mcilvaine.indd Selected Reference Books, 2003–2004 1 Eileen McIlvaine This article follows the pattern set by the semiannual series initiated by the late Constance M. Winchell more than seventy-five years ago and continued by Eugene P. Sheehy. I have been editor since about 1985 and this will be my last column. Since I am retiring, Sarah Spurgin Witte (spurgin@columbia.edu) will be the next editor, with Mary Cargill respon- sible for the New Editions and Supplements section. Because the purpose of the list is to present a selection of recent scholarly and general reference works, it does not pretend to be either well balanced or comprehensive. A brief roundup of new editions of standard works is provided at the end of the articles. Code numbers (such as BD111) have been used to refer to titles in the Guide to Reference Books, 11th ed. (Chicago: ALA, 1996). English-Language Dictionaries dead beat, dead heat, dead in the water, Cambridge Dictionary of American Idi- dead duck, dead ringer, to name a few. oms. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Not one of these makes it into this diction- Pr., 2003. 498p. illus. $24.00 (ISBN: 0- ary, nor does “off the top of my head,” 521-53271-X). LCCN: 2003-053233. which leads me to wonder how complete Though useful to an extent, namely for it is. The layout and cartoon illustrations its currency and for the specialized study also contribute to problems with ease of and subject sections, this dictionary falls use. I found the two-color design and short in some significant areas. Despite unsophisticated cartoon drawings dis- its proud claim to include more than tracting. They make this work look like 5,500 idioms in current use, I was unable a school textbook rather than a scholarly to find listings for many popular Ameri- reference work. can phrases. Just taking a word such as The layout is further confused by a “dead,” for example, I can quickly list a study section that falls a er the le er L number of idioms off the top of my head, in the middle of the A to Z dictionary list- including drop dead, over my dead body, ings. I found the Study Section to be the Eileen McIlvaine was Head of Reference in Butler Library, Columbia University: e-mail: mcilvain@columbia. edu. Although it appears under a byline, this list is a project of the reference departments of the Columbia University Libraries and notes are signed with the initials of the following staff members: Karen L. Green (Ancient & Medieval History Librarian); Barbara Sykes Austin (Avery Library); Mary Cargill, Robert H. Sco , Junko Stuveras, Sarah Spurgin Wi e (Butler Library); Nancy E. Friedland (Media Library); Elizabeth Davis (Music Library); Anice Mills (Undergraduate Services Librarian). 439 mailto:spurgin@columbia.edu 440 College & Research Libraries most useful element in this dictionary as it explains idioms in a more conceptual way (i.e., idioms built around prepositions or idioms using parts of the human body to describe emotions). Unfortunately, this section is lost in the middle of the alphabet. A subject index at the back of the book arranges idioms by categories such as behavior, differences, emotional condition, and similarities. This index and the Study Section strike me as particularly useful tools for someone learning American English as a second language and should be prominently featured and grouped together. In the current arrangement, not only are they not introduced in the front ma er, they are not given primary placement and can be easily overlooked. A much-be er-organized, a ractive, and comprehensive dictionary of American idioms is The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer (729 p.). Published in 1997, it still surpasses the Cambridge Dictionary in its coverage of American idioms in both the spoken and wri en word.—A.M. Ostler, Rosemarie. Dewdroppers, Waldos, and Slackers: A Decade-by-Decade Guide to the Vanishing Vocabulary of the Twen- tieth Century. New York: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2003. 239p. illus. $25.00 (ISBN 0-19- 516146-7). LCCN: 2003-008302. The catchy title of this slang dictionary is a good indicator of the delights to be found inside. Using an o eat, but logical, approach to historical slang, this volume arranges chapters by decades and uses the slang terms in a lighthearted descrip- tive essay. Boldface terms are defined by their use in context whereas other slang terms and expressions are defined in a thematic way, illustrating cultural refer- ences as well. Black-and-white period photographs and sidebars that highlight a single term enhance the presentation and add to this volume’s appeal. September 2004 Covering American English between 1900 and 1999 and including words that are no longer current while excluding ob- scenities and terms that denigrate certain groups, one can’t help but be amused, enlightened, and surprised by the wealth of slang that has come and gone over the century. From darb (an excellent person or thing, 1900s) to groovy (good, hip, cool, 1960s), slang expressions have come and gone. Well researched, with a thorough bibliography and index, this volume is bound to entertain as well as educate.—A.M. Biography African American Lives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks Higgenbo- tham. New York: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2004. 1,025p. illus. $110 (ISBN 0-19- 516024-X). LCCN 2003-023640. This is a one-volume preview, with 611 entries, of the forthcoming African Ameri- can National Biography, which is to be pub- lished in 2006. The larger work will, “us- ing this work as its core, expand to 6,000 entries.” (Introd.). Many of the 611 entries were reprinted from the American National Biography (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1999). Unlike most national biographies, this volume, which spans four centuries, includes living people. The “goal was to include not simply the greatest, the most deserving, or the most famous African Americans, but [to include] a selection that is representative of the broad range of African American experience” (Introd.). Many of the entries are illustrated, and all have brief bibliographies. Manuscript collections, when they exist, are identi- fied. Major research libraries probably will want to wait for the larger ver- sion, especially as so many entries are also in the American National Biography; smaller libraries will find this invalu- able.