Reference

Cramer (Pomona Coll.) has assembled over 200 primarily academic contributors to produce a solid biographical reference work on 20th-century music for high school-aged and general readers. The work covers 614 composers, performers, and teachers, chosen for musical influence as well as fame. All major genres are covered, from classical to rap, along with many subgenres, such as rockabilly, atonal, and funk. The A-to-Z signed entries range from three to five pages in length and begin with a very brief summary describing the individuals' field and significance, followed by ready-reference information and a list of principal works. The remainder of the entry is divided into four sections: "The Life," "The Music," "Musical Legacy," and a brief bibliography of printed works. The emphasis is on musical/historical analysis, and the writing is clear, succinct, and jargon-free. The work is well supported by a series of appendixes (print and online bibliographies, a glossary, and a chronological list of musicians) and indexes (category, geographical, names, and works). The best, most versatile access to the text, however, is the online edition, which has good functionality and is included in the print purchase price. Case in point: a full-text search on the phrase civil rights (not a topic in the print index of categories) retrieves 31 results, and this creates a category where there was none. BOTTOM LINE This work provides valuable, basic information on the topic as well as multiple, easy-access routes to it. Highly recommended. [Sample articles are available on Salem's web site.]—Nadine Cohen, Univ. of Georgia, Athens

Facts On File's "Handbook to Life in America" series is aimed at high school students and general readers interested in the social and cultural history of the United States. Each volume in the series surveys a particular time period and covers a wide variety of topics, including family and daily life, social attitudes, entertainment, population trends and migration, and labor and employment, among many other subjects. As with the other entries, these first two in the series feature many black-and-white illustrations, informative sidebars, and chapters concluding with a bibliography and a helpful index that also covers the illustrations. Colonial follows the early years of colonization, covering such key events as the legalization of slavery and the signing of the Declaration of Independence; Early National encompasses the period between 1783 and 1859, which saw fast growth in the economy and led to the rise of an empowered new middle class. BOTTOM LINE These books are nicely produced and supply secondary school students with useful information. Their price, however, seems a bit steep considering their modest size. Recommended for larger secondary school libraries and major public libraries.—Donald Altschiller, Boston Univ. Libs.

DK has built a reputation for publishing lavishly illustrated, attractive, and informative reference titles. With the help of editorial consultant Saul David (Univ. of Buckingham) and a select group of British military historians, the publisher's latest offering does not disappoint. From civilization's beginnings in ancient Sumer, War's coverage is stunning. Here, with full-color maps, paintings, photographs, and crisp, lucid prose are examinations of battles both familiar and obscure. From the Punic wars to the Crusades to the wars of the league of Cognac and modern conflicts like those in the former Yugoslavia, War is an outstanding catalog of conflict. Each of the seven chapters—"War in the Ancient World," "War in the Mediaeval World," "Early Modern Warfare," "The Age of Revolution," "The Dawn of Mechanized Warfare," "Era of the World Wars," and "Conflicts After World War II"—opens with a time line and is peppered with sidebars of military superlatives such as youngest commanders, famous female warriors, and even landmark war movies. Chapters are separated by sections comparing various implements of war throughout the ages. The book closes with the directory: a chronological overview of the major conflicts of the past 5000 years, an invaluable reference in its own right. Important for a work that examines the arc of thousands of years of war, many of the battles are viewed through a lens that highlights the interconnected nature of wars, like the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War that occurred shortly after. BOTTOM LINE Incomparable. Aptly titled, this is the definitive visual history of large-scale human conflict. Numerous encyclopedias exist that examine a single war, or perhaps conflict-laden periods, but only War possesses such breadth and visual appeal. An essential reference title for all libraries.—Daniel Sifton, Cariboo Regional Dist. Lib., Williams Lake, B.C.

This is an invaluable tool for all researchers or those simply curious about social history, commerce, and salaries of many occupations and careers in the arts, sports, and entertainment industries. Like its predecessors, this fourth edition is all about practical economics: what things cost and how much money people have to buy them. Previous spending habits could very well guide us into smarter spending in the years to come, 2009 included. The book contains currency-conversion charts by subject area, the key economic events of each period, and selected incomes of different classes for workers. Consumer expenditures, investments, and the national averages paid for representative jobs are also included in this large text of specialized and somewhat arcane information. Short clips from such publications as Time magazine, the New York Times, and BusinessWeek present the interesting range of items as they were advertised in these periodicals at various time periods. The "Pricing Trends" section illustrates prices from former times to today. Bar charts and numeric tables show that a first-class postage stamp was actually more expensive in 1900 (49¢ by today's standards) than in 2007 (41¢). And that the salary of the President of the United States is worth considerably less today than in earlier years. BOTTOM LINE Both great-grandparents and serious students in historical research will benefit from this book. It will be an especially valuable study to students of American history, economics, and even mathematics. For all libraries.—Albert Vara, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia

Edited by Nelson (English, SUNY Cortland), this two-volume set presents over 300 signed entries authored by over 125 authors, professors, graduate students, librarians, and professionals from across the United States. The articles cover topics of relevance to the field of lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered/queer (LGBTQ) literature such as AIDS, seminal texts like Angels in America, and a large number of articles on mainly contemporary authors. Nelson defines the term contemporary to mean since 1980, although he also includes entries on two authors he deems foundational, James Baldwin and Tennessee Williams. The hundreds of A-to-Z entries are presented in a standard format, based on whether it is an author entry or a general topic entry. The author entries each begin with name, date of birth/death, genre, and a brief biographical essay before discussing major works and themes, with a list of resources at the end. The general topic entries allude to major events, figures, and texts for the topic and provide historical background and context. The second volume includes a lengthy index to the content of each entry as well as the entries themselves. BOTTOM LINE Geared toward high school, college, and scholarly research users, this work is free of bias, focusing on LGBTQ topics as equally as the materials enable. Recommended for all academic and high school libraries.—Sara Rofofsky Marcus, Queensborough Community Coll., Bayside, NY

