Chambers Biographical Dictionary: Centenary Edition

As in earlier editions, a broad spectrum of achievement is covered, including the areas of science, technology, the arts and humanities, education, sports, popular culture, academia, politics, the military, and even those involved in illegal careers, such as John Dillinger and Al Capone. The entries are clear and easier to read than in the 1990 edition. New to this edition is the use of italics at the beginning of each entry for the nationality and occupation of the subject. Entry length varies from a few lines in one column to two-thirds of a page.

Also new to this edition are 250 sidebars devoted to those people judged to be of particular influence, importance, or interest. Some examples are Dante Alighieri, Ingrid Bergman, Thomas Edison, and Henry Purcell. Bibliographic information and quotations are included in these sidebars. Limited bibliographic information is also sometimes included in regular entries.

The entries are listed alphabetically, by last name of subject. There are no indexes of any kind, as are found in some other biographical dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 1995). Valuable information about the spelling of subjects' names as well as information about the treatment of foreign names and titles is given in the introductory "Note on the Text" at the beginning of the volume.

As is generally the case with this type of reference work, one can question coverage. Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands, is included, but not King Kamehameha I, who unified the Hawaiian Islands and was their first monarch. Baseball greats Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth are included, but not Mickey Mantle. Author James Jones is included, but not Pulitzer Prize^-winning author James Michener. Since this is a British publication, there is a British bias. However, an effort has been made to expand coverage of contemporary American figures, with entries for Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Michael Jackson (who rates a sidebar), Florence Griffith-Joyner, Kenny Rogers, and Roseanne, to name a few.

In its centenary year, this work continues to be a valuable resource for public and academic libraries. Its pedigree makes it a good supplement to other titles by providing information on British figures whose fame has crossed the Atlantic, such as "Mr. Bean" (Rowan Atkinson) and director Mike Leigh. It is also, for now, the most current single-volume biographical reference source. Because many names have been dropped to make room for newer and longer entries, larger libraries may want to hold on to earlier editions.