Reference Review

Reference Book Editor Daryl Grabarek -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2006

Reference

Gr 6 Up–Context is key in this set’s coverage of more than 1000 remarkable African Americans, including politicians, athletes, entertainers, activists, educators, businesspeople, and doctors, ranging from the well-known (Condoleezza Rice, Harriet Tubman, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) to the less familiar (cowboy Nat Love, Moorish Science Temple of America founder Noble Drew Ali, physician Susan McKinney Steward). The one- to two-page alphabetical entries begin with a brief description of the subjects’ achievements and an explanation of why they are important. A chronological overview of their lives follows with emphasis on their connections to other notable African Americans and to events in history. Each entry also features a black-and-white or color photo or illustration of the person, a “Key Dates” box, and notes pointing to other relevant entries, as well as books and Web sites for further information. Some also include a box highlighting “Influences and Inspiration.” “Guidepost” articles elaborate on specific aspects of the African-American experience, such as the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, and other political movements. Coverage is well balanced, with equal representation from historical and current figures. An index in each volume includes major movements, organizations, and movie and song titles. Easy to use and informative.–Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Gr 9 Up–A comprehensive, engaging examination of Aztec history and culture based on recent archaeological discoveries and excavations in Mexico City. Meticulously organized chapters present accessible information on such topics as geography, government, warfare, daily life, religion, architecture, economy, and astronomy. The readable format consists of two neatly spaced columns of text per page, with appropriate subdivisions and well-positioned visual matter. A plethora of instructive aids such as a bibliography in each chapter, line drawings, well-composed and -reproduced black-and-white photographs, and accurate maps enhances this authoritative work. A general bibliography, a list of museums containing relevant collections, a selection of Aztec poems, and a thorough index round out this resource. Michael E. Smith’s The Aztecs (Blackwell, 2002) also provides a scholarly yet readable study of Aztec life, and it can be used as a supplement to this book. A remarkable look at the grandeur of an ancient civilization.–Hillary Jan Donitz-Goldstein, formerly at New York Public Library

Gr 9 Up–This set includes numerous articles on Native American tribes, many biographical entries, and a variety of articles on cities and towns, ethnic and racial groups, and laws and policies. However, it is sometimes difficult to understand why a particular topic is given considerable space when another of seemingly equal importance is given only cursory coverage. For example, the entry on Boyle Heights, CA, an ethnically diverse community in Los Angeles, is four times the length of the entry on Los Angeles, and the article on “Mexican Migration to California” begins with the year 1945 with no reason given for the exclusion of earlier years. These problems notwithstanding, the articles included are useful. The extensive bibliography that appears at the end of each volume will be a valuable resource for students. A cumulative index is in volume two. The few black-and-white photographs are of average quality and the maps are grainy and difficult to read.–Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA

Gr 9 Up–All but two of the 193 essays in these volumes have been taken from 13 previously published Salem publications, primarily from Racial and Ethnic Relations in America ([1999], 121 articles). Alphabetically arranged, the survey covers immigrant groups and laws from the early 17th century through to the present day. The two- to five-page clearly written essays, such as “Amerasians,” “Model Minorities,” “Nativism,” and “Vietnamese Immigrants,” open with a brief definition of the topic and an explanation of its significance and close with suggestions for further reading. Volume two concludes with a complete bibliography, a time line, and indexes of categories, court cases, laws and treaties, people, and subjects. Black-and-white photographs, cartoons, charts, and graphs enhance the text. James Ciment’s Encyclopedia of American Immigration (Sharpe Reference, 2001) covers much the same information. Libraries with genealogy collections and those that need additional information on immigration to support the curriculum might want to add this volume to their collections.–Ann Joslin, Fort LeBoef School District, Waterford, PA

Gr 5-7–With plenty of help from side notes, brief quotations, and boxed topical excursions, each volume but one in this unnumbered series presents a 20th-century decade’s historical and cultural highlights in a continuous, roughly chronological narrative. One volume does double duty, covering the 1900s and 1910s, and there is another volume of “straight” chronology for the entire century, with a dozen or so briefly described events for each year. The clear, matter-of-fact accounts seem dry next to Joy Hakim’s A History of US (Oxford Univ., 1999), but are somewhat easier to read; less acceptable in comparison are the illustrations, which are not only black and white throughout, but often murky or blurred. Although this set is an unlikely first choice for most students, libraries might find it to be a helpful bridge between such single-volume surveys as Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster’s The Century for Young People (Doubleday, 1999) and the Hakim, or the more detailed “American Decades” set (Gale, 2003).–John Peters, New York Public Library

