ABC-CLIO

Civil wars of the world; major conflicts since World War II; 2v.

DeRouen (political science, U. of Alabama) and Heo (political science, U. of Wisconsin — Milwaukee) present historical profiles of 39 civil conflicts of the post-World War II, focusing on those with high casualty counts. The entries are structured similarly to allow for comparability and typically include country and conflict backgrounds and discussion of goals and characteristics of insurgent groups, geographic features of the conflict, insurgent tactics, causes of the war, external interventions and/or conflict management efforts, and conflict outcomes. Each entry also includes a conflict chronology, a list of acronyms, and references. Given the length of each entry, ease of comparability seems to have been stressed more than analytical rigor. Also included are five regional analyses of civil wars and conflicts, about ten pages each, covering Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub- Saharan Africa. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The grasslands of the United States; an environmental history.

While Sherow (history, Kansas State U.) cannot deny that Kansas is flatter than a pancake, he makes a strong case for the importance of preserving grasslands here and elsewhere. From the earliest migrants to future directions in restoration efforts, he traces the environmental history of the relationship between this characteristic American landscape and humans as a "keystone species" in determining the fate of this highly endangered ecosystem. Case studies focus on grasslands of the Great Basin, Southwest, and Rocky Mountain West, but not those of the Palouse of the Pacific Northwest. The volume features a map of grassland biomes; key conservation concepts, documents, people, and events; a chronology; and annotated bibliography. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Intellectual property; a reference handbook.

Owning, or at least having some control over the products of one's mental labors started to be an issue from the moment we humans went mental. Add globalization, and determining who created what and who gets to profit from it meets head-on with all the various laws, policies and cultural perceptions of all the nations of the world. Schwabach (law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law) focuses on information technology as he describes how copyrights, patents and trademarks shambled onto the contentious ground they now occupy, both domestically and internationally. He covers the history of intellectual property law from its inception to how it is practiced in the US today, the main problems with the relevant laws and their applications, and international protection. He includes a chronology, biographies of major players, primary data and documents, a directory of organizations, and resources ranging from books to online references. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Making of the American West; people and perspectives.

The 13 essays collected here for undergraduates and above portray the social history of the American West between 1800 and the 1910s through the perspectives of specific groups that lived in the region. The mythology of John Wayne's West is put to the test against the stories of American Indians, Asians and Asian Americans, Latinos, Blacks, outlaws, artists, entrepreneurs, trappers and traders, soldiers, and Mormons. Unifying themes in the collection include the assumptions that people make their own histories and attach their own meanings to the circumstances of their lives; as well as the importance of economics, race, and place. Primary documents supplement the text. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Medieval weapons; an illustrated history of their impact.

The impact of particular weapons — severed limbs and crushed skulls — is not the concern of De Vries (history, Loyola College, Maryland) and British museum consultant Smith but the larger military, social, and economic impact of changes in military technology from the fourth to the 16th centuries. They devote a chapter each to the Carolingian era and the Crusades. The black-and-white illustrations, part of the back matter, are not numbered and so not referred to from the text. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Milestones in archaeology; a chronological encyclopedia.

In this extension of his five-volume Encyclopedia of Archeology (1999-2001, ABC-CLIO), Murray (archeology, La Trobe U., Melbourne, Australia) introduces a new approach to the upsurge in the historiography of archeology and the field's relationships with contemporary anthropology and history. Representing "a middle ground between a straightforward work of reference...and an extended narrative of the history of archeology," this work seeks to communicate with both specialists and nonspecialists. Interpretive entries surveying the field follow a chronology of archaeological milestones before 1800 and by century since then. Cross-referenced entries include further reading, several maps and b&w illustrations. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Religion and the law in America; an encyclopedia of personal belief and public policy; 2v.

Constitutionally codified, albeit a bit vaguely, in the First Amendment, freedom of religion is a core facet of American governance and law. This encyclopedia by Merriman (U. of Maryland) explores the legal and political history of freedom of religion as established by the First Amendment. He first provides a timeline, followed by 15 thematic essays discussing such topics as church-state religions, important organizations in the development of religion and the law, issues of taxation and funding and religious groups, personal issues of religion and state, prayer and Bible reading in public schools, religion and issues of employment, religion in times of war, religion and politics in the framing of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. However, the bulk of the two-volume set is dedicated to the presentation of 250 A-to-Z entries describing significant concepts, legislative acts, court cases, organizations, controversies, and individuals relevant to the legal history of religious freedom In the United States. Each entry includes a bibliography of further reading. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)