The Compact Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary, Complete Text Reproduced Micrographically (in slipcase with reading glass) 2nd Edition

This is the pinnacle of scholarship concerning our language. It is an awe inspiring feeling to know that you can hold in your hands THE authority concerning our vocabulary. This is a marvelous tool that I have thoroughly enjoyed. That said, there are two compromises you must be willing to make to enjoy this dictionary. First, the typeface is incredibly small. I have better than 20/20 vision and it is still difficult for me to read the largest of print in the main body of the text unaided. As a side, the accompanying magnifier is wholly inadequate. Be prepared to invest in a good magnifying glass with 3x or greater magnification. Second, the size of the book is quite large. This is not a book you will be paging through on your lap on a lazy afternoon. If you can get past these hurdles, there is not a better dictionary for our language. And Amazon is, hands down, the best place to purchase this. I received my dictionary in 2 days for $100 less than the nearest competitor.

I've wanted one of these beasts since I was about 12 and saw one at a friend's house. Quite aside from the content, it's beautiful. A work of love and tremendous labour.I'm surprised by those that complain that it's hard to lug around. It belongs on a writing desk or its own plinth. It should never move more than 2 feet. Oxford University Press publish many abridged versions that cater to the more mobile readership.Remember, this is a 20 volume book squished into one (more on that in a moment). The print will be small. I have nearly perfect eyesight though and having arrived off a long-haul flight the other day to find this waiting for me, I must admit that tiredness did indeed necessitate use of the magnifying glass. However, I just tried again and can read it just fine in good light without any artificial aid.Now. Amazon. Dear dear me. When one pays $217 (the price has gone up in the past couple of days, I see) for a delicate gem of a book (remember, you started life as booksellers, after all), even though that book should cost nearly twice as much, one does not expect some intern to have removed it from its packaging, and stuck two security tags in it. One on a page over the tiny exquisite print (a delicate operation to remove without apparent damage). One in the box at the back. Nor indeed does one expect this process to have folded the accompanying guidebook in two. Furthermore (and worse still) a number of the pages of the dictionary itself had been folded en-masse, presumably also during this clumsy tagging process. Fortunately, the book is so heavy and well made that the pages appear to have been rescued by gravity and a night on its side, but I'm nonetheless displeased as the guide still looks like it's accompanied me on a long train journey, stuffed into a trouser pocket and slept upon in the mid-day sun.Tut tut.I've seldom been more pleased with a book purchase though. I just wish Amazon had treated it a little better but: Pay money, get choice.UPDATE: The photo is now accurate - here's what I had to say about it originally: Ah. Yes. The photos on the product page. Now, I should have done my research and perhaps realised that OUP no longer produce the two-volume edition and I was going to get a single volume. The photos here at Amazon showing two volumes with a drawer for the magnifying glass (to be honest, the bit I actually liked aged twelve) are out-of-date. This is a single volume edition with a loose magnifying glass that must find its own place to rest.

Well, I've owned it and used it for over two years now, and the results are in. This is all twenty volumes of the OED micrographed into one volume that weighs about 15 pounds. It is a great piece of engineering next to the singular feat of its scope and price on Amazon. They beat bookstore discounters by over a hundred bucks so what you are getting on Amazon is a must for those serious about words. The magnifying glass provided is adequate, but you can always purchase a more powerful one at a flea market or something. In combination with your "Chicago Manual of Style" and Strunk & White you pretty much have a literary career covered. The spinoffs are also worthwhile, "The Professor and the Madman" is another great read. This is one of the originals and is still relevant amidst the Internet era of Wiki and Google; it is their intellectual grandparent.

Got this as a gift. Was very disappointed to find that the magnifying was not included, even though description says it comes with it. I also purchased this “new”, but many of pages were wrinkled and folded.

OK... it is really really really small type. Even with the included magnifier it is right on the edge of what my 40 something year old eyes can manage. The included magnifier had an optical flaw, and I bought my own somewhat larger version to replace. The book is huge and weighs so much it has its own gravitational field. Not something you can curl up with in bed. This is for formally taking to your desk and doing research. If you love philology and word origins this OED has no comparison. You can see uses of the word with examples through history. I love seeing how the world evolved overtime and took on different shades of meaning.If you are looking for a working dictionary rather than a research tool, I would recommend the 2 volume shorter OED abridged. Some reviewers have indicated the online addition is a viable option and more readable. I researched and it seemed the annual online subscription is more than this addition costs. So I took the leap and I am not disappointed. (except for the defective magnifier -- a book this expensive shouldn't have quality control problems)

i had the old version back 20 or so years ago. i am waiting somewhat joyously for the new, to replace my 'shorter oxford english dictionary'. my sight (at 52) is *not* great - i think i have 20 pairs of reading glasses around. but if it were greater, and i had a lot more money, and space, i would have bought the big one (well, ones). if you go in knowing you have to understand what you/re getting, the smaller oxford is great. the old edition never bothered me. but, once again, that is me.but the quality of dictionary can *not* be misunderstood. even with my degrees in latin and greek, and a long knowledge of anglo-saxon, i always find i can read the oxford dictionaries as if they were a novel. new knowledge everywhere. wish i were involved.can/t wait for the new one.