American History

This series provides essential and authoritative overviews of the scholarship that has shaped our present understanding of the American past. Edited by eminent historians, each volume tackles one of the major periods or themes of American history, with individual topics authored by key scholars who have spent considerable time in research on the questions and controversies that have sparked debate in their field of interest. The volumes are accessible for the non-specialist, while also engaging scholars seeking a reference to the historiography or future concerns.

From Library Journal
Immensely readable and informative, this important resource was edited by prominent North American Indian scholar Hoxie (Parading Through History: The Making of the Crow Nation, Cambridge Univ., 1995), as well as vice-president for research and education at the Newberry Library in Chicago. A "who's who" of scholars in the field have compressed traditional and new research into 400 authoritative articles accessible to lay readers. Several good one-volume encyclopedias on American Indians have appeared recently. Native North American Almanac (Gale, 1994) presents history (ancient and modern), statistics, essays, directory information, and contemporary biographies; Native America in the Twentieth Century (Garland, 1994) treats art, policy, law, religion, and tribes. With 100 historical biographies, 100 tribes, cultural overviews, and teminology, the Encyclopedia of North American Indians occupies a special niche within this group. It is distinctive for the interpretative quality of its diverse subject coverage and for its fulfillment of the editor's aim to "introduce, teach and invite further inquiry." Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.?Margaret W. Norton, Morton West H.S., Berwyn Ill.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Although the book provides a daily chronicle of the combat, it is written in narrative form to give readers some continuity as they move from skirmish to skirmish. During the course of the saga, the book also chronicles the life spans of more than 600 Union and Confederate vessels, documenting when possible the time of each vessels acquisition, commissioning, major engagements, and decommissioning. Seven appendices provide lists of prominent Union and Confederate officers, primary naval actions, and Medal of Honor recipients from 1863 to 1865.

From Library Journal
Unique in its attempt to examine in a single volume all aspects of the United States in the rapidly developing 19th century, this work serves as a valuable introduction to the complexity and significance of this pivotal period. Compiled by an editorial board headed by Finkelman (law, Univ. of Tulsa; The Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery, LJ 1/99), it offers 600 fascinating articles written by scholars, with bibliographic references, numerous useful maps and illustrations, a day-by-day chronology, and an extensive index. The articles vary in length from a few hundred words to much longer essays on such comprehensive topics as "Reconstruction" and the "Supreme Court." The articles cover topics of traditional historic interest, such as economics, law, and government, but also those in the new social history. Its currentness, scholarship, and inclusion of topics covered in National Standards for United States History make this work a welcome addition to the reference sections of larger public, high school, and academic libraries, even those already owning the less specific Encyclopedia of American History (HarperCollins, 1996). Theresa McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Markham (law, Univ. of North Carolina), who has an extensive background in financial regulation, makes a significant contribution with this first comprehensive financial history since Margaret Good Myers's classic A Financial History of the United States was published in 1970. Volume 1, 1492-1900, discusses the financial roots of America's European discovery and colonization, the financial exploitation that led to the American Revolution, the conflicts of interest that slowed the development of America's financial institutions, the Buttonwood agreement, the Civil War, the robber barons, the periodic panics that undermined expansion, and the investment bankers who began consolidating American industry around the turn of the century. Volume 2, 1900-1970, covers the creation of the Federal Reserve, World War I, the Roaring Twenties and stock market crash, the Great Depression, World War II, Bretton Woods, Vietnam, and the emergence of the institutional investor. Volume 3, 1970-2001, begins by describing the financial turmoil that undermined the system, the rise of derivatives, the stock market crash of 1987, the roaring Nineties and rise of the Internet, the consolidation of international finance, and the impact of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Each volume includes a list of illustrations, a selected bibliography, and name and subject indexes, with Volume 3 also providing cumulative indexes. This set is noteworthy because of its accessible reading style and easy-to-use format. Its one drawback is the lack of Internet references. Recommended for all academic, business, law, and larger public libraries. Norm Hutcherson, California State Univ., Bakersfield
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this unique encyclopedia, the editors do not attempt to cover or revise the social history topics treated in their complementary works on American history and life, especially the Encyclopedia of American Social History (LJ 6/1/93), an LJ Best Reference. Containing 221 essays, this encyclopedia includes a remarkable range of entries, including "Africa and America," "Jews," "Monuments and Memorials," "Architecture," "New York City," "Literary Reviews and Little Magazines," and "Libraries," to name only a few. The editors explain that these eclectic essays fit into their broad definitions of both intellectual and cultural history. Each essay concludes with a bibliography listing both primary and secondary sources, and most include sidebars and/or illustrations. A chronology lists contemporaneous historical events as well as the cultural and intellectual accomplishments of that year or decade. An excellent introductory essay notes that even though many contributors a diverse group of academics and independent scholars may have demonstrated their own political or cultural biases, the essays still aim to be "fair and complete enough" to offer accurate representations of opposing viewpoints. A random sampling of essays confirms their intentions. Finally, a subject, name, and title index in the last volume provides easy access to the contents. This work is highly recommended for students and researchers seeking an overview of major issues in American cultural and intellectual history. Libraries possessing earlier Scribner encyclopedias in this area should also obtain this set. The steep price, however, may limit purchase to large public and academic libraries. Donald Altschiller, Boston Univ. Libs.

