‘A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles’

Or, gems of the reference shelf, part 2

Before the internet decimated the reference shelf, there were jewels to be found there. General-interest dictionaries and encyclopedias, sure, but the best stuff was in the second-tier books that purported to offer a complete overview of a particular esoteric subject. Ah, the ludicrous audacity of a single finite codex proclaiming to be the definitive guide to anything! And who would stop them?

The second volume of this series cracks open a legendary reference volume with a cult following, one designed over many editions to offer analog rabbit holes par excellence.