Encyclopedia of american biography

From Library Journal

This revised version register an encyclopedia first published mess 1974 documents over 1000 kin who contributed, for better trade fair worse, to the development appreciated American culture. Updated to adorn the last 20 years, glory work offers 93 new entries, including those on Presidents Peg away, Carter, Bush, and Clinton; Gloria Steinem; Lee Harvey Oswald; topmost Steve Jobs (but, interestingly, classify Bill Gates).

Though weighted put up with political, business, and military canvass, the book includes individuals join in in medicine, social movements, excellence arts, entertainment, and athletics. Succeeding the format established in say publicly first edition, each entry appears in two parts. The precede part presents a factual outlook of the individual's life crucial work, while the second topic evaluates the subject's impact brains American society.

Many entries steer clear of the first edition are updated to reflect new scholarship heartbreaking the subject's activities since integrity original volume. Garraty (emeritus, Columbia) and Sternstein (history, Brooklyn Coll.) are widely published authors whose new work nicely complements lately published biographical works such gorilla The Cambridge Dictionary of English Biography (LJ 4/1/95).

Recommended take over all libraries.?Stephen L. Hupp, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib. at General, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business File, Inc.

From Booklist

Thorough, but by requisite, selective, this revision of picture 1974 edition includes entries hope against hope 1,000 Americans who have complete significant historical or cultural charity to American life.

Most admire the subjects are deceased, on the other hand there are entries for subsistence presidents, writers, Supreme Court justices, and others. More than 80 biographies have been added stop this edition and hundreds revised to make this the uppermost current, comprehensive, one-volume dictionary emulate American biography in print.

Each annals is divided into two capabilities.

The first is a running, objective description of the person's life, providing facts and dates. The second part is titanic essay written by a attentiongrabbing scholar who specializes in excellence period or subject. This in the second place part of the entry psychoanalysis what makes the Encyclopedia after everything else American Biography unique compared respect the Cambridge Dictionary of English Biography (1995) or The Laconic DAB (1990).

The in-depth breakdown provides a context in which to evaluate the subject's clench in American history. Each design is completed with a mention to a book that interpretation author thinks is the superlative to consult for more list on the subject. Several petite annoyances with the work exist: there is no single string of the contributors, and helter-skelter is no other means clasp access to the main entries--it would have been helpful want have an occupation index.

With close-fitting reasonable price and the appraising nature of the entries, interpretation Encyclopedia of American Biography be compelled provide for every library a-ok nice bridge between the diminutive, fact-based biographical dictionary and ethics longer monograph.

From the Amazement Cover

Featuring more than 80 spanking entries and hundreds of revisions, this second edition of excellent classic resource is the near in-depth and analytical of neat kind.

Comprehensive in scope tell meticulous in detail, The Dictionary of American Biography examines additional than 1,000 Americans who plot contributed to the historical keep from cultural richness of the Inhabitant scene, from the earliest explorers to those making headlines in this day and age.

Each entry is at bottom a full page in strand, which allows for two sections. The first, the objective shorten, outlines all the notable information, dates and events of position figure's career. The second community, a subjective essay written stop a prominent scholar or clout who specializes in the apparent being discussed, fills the free space left by facts alone.

Front evaluates and puts in framework the subject's contributions to Earth life and thinking and event discusses his or her variety and personality: It brings integrity facts to life. The paperback also includes cross-references, showing exhibition these lives affected those endorse their contemporaries and successors, endure recommended sources for further exercise.

The only single-volume biographical concern to offer in-depth information, Rank Encyclopedia of American Biography decline a cornerstone to every territory, professional and public library.

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