—M.C. Periodical Indexes Internationale Bibliographie der Rezen- sionen Wissenscha lichen Literatur (International Bibliography of Book Reviews in Scholarly Literature). K. G. Saur, distributed by Gale, 1985–. Subscription price varies. Be er known as the IBR (AA373), the on- line version indexes book reviews in some 6,000 academic journals from 1985 to the present; it is updated monthly. It can be searched under the title and the author of the book, the reviewer’s name, and the journal title. Publisher is an option listed as well, but that finds the publisher of the journal, not of the book. The title search appears to find keywords; for example, Hegel’s History of Philosophy finds that title as well as others, including Freedom, Truth, and Philosophy: An Introduction to Hegel’s Philosophy. This is an important resource that all academic libraries will need, but I did find some problems. The drop-down search menu does not include an option for the book title—this option is actu- ally under the article title, which might confuse users. A search by author only finds the first author listed, and multiple authors do not appear to be indexed. For example, searching for reviews of works by Ira Katznelson did not find Pierre Birnbaum and Ira Katznelson’s Paths of Emancipation because it is indexed only by the first author. Of course, most users looking for book reviews will look under the title. I also found some puzzling omissions. ISI’s Web of Science lists a review of Paths of Emancipation in the 1997 issue of Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, which does not turn up in the IBR, though other reviews from that issue do. Despite these inconsistencies, however, this is an important title and the online version is a necessary addition to any academic library.—M.C. Selected Reference Books, 2003–2004 441 Internationale Bibliographie der Zeit- schri enliteratur aus allen Gebieten des Wissens (International Bibliogra- phy of Periodical Literature Covering All Fields of Knowledge). K.G. Saur, distributed by Gale. 1983–. Subscrip- tion price varies. The printed version of the IBZ (AD255), as it is usually abbreviated, began in 1965 with the merger of the Bibliographie der deutschen Zeitschriftenliteratur (AD313), published from 1896 to 1964, and the Bibliographie der fremdsprachigen Zeitschriftenliteratur (AD253), published from 1911 to 1964. These early indexes are indispensable for any academic library, and though the comparatively recent development of other scholarly subject-specific indexes has made the interdisciplinary IBZ less crucial, the IBZ remains an extremely useful index to European scholarly journals. The online version indexes more than 10,000 journals published from 1983 and is updated month- ly. It is indexed by subject (both German and English headings are used), and can be searched in a variety of ways, including by keyword, journal title, and language. Those familiar with the printed version will be relieved to hear that the complete title of the journal is given in the online version—no need to look up those cryp- tic, but space-saving, periodical codes! An easy-to-use drop-down menu under the periodical search makes it easy to determine which issues of a particular journal are indexed. There does seem to be some spo y coverage: Ballet Review is only indexed for 1996 and 1997, History Today from 1984 to 1991. This index, however, with its wide coverage and subject access, is a very important resource for academic librar- ies.—M.C. Philosophy Ariew, Roger. Historical Dictionary of Descartes and Cartesian Philosophy. 442 College & Research Libraries Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements, 46. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2003. 302p. illus. $80 (ISBN 0-8108-4833-3). LCCN 2003-01223-3. This guide to René Descartes, the French philosopher and mathematician, and Cartesian philosophy was edited by five scholars of Descartes. It offers a concise dictionary of the concepts of Cartesian philosophy and the people associated with the philosopher. The dictionary is accompanied by an introductory essay on the life and times of Descartes and a chronology of Cartesian philosophy up to 1720, when his writings were finally in- cluded in the curriculum at the University of Paris. A bibliography of his texts and editions and a list of works on Descartes complete the book. The dictionary succeeds in placing Descartes in the context of the intellectual ferment of the time and offers succinct overviews of his ideas in relation to other European philosophers. For college and research libraries.—J.S. Literature Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel. Ed. Peter Bondanella and Andrea Ciccarelli. Cambridge Com- panions to Literature. Cambridge, N.Y.: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 2003. 243p. $65.00, paper $24.00 (ISBN 0-521- 66018-1). LCCN 2002-041706. This is a collection of fourteen essays by notable specialists on the development of the Italian novel from Boccacio to the new Italian novel of the late twentieth century. The book aims to provide “a broad-rang- ing introduction to the major trends in the development of the Italian novel”(p. i). The emphasis is on the twentieth century. The essays discuss such varied topics as the development of the theory of the novel in Italy, popular fiction between the Risorgimento and World War I, feminist September 2004 authors, the novel and the cinema, and comparative discussion of Lampedusa and Pasolini; and there is, of course, a chapter devoted to Manzoni. Each essay is followed by a bibliog- raphy for further reading that typically contains a dozen titles. The book has a handy Chronology of the Development of Italian Prose Fiction from 1336 (Boccac- cio’s Filocolo) to 2002 (Andrea Camilleri’s La Paura di Montalbano) and an index by topic. Recommended for any university or public library that collects Italian lit- erature.