Small amount of foxing on book ledge Penguin Books, revised 2nd edition 2004, 1698 pages David Crystal has a gift for clarity and concision which enables him to illuminate even the most intricate concepts. Here he offers over 22,000 alphabatised entries on the facts, events, issues, people, beliefs and achievements that make up the sum of human knowledge. Entries have been written by over 350 specialist contributors from universities, museums and other institutions of excellence around the world. The Concise Encyclopediais part of the Penguin Reference Library and draws on over 70 years of experience in bringing reliable, useful and clear information to millions of readers around the world.