, the CD-ROM will be available separately.
Rating: 
Summary: 13 years old!
Review: This is page for page identical to the 1987 edition. All the population figures are from the 1980 census or earlier. Elements 104-107 don't have names. 200 pages of appendices deleted, 6 pages of new words added. Country names and biographical data is updated. Avoid.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best American Unabridged Dictionary
Review: Version 3.1 of this find dictionary has it all. Anagrams, instantly available definitions for all the words in the English language, and easy access. It has been developed for ease of use, the definitions can be easily copied and pasted, and the references are just superlative. In comparing this with the Merriam Webster edition, this one wins hands down.
Rating:
Summary: The Best American Unabridged Dictionary
Review: Version 3.1 of this find dictionary has it all. Anagrams, instantly available definitions for all the words in the English language, and easy access. It has been developed for ease of use, the definitions can be easily copied and pasted, and the references are just superlative. In comparing this with the Merriam Webster edition, this one wins hands down.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to use
Review: Very easy to install and to use.
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