Gr 9 Up–Colonial America is defined as the years between the arrival of European colonists in 1607 at Jamestown and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 that recognized American independence. The introduction to this set reviews various historical schools of thought and their changing interpretations of American Colonial history. Seven opening essays provide an overview of major issues and the more than 450 signed, alphabetical entries that follow. The articles cover places, events, institutions, ideas, women, and minority peoples. Entries vary in length and are subdivided for easy understanding; each one ends with “see also” references and a short bibliography. A strength of this set is the chronologies, which are arranged by theme (“Gender Issues,” “Science and Technology”) and geographically by colony. The final volume includes the text of 60 primary-source documents, each with an introduction that describes its contents and significance. A glossary and listings of primary and secondary sources complete the set. The indexes are uncommonly thorough. A series of maps is located at the beginning of each book and average-quality, captioned black-and-white illustrations are scattered throughout. A substantial complement to history curriculums, important for beginners and advanced learners.–Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL

Gr 8 Up–D’Ammassa has assembled hundreds of brief articles, a little more than half of them profiling authors and the rest describing individual works. The author entries mention one work after another with brief plot summaries. The articles on the individual works and series seem arbitrarily chosen; for example, there’s an entry on each of the “Harry Potter” novels, yet none on the “Goosebumps” series. Students looking for personal information on the authors, extensive plot summaries, literary critique, or an analysis of why fantasy and horror appeal so strongly to so many readers will have to look beyond this ready-reference resource.–Walter Minkel, New York Public Library

Gr 7 Up–A pared-down yet well-organized and visually stunning version of the Atlas of North America (Oxford Univ., 2005). The 50-page section on North American geography, intact from the earlier edition, opens with a satellite image of the entire continent, followed by a thematic look at U.S. geography, geology, climate, energy, indigenous peoples, settlement, social diversity, land use, industries, languages, religions, national parks, and more. Maps, graphs, and text develop each theme. Large-scale, detailed yet clear physical/political state maps come next, followed by maps of more than 30 major metropolitan areas. A gazetteer provides information for each state and small but high-quality color photographs. The extensive index includes place names and topographical features with latitude, longitude, and map coordinates. Text is readable; graphs, charts, and captions are informative; and the maps are accurate. Information, including statistics, is current, complete with references to Hurricane Katrina. Consider this volume if your collection needs more material on U.S. geography.–Peg Glisson, Mendon Center Elementary School, Pittsford, NY

Gr 8 Up–While many libraries have chosen to superannuate the print encyclopedia, Americana continues to improve its 30-volume compendium of general knowledge that was first published more than 175 years ago. This latest edition boasts 45,000 alphabetically arranged articles focusing on history, society, literature, philosophy, politics, and geography, all indexed in a stand-alone volume. Subjects with updated entries include Hurricane Katrina, Prince Charles, and Anne Bancroft, and the acceptance of Iraq’s constitution on October 15, 2005. Approximately 1200 articles have been rewritten (“Social Security,” “Pakistan,” etc.). Contributors’ names and affiliations appear at the end of the articles. All entries begin with a pronunciation guide, and many are supplemented by suggestions for further reading, charts, tables, or illustrations. The large, colorful maps accompanying country and state articles are indexed. Elsewhere, captioned color photos enhance the text, but many black-and-white photos depicting modern life are 20 or 30 years out of date and detract from the presentation. Likewise, the encyclopedia largely ignores popular culture and lags in updating economic and technology topics, so students seeking information on J. K. Rowling, up-to-date Federal Reserve indexes, or hybrid automobiles will need to look elsewhere. The set’s value lies in its scope, depth, and accuracy as a standard of comparison about most subjects. It provides a number of gems, such as multipaged, illustrated coverage of “Archaeology,” “United States,” “Ancient Rome,” “Snakes,” “World War II,” and “Universe.”–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

