Despite having been released in 1987, this book relays the fundamentals far better than those of any modern "for dummies" or "complete idiot's" series. The book is packed with carefully-done charts and illustrations. Glancing at the back credits will allow one to see that the co-authors must have consulted at least 100 different institutions to gather the illustrations present in this book.Although it is considered to as an encyclopedia, the topics are actually organized in the form of a physics text so that one may read it cover to cover, and learn a great deal in the process.This book revealed some amazing information that I had never learned in science classes:(E.G.'s) Mass and energy are actually interconvertible, police radar guns work by firing microwaves (not radio waves) at moving cars and measuring how long it takes for the waves to return, the equations for force exerted by gravitational field, electrical field and magnetic field are nearly the same, every single object gives off radiation at all times,the "sea of electrons" within metals is responsible not only for their exceptional electrical conductivity but also for their great heat conductivity, Ultra wave sounds may be used to weld metal without melting it, etc.!!!!plus at the price, you can't go wrong even if you find you disagree with my excellent review. I am going to get the chemistry volume from this series as well.