Rating: 
Summary: Just Get it!
Review: I did get it. I ignored the negative reviews. Do yourself a favor, get this wonderful dictionary and you will feel, as I did, very happy with it. At the price it's offered is a bargain. Do yourself another favor: get the CD-Rom is worth the investment. Every time I open it to look for a specific description, I find myself reading other stuff. Very informative, pictures and graphics are clear, the quality (paper, lettering, etc.) are top grade. For basic reference and quick info this dictionary is a MUST HAVE!
Rating:
Summary: If You Only Want One Dictionary [Only One?!?], This Is It!
Review: I feel very qualified to review the 4th edition of the American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language. I've been using this now classic dictionary since the first edition. The 4th edition is currently under my left elbow and my earlier editions are in my classroom. It is the family Scrabble dictionary [the 4th edition contains the word 'vug'; the 1st edition didn't and I lost a word challange my grandmother made, and a Scrabble game, because of it]. My deep love of this dictionary started in the 8th grade when Mr. Code assigned our class a slang dictionary assignment. Not only did the dictionary contain definitions of slang words, but the histories of the words as well. The new edition has color pictures and the words are printed in blue green instead of black. The pictures seem sharper in this edition, but I can't tell you if that's due to their being printed in color or because they're printed at a higher resolution and would've been sharper in black and white also. I like the fact that the words are printed in color; my eyes have never worked very well and the color makes it easier to find the words. As a bonus, this delightful dictionary has made it onto banned book lists multiple times [four letter words and all]. If you have to have only one dictionary [how could you stand to have only one dictionary?!?], then it is my opinion that this is the one you should own. And for those folks who think that spell checkers have replaced dictionaries, these reviews must be done without a spell checker [the dictionary lists spell checker first and spellchecker second] button, and you can't browse through a spell checker.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Dictionary
Review: I first saw this dictionary in a bookstore. I'll admit I was initially drawn to it because it was on sale, but upon leafing through it I was impressed with its layout, design and ease on the eyes. I ordered one from Amazon (which was cheaper than the bookstore even on sale) in the next few days.I'm so happy I did because this is the best dictionary I've used. It's so easy to search through mainly because of one important detail - color. The words are not just bolded, but bolded in green while the definitions are in black. This makes the word you are looking for pop out at you. Also there are many pictures and pages upon pages of language, its history and roots. Perusing all this added information is fascinating as well as educational. It's obvious from the amount of detail that much care has been put into this dictionary. It's begun me on a journey of appreciating language in a way I never would have ever considered before.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Dictionary
Review: I first saw this dictionary in a bookstore. I'll admit I was initially drawn to it because it was on sale, but upon leafing through it I was impressed with its layout, design and ease on the eyes. I ordered one from Amazon (which was cheaper than the bookstore even on sale) in the next few days. I'm so happy I did because this is the best dictionary I've used. It's so easy to search through mainly because of one important detail - color. The words are not just bolded, but bolded in green while the definitions are in black. This makes the word you are looking for pop out at you. Also there are many pictures and pages upon pages of language, its history and roots. Perusing all this added information is fascinating as well as educational. It's obvious from the amount of detail that much care has been put into this dictionary. It's begun me on a journey of appreciating language in a way I never would have ever considered before.
Rating: 
Summary: yes some Dictionarys are better than outhers
Review: i had to get this dictionary for school, but i found it didn't fall apart like all the outhers i have used for school.
Rating: 
Summary: American Heritage Dictionary
Review: I made a mistake with this purchase. I should have purchased a collegiate dictionary; I did not need the pictures!! I will give this book to my preteen-age nephews; they will benefit from its use.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Dictionary
Review: I noticed that most of my Amazon reviews were negative. I tend to rant when something fails, but I rarely go online to express the joy that some products bring -- I'm clearly a grump. So I decided to write about something that elates me day in and out.
This is a terrific dictionary. Great design, great entries, just a great feel to it. Buy it and enjoy it!
Rating: 
Summary: Glitzy but Unspecialized
Review: I was looking for a dictionary to replace my 40 year old one. And one the kids would like. This is it for the kids, but not for me. Being a musician I found almost every other dictionary to be more specialized. The Webster's Unabridged was poor as well for music. Shorter's, Chamber's and the New Oxford Dictionary were much better. That's all if you don't have the Harvard Dicitonary of Music, a must for serious musicians. For the kids it is great. Just what the need through high school. But not a college dictionary. Certainly not for music.
Rating:
Summary: All Show - Not Much Heart
Review: I was looking for a dictionary to replace the 40-year-old one my kids were using. This one caught my eye visually and I almost purchased it. Since I was a musician I thought I would look up a few musical terms and I was very disappointed. I wasn't too happy with the Webster's Unabridged as well. What I had found was that the AH had eliminated needed material for their definitions to make room for glitzy illustrations and presentation. One word even contradicted other dictionaries, because it had not included ESSENTIAL information. I was appalled. I found the New Oxford, and Chamber's much, much better, as well as the 2 volume Shorter. The AH was so bad that I refused to purchase it for my kids. After researching dictionaries for two weeks I realized I had had my last dicitonary for 40 years. I went back to it and I found it also much better than the AH. So, if one of my kids wanted to keep it they would have to have a decent dictionary. Any of the good ones I mentioned are fine for music. Except, of course, if you are a serious musician, maybe the Harvard Dictionary of Music.
A dictionary is a serious purchase. Forget the AH and get a
good dictionary. One that will last beyond those photos and illustrations.
Rating:
Summary: Fine reference...
Review: I'll be short. This dictionary gives Indo-European roots for a lot of English terms. I find these Indo-European roots fascinating. Why are others not following along here? Can you imagine a dictionary of (say) Persian, which also gave etymologies and traced words all the way back to Indo-European? But then again I'm a word-history nut. :-) Other aspects of this dictionary are excellent. I supplement it with the two-volume OED. I'd like to have the Merriam-Webster unabridged. But this one is a real honey! Highest recommendation!!
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