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CHOICE Review

About 10,000 definitions cover the full breadth of biology: zoology, botany, genetics, biochemistry, ecology, behavior, medicine, etc. Most definitions range from a few to about 25 words, but there also are about 100 longer (200-300 word) illustrated discussions of selected terms. These latter are the only terms for which there are illustrations. It is not clear how they were chosen since other equally important terms do not have such coverage. The dictionary is intended for the serious student of biology and appears to be comprehensive. It can therefore be recommended for personal use by faculty and undergraduates or in specialized libraries that need a good biology dictionary. It is similar to E. Tootill, The Facts on File Dictionary of Biology (2nd ed., CH, Jul'81) and E.A. Martin, Dictionary of the Life Sciences (2nd ed., London, 1983). General academic libraries that have either can probably do without Chambers. However, any of the three is more current than two old standards: M. Abercrombie, The Penguin Dictionary of Biology (6th ed., 1973) and P. Gray, Dictionary of the Biological Sciences (CH, Jan'68). I.F. Henderson's Henderson's Dictionary of Biological Terms is just out in a new 10th edition (1989), the extent of whose revisions this reviewer cannot comment on. Chambers high quality layout and binding will serve users well. For general libraries that already have the Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary (1988), Chambers Biology Dictionary is largely a duplication. The dust jacket indicates and a comparison confirms that definitions of biological terms in the two sources are nearly the same. T. G. Kirk Berea College