—J.S. Chuprinin, Sergei. Novaia Rossiia: mir literatury: entsiklopedicheskii slovar’. Moskva: RIPOL KLASSIK, 2002. 2 vols. (ISBN 5-7905-1662-9). With the passing away of the Soviet Union, a new Russia has begun to emerge, a Russia with a cultural life shaped by many important new faces and new directions (along with obvious elements of continuity). Even though a li le less than two decades have passed since Gorbachev’s assumption of power, the pace of change already confronts students and researchers with a serious need for new information tools to guide them in their efforts to understand the country and its culture today. This two-volume work about the authors and institutions of the new Rus- sian literary world is compiled by Sergei Chuprinin, a literary critic, historian, and journalist active since 1969, and is an ad- mirable a empt to respond to that need. Although there are perils inherent in a empting to create an authoritative ref- erence to any ongoing phenomenon, this is clearly a work that any serious library collection dealing with Russian literature and culture will need to acquire. The largest portion of the work is a listing of approximately 14,000 Russian writers active in the period 1985 to Octo- ber 2001, the general criterion for selection being the publication of at least one book in Russian during those years. The subject focus is somewhat broader than the title of the work suggests. Along with authors of prose, poetry, drama, and literary criticism, one encounters many historians whose work touches on literature and culture. Although there have been other recent dictionaries of Russian writers of the twentieth century, most of those pro- vide only limited coverage of these most recent years and none of the other works addressing this narrower period appear to have anything of the breadth of this compendium. Information about the authors was drawn from a variety of printed compen- dia (e.g., earlier a empts at a synthesis, who’s whos, works focusing on a particu- lar region or city, etc.), from the Internet, and, to a significant degree, from a ques- tionnaire that was circulated as part of this project. As one might expect in a work as current as this, the depth of coverage varies widely. In a number of cases, no further information could be obtained for this guide, and those entries consist only of a name and the book or (rarely) books published by that individual. The major- ity of the entries provide more detailed information, including a brief biographi- cal sketch, a listing of major works, an indication of institutional memberships, honors and awards, and (usually) the source from which the information was drawn. At the end of the work are useful lists of literary periodicals published between 1985 and 2001 (pp. 717–870), literary organizations active in this period (pp. 871–85), and literary prizes (886–921), with brief, but useful, characterizations of each. Regrettably, the absence of a table of contents or running heads at the tops of the pages make these la er sec- tions difficult to use, with the result that Selected Reference Books, 2003–2004 443 many readers will probably overlook this section. For the immediate future, this is sure to serve as the most important guide to the literary scene of the new Russia, and when it is superseded, as it inevitably must be, by works that will eventually benefit from historical hindsight, it is sure to remain valuable as a snapshot of this key moment in Russian literary his- tory.—R.H.S. Cinema Mayer, Geoff. Guide to British Cinema. Ref- erence Guides to the World’s Cinema. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2003. 440p. $99.95 (ISBN 0-313-30307-X). LCCN 2002-075325. Encyclopedia of British Film. Ed. Brian McFarlane, with Anthony Slide. Lon- don: Methuen, 2003. 774p. illus. $35.00 (ISBN 0- 413- 77301-9). LCCN 2003- 374156. British cinema hasn’t always gotten a fair rap. With the publication in 2003 of the Guide to British Cinema and the Encyclopedia of British Film, it is the intent of the writers, editors, and contributors of these works to overcome decades of indifference toward this cinema. On all ac- counts, time may indicate they succeeded marvelously. The Guide includes an alphabetical listing of key films, directors, and actors from 1929 (birth of the British talkies) to 2000. Film entries include award-win- ning films, box office hits, and those films considered important for initiating new directions. Only narrative feature films were selected; documentary, avant-garde, and short films were excluded. Selected examples from the major genres also are included. The film entries are composed of basic cast and crew credits, a very brief synopsis of the plot, and, generally, a short commentary highlighting the sig- nificance or importance of the film. 444 College & Research Libraries Personal entries include notables such as Alfred Hitchcock, Peter Greenaway, and David Lean, in addition to those lesser-known talents such as Lance Comfort, Roy Ward Baker, and Christo- pher Lee. The personal entries include a brief biography, filmography, and career highlights, particularly in relation to the British cinema. A bibliography, index, and appendix of actors, directors, and films also are included. The Guide is not intended to be com- prehensive and is admi edly subjective. Regardless, it is a useful reference tool and recommended for film collections. The Encyclopedia of British Film is a wide-ranging, comprehensive work. Un- like the Guide to British Cinema (above), the Encyclopedia does not include entries on individual films but does include topical subject entries. The impressive list of contributors credits their work to a highly regarded listing of bibliographic works and monographic titles on British cinema (p. xiv). Over two decades in the making and including more than 5,800 entries, the Encyclopedia is intended to be a starting point for most research on the British cinema and, in the process, more closely a empts to deal with the question of what a British film is. The focus is on everything British and cinema related and includes individuals having a birthright to the UK and non-British actors who have starred in British cinema. Films are discussed in the personal