Rating: 
Summary: A priceless and immense storehouse of knowledge
Review: Everyone who is seriously interested in studying and understanding English, of whatever kind and whatever period, should have this book. Anyone who is a PROFESSIONAL scholar of English MUST have it in order to carry out research, or even proper teaching. There is no equivalent to the OED, which is far more comprehensive than anything one might seek to compare it with. And this cheap edition is excellent value. I myself cannot use it without a magnifying glass, but that is only a minor inconvenience. The print is excellent for what it is, and not only is the price of the book low, but it is much handier to use than any other version of the OED.The second edition (which this is) incorporates a fair bit of new material, but much more often on very recent words than old or "perennial" ones: for a reader like myself, chiefly interested in older words or older meanings of words still current, the essential work was in essence done, already, for the first edition. A disappointing feature of the second (1991) edition (here under review) is that the opportunity was NOT used to do supplementary work in areas in which the OED's information had always been deficient. This is notably the case when one looks for explanations of words, or senses of words, held "indecent" at the time the original dictionary was compiled. Anyone who wishes to find out what e.g. bawdy quibbles in Shakespeare mean will have to look farther afield: the best (but very expensive and in some ways hard-to-use) book would be Gordon Williams's *Dictionary of Sexual Language amd Imagery in Shakespearean and Stuart Literature*, but Eric Partridge's *Shakespeare's Bawdy* is often helpful also, and much cheaper. But a good deal of work in this area still remains to be done: see e.g. Joost Daalder and Antony Telford Moore: "*Mandrakes* and *Whiblins* in *The Honest Whore*" (*Studies in Philology*, Fall 1997, 494-507). Another area where the OED is not strong is that of proverbs and sayings, for which one needs to consult e.g. *The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs*. But to say that the OED is not complete is not to suggest that it often lets one down. It does not, and especially its work on the HISTORY of words (their etymology, developing meanings, etc.) will never be replaced, and provides help which simply cannot be found anywhere else. Obviously, one will never regret owning this monumental, informative and stimulating work. Readers should NOT assume that an abridged version will be an adequate replacement or only leave out inessentials: it is "the complete article" one should buy, nothing less. The history of the creation of the OED is a fascinating subject by itself. A book offering great insight into its main lexicographer, James Murray, is *Caught in the Web of Words*, by Elisabeth Murray, which is well worth reading. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia)
Rating:
Summary: God's Gift to the English Language
Review: For about five months I've been using the Compact Oxford to look up unfamilar words. I came across a word recently while reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown---wolf's bane--that I could not find in any Merriam Webster dictionary, including the Third New International. When I slid volume two of the Compact Oxford from the slipcase and grabbed the magnifying glass and turned to the W's, there I found wolf's bane, on page 3807. I was delighted. I have found other words in the Oxford that I have not found in other dictionaries, such as those words used by many British authors. I love the dictionary. I like to feel its solid heftiness in my hands and I like to read the etymology of each word, which the Oxford so aptly provides. The $260 is a great deal. Try checking the price of the 20 volume set! I recommend this set to all lovers of the English language.
Rating:
Summary: Essential for any serious lover of words
Review: Forget the CD-ROM version, this print edition is the way to go. Fantastic etymological history for any and every word. The level of historical detail is phenomenal. Kudos to the entire OED staff for continuing to make this the ultimate word reference source.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: I have created a shrine to my OED. It is the point of reference for an entire room. Don't forget to turn a page of each volume every day. That's how my day begins. Then I pick a word from each page and use it in my conversation. Owning this dictionary is a dream come true.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: I have created a shrine to my OED. It is the point of reference for an entire room. Don't forget to turn a page of each volume every day. That's how my day begins. Then I pick a word from each page and use it in my conversation. Owning this dictionary is a dream come true.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful book, but hard to use
Review: I have no complaints about the actual content of the book - this is by far the best dictionary in the world - but everyone should seriously consider whether they want to spend this much money to look at text the size of microfiche print. That isn't an exaggeration; each page actually looks like it has several of those little microfiche slides printed on it. Even with the magnifying glass, the print is incredibly tiny, and anyone at all far-sighted should stay away from this book. Although I appreciate the efforts of the OED to put so much material into one book, the product is just too unwieldy - to hold, to read, to carry around. In addition to the print being tiny, the book is huge. It's nice as an object, but as a functional dictionary it proves to be rather inconvenient - especially if you don't have a nice big stand for it to rest on, which I don't. I really dislike staring at a computer screen, and prefer to get a paper copy of any text if at all possible - but for the OED that isn't economically feasible. I didn't want the abridged version, and buying all twenty volumes is prohibitively expensive - so I really do recommend the CD Rom version or subscribing to the dictionary online if you have Internet access. You can't really browse in those, which is too bad, but you can't really browse while trawling around this Lilliputian thicket of letters with a magnifying glass either. The electronic sources have the additional feature of being searchable by multiple terms, so you can find quotes from a particular author, or book - and many other things that aren't possible with paper. Buy this if you only plan on dipping into it on rare occasions, and want a lovely object, but there are better options for people really hoping to use it as a dictionary.
