Reference Books
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October 1, 2010 CUSATIS, John. Postwar Literature: 1945-1970. 259p. (Research Guide to American Literature). bibliog. further reading. glossary. index. CIP. Facts On File. 2010. Tr $50. ISBN 978-0-8160-7866-0. LC 2009047815.
Gr 9 Up–Literary gurus sign off on 200-plus clearly written, alphabetically organized entries that showcase many of today’s widely acclaimed fiction writers and their works. Featured authors were born after 1959 and include Sherman Alexie, Douglas Coupland, Mark Haddon, and Kaye Gibbons. Readers may also access selections by title, including popular choices such as Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi, Tracey Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. Extras include cross-references, “Bibliography of Major Works by Major Contemporary Fiction Writers,” and “Bibliography of General Secondary Sources.” This comprehensive work serves as a handy single-volume ready-reference guide and does not rival an entirely comparable source. Students will find it a helpful supplement to current fiction studies or recreational browsing, but, in spite of the series title, they will need to consult more specific encyclopedias for particular movements or areas of fiction (e.g., women’s fiction, Southern fiction, etc.).–Cara Moffett
ROBERTSON, Andrew W., ed. Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History. 7 vols. 4000p. charts. maps. photos. reprods. bibliog. further reading. index. CIP. CQ. 2010. Tr $1200. ISBN 978-0-87289-320-7. LC 2010002253.
WOLCOTT, David B & Tom Head. Crime and Punishment in America. 418p. (American Experience Series). charts. maps. photos. reprods. appendix. bibliog. chron. glossary. index. notes. CIP. Facts On File. 2010. Tr $85. ISBN 978-0-8160-6247-8. LC 2008013372.
THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA 2010. 22 vols. 14300p. charts. diags. illus. maps. photos. reprods. further reading. index. CIP. World Book. 2010. PLB $1121. ISBN 978-0-7166-0110-4. LC 2009029267.
Gr 9 Up–This deceptively slim volume offers an astonishing amount of solid information in a readily accessible format. Part one consists of an overview of the dominant forms, literary influences, and historical and social movements of the period, as well as an analysis of the schools of literary criticism that flourished then. Part two offers more in-depth “study guides” on important topics related to the literature of the time, such “The Beat Generation,” “Literary Responses to the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement,” and “Science Fiction.” The final section features five- to seven-page guides to specific writers and their relevant works, each consisting of an article followed by in-depth suggestions for discussion and further research, as well as a detailed bibliography. An annotated bibliography rounds out the book. Cusatis’s thought-provoking discussion points will provide a valuable resource for teachers preparing lesson plans or students narrowing down research topics, and the copious bibliographies will provide additional resources to investigate.–Kathleen Kelly MacMillian, Carroll County Public Library, MD
FIFIELD, Donnali, ed. Scholastic Children’s Dictionary. 800p. charts. diags. illus. maps. photos. reprods. CIP. Scholastic. July 2010. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-0-545-21858-0. LC 2010001521.
Gr 3-6–The most noticeable changes in the new edition of this perennial favorite are stylistic; the design is more restrained and less cutesy than that of the 2007 edition, with smaller print. The volume appears to be targeted at children who are more visually savvy than previous generations. Frames on each page; tabs running along the edges of the pages showing which letter is being featured; and eye-popping, full-color photos mimic the cleanest of webpage designs. There are content updates, too: the endpapers now feature full-color world maps, and 1000 new photos and illustrations supplement the definitions. Boxes feature more word histories and sample sentences than in previous editions, and a directory of U.S. presidents, complete with pictures and facts, joins the thesaurus, grammar, punctuation, idiom, acronym, and flag information in the supplementary material.–Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD
FINKELMAN, Paul, ed. Milestone Documents in African American History: Exploring the Essential Primary Sources. 4 vols. 1841p. photos. reprods. appendix. chron. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. Schlager Group. 2010. Tr $395. ISBN 978-1-935306-05-4. LC number unavailable.
Gr 8 Up–One hundred and twenty-five speeches, documents, and chapters or passages from longer works are fully analyzed in this collection of selected primary sources. Coverage includes John Rolfe’s casual mention in correspondence of “20 and odd Negroes” delivered as indentured servants in 1619; President Obama’s address to the 2009 NAACP Centennial Convention; the “Ohio Black Code”; the wrenching Confessions of Nat Turner from the 1831 pamphlet authored by Thomas Ruffin Gray; Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” address; and Clarence Thomas’s acid “concurrence/dissent” in the Grutter v. Bollinger case. In each of the chronologically ordered entries, the document’s text is preceded by a clear explanation of its significance, a context-placing essay, a biography of its author, a time line, a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis, a discussion of its audience and impact, one or more contemporary black-and-white illustrations, a multimedia resource list, and several study questions. References readers may be unfamiliar with and foreign words and phrases are outlined in glossaries following the texts. Back matter in volume 4 includes teacher activity guides keyed to national history standards. The set’s full text is available online (through the end of 2011) in the “Salem History” database. As a print resource for upper-level students, this work substantially trumps Kai Wright’s single-volume The African American Experience (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2009) as a primary-source supplement to Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates’s Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (Oxford, 2005).–John Peters, formerly at New York Public Library
FREDRIKSEN, John C. Chronology of American Military History. 3 vols. 2144p. (Chronology of American Military History). maps. photos. reprods. bibliog. chron. index. CIP. Facts On File. 2010. Tr $300. ISBN 978-0-8160-7761-8. LC 2009022198.