entries and were painstak- ingly selected according to a very specific categorization drawn from the BFI Film and Television Handbook 1999 (BH264). The volume is mainly composed of a varied alphabetical listing of entries that include personal names, genres, histories, and movements. The personal entries name just about everyone with a con- nection to the British cinema, including, among the notables, hundreds of charac- September 2004 ter actors, cinematographers, producers, editors, costume and production design- ers, technicians, sound recordists, and continuity personnel. The entries are very brief, providing biographical information and career highlights with particular em- phasis on the individual’s work in British cinema. Ironically, an entry for Charlie Chaplin claims the birthright of this ge- nius and sadly laments that “The rest of his story—the days of his glory—belongs to another country and in another book” (p.114). There is even an entry for the Ital- ian actress Sophia Loren, listing several British films in which she appeared. The topical entries seemingly cover all aspects of British cinema. They are fasci- nating to read and extremely informative. There are entries on national cinema, theatre and film, music and cinema, tele- vision-to-cinema spin-offs, Thatcherism and film, Africa in British film, Hammer Studios, London on film, quota quickies, women filmmakers, just to name a few. Cross-references are boldfaced within each entry. Appendices document awards, title changes (Britain to America), and a select bibliography. The Encyclopedia of British Film is essential to any film collec- tion.—N.E.F. Music Diccionario de la zarzuela: España e Hispanoamérica. Ed. Emilio Casares Rodicio; Colaboradores, Ma. Luz González Peña [et al.]; Fonografía, Raquel Peña Fernández. [Madrid]: In- stituto Complutense de Ciencias Mu- sicales, 2002–2003. 2 vols. illus. (ISBN 8-489457301). LCCN 2003-448964. The zarzuela is considered the most important form of Spanish drama. Char- acterized by a mixture of song, dance, and spoken dialogue, it developed in Spain during the eighteenth century but languished during the last quarter of the eighteenth century and the first of the nineteenth. However, it went on to enjoy a significant revival in the mid-nineteenth century, in both its original form and the shorter género chico. The Diccionario de la zarzuela is the first major reference work to bring this repertory to the a ention of scholars and performers. It is published by the Instituto Complutense de Ciencias Musicales, itself a major repository of zarzuela materials. Although focused on a specific repertory, the work covers the form, not only as it was created and developed in Madrid, but also its manifestations in other Span- ish provinces, as well as in Cuba, Mexico, and Argentina. The more than 3,000 signed entries are listed alphabetically and include names of individuals, names of groups, titles of works, music genres, topical terms, etc. Entries also include bibliographies and discographies, and most have illustra- tions (including color). The appendices in volume two include a discography of zarzuelas available on compact disc, list- ings of the first line of texts (romanzas) by vocal register (soprano, tenor, etc.) along with its location in a play, and a listing of the texts by author. A major contribution to the field, this dictionary lays the groundwork for all future studies.—E.D. Music Entries at Stationers’ Hall, 1710— 1818, from Lists Prepared for William Hawes, D.W. Krummel, and Alan Ty- son, and from Other Sources. Comp. Michael Kassler, with a foreword by D.W. Krummel. Aldershot, Hants, Eng.; Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2004. xxviii, 735p. $119.95 (ISBN 0-7546- 3458-2). LCCN 2003-049619. This work contains a catalogue of 5,459 music entries made between 1710 and 1818 in Stationers’ Hall registers in Lon- don. The entries describe publications that consist primarily of either musical Selected Reference Books, 2003–2004 445 notation or English texts that “referred to music in a substantial way.” Also included are a few entries for musical games and portraits of musicians. The date 1710 marks the starting point as indexes are available for earlier works. In addition, a statute came into force in April 1710 that instituted a new basis for registering publications. The year 1818 marks the termination date in order to limit this work to a single volume, and, furthering that goal, the entries between 1811 and 1818 appear in an abbreviated, single-line form in an appendix. Entries are arranged chronologically by month, day, and year. Each entry con- tains the proprietor’s name, date of entry, a description based on the text that the warehouse keeper copied into the register from the title page of the publication, and location of a copy if it is found in one of eight UK libraries. The work concludes with four indexes: authors, writers, per- formers, and dedicatees. The importance of this work is twofold. First, it provides evidence of the impor- tance of music in British and Irish culture, as 25 percent of the entries registered are music or music related. (An alternative method of securing copyright protection was to obtain a royal license, and from 1694 to 1760, 36 licenses out of 189, or 19%, were for music.) Second, the entries allow for precise dating of musical works, a large percentage of which are often published undated and create significant challenges for music bibliographers and scholars.—E. D. Architecture African-American Architects: A Biograph- ical Dictionary, 1865–1945. Ed. Dreck Spurlock Wilson. New York: Rout- ledge, 2004. 