Revised edition has more than 70,000 entries and 1,000 illustrations, many revised. Abundant word history paragraphs, synonym paragraphs and example sentences. Updated to reflect Merriam-Webster's 11th edition Collegiate® Dictionary.
While the intent and purpose of it's design is well done, this is limited in scope. I'd only recommend it for students in late elementary or early middle school. From grade 7+, students need access to all words available with full definitions. This dictionary, though thorough, doesn't contain enough entries for building a rich vocabulary. My students have enjoyed the definitions, but have often returned to "college" dictionaries to find words. This resource would only serve its purpose for 1 or 2 years of study, then would end up holding students back from deep language use.
My mother actually gave this to me when I was a freshman in high school, and it is quite a handy book. I don't know why Goodreads says this is 18 pages long, because it's not; my book has exactly 943 pages.