Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Following the historic election of President Obama, 2009 is a significant publication year for an encyclopedia chronicling more than 100 years of African American history from 1896—the year that segregation was given the approval of the Supreme Court—to integration at the highest level of leadership. The chronicling of the tumultuous twentieth century and early years of the twenty-first, from Booker T. Washington to Obama, is a reminder of how much the story of race and race relations is integral to American history. At the same time, these volumes document the internal story of a people and their history, community, and culture. The format follows that of the three-volume companion set, Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass (2006). The nearly 1,250 entries are alphabetically arranged, signed, and have bibliographies for further reading. One of the difficulties in producing an encyclopedia is deciding the degree of granularity with which to treat a topic. The editor has approached this issue in several ways. Entries range from briefer ones on people, events, or places to lengthy articles offering more in-depth information and analysis on topics such as Entrepreneurship, Great Migration, and Visual arts. Cross-references to related articles are noted at the end of the entries. A few significant topics, especially those with a great chronological span, are composites, gathering discussions or events under one headword with several subsections. Examples include Desegregation and integration and Riots and rebellions. Although biographies make up about half of the entries, the preface notes that it was not possible to include all figures important in African American history and refers the reader to the eight-volume African American National Biography (2008). The choices for biographical entries include very modern as well as historical figures, although one might question why the entry for model Tyra Banks has more lines than the one for Julian Bond. The last volume has a detailed index but also a thematic grouping of entries that can help a reader see what entries fall under general categories such as "Family and Daily Life," "Journalism," or "Military"; or under biographical categories such as "Actors," "Educators," or "Politicians." These help integrate the various entries into a larger picture. A chronology is also included. The articles are academic yet very accessible, with an impressive array of contributors. Black-and-white illustrations appear throughout. The past few years have been rich in reference works about African Americans. An updated edition of Macmillan's Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History (2006) and Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Kwame Anthony Appiah's Africana (2005) are already on many library shelves. Those two have a wider geographic scope—the Macmillan set includes the Americas, and Africana has become a multivolume set treating both Africa and its diaspora, with the most extensive coverage of Africans in Latin America and perhaps the most attractive presentation, with many color illustrations. However, the combined eight volumes of the two parts of the Encyclopedia of African American History represent the most in-depth coverage of African American history from the arrival of the first slaves to the present day. This is a recommended purchase for libraries that can afford it. One access issue: because many libraries will acquire both parts, a combined index might be useful. Because the Oxford titles are included in the online Oxford African American Studies Center, libraries with a subscription to the database will have seamless access to the content and may not feel the print set is also necessary. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.
Choice Reviews
This five-volume set completes the eight volumes of Oxford's Encyclopedia of African American History. The first three volumes, covering 1619-1895 (CH, Nov'06, 44-1295), end with the death of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. This set, with coverage starting in 1896, truly provides a comprehensive examination from the "Age of Segregation" through the 2008 presidential election. With over 1,250 signed entries and 450 illustrations, the set conveys the story of African American history with a focus on topics such as politics, literature, law, art, and cultural figures. Editor and historian Finkelman (Albany Law School) states in his introduction, "There are approximately as many biographies as there are topical entries, and the Encyclopedia includes entries from each of the 50 states and on each of the US presidential administrations in the period." Entries are arranged alphabetically with cross-references and a selective bibliography at the end of each article. For example, in the entry for "Arkansas" (Volume 1 A-C), an introductory paragraph precedes sections titled "Disfranchisement and Segregation" and "The Civil Rights Movement and After," along with reference to the Little Rock Central High School Crisis. This volume also features a listing of entries for all volumes, roster, thematic outline, chronology, and comprehensive index. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. Copyright 2009 American Library Association.
Library Journal Reviews
This impressive set was designed as a complement to Oxford's Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895 (LJ 6/1/06). The purpose of both sets—as well as Oxford's African American National Biography (AANB)—is to provide a comprehensive view of the wealth of information about and scholarship on African Americans. While there are far more important figures in AANB, this resource, edited by Finkelman (Albany Law Sch.), excels at gathering discussions of similar or related topics by academics under one heading. Under "Desegregation and Integration," for instance, users will find five subentries: an overview and individual entries on desegregation and integration in the armed forces, higher education, public education, and professional athletics. References appear at the end of most articles, in addition to a selective bibliography. Blind entries like "Unions, Labor" tell readers to look under "Organized Labor." A thematic outline, a directory of contributors, an index, and a year-by-year account of important events from 1896 to 2008 round out Volume 5. BOTTOM LINE No similar encyclopedia rivals the wealth and confirmation of African American history found here. In spite of its rather high price, it belongs in all large public libraries and all academic libraries. [The resource is part of the Oxford African American Studies Center online; it is also available electronically via Oxford Digital Reference Shelf and Oxford Reference Online.]—Al Vara, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
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