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Designed to update and expand Poulton's standard The Historian's handbook (1982). Describes nearly 700 major reference and information sources from all periods of history, with emphasis on North American, British, and European history. Organized by the type of source, provides evaluative annotated entries for books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, periodicals, dissertations and theses, guides to archives and manuscript collections, indexes and abstracts, bibliographies, government publications, and works on microforms. Annotation(c) 2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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Library Journal Review

The authors, two university reference librarians (Brian C. Coutts and Louis A. Vyhnanek) and an academic historian (Fritze), have produced an accurate, current, and reliable work that supersedes Helen J. Poulton's classic but dated The Historian's Handbook ( LJ 5/15/72). The volume is intended to serve as an introduction to the major reference works for all periods of history and for all geographical areas, with particular emphasis on materials published in English on Anglo-American and European history. Special attention is paid to newer types of sources such as microfilms, specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias, interdisciplinary publications, and computerized databases. There are 685 entries divided into 14 chapters, arranged by type of sources, e.g., historiography, book review indexes, core journals, dissertations and theses, and archives and manuscripts. Each chapter includes a brief introduction that provides definitions of terminology and is subdivided primarily geographically, but occasionally by subject. Entries have complete bibliographic citations and evaluative annotations with cross-references to other works in the volume and full citations for sources not found in the guide. The index lists all authors, editors, and titles mentioned in the text; however, subject access is limited. This is a major flaw in an otherwise indispensable source for librarians and all students of history . Brian Coutts is the author of ``Best Reference Books of 1990'' in this issue, p. 39.--Ed.-- Charles C. Hay, Eastern Kentucky Univ. Archives, Richmond (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

The first edition (CH, Jul'91) attempted to provide an introductory guide to "all of the most important and generally useful reference works for historians." The second edition shares this goal while also seeking to update new publications in a variety of formats, including CD-ROMs, electronic databases, and Internet sites. Nevertheless, an effort was made to retain the handy, portable format even though this "caused the authors to forego listing many worthy reference works both old and new." New editions are cited for some entries from the first edition, but several titles have been dropped or reduced to a reference in one of the lengthy annotations. Specialized resources are usually omitted, including updates in African American and Native American history. The editors cite many important and useful electronic resources. Several state bibliographies are listed, yet all are from the same series while other titles are missing. The book is arranged by type of publication with numbered entries (although they are not in consistent alphabetic order), while the index refers only to page numbers. The new edition supplements the previous edition but does not replace it. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; graduate students. E. R. Hitchcock Western Carolina University

Booklist Review

First published in 1990, this second edition contains entries on 930 reference works, making it almost one-third larger than its predecessor. The content is still organized in 14 chapters by topic, format, and country. The chapters cover bibliographies, historical statistics, biographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases, to give only a few examples. Each entry is helpfully numbered and includes useful bibliographical information and an evaluative annotation and frequently provides references to related works not listed in the volume. The index provides personal name and title access. Especially noteworthy are the listings of core journals and the extensive coverage of Web sites, databases, and CD-ROMs. The editors are to be commended for mining the huge historical reference literature and compiling this compact and superbly researched guide. Nicely designed with easy-to-read type, this unique and updated work is highly recommended for both reference and acquisition librarians in public and academic libraries. The chapter on bibliographies lists Reference Books Bulletin as one of the premier sources of reference reviews in the United States. Even if the editors hadn't offered this trenchant and wise observation, the volume is still outstanding! --Donald Altschiller Copyright 2004 Booklist