Since 1768, the Encyclopedia Britannica has set the standard for general reference works. Four thousand contributors—including 110 Nobel Prize winners and five US presidents—have written on half a million topics. The 32 volumes cover geography, biography, biology, medicine, literature, religion, philosophy, art, law, and more. The 11th edition was recognized particularly for its scholarship and quality of writing, and it is still praised for its excellence and landmark literary style.