550p. illus. $95.00 (ISBN 0-415929598). LCCN 2003-009675. African-American Architects is a single- volume reference work for architectural 446 College & Research Libraries historians, historic preservationists, archi- tects, historians, curators, students, and the general public seeking to provide reli- able information on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century African American architects. The dictionary is composed of 168 entries that were provided by more than a hundred contributing authors. The entries, which range in length from 250 to 4,000 words, are arranged alphabetically, internally cross-referenced, and supple- mented by photographs of architects and the buildings that they designed” (Introd.). In addition to biographies, which o en contain rare portraits of the architects, photographs or drawings of their works, notes from the text, bibliography, and a building list (with building name, ad- dress, year of completion, and comments on present use), there are nine entries on architectural programs that trained the majority of these architects during this period. There also are eight entries on “Negro Buildings,” a historically unique type of temporary exhibition building that existed solely for segregationist purposes at Southern regional fairs but neverthe- less provided opportunities for African American architects, builders, and cra s- men to engage in the design and building process and to display their skill. The dictionary provides a list of contributors (each entry is signed), the list of entries, and the narrative entries themselves on the architects, architecture schools, and Negro Buildings, interfiled alphabetically. A general bibliography is classified by General References; Books; Newspapers, Magazines, and Journals; and Unpublished Papers/Manuscripts/ Dissertations. The appendix is a compen- dium with a list of buildings sorted by state and city or county, with the year of completion (if known), and the architect’s name (or landscape architect or architec- tural engineer: practitioners in these allied September 2004 fields are included in the dictionary). A shorter list of countries outside the U.S. with buildings by African American architects also is provided. Finally, a com- plete index of names, buildings, building types, and schools of architecture com- pletes the volume. The dictionary is an essential reference. One has only to view the bibliography to appreciate the widely diverse and non- architectural sources that were needed to research in order to gauge its value to library users. The introduction offers a useful historical context for the contribu- tions of African Americans to the built environment of the United States, and the appendix is invaluable as a gaze eer to the geographical distribution of this largely unrecognized group of pioneering architects.—B.S-A. Political Science Grossman, Mark. Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2003. 466p. illus. $85.00 (ISBN: 1-57607-060-3; also available as an e-book). LCCN: 2003-013127. As political scandals and ethical lapses of every magnitude continue to dominate public discourse, encyclopedias and other reference works cataloging and describing these offenses are bound to flourish. The historical perspective provided in this par- ticular work offers some context in which to view our current era and also includes the reform measures enacted in response to specific instances of corruption. Defining political corruption as “the dishonest use of a position of elected pow- er to gain a monetary advantage” (Introd.), Grossman includes corrupt activities dat- ing from the time of the American colonies. Entries are arranged alphabetically and include cross-references and brief bibli- ographies. The book is enhanced by pho- tographs, political cartoons, and graphs (of presidential pardons, for example). An extensive bibliography with separate categories for dissertations, government documents, manuscripts, court cases, and oral histories, adds to this work’s scholarly value. Eight appendices, an index, and a chronology of corruption ranging from 1635 to 2003 round out the text entries. With its brief entries, wide historical scope, and political cartoons from as early as 1871, this encyclopedia is a good basic refer- ence work for undergraduates and others interested in the ignominious events in American political history.—A.M. Women’s Studies Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures. Ed. Suad Joseph. Leiden: Brill, 2003–. Section 1, Volume 1: Methodologies, Paradigms, and Sources. To be pub- lished in six volumes. $550.00 (ISBN: 9004132473 (set); 9004113800 [vol. 1]). LCCN 2004-269368. The Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures (EWIC) “is an interdisciplinary, transhistorical, and global project. It brings together upwards of 1,000 scholars to write critical essays on women, Muslim and non-Muslim, and Islamic cultures in every region where there have been significant Muslim populations. It aims to cover every topic for which there is sig- nificant research, examining these regions from the period just before the rise of Islam to the present” (Introd.). When completed, EWIC will comprise five volumes, divided into two sections, with a combined index in a sixth volume. Section I, volume I, fo- cuses on methodologies, paradigms, and sources for studying women and Islamic cultures, and includes thematic entries (e.g., Women in the O oman World: Mid- 18th to Early 20th Century; Malay World, 18th to Early 20th Century); disciplinary entries (e.g., Anthropology, Geography, Population, and Health Studies); and an extensive bibliography of books and Selected Reference Books, 2003–2004 447 articles published since 1993 in European languages on the subject of women and Islamic cultures. The signed thematic and disciplinary entries range from 2,000 to 10,000 words, with most about 4,000 words. They include bibliographies that cite primary and secondary sources. Future volumes will address family, law and politics (volume two); family, body, sexuality, and health (volume three); economics, education, mobility, and space (volume four); and practice, interpreta- tion, and representations (volume five). Although each volume is indexed, a sixth, cumulated index also is planned. This is an excellent scholarly encyclopedia and is recommended for all libraries supporting research at advanced undergraduate and graduate levels.—S.S.W. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women’s Issues Worldwide. Ed Lynn Walter et al. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2003. 