Gr 10 Up–A minimum of one, and usually no more than three, items are listed for almost every date in this set, beginning with January 27, 1775, and ending with December 31, 2009. Each entry is categorized as military, naval, Marines, aviation, politics, technology, terrorism, or diplomacy, and is usually no more than three to six lines in length. Wide outside margins carry the year at the bottom of the page. Informative, boxed biographical sketches of prominent military leaders and Native Americans are included amid the chronologies. Most of them include a portrait of the subject, and there are a few other black-and-white photos scattered throughout the volumes. Though the text is accurate, poorly worded sentences and far too many typos will leave readers confused or chuckling; e.g., General J.E.B. Stuart is reported to have been “morally wounded” during the Civil War; Admiral Byrd almost died of “carbon dioxide” poisoning; and Apollo 17 made “a final touch down on the lunar surface for the last time.” Each volume contains a section of easy-to-read black-and-white maps and a bibliography pertaining to that volume. Unless readers are browsing the set, the index in volume three will be an absolute necessity for making effective use of this resource. A marginal purchase.–Eldon Younce, Anthony Public Library, KS
HAMILTON, Geoff & Brian Jones, eds. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Writers and Their Work. 426p. (Literary Movements). appendix. bibliog. index. CIP. Facts On File. 2010. Tr $75. ISBN 978-0-8160-7578-2. LC 2009022546.
Gr 9 Up–This authoritative set analyzes the evolution of the political terrain of the United States from the 1500s to 2009. Since each of the alphabetically arranged volumes concentrates on a particular era, students can track the constants and vicissitudes of a variety of topics and their relevance to politics: civil rights, constitutional dilemmas, elections, policy-making, and persons. Articles are accompanied by a smattering of black-and-white historical prints, photos, and political cartoons, often poorly reproduced. Most of the signed pieces run from one to four pages, and are authenticated by comprehensive bibliographies and suggestions for further reading. Given the input of dozens of scholars, the earnest tone and polished style of the writing is remarkably uniform. Controversial material is covered with impartiality. For instance, in the section of the “September 11, 2001, Attacks” article covering the Bush administration’s response, rather than stating opinions as facts, the author uses phrases such as “Many argued that….” Volume one contains a set table of contents; each volume contains a reader’s guide that organizes subject matter alphabetically and provides page numbers, and a cumulative index.–Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Library, NC
Gr 9 Up–Expansive in scope, this highly readable and illustrated compendium covers from the Spanish conquests of the New World and the Salem witch trials to the September 11 terrorist attacks and cyber-crime in the 21st century. Extending beyond the traditionally infamous gangsters, juvenile delinquents, and serial killers, Wolcott and Head’s thoughtful and thorough analysis brings gender, race, and political issues into focus as well. It attends to women criminals (Lizzie Borden) and activists (Ida B. Wells) and issues such as domestic abuse and abortion-clinic bombing. There is a strong emphasis on the treatment of African Americans by the justice system, linking societal and justice issues to conditions established under slavery–a relationship that is traced from the abolition movement and the Underground Railroad up to the Rodney King beating and the Los Angeles riots of 1992. Each chapter presents a 10- to 12-page chronological analysis of an era, followed by a year-by-year time line and a fascinating three- to seven-page compendium of primary-source quotations and narratives. The four appendixes include 25 pages of excerpts from important documents, 33 pages of capsule biographies, and sections of maps, graphs, and tables. Though much of this material can be found in online databases, this engaging volume will prove useful to researchers who have an interest in the legal system.–Herman Sutter, St. Agnes Academy, Houston, TX
WORLD AT RISK: A GLOBAL ISSUES SOURCEBOOK. 2nd ed. 822p. charts. maps. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. CQ. 2009. Tr $165. ISBN 978-0-87289-919-3. LC 2009040270.
Gr 10 Up–This update of the 2002 edition is subdivided thematically (rather than alphabetically) and includes new entries on drug and human trafficking, international finance, immigration, and transnational governance. Chapters that appeared in the original edition have been revised and updated. The thematic sections cover “Demographics and Settlement”; “Economics”; “Environment”; “Education, Health, and Welfare”; “Politics and Governance”; and “Security.” Each section is further divided into chapters addressing specific topics. For example, the section on security includes chapters on arms control, drug trafficking, and genocide. Chapters are similarly structured, allowing for easy comparison of issues. Beginning with historical background and development, entries also detail policies and programs, include regional summaries, end with case studies, and are supplemented by informative, black-and-white tables and maps. Every chapter concludes with a section containing biographies of relevant subjects, agency directories, and extensive bibliographies. This quality work thoroughly covers broad ground and will be appreciated by high school students working above grade level.–Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY
Gr 5 Up–The standards of readability and vocabulary analysis, curricular relevancy, and integrated visual aids remain consistent in this revision of the 2009 resource. Unchanged is a format that, for the most part, provides a volume for each letter of the alphabet with the last volume consisting of a research guide and a thoroughly cross-referenced index. The set features an attractive biographical spinescape and an opening page for the featured letter that now uses a map, rather than a chart, to illustrate the evolution of the letter over time and place. New entries include “Sonia Sotomayor,” “Project Green,” “Swine flu,” “Kanye West,” “Binge eating,” “Michelle Obama,” and “Emmet Till.” Information has been added or revisions made to entries such as “Barack Obama,” “Automobile Industry,” “Television,” “Malaysia,” “Agriculture,” “Shakespeare,” and “Mythology.” Often taken for granted are the more than 27,500 visual aids, such as the transparent color overlays in the “Human Body” article; or the charts, color-coded tables, and museum-quality illustrations in the “Insects,” “American Indians,” and “Brain” pieces. Contributors are noted at the end of entries, which will satisfy teachers’ requirements for secondary, rather than tertiary, source material. Population figures still, unavoidably, reflect the 2000 census data, but that alone should not deter a decision to purchase this fine edition that is unsurpassed for the audience.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia Jr. Sr. High School, NY