Yale University Press
The encyclopedia, a thoroughly revised and expanded version of Howard Lamar’s acclaimed twenty-year-old Reader’s Encyclopedia of the American West, consists of more than 2,400 entries in alphabetical order by more than 300 contributors, along with over 600 illustrations and maps (four times more than in the original edition). The book includes articles by such authorities as Leonard J. Arrington on Mormonism, Anne Butler on prisons and prostitutes, John Mack Faragher on the fur trade, California, and television and radio westerns, Martha Sandweiss on photography, and Ron Tyler on western prints.

Amazon.com Review
The Reader's Companion to American History contains alphabetical entries for almost every important person, place, or event in America's past. Unlike an encyclopedia, however, this lively interpretive volume is meant to be read and enjoyed, not merely used as a reference. It contains three different kinds of articles: short, unsigned listings similar to those found in most encyclopedias; signed biographical pieces by historical authorities; and longer essays on broad topics such as abolitionism or 20th-century art. Each article cross-references related topics, and an extensive index opens up webs of interrelationships, making it possible to delve deeply into areas of special interest. Accessible, comprehensive, and surprisingly affordable, The Reader's Companion to American History merits an important place in any home library.

Amazon.com Review
Presented in encyclopedia format, with articles ranging from "Abolitionist Movement" to "YWCA," this hefty book provides a vast amount of material, both factual and interpretive. The editors, which include such icons as Gloria Steinem and the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller, give a broad overview of issues relevant to feminist history and present material that will further debates about the role played by women in American history. The Reader's Companion offers a strongly feminist interpretation, and some would no doubt argue that many of the pieces are not so much history as arguments for social reform. That said, the reference's nearly exhaustive coverage (there are more than 400 articles) makes the book a valuable resource

Amazon.com Review
Editors Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer have compiled an excellent reference volume with The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency, a set of intelligent minibiographies on the commanders in chief. Everyone gets his due, from George Washington to Bill Clinton (whose entry is current enough to cover his impeachment in 1998 and Senate trial in 1999). Even William Henry Harrison, the man who served for only a month--he reportedly caught a fatal cold at his inauguration--receives seven pages of attention. "If Harrison's presidency was insignificant," writes Marc W. Kruman, "his pursuit of the office transformed the history of American presidential elections." Several of the contributors offer reduced versions of full-length biographies they have already written, such as William McFeely on Ulysses S. Grant and Robert Dallek on Lyndon B. Johnson. Some of the authors editorialize only casually, while others come down hard on their subjects, such as Roger Morris on Richard Nixon: "There was also something dark and ugly about his long and never peaceful public career, in which muck and money were inescapable, inseparable from politics or policy." By and large, however, the entries are respectful each is a good summary of its man, and all include a brief bibliographic note suggesting to readers where they can go to learn more. The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency is a welcome addition to any personal library on U.S. history. --John J. Miller

The Routledge History of Slavery is a landmark publication that provides an overview of the main themes surrounding the history of slavery from ancient Greece to the present day. Taking stock of the field of Slave Studies, the book explores the major advances that have taken place in the past few decades of study in this crucial field.