It's a good dictionary and while the encyclopedic section is obviously not as expensive as a set of encyclopedias it does contain a lot of good information. keep in mind that this dictionary was published in 1992, so some of the information is outdated but most of the information has not changed. I generally don't like abridged dictionaries, of my for dictionary this is the only one that isnt unabridged, but the encyclopedic section does make up for it. I highly recommend this dictionary to anybody looking to expand their reference library.
The golden standard for (Anglophone) logophiles, etymology lovers, & linguaphiles, this reference work deepened my love of the English language & introduced me to lesser known words (like "masticate" & "osculate"). However, it should be noted that its historical summaries are often inaccurate racist revisionism, promoting Eurocentric imperialism over non-Caucasian countries' cultures.