Larousse Dictionary of World History

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Several one-volume dictionaries of world history have appeared in 1994: World History: A Dictionary of Important People, Places, and Events from Ancient Times to the Present [RBB S 1 94], The Hutchinson Dictionary of World History (ABC-Clio), and now The Larousse Dictionary of World History. The latter two works were compiled in Great Britain.

Larousse is based on the extensive computerized database of various Larousse biographical and encyclopedia entries. The editor culled from these sources information from the political, military, and diplomatic sides of world history to create a 7,500-entry encyclopedia. More than 40 contributors from British universities prepared the text, which consists of 50- to 400-word entries in a strict A-Z format. Cross-references are used extensively to direct the reader to related entries. Although the introduction states that the publisher has tried to avoid a Eurocentric bias and give as much coverage to American as British topics, it is difficult to escape the point of view of its contributors. For instance, the entry English Civil Wars is longer than American Civil War. Larousse's strength is biography; it has an entry for Adam Clayton Powell while Hutchinson and World History do not. All entries are current through 1992. More than 30 black-and-white maps supplement the text, as well as 40 boxed panels that list members of dynasties, popes, etc. Unfortunately, there is no means of access to these special features.

Hutchinson contains 5,000 entries, detailed histories of all countries, and a chronology. World History contains 10,000 entries and entries for countries that incorporate chronologies. Neither entries for countries nor a chronology are found in Larousse.

The Larousse Dictionary of World History is clearly written and accessible to junior high and up, but its fewer entries and lack of country entries and historical time lines make it less useful as a ready-reference source than World History. However, all three of these titles have much unique information, and libraries may want to select more than one.