The Encyclopaedia Britannica has grown and evolved through 15 editions in its 224-year history, each one reflecting the state of knowledge, social mores, and literary style of its age. This pleasurable book is a heavily edited compilation of the more interesting and memorable articles from the distinguished life of the Britannica , in which are recorded both the musings of great minds and the propounding of total misconceptions as verified fact. Occasionally, by way of contrast, articles on the same subject but from different editions are printed together to illustrate the advancement of knowledge or a shift in treatment. Part 1 contains extracts from articles on various topics arranged under broad subject categories, such as Living Things and Technology. Here are found the surprising (bulimia discussed in the 1780s), the amusing (golf is "a certain game among the Scots"), and the simply incorrect (smoking dries the brain into "a little black lump"). Part 2 reprints articles, either whole or in excerpts, by some of the most renowned contributors from Britannica 's past: e.g., Shaw on socialism, Trotsky on Lenin, Freud on psychoanalysis. The editing is somewhat choppy, since this work relies upon materials compiled by two previous editors of the encyclopaedia who also envisioned such a book. This compilation achieves its aim, being both inspiring and amusing while simultaneously humbling the reader with the disconcerting realization that our accumulated knowledge of today may prove to be the entertainment of tomorrow. For public, school, and academic libraries.