Edited by Professor Sir David Cannadine, University of Oxford

Winner in the Best User Experience category at the International Information Industry Awards 2005

Winner of the Besterman/McColvin Medal for outstanding works of reference published in the UK, in the electronic category

Winner of the 2005 Dartmouth Medal, presented by the Reference and User Services Association, for current reference works of outstanding quality and significance

""If this were just a biographical dictionary it would be a pretty impressive one, as its content is well researched, authoritative, and readable. The links from an entry to a library's catalog turn this into a sophisticated tool that dramatically facilitates the research process. Add in the links to external resources such as Bibliography of British and Irish History, and the result-for librarians who have been urging students to use a resource such as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the references associated with each article as the launching pad for research projects-is a resource that approaches ideal for reference and instruction." - Library Journal"

"Portals for the general reader need primarily to be accessible; for the specialist they need principally to be reliable: of those reviewed, the British [Oxford DNB] is pre-eminent because it is both." - Reviews in History

""How good is it? A perfect ten." - Library Journal"

""...a triumph of vision and execution - a work that exploits the highest quality scholarship, yet has universal appeal." - Library and Information Update"

""The benefits for researchers, students, and those generally interested in the history and culture of the English-speaking world are manifest...It is hard to imagine any library with online resources documenting English history, literature, language, and culture not wanting to acquire this work. Its breadth, depth, and flexibility make it very much the peer of its distinguished Oxford cousin, the OED Online." - American bimonthly journal, College & Research Libraries"

""It is difficult to overemphasise the value of the material on offer in ODNB...With full reference data appended to this extraordinarily rich textual content, the ODNB is a source for research, scholarship and reference which far exceeds its apparent coverage. Taken together with the online Oxford English Dictionary, this reaffirms the reputation of Oxford University Press (as if it needed any reaffirmation) at the apex of heroic, and triumphant, scholarly publishing ventures." - Stuart James, University Librarian, Paisley University"

""If you weren't aware that a new version of the Dictionary of National Biography was coming out this fall, then you must have been in a coma. It's nice to feel thrilled again about a new electronic product - I'd almost forgotten the frisson of excitement when something really hot hits the market. That the DNB is hot is an understatement...The amount of information is staggering, and the quality is superb...How good is it? A perfect ten. With the Themes feature in addition to the Browsing capability, online has upped the serendipity quotient over print. This online file provides much more than the 60 printed volumes...Why would any library not get this file? It includes all the contents of the original 33-volume DNB, all the new content up to 2000 with thrice-yearly updates, vastly more powerful access than the print version, and reasonable pricing. Resoundingly recommended for all libraries and individual researchers." - Library Journal"

""A magnificent national pantheon...a vast cornucopia of delight as well as an indispensable source of information...an unrivalled distillation of biographical knowledge and understanding." - The Independent"

""Rejoice, rejoice...the great publishing event of 2004." - The Times"

""There is fascination and scholarship in equal measure to be found on every single page of this extraordinary endeavour ... The Oxford DNB brings the figures of our national story into sharp focus, brilliantly illuminating the darkest corners of our remarkable past." - Simon Winchester, author of The Meaning of Everything"

""An astonishing piece of work: a colossal, beautiful, fully functional and utterly user-friendly engine of enlightenment." - Sunday Telegraph"

""I have long thought that if more people sold the family car and brought the ODNB, the nation would not only be better informed but much happier too. So don't go out, stay in and get a life, or thousands" - Daily Telegraph"