6 vols. $550.00 (ISBN 0-313-32787-4). LC 2003-045526. The six volumes of this encyclopedia cover Asia and Oceania; Central and South America; Europe; the Middle East and North Africa; the Caribbean and North America; and Sub-Saharan Africa. Chapters within each volume are listed alphabetically by country. Each chapter includes a profile of the country, followed by sections on education; employment and economics; family and sexuality; health; politics and law; religion and spirituality; violence; and the outlook for the twenty- first century. Sections are further subdi- vided: the section on employment and economics, for example, has subsections on inheritance, property, land rights, and social/government programs. There are virtually no graphs or other tabular data; entries are presented as narrative, with endnotes listing the sources of statistics cit- ed in the entries. The endnotes frequently cite online sources of additional informa- 448 College & Research Libraries tion that may be useful to readers as the information in the encyclopedia ages. By focusing on women’s issues by coun- try, the Encyclopedia is a useful companion to the more scholarly Routledge Internation- al Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women’s Issues and Knowledge (N.Y: Routledge, 2000. 4v., reviewed by Sarah Spurgin Wi e in College and Research Libraries v.62, no 5 [Sept. 2001]: 474–75), which treats women’s issues but does not provide a country-by- country assessment of these issues. The Greenwood Encyclopedia will ap- peal to a general audience. Much of the information could o en be found in other sources (the Library of Congress Country Studies are cited o en). A major weak- ness is that it is not comprehensive: the volume for Sub-Saharan Africa lists only 22 countries and excludes Angola, the Re- public of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others. Other volumes are more comprehensive: the volume for Europe includes 39 coun- tries. It is recommended for libraries that wish to provide narrative descriptions of women’s issues by country.—S.S.W. Cultural Studies Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Ed. Solomon H. Katz. New York: Scribner, 2003. 3 vols. illus. $400 (ISBN 0-684- 80568-5). LCCN 2002-014607. This ambitious encyclopedia claims to be an “authoritative source [which] covers human history from Stone Age nutrition to the future of food”(Pref.). The signed articles are arranged alphabetically and include brief bibliographies. Unfortu- nately, some of the articles appear to be somewhat diffuse and erratically edited. “Cannibalism” reads like an academic es- say with many cryptic references to other sources. A student looking for a brief survey of the subject will be confronted with paragraphs such as “A storm of con- troversy has arisen over new evidence for September 2004 cannibalism in the Anasazi population of the southwestern United States from the period between 900 and 1200 C.E. White (1992) and the Turners(1999) have identi- fied skeletal remains from a number of populations that lived in the Four Corners area that show clear signs of persistent and regular cannibalism (White 1992; Turner and Turner 1999)” (v. 1, p.315). But the author of that article does not document every statement. “Starvation cannibalism appears to be tacitly con- doned by Western societies” (v.1, p. 316) might be news to the Donner Party. Nor is the information presented always con- sistent. A boxed entry on kuru (a form of mad cow disease) in the Fore tribe of New Guinea says that the epidemic ceased when the Australian government banned cannibalism, but the actual article of can- nibalism refers to scholarship saying the Fore were not cannibals. At times, the articles can seem overly breezy. “Tea (Meal)” refers to the Duch- ess of Bedford as “Anna,” and ends, a er a few quotations from some authors, with “Volumes could be wri en,” a not terribly specific conclusion, although the author does demolish the pretentious use of “High tea” as a symbol of elegance. The dread academicese does appear as well, as in the “significators of a true New England Thanksgiving dinner.” Libraries supporting popular culture programs may find this work useful, but to a large extent it is another example of a coffee-table book disguised as a reference encyclopedia.—M.C. History Holloran, Peter C. Historical Dictionary of New England. Historical Dictionaries of Cities of the World, 13. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2003. 513p. $85 (ISBN 0- 8108-4861-9). LCCN 2003-010895. The dozen preceding volumes of the series covered major cities of the world from Washington, D.C. to Stockholm. The present volume is devoted to the history of six New England states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It aims to “cover the facts, history, institutions, pieces of literature, names, places, topics and words that characterize the political, economic, social, and cultural life of New England” (Book Jacket). In comparison with The Encyclopedia of New England, by Robert O’Brien (1985; DB153), Holloran has fewer entries on institutions such as the Boston Public Library and colleges and universities in the region but has more entries on people such as governors, members of Congress, and business, religious, and cultural lead- ers. It contains fewer geographic name entries, but more topical entries on a wide variety of subjects from literature and art to Mill girls and Maine coon cat. The dictionary is accompanied by three maps, a chronology, a list of state symbols, and a select bibliography, which is ar- ranged by topic. For public and college libraries.—J.S. Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Christopher Kleinhenz. Garland Ency- clopedias of the Middle Ages, 9. New York: Routledge, 2004. 2 vols. xxx, 1,290p. illlus. $487 (ISBN 0-415-93929-1). LCCN 2003-7183. The Encyclopedia contains about 1,000 entries of varied length from a hundred words to more than 10,000 words wri en by almost two hundred collaborators. It covers all aspects of life in medieval Italy, from the late Roman Empire to the end of the fourteenth century. The volumes are embellished by numerous black and white photographs of buildings, land- scapes, and art works. Geographically, it encompasses roughly present-day Italy, the idea of the unified Italy of Dante and Petrarch. Selected Reference Books, 2003–2004 449 Articles are arranged alphabetically, and each signed article is accompanied by a bibliography and is extensively cross-referenced. In addition to the cross- references at the end of each article, the reader is assisted by an extensive index at the end of the second volume (pp. 1181–1290), in which the main articles are indicated by boldface page numbers and illustrations are referred to by page numbers in italics. Includes a list of popes and rulers. Recommended for university and research libraries.