Gr 8 Up–The approximately 700 main and subentries in African American History include biographies both of prominent African Americans and of other influential figures, such as John Brown and Lydia Maria Child, along with discussions of wider topics, such as “Stereotypes of African Americans.” The articles close with numerous cross-references and meaty bibliographies, enhanced in the final volume by a detailed chronology (to 1895) and index. Articles analyzing the racial attitudes of major Founding Fathers and each president, plus others that tackle many seldom-examined subjects, such as African Americans in the shipbuilding caulker’s trade or relations with immigrant Asians, exemplify the unusual depth of coverage here. Palmer’s expanded version of Culture and History widens the North American focus of the original (Gale, 1996) and its 2001 supplement to include topics and people in Caribbean and Latin American history. Comprising reprints, new contributions, and updated entries in roughly equal numbers, the 1300 alphabetically arranged articles range from three paragraphs on novelist William Attaway to multipage surveys of “Social Dance,” “Afrocubanismo,” and other broad subjects. Each entry closes with a bibliography, and nearly all feature cross-references. The previous edition contained more than twice as many illustrations, but this one improves access to its many updated charts and tables by moving them to a separate volume, which also features more than 130 pages of primary-source documents and a comprehensive index. Both sets merit consideration for collections supporting academically oriented research, but next to Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s essential, monumental Africana (Oxford Univ., 2005), they make supplemental purchases.–John Peters, New York Public Library

Gr 6-9–From concept to copyediting, this unwieldy survey of applied mathematics falls short in nearly every aspect. Each of the 80 alphabetically arranged chapters, from “Addition” to “Zero-Sum Games,” takes on a curriculum-centered topic. They open with a definition, close with a brief list of further sources, and in between quickly lay out fundamental terms and ideas, historical background, and descriptions of “Real-life Applications.” The latter often include word (rarely number) examples, but also tend to be nonspecific, if not outright simplistic; online purchasing over a “secure” connection is safe, for instance, because hackers can’t decode the content “even if they somehow manage to intercept the message somehow.” Under “Algebra,” the entry on making tradeoffs between lifespan and voltage when “Buying Light Bulbs” assumes that small variations in voltage are an option. In addition, despite substantial duplication of topics, there are no “see” references to connect related entries, such as those for carbon dating or sports wagering. Printed in two large volumes of dense, double-columned, seldom-illustrated text, this is less likely than the textbooks that it is supposed to “compliment” [sic], or actual workbooks such as Terry Cooper’s Real Life Math (Scholastic, 2002), to attract or change the attitudes of reluctant students.–John Peters, New York Public Library

Gr 4-8–Concern for the environment combined with excellent description. The first two chapters in each volume define a particular biome and its key species. The next five discuss predators, prey, flora, herbivores, and life cycle. The sixth chapter features a prime example of that type of environment such as the Sahara in Deserts and old growth forests in Forests, while the last chapter deals with human factors in each of the systems. The vocabulary is well suited to the audience and the text is well laid out. Side boxes include definitions, interesting facts, in-depth articles on related topics, listings of Web sites, videos, and further reading. The color photography is excellent. The photo captions generally repeat information found in the text. The maps, though accurate and appropriate, are small–usually less than one-quarter page. Each volume concludes with a chart of the biome’s species and an index.–Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS

Gr 10 Up–The religious, economic, educational, and “supportive” functions of American 17th- and 18th-century families are examined in this compendium. A prominent feature is the discussion of the folkways of various ethnic groups that came to this country. In the opening chapter, the authors identify seven major groups (and several smaller ones) that immigrated to British North America and how they helped create a pluralism that is “one of the most important cultural characteristics affecting the history of the United States.” They divide the country into sections and present gripping descriptions of lifestyles, along with statistics. The chapters that follow relate the day-to-day responsibilities and roles played by fathers, mothers, children, and servants and slaves. Excerpts from diaries, journals, letters, etc. are included, and endnotes follow each chapter. New interpretations of previously published studies prompt the authors to question older views of Colonial life, and they frequently use the word “revision.” Average-quality black-and-white photographs and reproductions are scattered throughout. The dense textual layout, the vocabulary, and scholarly references combine to make this book of interest to advanced students with some background knowledge of American Colonial history.–Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL

Gr 9 Up–Although Transcendentalism has come down to us as a respectable literary movement, its practitioners were more like the Beats of their day: radical and political writers who believed desperately in the importance of what they were doing. This handy work, written in a clear, informative, and engaging style, introduces the Transcendentalists’ milieu and some of their more important works to a new generation, using succinct and incisive biographical sketches, critical essays, and historical and explanatory entries. The articles also introduce lesser-known figures and works of the movement and make connections between them, moving serendipitously from Nathaniel Hawthorne to The Blithedale Romance and the failed Brook Farm commune. Including a list of “Major Transcendentalist Authors and Works” as well as a seven-page chronology, this wonderful yet modestly grand work is not so broad as to intimidate novices, nor so narrow as to alienate the curious. However, much of the information can be found in other resources, and libraries owning Wesley Mott’s Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism (Greenwood, 1996), or with access to EBSCO’s Literary Reference Center or Gale’s Literature Resource Center, may not need this volume.–Herman Sutter, Saint Agnes Academy, Houston, TX