Encyclopedia of World Biography [Hardcover]

Paula K. Byers (Editor), Suzanne Michele Bourgoin (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787622214 | ISBN-13: 978-0787622213 | Publication Date: December 2, 1997 | Edition: 2

Presents brief biographical sketches which provide vital statistics as well as information on the importance of the person listed.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Covering nearly 7000 notable figures from many cultures and time periods right up to the present day, this update of a standard resource is readable, often very lively, and extremely informative. The set incorporates the first edition and the supplemental volumes that appeared thereafter, all updated and revised, in addition to 500 new articles. The alphabetically arranged entries contain brief summary paragraphs, longer essays about the subjects' lives and work, short lists for further reading, and, in most cases, black-and-white portraits. The most impressive aspect of this work is that the essays provide not only the basic biographical information but are also often quite insightful as to the position and importance of a particular individual. The piece on William Carlos Williams even goes as far as to question the accepted critical treatment of the poet as a concrete modernist and link him instead to the emotional/spiritual tradition of Walt Whitman. Though one might not agree with a particular view, it is refreshing to find such bold writing in an encyclopedia. There are some minor weaknesses. Some well-known figures, such as Jellyroll Morton and Lillian Gish, are not given main entries. The index, which lists names and subjects, has some inconsistencies. For instance, Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini is not listed under the heading of "Motion pictures (Europe)." Also, names that might have more than one spelling-e.g., Mother Theresa/Teresa- are not cross-referenced. However, the broad scope, strong content, and inviting text make this resource both useful and easy to browse.-Herman Sutter, Saint Pius X High School, Houston, TX

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 9443 pages
• Publisher: Gale; 2 edition (December 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787622214
• ISBN-13: 978-0787622213
• Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 19.5 x 15 inches
• Shipping Weight: 72 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,973,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, needs more proofreading, April 26, 2001

By 

Edward R. Oswalt (Middletown, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of World Biography (Hardcover)

I enjoyed sitting and browsing through these volumes. However, when reading about people I already knew much about, I found far more errors than one would normally expect in a published work. E.g., In classical music, they have the number of Symphonies, Quartets, and Cello Concertos written by Shostakovich wrong; they have the number of Hanson's Romantic Symphony wrong, and they imply Tchaikovsky wrote only one Piano Concerto. There are also people I think should be included but are not: Alan Hovhaness, Nicholas Roerich.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have Biography Set, February 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Encyclopedia of World Biography (Hardcover)

Plain and simple this set contains the most up to date biographies and is crammed full of great photographs to boot! Very informative with good bibliographic referencing all at a low price (especially for 17 volumes).