Reference Reviews, May 15, 2011
May 15, 2011ARTS & HUMANITIES
Critical Survey of Poetry. 4th ed. 14 vols. Salem. 2011. 6500p. ed. by Rosemary M. Canfield Reisman. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781587655821. $1295. Online: Salem Literature Online REF
In 2003, Salem Press issued the second revised edition of its Critical Survey of Poetry, combining material from Frank N. Magill’s Critical Survey of Poetry Foreign Language Series (1984) and Supplement (1987) and English Language Series, revised edition (1992). That work featured eight larger-sized volumes, printed on better-quality paper than the Magill surveys. Updated once again under Reisman (Charleston Southern Univ.), Critical Survey is organized into five subsets by geography and essay type; the subsets may be purchased separately. Poet subsets are arranged alphabetically, with 845 poets included in total; 146 are new to this edition, including almost 70 women, such as Grace Paley and Margaret Walker, as well as many European and world poets, e.g., Giovanni Boccaccio, Jorge Luis Borges, and Hermann Hesse. The entries, which range from 2500 to 10,000 words, profile the poet’s other literary forms, achievements, and biography and offer an original general analysis of the poet’s oeuvre and detailed analysis of the poet’s most important pieces or collections. All entries were updated for this edition (especially the bibliographies), and 133 were totally replaced or substantially revised. The set also includes two volumes of topical essays—“Poetry Around the World” (e.g., Australian and New Zealand), “Literary Movements,” and “Criticism and Theory.” New to this edition are essays on Beat poets, modernists, Harlem Renaissance, queer theory, and around a dozen more. Finally, a resources section at the back of all five subsets gives very helpful guidance on analyzing poetry, a glossary, and more. BOTTOM LINE This is a major reference work that will be extremely useful to high school students along with college students and teachers. Highly recommended for its breadth and depth. [Purchasing the print also grants users complimentary access to Salem Literature Online.]— Marcia Welsh, Dartmouth Coll. Libs., Hanover, NH
Encyclopedia of African American Music. 3 vols. Greenwood. 2011. 1116p. ed. by Emmett G. Price III & others. photogs. index. ISBN 9780313341991. $280. Online: ABC-CLIO eBook Collection REF
Including more than 400 entries, these three volumes provide a thematic overview of the rich and varied history of African American music. The content range is eclectic: musical genres (classical, jazz, gospel), famous musicians (Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson), and locales (Chicago, New Orleans). In addition, the work covers other wide-ranging topics like black-owned music publishing companies, slave music, and transgendered performers, to name a few. The entries range from a few paragraphs to more than 75 pages. Each contains bibliographic references; cross-references are frequent. A time line, a few concluding bibliographies, and a topical and alphabetical list of entries in each volume enhance the overall value of this set, as do a number of photographs and illustrations. Executive editor Price (African American studies, Northeastern Univ.) and associate editors Tammy L. Kernodle (musicology, Miami Univ., OH) and Horace J. Maxile (associate director of research, Ctr. for Black Music Research, Columbia Coll., Chicago) have assembled an able crew of contributors encompassing musicologists, academics, and other music specialists. BOTTOM LINE Although numerous African American–focused reference works cover music, this superb source admirably demonstrates the need for such a specialized work. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.—Donald Altschiller, Boston Univ. Libs.
ATLASES
The New Atlas of the Arab World. American Univ. in Cairo, dist. by Oxford Univ. 2011. 144p. illus. maps. index. ISBN 9789774164194. $39.50. REF
The unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has dominated the news for the past several months. This new geopolitical resource offers a timely guide to the region. Though no introduction defines the scope, it covers the 22 members of the League of Arab States. Featured are 15 regional and 22 country full-color maps with political boundaries, cities, and detailed topographical features. There are also red lines that may be roads and/or railroads, but no key explains them. An added dimension is provided by 132 color illustrations, with five dramatic two-page satellite images. Each nation is described in an essay accompanied by statistical tables with data as of March 2010 that include the official flag, “The Country” (official name, geographic coordinates, area, capital, climate, and time zone), “Population” (number of inhabitants, density, distribution, annual growth, life expectancy, religion, languages, and literacy rate), “History” as a chronological list, “Politics” (government, head of state, legislature, and administrative divisions), and “Economy” (currency, gross domestic product, gross per capita income, overseas trade, and foreign debt). BOTTOM LINE Rafic Boustani and Philippe Fargues’s The Atlas of the Arab World: Geopolitics and Society (Facts On File, 1991) is the most recent competitor to this atlas and clearly out of date. The title under review is recommended as a useful reference resource for its overview of a strategic region for home, school, office, and public library.—Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FL
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Stone, Kurt F. The Jews of Capitol Hill: A Compendium of Jewish Congressional Members. Scarecrow. 2011. 714p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780810857315. $85. Online: NetLibrary, Overdrive, MyiLibrary, EBL, & Questia REF