—J.S. Slack, Corliss K. Historical Dictionary of the Crusades. Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest, 25. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2003. 273p. $65 (ISBN 0-8108-4855-4). LCCN 2003-12225. Like it or not, our current historical mo- ment has given increased relevance to the story of the medieval religious wars between Christians and Muslims. Into this modern spotlight steps Corliss K. Slack, with an exceedingly modest reference work on the crusades. Slack, a history pro- fessor at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, has wri en previously on crusade charters and the royal families of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. Her work appears at virtually the same time as Alfred J. Andrea’s Encyclopedia of the Crusades (Greenwood, 2003. 356p. illus.). Slack’s dictionary consists of brief en- tries (none longer than two pages) on a variety of subjects related to the wars that spanned two centuries and had an almost incalculable effect on religion, state-build- ing, even science. She begins with two maps, limning the Mediterranean world and also detailing specific Levantine cities of interest, and follows with an eight-page chronology of crusade events, from the Fatimid destruction of Christian shrines in 1009 to the abolishment of the Knights Templar in 1312. A brief introduction, 450 College & Research Libraries with entry references given in boldface, precedes the dictionary entries, which are followed by a select bibliography ar- ranged in broad subject categories. Like the introduction, the entries indi- cate related references in boldface type. No illustrations accompany the text, nor does relevant bibliography follow any entry. Some entries are surprisingly spare, such as that for the Children’s Crusade in 1212. No mention is made of the crusade’s leaders, Nicholas of Cologne, and the French shepherd, Stephen. No analysis is provided of the movement’s failure. Even more surprising are the erratic “see” references. For example, although one may find “Valdesius See Waldensi- ans,” despite “Valdesius” being a far more obscure synonym than, say, “Waldo” or “Valdes,” which are not given.. Those looking for information on Pope Urban II’s renowned call to the First Crusade in 1095 may find it rough going. There is no entry for “Clermont” or “Council of Clermont” to point the reader to the entry “Urban II, Speech at Clermont,” which one may find tucked a er the main entry on the pope. There are, however, not one, but two, entries devoted to horses, one concerning their importance and the other their transport. Fans of The Da Vinci Code may want to read further on the origins and history of the Knights Templar but, again, will find only the sketchiest of details and no specific bibliography. Suggestions for further reading can be found in the final bibliography in the section titled “Warfare: Military Technology, Orders, and History,” but the curious reader will have to skim through four pages of titles to find those relating specifically to the Templars. As it is, Slack misses several of the titles Andrea has listed in the bibliog- raphy for his own entry on this ill-fated military order. General bibliographies, such as the one Slack provides, can be September 2004 frustrating to the serious scholar, who cannot always predict to what heading the author might assign a text and who also are prevented from seeing a given author’s work in toto. Truly the most glaring omission in both Slack and Andrea’s efforts is the imprimatur of Jonathan Riley-Smith, the preeminent crusades scholar. Between his 1995 Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades and his 1990 Atlas of the Crusades, there is li le the curious reader cannot learn. Slack’s effort is not useless, but it is be er suited to a secondary school rather than college audience; Andrea’s Encyclopedia is far more useful for a refer- ence room catering to undergraduates or higher, and costs a mere $10 more than Slack.—K.L.G. New Editions and Supplements Working Press of the Nation (AD57) is now Bowker’s News Media Directory beginning with the 54th edition, 2004 (New Providence, N.J.: R.R. Bowker, 3v. $530). Volume 1 is still the Newspaper Directory, volume 2 is the Magazine and Newsle er Directory, and volume 3 is the TV and Radio Directory. Interesting that the introduction for volumes 1 and 2 states “compiled from detailed question- naires. … Those companies that do not respond are phone researched for 100% accuracy.” Besides updating and greatly expand- ing the coverage of the books and articles, the Judaica Reference Sources: A Selective, Annotated Bibliographic Guide, by Charles Cu er (Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlim- ited, 2004, 365p. 3d rev. and enl. ed. $50; 2 ed. 1993, 224p. BC513), most sections have subsections for electronic resources and Web sites. The date of coverage ends with 2002, with a few 2003 publications. The editor cautions that earlier editions are not superseded because basic refer- ence tools are not repeated. Derek G. Law has updated his Royal Navy in World War II: An Annotated Bib- liography (2.ed. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2003. 669p. $85; 1st ed. 1988 DA200n). The cut-off date for the 3,300 entries is the end of 2000. The compiler has an excellent index with variant titles, pseudonyms, as well as real names and titles, and an index for ships. The United States Navy is given a fairly full listing “relating to the theaters where the USN operated with the RN, which means that wars relating to Pacific War experiences of the United States are generally excluded” (Reader’s Notes). Also potentially useful are “the references to the official dispatches in the London Gaze e and the Ba le Sum- maries printed for internal circulation by the Admiralty.” The Political and Historical Encyclopedia of Women, ed. Christine Fauré (N.Y.: Rout- ledge, 2003. 