Asian Political Almanac (Facts on File)

Provides information on the government, constitution, political parties, elections, population, and leaders of Asian countries

Cook, compiler of The Facts On File World Political Almanac (3d ed., 1994), follows a similar format with this work. Asian studies collections at the high-school level and above that need a digest of the most important political facts, names, and events of the past 50 years will need to consider this book. It also merits consideration for general reference collections in public and academic libraries.

Important facts difficult to find outside of larger, more expensive sources (Statesman's Yearbook, Europa World Year Book, Encyclopedia of the Third World) are presented here in compact form. The design is for quick reference; entries are mostly lists, tables, or a few sentences rather than pages of extended narrative. The work does not attempt to be comprehensive, but rather convenient, providing the information the reader needs on historical and political facts since World War II.

The first chapter on 23 nations of Asia includes a list of about a dozen general facts for each country such as area, population, etc. Next, a chronology of major political events from 1945 through mid-1993 includes brief entries for each year. "Heads of State and Government" lists leaders from 1945 through September 1993 when Sihanouk returned as king in Cambodia. A chapter on constitutions provides summaries of the organization of governments. Five major organizations (e.g., UN, ASEAN) are described, and "major treaties and agreements" are listed by country with dates. Also listed chronologically are wars, coups, and assassinations. Brief information is supplied on the largest political parties in each country. Election results, which are often difficult to find, are included but are not always reported consistently--the Thai elections of 1988 list the translated English names (Thai Nation Party, Rightous Force), while the 1992 elections use the transliterated Thai names for the same parties (Chart Thai and Palang Dharma). Other facts concern population and urbanization by country, refugees, natural disasters, and rice production. A glossary and a chapter of brief biographies are followed by an appendix listing new nations of Asia and important name changes. A bibliographic note provides an up-to-date list of histories and statistical sources to flesh out the facts outlined here.

Cook, who is head of the Modern Archives Unit at the London School of Economics, has compiled many standard reference works, mainly in European politics and history. This work is organized in 11 chapters that range from "Heads of State and Government" to "Population and Urbanization," with a chapter on "Constitutions" that is especially superficial. While hardly presenting anything new, the book does offer packaged convenience to those seeking fairly basic facts, biographies, or statistics. Such works usually become quickly outdated, and some of the statistics here are already woefully inadequate. The latest rice production statistics are for 1985 and cite the 1977-78 and 1985-86 editions of the Statesman's Year-Book as source, although the 1994-95 edition already provides rice statistics for those in 1990-92. Cook's figures for literacy rates often differ significantly from those in other standard reference works, such as The Far East & Australasia, 1994 (Gale, 1994). The index, however, is quite thorough. Recommended only for public or undergraduate libraries that have overlooked Asian reference sources for the past five years.
Stephen W. Green, Auraria Lib., Denver
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.