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The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography
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The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography
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by John S. Bowman
Sales Rank : 1170061
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Hardcover: 941 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition May 26, 1995
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0521402581
ISBN-13: 978-0521402583
Product Dimensions:
9.4 x 7.6 x 2.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
From Library Journal
This is both a valuable addition to existing American biographical dictionaries and a summary of individuals currently deemed important to the development of American society. Over 40 scholars contributed informative entries on 9000 individuals from political, military, social, cultural, and economic realms as well as from popular culture. Entries include living and deceased figures, figures active in illegal careers such as robbery and gambling, and a large number of women and representatives from minority groups. Name and occupation indexes help readers find entries for all individuals named in the book as well as those in the same professions. This work compares quite favorably with such single-volume titles as The Concise Dictionary of American Biography: Complete to 1970 (LJ 3/15/91) and the more expansive Cambridge Biographical Dictionary (LJ 1/91), while updating Webster's Biographical Dictionary (1976) and The Encyclopedia of American Biography (1974). Based on overall coverage and quality, this work is recommended for all libraries.?Stephen L. Hupp, Capital Univ. Lib., Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This massive work of 9,000 entries attempts to bring together in one place all important as well as not quite so important figures in American life. Addressing all periods of American history and all fields of endeavor, it takes care to include a large number of women and members of minority groups.
More than 40 scholars helped select the biographees. In addition to politics and the military, people are included from the fields of science, academia, the arts and humanities, education, sports, popular culture, and even the underworld, such as John Dillinger. While coverage begins in colonial times, more than 25 percent of the biographees are still living. The brief entries are clear and easy to read, beginning with birth and death information. Entries vary in length according to the person's importance. Pianist John Browning gets three lines, FDR gets a half a page. Entries are similar to those in the Concise Dictionary of American Biography (4th ed., Scribner, 1990), which covers 18,000 Americans who died by the end of 1970. Like the Concise DAB, entries in Cambridge are indexed by occupation. A name index in Cambridge lists persons mentioned in a biography of someone else. As is always the case with books of this sort, one can question coverage. Why is Louise Erdrich included and not Michael Dorris? Why Barbara Tuchman and not Garry Wills?
An informative introduction provides insight into the overall makeup of the book. Those libraries already owning the Concise Dictionary of American Biography will still want to add this work to their collections based on its inclusiveness and currency.
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