Dictionary of World Biography Vol. 1 : The Ancient World

Book by Salem Press

Grade 7 Up-By gathering 218 articles from the "Great Lives from History" series (Salem), adding 43 new ones, and then arranging them chronologically (instead of geographically), the editors of The Ancient World haven't necessarily created a whole new book, but they certainly have created a good one. The clear and lively text is laid out in a browser-friendly manner. Each two-to-three page article begins with important dates and an encapsulation of the subject's historical contribution and ends with a bibliography. The indexes allow users to search by area of achievement, geographical location, and name. Thus, they can quickly find a list of ancient architects, biblical figures, or famous people from Dalmatia. The illustrations (almost every article includes one picture) are excellent. However, without captions, readers are left to wonder who it is that Alexander the Great is confronting in the moody shadows of a cavernous room, who Attila the Hun is serving with an eviction notice, or who Nero is tormenting. Even collections that have the original series will find this book useful. The updates and the reorganization give it added value plus, not only is it a delight to have all these fascinating characters collected between two covers, it's a real education.
Herman Sutter, Saint Pius X High School, Houston, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The current profusion of biographical encyclopedias and dictionaries reflects our growing fascination with the lives of the famous and influential. Often, biographical reference resources are narrowly focused on a specific country or group. Gale's new edition of the Encyclopedia of World Biography [RBB My 1 98] provides comprehensive international coverage. Now the Encyclopedia is joined by the Dictionary of World Biography, an update of Salem's Great Lives from History series.

The Ancient World is the first of the Dictionary's projected 10 volumes. This new collection rearranges the Great Lives entries: as the title of the first volume suggests, the Dictionary is chronologically arranged, as opposed to the prior geographic arrangement. Other sets in the series, scheduled to be published between now and June_ 1999, are The Middle Ages ($125, 0-80356-314-5), The Renaissance ($125, 0-89356-315-3), The 17th and 18th Centuries ($125, 0-89356-316-1), The Nineteenth Century (2v., $195, 0-89356-317-X), and The 20th Century (3v., $295, 0-89356-320-X). There is a price break for purchasing the entire collection.

The Ancient World has 261 essays (43 of which are new) that look at the lives and works of individuals who died before 450 A.D. Each of these essays is between 2,000 and 3,000 words long. Following ready-reference information about birth, death, and accomplishments, they examine an individual's early life and then discuss in more detail the portion of his or her life that makes them important. The essays conclude with a summary placing the person in historical perspective and are appended with an updated, annotated bibliography of further readings. Following the A^-Z entries are indexes by area of achievement, geographical location, and name. A comprehensive index for all volumes will be available at the conclusion of the series.

Compared with Gale's Encyclopedia of World Biography, the Dictionary of World Biography will cover many fewer people, although The Ancient World does include individuals not found in the Gale set. The Dictionary has longer articles on some figures, such as Marcus Junius Brutus and Caligula; however, the article on Buddha is twice as long in the Encyclopedia and provides a more detailed look at Buddha's philosophy, teachings, and modern significance. The Dictionary's chronological arrangement will allow readers quicker and easier access to specific time periods. Since the volumes in the series can be puchased separately, libraries can choose to fill gaps in their coverage of particular periods without investing in the entire 10-volume set. Nevertheless, libraries that have purchased the more comprehensive Gale Encyclopedia may wish to direct their resources elsewhere, especially if they already own the Great Lives from History series.