The foreword to the 92nd edition of this long-enduring classic is by a scientist (affiliated with Imperial College London) who remembers his first engagement with the reference as a physics student in 1964 (47th edition), and he emphasizes its "immense global service" in collating a body of agreed-upon data. He also asserts the value of an ink & paper reference, explaining that plenty of access via indexing makes up for lack of a "search engine," and readers can enjoy some of the random encounters that page-turning affords. The current editor in chief is W.M. Haynes (emeritus, National Institute of Standards and Technology); he had the assistance of associate editor David R. Lide (also affiliated there) to make changes and updates in the latest edition. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)