Dictionary of Modern American History (Facts on File Library of American History)

Covers the period immediately preceding the American Revolution to the present, including political, diplomatic, military, economic, social, and cultural developments and events.

Thompson has been the Sydney Mayer Lecturer in Early American History at Oxford University for several years and has authored books on early American social history. His present monograph is a reference on American history from 1763 to the present. Intended to assist high-school and college students as well as researchers and general readers, it was published first in Great Britain as Cassell's Dictionary of Modern American History.

Coverage is limited to significant events and individuals that have affected history. For example, sports are not generally included, but figures like Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson are. The approximately 1,200 entries encompass political, diplomatic, military, economic, social, and cultural topics, as well as biographies, essential terms, battles, and key legislation. Most entries are two or three paragraphs in length, but some topics, like the Civil War and civil rights, are treated in several pages of interpretative essays. There are histories of all 50 states and synopses of important Supreme Court cases. The volume has no illustrations, although there are four black-and-white maps at the back. Distances are given in English and metric measures. Text words in bold type serve as cross-references to related entries.

Rounding out the reference are five appendixes. The first contains the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, the latter only provides the text of the first 15 amendments; the remaining 12 amendments are not presented or cross-referenced to their entries in the dictionary. This will be an inconvenience for persons seeking the full text of the U.S. Constitution. The second appendix provides information on each presidential administration--political party of the president, dates in office, a sentence or two describing significant events of the time in office, results of the presidential election, opponents, vote tallies, and selected members of the cabinet. This compilation is excellent, but the selective listing of cabinet members is another inconvenience for students seeking complete information. The third appendix is a listing of all members of the U.S. Supreme Court. The forth appendix is a subject index, and the final appendix is a chapter of suggestions for further reading. A random sampling showed the suggestions to be current and appropriate with one exception of a controversial monograph that has been discredited by scholars.

There are several other single-volume references on U.S. history. Three of the more recent are The Dictionary of American History, by Thomas Purvis (Blackwell, 1995); Encyclopedic Dictionary of American History, by John Mack Faragher (Dushkin, 4th ed., 1991); and Readers Companion to American History, by Eric Foner and John Arthur Garraty (Houghton-Mifflin, 1991). Thompson's volume is comparable in size and more current. With the caveat regarding the selective information in the appendixes, this is a good work that would be appropriate for high-school, public, and academic libraries. RBB
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