Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The best value and most up-to-date one-volume encyclopedia Comprehensively revised and enlarged every year, the Macmillan Encyclopedia reflects all the most recent events and developments. Over 26,000 entries cover the whole field of human knowledge, including science and technology, countries of the world, space, natural history, medicine, politics, sport, people, literature, art and history. New entries for this edition cover the latest political developments around the world, including world terrorism and the attack on the World Trade Centre; updates on the Middle East and Northern Ireland; new people of significance, including Osama Bin Laden and Iain Duncan Smith; the new Nobel Prize winners; the latest innovations and discoveries in science and technology, including stem cell research; and the new top events and people in literature, art, film, theatre and sport, including entries for Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, and for Nasser Hussein, Goran Invanisevic and Ellen McArthur. Unrivalled as a resource for school, home, library or office use.