Paperback: 545 pages, usually ships within 24 hours. Amazon Review
Fascinating and Unique Approach for a Dictionary, September 2, 2002
Reviewer: An Amazon.com Customer from Zionsville, IN USA
Guess I should have gathered that from its title, but my initial mistake was thinking it was a traditional
dictionary. I am now in my second year of learning Chinese. Two titles are indispensible, this one and the brief McNaughton one (revised, 1999). I continue to see increasing value in the Harbaugh approach: variable ways to find words and a thoroughly exhaustive entry on a word. As pointed out by other reviewers, entries include permutations of the word you are looking up with other words (in any order). Examining the genealogy helps you remember the character because of its origins, similar to McNaughton (but perhaps not with the humor that McNaughton displays occasionally).
On the down side, definitions don't give many contextual examples, so occasionally you might mis-use a word. This is a problem with any dictionary however, so I'm not sure it's a fair criticism. Not to labor the point, this book dramatically improves with one's own knowledge of Chinese. It's remakably complete given its size and your ability to actually see the type. I've used both the paper-edition and the online edition. I think the paper edition is easier to browse.
Now, if he only had an accompanying CD with all the words pronounced, I would be in heaven. But this book is a deal...