Rating:
Summary: You must own it to believe it...
Review: I own the "Compact" edition of the OED, and to be perfectly frank there are problems with this particular edition. There are nine pages of the original dictionary reproduced on each page of the compact edition, and it is at times difficult to read. A very fine magnifier is included with the volume but if you have vision problems you may still want to think about other options. That being said, I still give this book the highest possible rating. The advantages of owning a complete OED trumps any asthetic problems the volume might have. By owning an unabridged OED, you have in your hands the finest dictionary in the world and the ultimate tool for writing and enjoying the english language. I never believed I would ever say this, but I actually do read the dictionary for fun. It is simply that amazing. Further, the price makes this the most inexepensive OED on the market, cheaper than the terrible CD-Rom and of course less expensive than the 20 volume set. Now is the time to get the OED. To sum up, if you want any old dictionary, find something cheaper and smaller. If you want a book you will someday give to your grandchildren, to watch them enjoy as you have, buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: You must own it to believe it...
Review: I own the "Compact" edition of the OED, and to be perfectly frank there are problems with this particular edition. There are nine pages of the original dictionary reproduced on each page of the compact edition, and it is at times difficult to read. A very fine magnifier is included with the volume but if you have vision problems you may still want to think about other options. That being said, I still give this book the highest possible rating. The advantages of owning a complete OED trumps any asthetic problems the volume might have. By owning an unabridged OED, you have in your hands the finest dictionary in the world and the ultimate tool for writing and enjoying the english language. I never believed I would ever say this, but I actually do read the dictionary for fun. It is simply that amazing. Further, the price makes this the most inexepensive OED on the market, cheaper than the terrible CD-Rom and of course less expensive than the 20 volume set. Now is the time to get the OED. To sum up, if you want any old dictionary, find something cheaper and smaller. If you want a book you will someday give to your grandchildren, to watch them enjoy as you have, buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite the format I was expecting
Review: I own the first edition, which comes in two volumes with only four original pages photo-reduced onto each condensed page. That one came with a magnifying glass too, but I never use it. This edition is one volume, and NINE original pages per condensed page. The text is so small that the magnifying glass is now a necessity, and even with the magnifier it's pretty darn small. There is no substitute, so buy it anyway. adj
Rating: 
Summary: Would Have Loved To Keep But Couldn't Read
Review: I wanted this Dictionary the moment I heard about it... I was finally able to order it this month and was extremely sad to have to return it because despite having fairly decent eye sight even with the magnifying glass there were many parts of the dictionary I could not read. Who knew small microfiche type could get smaller. The magnifying glass provided doesn't encompass an entire column so to read a section you have to move it back and forth and it becomes difficult to keep track of which line you're on. I considered purchasing a stronger and larger magnifying glass but it also took a lot of time to find a word and I realized that after spending all that money I may not utilize it as often because of it's difficulties.
What I would recommend to those considering this dictionary is to be honest with yourself. I thought to sell such a dictionary you'd have to be able to read it with the magnifier or what was the use but it really is a challenge so how much time do you want to spend looking around for a word and strain while trying to focus and read. I am now saving for the full 20 volume set because heck only $600 more and you have a lovely, readable set.
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