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Booklist Review
Literature was the focus in humanities this year. Literature for children has been "reconceived." Literature from the 1997 electronic version is now in the print set, as is slave narrative, which relates to a host of articles on African American writers. The article on romance does not reflect the huge market for series romances, such as Harlequins. New biographies cover Dario Fo (1997 Nobel Prize for literature), Chester Himes, and Jean Toomer. Revisions in the social sciences continue in the areas of law, politics, economics, society, and education. Political tables reflect the 1997 U.S. gubernatorial races. United States: International Relations and United States: Modern Nation include the past year's events. There is a new article on preschool education. New biographies include Madeleine Albright, Kofi Annan, and Tony Blair. Biographies on Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrinch, Jiang Zemin, and Mobutu Sese Seko were revised. In anthropology, tool and Stone Age were added to the print set. Revisions in area studies span the globe. Hong Kong was revised to reflect the shift from British colony to Chinese special administrative region. China was also updated to reflect the Hong Kong changeover. Korea includes the Hambro Iron and Steel scandal and the arrests, trials, and sentencings of former presidents Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo. Over in Europe, revisions included the peace talks in North Ireland; earthquakes in Italy's Umbrian region; flooding in Poland and the Czech Republic; the referendum in Scotland to allow establishment of its own legislature; and the invitations to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to join NATO. In Africa, the key event was the overthrow of Mobutu in Zaire. Kabila changed the country's name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which caused 120 articles to be altered to reflect the change in nomenclature. Articles on the Americas reflect natural disasters such as the flooding in North Dakota, Hurricane Pauline that devastated Acapulco, and the volcanic eruption on Montserrat. The Canadian and Mexican elections are covered. Approximately 330 articles on U.S. cities were updated. The Middle East naturally focused on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the election of moderate leader Mohammed Khatami as president of Iran. Population statistics were updated for 1,378 articles, including cities and administrative divisions of the former Soviet Union, Germany, France, the Balkans, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and China. Population figures for the U.S. are taken from the 1990 census, with no later estimates. In the arts, architecture and rock music were expanded and illustrated with color photographs. New biographies cover Milton Berle, George Lucas, Robert Mapplethorpe, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Mae West, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Deaths were noted in biographies of Rudolf Bing, Alexandra Danilova, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, Marcello Mastroianni, Robert Mitchum, Georg Solti, James Stewart, and Victor Vasarely. The life sciences saw the continued expansion of mammal articles, with emphasis on greater detail and consistency of presentation. Replacement articles include enzyme, hormone, embryology, and genetic engineering. In the physical sciences and technology, there is a program under way to add biographies of scientists in earth science, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and astronomy. This year's emphasis was earth scientists such as Mary Ann Anning, Friedrich Mohs, and Henry Darwin Rogers. Revised and new articles include plate tectonic and radar; both contain new artwork. The periodic table now reflects 112 elements, but not all the electronic articles on elements have migrated to the print set. The article on space exploration includes an overlay section on the space shuttle mission sequence, but the "space achievements" table still ends in 1992. The Americana Annual supplements the print set by recording each year's significant developments. (Reviewed September 15, 1998)
