Selected New Reference Books

Historical Statistics of the United States began in 1949 with 3,000 statistical time series. Each subsequent addition added more and more data, culminating with the 12,500 series in 1975's 2-volume Bicentennial Edition, which was double the size of its predecessor and has served as the standard resource for US historical data for decades. But now, thirty years on, we have the Millennial Edition and yet another doubling in size, this time to five large volumes, each dedicated to a specific statistical sphere: Population; Work and Welfare; Economic Structure and Performance; Economic Sectors; and Governance and International Relations. Where the earlier edition offered 120 pages of population data, the new one presents an entire 715-page volume's worth. Though "many" data series from the prior editions are included here, the editors are careful to point out that some of the data have been revised. Also, some older material was not reproduced because it was deemed unreliable or obsolete. The prefatory texts supply context and has been updated to include contemporary concerns such as household production and labor force participation by sex and race. As has always been the case, the original data sources are fully cited and annotated. [Fred Muratori]

"The English-speaking world lacks a single reference work that presents Islamic civilization in a manner intelligible to the nonspecialist. Specialist reference works are numerous and offer more detailed and technical articles about various aspects of Islam from pre-Islamic times to the present. The nonspecialist who desires to understand Islamic civilization is left with few choices except to consult general reference works or works devoted to the European Middle Ages, which only give a fragmented picture of medieval Islamic civilization." [Introduction, Josef Waleed Meri]

"This is a crackling good reference book." [Virginia Cole]

In the twentieth century, French intellectuals had a profound influence on a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. The organization of this reference title is somewhat unusual, but it works. It is divided into four sections: Movements and Currents, Themes, Intellectuals, and Dissemination, "a section that deals with the transmission of thought and knowledge through media and institutions." [Introduction] Articles are alphabetical within each section. The articles I sampled were written with clarity and are fully accessible to the lay reader, yet deal effectively with complex issues and ideas. [MOE]