Beacham's Encyclopedia of Social Change: American in the Twentieth Century (Vol 1-4) [Hardcover]

Veryan Khan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-Definitely one of the year's best reference works with a minor flaw: only volume four has an index. The set includes 41 signed topical essays ranging from "Advertising and Consumerism" to "Work and the Workplace," each beginning with a two- to three-page time line in small print, illustrated with thumbnail-sized photos. The lengthy articles are broken into short segments (usually two to three paragraphs) with bold headings that will help students locate essential information. Some provide background information that extends to the 19th century, e.g., "Economy" begins with a discussion of "Rise of Corporate Capitalism" from 1865 to 1900. There is also some slight overlap among articles (for instance, in "Soldiering" and "War and the U.S. Military). The articles are cogent, written with a brisk "to the point" style, and accompanied by sidebars of fascinating detail. Each one concludes with a bibliography and list of Internet resources. Engaging black-and-white archival photographs and reproductions of posters and political cartoons illustrate the essays. There are a number of documented charts, graphs, and tables. Despite the index problem, this is a wonderful and readable set that should be in every school library.
Herman Sutter, Saint Agnes Academy, Houston, TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Beacham's Encyclopedia of Social Change "traces American history through forty-one key indicators of social change." Each chapter is devoted to one gauge of social history and discusses changes throughout the twentieth century. To provide historical background, there is also some coverage of events in earlier centuries.

The 41 chapters are arranged in alphabetical order by topic and range from 25 to 135 pages in length. Among the topics are "Advertising and Consumerism," "Family Life," "Fashion," "Law Enforcement," "Science," and "War." Each is divided into decades and is heavily supplemented by graphs, photographs, and sidebars with tidbits of information. Those wanting more information will find considerable chapter bibliographies (including Web resources). The comprehensive index in volume 4 is well done. A 40-page time line, also in volume 4, lists important events in social history dating from 1492 to September 11, 2001.

In appearance and coverage this set will remind users of Gale's American Decades and American Eras series, which it is supposed to complement. While Beacham's begins at the topic level and then takes a decade-by-decade perspective, the two Gale series start their examination of U.S. society at the chronological level, exploring various topics within each decade or era. Overall Beacham's would be accessible to a somewhat younger audience, and Gale covers topics in greater detail, but which one a student will prefer depends on whether the topic or decade approach is more useful.

Although high-schoolers are the intended audience for Beacham's, it is also a useful general reference source for social history. Both high-school and public libraries will find it a worthwhile addition to their reference collections. Academic libraries will find the Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History (Scribner, 2001) [RBB S 15 01] a more appropriate choice. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2000 pages
• Publisher: Beacham Publishing Corporation; 1 edition (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933833628
• ISBN-13: 978-0933833623
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.6 x 6.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,990,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)