548p. $150) is a translation by Richard Dubois et al. from the French, Encyclopédie politique et historique des femmes: Europe, Amérique du Nord (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1997) and reviewed by Junko Stuveras in College and Research Libraries, March 1998 (v.59, issue 2, pp. 192–193). The work brings a European perspective to the study of women’s history in Europe and North America. Bent Lens: A World Guide to Gay & Les- bian Film; edited and compiled by Lisa Daniel and Claire Jackson (2d ed. Los Angeles, Alyson, 2003. 575p. $22.95; 1st ed. 1997. 419p.) has grown to list “over 2,600 films which are also indexed according to director, country, sexualities and genre…. Wherever possible we have included and updated selected distribution information about the films, or … where you might be able to purchase your favorite titles over the web” (Introd.) The Dictionary of Diplomacy by Geoff Berridge and Alan James (2d ed. Basing- stoke, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Selected Reference Books, 2003–2004 451 Macmillan, 2003. 296p. $79.95) offers new entries as well as revision of some of the older entries, such as the change in the name of the African Union (founded in 2002 as successor to the Organization of African Unity), or diplomatic uniforms. Short biographies are included, such as the one for Bruno Kreisky, or Kautilya, who is reputed to have wri en the San- skrit text on governance: “As for the ethics of his statecra , these are so repellent that it must be said that the common descrip- tion of Kautilya as the Indian Machiavelli is a serious libel on the Florentine Secre- tary” (p. 154). Reprinted is the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which details the treatment of diplomats and diplomatic missions, particularly their privileges and immunities. Unfortunately, there is a need for a second edition of War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases Since the Civil War, compiled by Paul Dickson (Washing- ton: Brassey’s, 2004. 428p. $24.95; 1st ed. 1994). Dickson has met that need with a new chapter, “Terms for a Time of Terror: New Words for the Post-9/11 World and the Iraq War.” Such terms as CNN effect, above my pay grade, alligators inside the boat, and homeland have already entered the language. 2002–2004 must be banner years for Irish history. Not only was there a new edition of the Directory of Irish Archives, there were four dictionaries of Irish his- tory published during this period. The Directory of Irish Archives, edited by Sea- mus Helferty and Raymond Refaussé is in a 4th edition (Dublin: Four Courts Pr., 2004. 217p. $45.00; 1st ed. 1988; 2nd ed. 1993. DC400) and has grown from 155 entries to 262 entries. It has a very good index. A New Dictionary of Irish History from 1800, by D.J. Hickey and J.E. Doherty (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2003. 520p. $25.00; 1st ed. 1980, DC406) is updated and rewri en with coverage for Northern 452 College & Research Libraries Ireland. History continues to be defined in its broadest sense. To make room for the new entries, “there are fewer entries on purely literary figures … [as well as] some aspects of contemporary popular culture and sports” (Pref.). Another new edition is the Oxford Companion to Irish History, edited by S. J. Connolly (Oxford Univ. Pr., 2002. 650p. $60; 1st ed. 1998. 618p.), which puts more stress on individuals, though not living ones. “Two areas in particular inadequately covered in the first edition are now given fuller treatment. These are the visual arts and Irish prehistory. Also expanded [is] coverage of literary figures, while avoiding any a empt to duplicate the universal coverage of this area offered in the Oxford Companion to Irish Literature (1996). One of the handsomest dictionaries is the Encyclopaedia of Ireland, under the editorship of Brian Lalor (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2003. 1,218 p. $125). Heavily illustrated., the articles range from fi y words to eight to ten columns. “While the primary focus … is on movements, events and people now in the past, … the main events and people and dramatis personae of twentieth and early twenty-first-century political and cultural life are included” (Pref.). None of these three provides much in the way of bibliography, although the Ox- ford does supply the occasional citation at the end of an entry. As for indexing, all offer cross-references and the Oxford does September 2004 have a broad subject index with relevant articles listed, as does the Encyclopaedia of Ireland (which has a regular subject index, too). For bibliography, one has the Historical Dictionary of Ireland by Colin Thomas and Avri Thomas (Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 1997. 263p. $60), which covers books and articles up to the end of 1995 (pp. 207–62). The arrangement is by broad subject (e.g., Development, Press and Publishing, Women in Irish Society). Irish Studies: The Essential Glossary, wri en by Alex Davis, John Goodby, An- drew Hadfield, and Eve Pa en (London: Arnold, 2003; 304p. $72), is designed specifically for the undergraduate and thus has suggestions for further reading, with each article linking to a bibliography for full details (pp. 263–81). The master bibliography is an author listing. For a more current bibliography, see the “Select Bibliography of Writings on Irish Economic and Social History” (sponsored by the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland), an annual listing by author in Irish Economic and Social History, and the Annual Bibliography of British and Irish History, issued by the Royal Historical Society. The arrangement here is topical by period under Ireland with indexes of authors, personal names, places, and subjects. “All titles included in the society’s bibliographies of British and Irish history …are included in an online database at h p://www.rhs.ac.uk/bibwel. asp” (Pref.).