New biographies and a new plan of organization highlight this revision of Stone’s 2000 publication, Congressional Minyan: The Jews of Capitol Hill (KTAV Pub.). For example, Stone updates the biography of Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, who died while in office in October 2002, and profiles Rep. Theodore Deutch of Florida, elected in April 2010. Yet the biggest change is replacing the alphabetical order of profiles with chronological order, by the year of an individual’s election. Stone groups the profiles into six generations, aiming to create a political history. A new section with a time line titled “What Was Happening” introduces each generation. Providing a history of Jewish participation in Congress represents a unique, worthy goal. However, the biographical dictionary format constrains this purpose, which a historical narrative could serve. For example, bold type is used to refer to other profiled individuals, but because the biographies are not in alphabetical order, cross-references are difficult to access; adding page numbers to the names would resolve this problem. Profiles average three pages in length and include detailed family background, as well as educational and professional history. A list of references for further reading concludes each article. Written in a serious yet accessible tone with room for humor, the book is also marred by the occasional lack of definition for a Hebrew word. BOTTOM LINE Offering a wealth of information with a distinctive focus, although limited by the format, this work is recommended for political students and those interested in Jewish American history.—Marianne Orme, Des Plaines P.L., IL
SCIENCES
The Environmental Debate: A Documentary History, with Timeline, Glossary, and Appendices. 2d ed. Grey House. 2011. 600p. ed. by Peninah Neimark & Peter Rhoades Mott. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781592376766. $165. Online: Gale Virtual Reference Library, NetLibrary, MyiLibrary, ebrary, & OverDrive REF
Picking up from the original volume published by Greenwood in 1999, this second edition has 23 additional primary documents in a section spanning 2000–10, covering, e.g., LEED Certification, Oakland’s Zero Waste Resolution, Mark Bittman on the American diet, and President Obama on ocean stewardship policy. Focusing yet again on the United States, the volume features a larger and more attractive format with a document selection that remains eclectic: public documents, court cases, opinion pieces, and literary pieces are included in an attempt to cover this broad subject in an engrossing and comprehensive way. Controversy is minimal; little attention is given to opposing views. Each of the eight chronological sections—from creation in Genesis through the present, emphasizing the 20th century—is preceded by an editor’s essay that sets the framework for the time period. Each document is then preceded by paragraphs that give minimal biographical and historical information. The excerpts are highly abridged: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, for instance, has 400 words. The abbreviated format of the 168 documents is unique and makes the volume useful as a supplement for classwork but not in the same category with The Wilderness Debate Rages On (Univ. of Georgia, 2008), American Earth (Library of America, 2008), or American Environmental History (Columbia Univ., 2007). Mott is a prep school professor and head of the New York City Audubon Society; Neimark is an independent researcher. BOTTOM LINE High school and college students studying public policy sciences, environmental history, and the sciences will find these documents useful as background to their course of study.—Janice Dunham, John Jay Coll. Lib., CUNY
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Glausser, Wayne. Cultural Encyclopedia of LSD. McFarland. Jun. 2011. c.192p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780786447855. $55. Online: EBL, ebrary, MyiLibrary, & Netlibrary REF
In his introduction, Glausser (English, DePauw Univ.) states his hope that readers “will find this encyclopedia informative, engaging, and amusing,” an outcome he ensures with a predominantly entertaining tone. Entries incorporate some coverage of the history of the development of this notorious hallucinogen but focus mainly on the drug’s cultural impact during the late 1960s, including military uses of LSD and its effect on the politics, religion, and, particularly, art of the era. The chemistry and, for the most part, medical aspects of LSD, however, are not covered. Entries run from one paragraph to two pages in length and include cross-references, as well as occasional external citations. The work includes an extensive bibliography and an index (though not yet completed at the time of review). While not an overly scholarly work, it is an engaging look at the psychedelic culture of the United States and United Kingdom. It is also valuable as one of relatively few publications of its kind, particularly among works attempting to provide unbiased coverage. BOTTOM LINE This book will appeal to individuals with an interest (perhaps nostalgic) in the psychedelic era and is reasonably priced for this market. It will also make an excellent addition to school and public libraries.—Sarah W. Sutton, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Corpus Christi
Mickolus, Edward F. & Susan L. Simmons. The Terrorist List. 5 vols. Praeger Security. 2011. 1333p. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780313374715. $464.95. Online: ABC-CLIO eBook Collection REF
Mickolus (The Terrorist List: The Middle East), who has written widely on international terrorism, and independent scholar Simmons have teamed up to produce this five-volume compilation of biographical sketches focusing on the reported criminal and terrorist activities of each individual. Purported perpetrators of both international and domestic terrorist acts fall into the work’s scope, as do perpetrators of nonpolitical acts of violence or hostage taking. Inclusion should not be taken as proof that the individual was a terrorist, however; as noted in the volume introductions, some have been cleared in local courts of involvement with terrorist organizations. The collection is arranged geographically with volumes for Asia, Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; and South America. Each volume is arranged alphabetically and has a short bibliography of selected readings and an index; there is no cumulative index for the entire set. Entries are short, ranging from a couple of sentences to a single page. BOTTOM LINE In the introduction, the authors categorically state that this set is not exhaustive and should not be used as a terrorist watch list. Rather, it is intended to provide students with a starting point for understanding the phenomenon of terrorism and to demonstrate the breadth and complexity of the issue. Unfortunately, the brevity of the entries coupled with the lack of a contextual framework leaves it as little more than a list of terrorists. While of some interest, it has limited utility and is only recommended for schools with programs in security studies.—Ryan Johnson, Univ. of Mississippi Lib., Oxford
