Whitlatch, Jo Bell

English

SJSU ScholarWorks

San Jose State UniversitySJSU ScholarWorksFaculty Publications School of Information1-1-1988Book Review. Encyclopedia of Asian HistoryJo Bell WhitlatchSan Jose State University, jobell.whitlatch@sjsu.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/slis_pubPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Information at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in FacultyPublications by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@sjsu.edu.Recommended CitationJo Bell Whitlatch. "Book Review. Encyclopedia of Asian History" Reference Quarterly (1988): 573.l tether the group recognizes ''pairing'' 1 a~reement ~y tw? members on oppo­e sides of a given ISsue to refrain from ting on that issue). lndividual entries include a brief biog­)hy of each member (the addition of ms served in Congress and/or the Sen­..would have been useful) and a list of t1ng sc?res ~nd ratings. Biographic ~tches gtve btrth dat~, religion, educa­n, occul?~tion, military service (if appli­}}e), political background prior to enter­: Congress, and election records. An )endix lists members of Congress and Senate by state from the eightieth Con­'" ( 194 7 -49) through the eighty-ninth '85-87). Typography in the introduc­rr, body of the- work, and appendix is :tr and easy to read. Jnlike ot~er voting record compila­1.8, the Dzrectory of Congressional Voting ords and Interest Group Ratings is a subjec~ ~ work where judgments have been de by the various groups providing the mgs. Although the cost may deter some llllibraries from purchasing it, this Di~ 1ry. is essenti.al for academic and public anes and will enhance collections deal~ with public affairs. High schoollibrari~ might also wish to consider the direc­r as an acquisition.-Sue Kam, Library sultant, Los Angeles, Californ,ia. covering Nature with Young People: An lnnotated Bibliography and Selection i-uide. Comp. by Carolyn M. Johnson. lew York: Greenwood, 1987. 495p. 49.95 (ISBN 0-313-23823-5). LC 87­697. "'his bibliography of science materials be an invaluable resource for persons work with children: librarians, teach­par~nts, youth .group and camp pro­n directors. It 1s far more extensive comprehensive than other science se­lon aids, such as The Museum if Science Industry Basic List of Children's Science ks, 1973-1984 (ALA, 1985) and 1dy Saul's fine Science Fare: An Illustrated le and Catalog if Toys, Books and Activi­'Or Kids (Harper, 1986). ' )hnson's work lists fiction and nonfic~ books and media for all ages through ::arly years of college but concentrates naterials for use by and with young )le ages eight to sixteen. Many materi­als are seldom found cited in other sources: educational, recreational, and travel pro­grams; organizations and associations; contests and awards; activity books; calen­dars; coloring- books; designs, patterns, and stencils; and computer programs. It even includes periodical articles and book chapters on nature. Unlike most science bibliographies, which emphasize the scientific approach, this one primarily attempts to provide ''educational and enjoyable experiences for young people exploring nature.'' Items are briefly annotated and are listed by type and format, with materials for educators and parents listed separately from those for children. It is not clear how the items were chosen or the years covered, but the selec­tion is far more extensive than in other sci­ence bibliographies. Prolific authors are represented by only a few books; it is sug­gested that other books by these authors should be examined. The appendixes in­clude an example of a pathfinder, a publishers/producers/distributors code list, and additional significant items. that were located too late to include in the main body of the book. There are four indexes: authors, compilers, composers, and illus­trators; titles; subjects; and types of media items. Although the book is expensive, it is rec­ommended for any library serving science students and educators.-Marifyn H. Kar­renbrock, Graduate School of Library and Infor­mation Science, University of Tennessee, Knox­ville. Encyclopedia of Asian History. Prep. un­der the auspices of the Asia Society. Ed. by Ainslie T. Embree. New York: Scribner, 1988. 4v. $325 (ISBN 0-684­18619-5). The Encyclopedia, intended to make the highest level of contemporary scholarship on Asia available to a nonspecialist audi­ence, focuses on topics dealing with politi­cal, social, intellectual, and economic movements that have produced Asian civi­lizations. The geographic areas covered are Iran and Central Asia, China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. More than 160 photographs, line draw­ings, and illustrations, as well as 63 maps supplement the test. Articles vary in length, depending upon SOURCES 573 the importance of the topic. All articles were prepared by scholars and are signed. Most include references that permit read­ers to pursue topics of interest in more depth. These references are confined to English-language works likely to be acces­sible to the nonspecialist. journal articles are cited mainly when books of equal value do not exist. The final volume includes several spe­cialized lists and indexes. A topical outline provides a conceptual overview of topics covered. A detailed subject index and an extensive system of cross-references within each article enhances the value of the work. The editors are sensitive to the difficulty of transliterating many words from Asian languages. As a result, the Encyclopedia's system conforms with that used in schol­arly works and modern history. For Chi­nese words, the Pinyin rather than the Wade-Giles system of transliteration is used. To assist the nonspecialist, the Ency­clopedia includes a Wade-Giles/Pinyin con­version table. The editors have generally included cross-references from the Wade­Giles form, if well known, to the Pinyin form. However, cross-references should have been edited with more care, because there is no reference from Chou Enlai to Zhou Enlai. Nonspecialists, for whom this work is intended, might well conclude that this major twentieth-century Chinese statesman is not included in the Encyclope­dia! This is an excellent, very authoritative encyclopedia on Asian civilization. It will be invaluable in reference work and help­ful, as well, to students beginning researCh on Asian topics.-Jo Bell Whitlatch, Associ­ate Library Director, Access and Bibliographic Services, San Jose State University, California. Federal Public Policy on Aging since 1960: An Annotated Bibliography. Comp. by William E. Oriol. New York: Green­wood, 1987. 127p. Bibliographies and Indexes in Gerontology, no.S. $35. (ISBN 0-313-25286-6). LC 87-8343. This is the fifth bibliographic guide on aspects of aging published by Greenwood Press. Oriol's bibliography cites repre­sentative literature, selected from among the vast quantity of material produced from 1960 through 1986. The compiler 

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Book Review. Encyclopedia of Asian History

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