Sometimes, words just get in the way

Or, gems of the reference shelf, part 5

Before the internet decimated the reference shelf, there were jewels to be found! Happily, I kept a few books safe from the pillaging bot armies, and I’m celebrating them each week in this space.

The dinosaurs didn’t go extinct; they just evolved into birds. By the same logic, reference books haven’t died off; they’ve just become coffee table books. Even when all the facts (and their alternatives) are instantly available online, you need something to furnish your room. And you’d be hard-pressed to do better than this week’s pick, a supremely browsable 1996 volume.