Rating: 
Summary: The Best Dictionary
Review: This dictionary has nice graphics and photographs to illustrate the definitions.
Rating: 
Summary: The American Heritage College Dictionary (CD-ED)
Review: This dictionary is a disaster in book design. The inner columns run into the gutter of the book and consequently make it difficult to read. The outside margins are reserved for small diagrams and pictures that add very little to explanations.The accompanying CD (3ed) is the only savior for this dictionary. It is compatable with both PC's & Macintosh computer operating systems. This CD is excellent and runs well on both platforms. It pronounces over 200,000 words, which makes it ideal for a speaker. The Thesaurus is adequate but could be better. The software company, softkey, which produced this 3-ed CD has been acquired by Matel---the toy manufacturing company. Later editions of this CD however do not support the Macintosh OS.
Rating:
Summary: New edition betrays quality of previous edition
Review: This dictionary is a failure of book design. The interior columns are crowded into the gutter, violating basic book design aesthetics. What happened? The previous edition from the 1970s was an exemplary example of quality bookmaking: clean and easy to read. The 1993 edition is a design disaster. Seek out a better-made book.
Rating:
Summary: Good layout, font size, and features = a quality dictionary
Review: This is a review of the hardcover dictionary only; I did not purchase the CD. I have an older edition paperback American Heritage dictionary, but wanted a hardcover desk reference that was more comprehensive, without getting one of those massive, all-encompassing tomes that I could hurt my back trying to use. I considered three dictionaries - the American Heritage College dictionary, the Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionary, and the Oxford American Desk Dictionary. I compared a few definitions, the paper quality, and page layout (font size, spacing, etc.) All three dictionaries seem to have good definitions - the wording varies, of course, for each one. The Oxford seemed to have the most direct, straightforward definitions, but lacked secondary definitions or didn't have as many word usage / word history tidbits (which I like, but which admittedly are not essential) as the American Heritage. Paper quality for each is good, although the Merriam Webster's page brightness was a little "dim" for me - Oxford and American Heritage pages were just the right brightness, making the pages seem more crisp and easy to read. I really like the page layout for the American Heritage - clear, nicely-spaced font that is easy on the eyes and makes reading a joy. I didn't have the problem some have mentioned with respect to words "running into" the spine - just tilt your head a little, and you can read the definitions just fine. Oxford page layout is likewise nice; reading Merriam-Webster gave me a headache because everything is "scrunched" together - spacing between lines is woefully inadequate, in my opinion. In sum, the American Heritage is a quality "midsize" dictionary. Oxford is also nice. Merriam-Webster didn't cut it for me.
Rating:
Summary: Still the best
Review: This is that rarity--a dictionary that's actually enjoyable to read. The definitions are not just clear and informative, they're interesting. Countless times I've used it to look up a word, heeded a suggestion to consult another, gotten sidetracked by a third, and before I know it have taken a brief, quirky tour of the corpus of world knowledge. And if you have any interest in etymology or historical linguistics, this is the dictionary for you. It does have that problem with the narrow inner margins, but otherwise the typography is well designed, readable and clear.
Rating:
Summary: The Lion of Lexicons
Review: This volume is a wonderful reference, but the flesh of a dictionary is in what can be gleaned from reading it as one would read any other book. It is our language's history which reflects its majesty; therefore, the most cogent information lies hidden, pearl-like, in the etymologies, and the American Heritage College Dictionary delivers a linguistic history much beyond any other standard college volume. Not only are the etymologies clear, but they contain references to word families which lie in its superb proto-Indo-European appendix. Exciting? Only if one fully appreciates that it is the music of language which offers the rhythm to our wings beating toward the heavens above the other animals. The extra scholarly information offered therein makes the AHCD worthy of a course of study showcasing this book alone. Further, its illustrations are precise, up-to-date, and beautiful. I wish the letter tabs had been cut where the words starting with that letter begin, rather than in the middle of entries that begin, for example, with "P." This modern arrangement makes the AHCD more visually esthetic, but less efficient. A dictionary that already dares to be so different can afford to revert to a system which was better.
Rating:
Summary: The Lion of Lexicons
Review: This volume is a wonderful reference, but the flesh of a dictionary is in what can be gleaned from reading it as one would read any other book. It is our language's history which reflects its majesty; therefore, the most cogent information lies hidden, pearl-like, in the etymologies, and the American Heritage College Dictionary delivers a linguistic history much beyond any other standard college volume. Not only are the etymologies clear, but they contain references to word families which lie in its superb proto-Indo-European appendix. Exciting? Only if one fully appreciates that it is the music of language which offers the rhythm to our wings beating toward the heavens above the other animals. The extra scholarly information offered therein makes the AHCD worthy of a course of study showcasing this book alone. Further, its illustrations are precise, up-to-date, and beautiful. I wish the letter tabs had been cut where the words starting with that letter begin, rather than in the middle of entries that begin, for example, with "P." This modern arrangement makes the AHCD more visually esthetic, but less efficient. A dictionary that already dares to be so different can afford to revert to a system which was better.
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