Reference

Following the same format as Dobson's previous Bulls, Bears, Boom, and Bust: A Historical Encyclopedia of American Business (ABC-CLIO, 2006), this work on U.S. diplomacy is arranged in five historical sections and covers the period from 1776 to the War on Terror. Each section starts with a three-page introduction, defines about 25 terms, and includes as many as 20 American biographical entries (some with illustrations) of the figures important to the era, ending with Donald Rumsfeld. Further references follow each entry, though none to web sites. Although the definitions of the 125 concepts, such as gunboat diplomacy, Pearl Harbor, Hostage Crisis, and Iran-Contra, are succinct and well written, the volume functions better for engaged reading than for quick lookup. It is also resolutely United States-oriented. Dobson (emeritus, history, Iowa State and Oklahoma State Univ.) has written five monographs on business and politics, mostly of the Gilded Age of American history. A more interesting volume for students (for its more recent inclusions of such entries as "Bush Doctrine" and "Afghanistan") might be Tom Lansford's Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy Since the Cold War (Scarecrow, 2007). BOTTOM LINE This dictionary is suitable for all levels and libraries, although it is not comprehensive enough to replace the most authoritative work on the subject, Alexander DeConde's three-volume Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy (Scribner, 2002. 2d ed.). Buy it if you have no other one-volume handbook on U.S. foreign policy.—Janice Dunham, John Jay Coll. Lib., CUNY

Updated to include the 44th President, this substantial volume provides a thorough examination of each President's background, wives, elections, opponents, inaugurations, cabinet, Congress, and significant events occurring under his leadership. Each of the 44 chapters runs 20 to 30 pages in length and closes with an "additional data" segment, detailing noteworthy information, such as significant awards, personal tragedies, and presidential firsts. Kane and Podell (Famous First Facts) present facts in list format, making for easy recognition and retrieval. Notable is the detail devoted to presidential parentage, siblings, wives, and children. A final "Comparative Data" section selects particular information—like age at inauguration and post-term occupations—and relates each to that of the 43 other Presidents or, occasionally, presidential candidates. BOTTOM LINE Although monochromatic, wonderful period illustrations, political cartoons, presidential portraits, signature facsimiles, and images of election ephemera appear throughout this excellent resource for the scholastic researcher or trivia buff. Suitable for a wide range of collections.—Savannah Schroll Guz, formerly with Smithsonian Lib., Washington, DC

This one-volume entry in ABC-CLIO's well-known "Perspectives in American Social History" covers the experiences of ordinary citizens during the Great Depression and how they dealt with the hardships. Edited by Cravens (history, Iowa State Univ.), who has published widely on the history of science and technology in American culture, the volume is divided into two sections, though the differentiation seems fairly minor. Part 1, "American Society and Culture in the Age of the Great Depression," places an emphasis on groups within the American society, including women, young people, immigrants, minorities, farmers, and families. Part 2, "American Culture in the Great Depression," comprises essays on New Deal planning, technology, the film industry, and urban planning, to name a few. Each section contains essays written by scholars of the era, which examine an aspect of American society or culture during the Great Depression. Each essay runs approximately 20 pages in length and is supplemented with illustrations and lists of references. The volume also includes an introduction, a chronology, a bibliography, an index, a dictionary of terms, and a collection of primary documents. BOTTOM LINE This well-rounded collection of essays provides an informative overview of life during the Great Depression. It is most appropriate for high school collections and libraries catering to undergraduate students.—Ryan Johnson, Oxford, MI

Celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, The 2009 Annual Register presents a compendium of world events that occurred over the last calendar year. Lewis (editor since 2000) and Slater (deputy editor since 2002) worked with nearly 90 writers to bring together essays covering 200-plus countries in key areas: economy, politics, science, and culture. The country-focused entries include brief facts, statistics, and current history. The current history section may range in length from a paragraph to multiple pages. Later chapters cover world events related to science, law, religion, law, and sports. A large handful of influential documents and a chronology of the year's events are also included. While a review of the most current year's events is certainly worthy of its own space on the reference shelf, budget-challenged libraries that currently own any combination of The Europa World Yearbook, The Statesmen's Yearbook, or Britannica Book of the Year might not find this a top-of-the-list purchase. BOTTOM LINE This is a handy little tool for surveying a variety of important events occurring in many countries. Best for fact lovers, politicos, and students with projects and for the most thorough of reference collections. For those with the budget, the online version gives access to all 250 volumes and may be more helpful to historical and political researchers.—Lura Sanborn, Ohrstrom Lib., St. Paul's Sch., NH