If you find it daunting wading through various books, articles, and publications researching intelligence and creativity, then this latest SAGE offering may be just what you need. It targets a narrow audience with ready-to-use data encompassing the fields of sociology, art, psychology, and education. Editor Kerr (counseling psychology, Univ. of Kansas) is the author of five books and over 100 articles and scholarly papers in the area of giftedness, creativity, and talent development and also the winner of the American Psychological Association Presidential Citation for Research. His current work boasts 400 A-to-Z entries covering major aspects of this field, from absorption (an explanation of the Tellegen Absorption Scale) to a discussion of traits of creativity in writers. Topics addressed also include gender differences, cognitive abilities, dyslexia, gifted youth, family creativity, styles, and much more. The writing is clear and well organized, illuminating strategies that provide the optimum outcome for gifted children. BOTTOM LINE The success of this tool lies in its in-depth study of the topic, its focused range of entries, and the compilation of information by knowledgeable contributors. Recommended for all academic libraries; larger high school libraries with adequate budgets may also consider.—Bobbie Wrinkle, McCracken Cty. P.L., Paducah, KY

Raman (history, emerita, Santa Clara Univ.) synthesizes a study of women in Indian history from ancient to modern times into two slim scholarly volumes. Because of the length and breadth of Indian history, the work is divided into two chronological sections: the first covers the premodern era from antiquity to the early medieval Hindu kingdoms, while the second covers Turko-Afghan and Mughal dynasties, colonial rule, and an independent India post-1947. All 12 chapters, written by Raman (Getting Girls to School: Social Reform in the Tamil Districts, 1870–1930), contain four interrelated themes that focus on gender and female sexuality within the "pre-modern social, religious, cultural and political paradigms" contained in male-authored texts. These narratives were later "resurrected" by men and women for contemporary political and social agendas. Ultimately, claims Raman, "gender rights" within the South Asian context is not "static" and has a strong foundation within indigenous traditions and are not necessarily borrowed from Europeans. With titles such as "India: Ecology and Gender," "Hinduism," "Women in the Mughal Era," and "Muslim Reformers and Women," the chapters serve as entries, though within these chapters are sections that provide biographical, thematic, social, and political contexts for the lives of women throughout Indian history. It would have been helpful if a time line were provided to help the reader navigate the history of what is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. BOTTOM LINE Somewhat similar to the Encyclopedia of Indian Women (Anmol Pub., 2005), Women in India is a collection of scholarly essays that roughly follows a chronological order. As such, it makes for a good starting point for academic research and is highly recommended for college and university libraries.—Kam W. Teo, Weyburn P.L., Sask.

Hile, author of several similar Answer Book titles, has compiled an attractive Q&A volume on weather in 11 chapters, illustrated with crisp color photos; large, easy-to-read text; and keywords in questions in bold font. The chapters cover "Weather Fundamentals," "The Atmosphere," "Heat and Cold," "Clouds and Precipitation," "Stormy Weather," "Atmospheric Phenomena," "Geography, Oceanography, and Weather," "Weather in Space," "Humanity and the Weather," "Climate Change," and "Modern Meteorology." The questions are short, and the answers are mostly about a paragraph long. The major problem with this volume is the index. For example, both the introduction and the back cover refer to the crash of the Space Shuttle Challenger, but the entry on Challenger could not be found in the index. There are index listings both for NASA and for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but they list different page numbers. A thorough and well-done index is critical to the use of a Q&A work for reference, and this volume is lacking in this important area. BOTTOM LINE Although this title might get some use in a circulating collection, a good weather encyclopedia would better serve librarians and their patrons. An optional purchase at best.—Rosanne M. Cordell, Indiana Univ. South Bend Lib.

This A-to-Z offers an overview of the life and thoughts of Charles Darwin and his wide influence. It covers evolutionary and scientific progress from Adam and Eve to the present, with a focus on concepts such as the "Tree of Life," historical places and events such as Rudyard Kipling's "Just-So" stories, and people such as Thomas Henry Huxley. The book is lavishly illustrated, with close to 400 black-and-white photographs and pieces of artwork (at least one image on nearly every page). Each essay is an enjoyable overview of the subject—ranging from half a page to over three pages in length each. Also included are references and an extensive bibliography. Entries illuminate the ways in which the ideas of evolutionary biology have expanded beyond science to influence philosophy, law, religion, literature, cinema, art, and popular culture. Fascinating concepts include animal behavior, women in science, the latest finds on human fossils, and many unknown incidents. Did you know, for example, that Gregor Mendel never formulated Mendel's Laws? Milner is an associate in the department of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, a contributing editor at National History magazine, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. In addition, he has an impressive background around the world as an award-winning author of books and articles and for his appearances on television and in the one-man musical Charles Darwin: Live & in Concert. BOTTOM LINE Authoritative and abundantly illustrated, this book is a veritable museum of natural history. It will appeal to and entertain a large audience of readers. Recommended for public and academic libraries.—Kathleen A. Welton, Chicago