Drawing most of its 150-plus articles from Salem's "Great Events from History" series, this title covers a wide range of events and developments as they relate to agriculture—from the origins of plant cultivation and animal husbandry in different parts of the world to innovations in techniques, the development of modern farming equipment, the introduction of chemical fertilizers, and experiments in the genetic engineering of food plants and animals. Farm labor, land management, climatic challenges, famines, agrarian reform, and government farm subsidies are among the subjects included. The three-volume set is both geographically and chronologically immense, taking a broad view of agriculture to encompass forms of food production and aspects of the human consumption of agricultural products. A particular strength is its emphasis on the origins of plant cultivation and livestock breeding. The subject matter expands to encompass discussions of land and labor policies, scientific research, dietary issues, and environmental issues. More than a third concern agriculture in North America, while the rest provide generous attention to other regions in the world. Coverage goes back as far as the rise of agriculture in northern Africa and Asia in 900 B.C.E. through the modern technological advances of today. The articles are arranged in chronological order based on the dates assigned to their events, and each runs about 2000 words in length. BOTTOM LINE Although not a comprehensive history of world agriculture, this resource touches on a remarkably large proportion of important world developments in food production. Recommended for academics and general readers interested in agriculture and its effect of world history and civilization.—Albert Vara, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia

This two-volume set by culinary historian Clarkson, who writes the food blog "The Old Foodie," should not really be considered a scholarly work, but its content does provide a worldly view within the context of food history. The introduction clearly articulates the degree to which food reflects the history, culture, time, and place of its origin. And, yes, expansion into new territories was premised on the search for spices and for land to grow food. While oral history has a place in understanding culture, peoples, languages, and societies, the historic meals and recipes for every day of the year bring to life events in history framed around the food prepared and eaten at various festivities. The content and scope of this work covers historic menus from more than 35 countries. A Roman banquet in 70 AD; a Medici Wedding Feast, June 4, 1469, Palazzo Medici, Florence; and a July 13, 1900, United States of America, Dinner at the Thirteenth Club, Central Restaurant, New York are just a sample of interesting and exciting menus found in this work. To that end, the 365 daily menus are arranged chronologically, by occasion and by country. The first menu is January 1, New Year's Day Meal, Kosseir, Egypt, 1828, and the last is December 31, Final Dinner Party given by François Mitterand, Souston, Landes, France, 1995. From this brief selection, the charm, taste, and atmosphere gleaned from the time, event, country, and occasions are quite clear. Each entry has a name, description, significance, and menu and analysis, with the provenance authenticated on all but a small handful with a "best guess." Since menus lend themselves nicely to an online environment, the ebook version of this work would present itself well in function and usability. BOTTOM LINE More comprehensive than The Food Timeline(www.foodtimeline.org)—a free food history reference site—though not as scholarly as Alan Davidson's The Oxford Companion to Food (2006. 2d ed.), this is recommended for culinary institutions as well as school and public libraries.—Marianne E. Giltrud, Catholic Univ. of America Libs., Washington, DC

Stern and Kazaks (both affiliated with Univ. of California, Davis) have written extensively on nutrition and weight. Here they lend their expertise to ABC-CLIO's "Contemporary World Issues" series, in a volume they hope will be utilized as the reference book regarding obesity in the United States. There's no question obesity is a big American problem in need of understanding, so the book certainly works as the starting point for interested general audiences. It's divided into sections dealing with background and history; problems, controversies, and solutions; worldwide perspective; chronology; biographical sketches; data and documents; directory of agencies, programs, and organizations; and selected print and nonprint resources. Extensive reference lists appear at the end of each section. The book discusses the definition, measurement, trends, contributing factors, consequences, and treatment of obesity. The chronology covers related events taking place between 1942 and 2008. An eclectic cast of characters appears in the biography section, including scientists and Hippocrates, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Jared (Subway Diet) Fogle, Jean Craig, and Bill Clinton. This appears to be perhaps the most unfocused section of the book, but it does indicate how obesity has impacted politics and popular culture. BOTTOM LINE The arrangement of information into thematic sections rather than alphabetically, as is the case with Facts On Files' Encyclopedia of Obesity and Eating Disorders (2006. 3d ed.), is a more coherent and substantive approach to the material. A good resource for public, school, and undergraduate libraries.—Teresa R. Faust, Vermont Dept. of Libs., Berlin