ABC-CLIO

American Indians in the early West.

Mathews (history, U. of New Mexico) offers an alternative view to histories that concentrate on the violent and often tragic confrontations between native Americans and Anglo-Americans in the 19th century. Instead, she concentrates on the clashes between the Indian nations and colonizers that began almost 300 years before the United States was born. Topics include the origins, migrations and geographical location of the earlier native Americans, the history of the Spanish in the southwest, the history of the French from the Saint Lawrence and Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains and Russian involvement from the Aleutian Chain to Northern California. The book also addresses major issues in the study of American Indian history. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

British colonial America; people and perspectives.

This text examines colonial residents across the full spectrum of early American society, including Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans of both genders. The book describes the day-to-day world of men and women, indentured servants, religious zealots, farmers, western settlers, and others who made up the majority of the colonial population. Themes emphasized include government versus individual rights, the role of religion in society, immigration and expansion, slavery and race relations, and economic opportunity. B&w historical illustrations are included on nearly every page. Grigg teaches history at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli conflict; a political, social, and military history; 4v.

With a focus on the military aspects of the conflict, this 4-volume resource also contains lengthy entries on central issues of religion and culture that have an impact on Israeli and Palestinian relations. The first three volumes are devoted to the A-Z entries, many of them biographies, with topics that include specific battles, treaties, and sites. Individual entries are included for the policies of key countries, such as France, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and the Soviet Union. Each entry concludes with cross-references and a short list of references, and many include b&w images. Volume Four is given over to the comprehensive index and 168 primary documents (many in excerpted form), including military reports, resolutions and declarations by various delegations and congresses, protocols, and speeches. This is a thorough, even-handed work that provides clear descriptions of the history of this long-standing and complex conflict to a wide readership. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Jay and Ellsworth, the first courts; justices, rulings and legacy.

Harrington (law, U. of Montreal) describes the first years of the US Supreme Court. He profiles each of appointments to the bench by presidents Washington and Adams, surveys cases and controversies that came before the court, and looks at the court's legacy and impact in subsequent legal and political history. Supporting material includes documents, biographical sketches, a glossary, a chronology, and an annotated bibliography. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Nations and nationalism; a global historical overview; 4v.

This four-volume encyclopedia, edited by Herb (geography, Middlebury College) and Kaplan (geography, Kent State U.), is intended as an in-depth examination of nations and nationalism that explores both characteristic themes and representative cases from all over the world. The volumes are arranged chronologically, with individual volumes covering 1770 to 1880, 1880 to 1945, 1945 to 1989, and 1989 to the present. Overall, there are 104 full-length country essays, similarly formatted such that each places the national case in historical, political, social, and geographical context; examines key actors and institutions together with philosophical foundations; discusses the role of ethno-cultural, civilizational, and geographical markers in creating the us-them distinction at the heart of nationalism; address particular events, stories, and myths used in constructing the nation; and explore actions and strategies that have been used to mobilize and build the nation. The editors sought to include examples from both the developed and the developing world and to include at least one case from every major region of the world. Included alongside the country entries are 42 thematic essays, each about 6000 words long, on such topics as gender and nationalism, education and nationalism, national symbols, technology and nationalism, cinema and national identity, diaspora and nationalism, national identity and immigration, new social and environmental movements in relation to nationalism, and terrorism and nationalism. Each of these essays aims to address why the particular topic is important; what the background and origins of the issues at hand are; major dimensions and impacts on different groups, social conditions, and ideas; and the consequences and ramifications of the issue for the character and future developments of nations and nationalism. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Rich and poor in America; a reference handbook.

In time for the 2008 presidential election, Gilbert (economics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York) presents a resource on the growing income gap between the richest and poorest Americans. He covers the dimensions, causes, consequences of, and policy options for braking, recent trends. Included are a chapter-long chronology; biographical sketches with further suggested reading on individuals whose lives/ideas have shed light on U.S. economic inequality (including Horatio Alger, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates); income statistics and documents (e.g., comments by the current Federal Reserve chairman); an extensive annotated resource directory; and glossary. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

South Asia; an environmental history.

Hill (history, U. of Colorado, Colorado Springs) presents an historical examination of the relationship between humans and their surroundings in South Asia. After a brief overview of the environmental setting of the area, the text provides a chronologically organized history, from prehistory to the present, of the whole Asian subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The main text is supplemented with several resources — three case studies; a list of important people, events, and concepts; a chronology; a bibliographic essay; an extensive bibliography; and a glossary of terms — making this a suitable reference for students and general readers. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Space warfare and defense; a historical encyclopedia and research guide.

Most media reports of space programs emphasize the development of new technologies or scientific experimentation, but a good amount of the hardware circling over our heads is military. Space will eventually become a prime theater of military operations, as a launching point and as a target. With over 375 entries, a reference guide to current and historical literature on US, Russian, Chinese and European military space policy and programs, a detailed chronology of the military development of space, and a very helpful glossary of terms and acronyms, this reference is suitable for first-contact reference by professionals but accessible enough for general readership. The entries cover such general topics as space weaponry development, US laws and international agreements on military uses of space, US Dept. of Defense resources, the resources of such non-defense organizations as legislature and independent agencies, and US and foreign research institutions and organizations. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

U.S. Social Security; a reference handbook.

This reference for students in high school and up provides an overview of the US Social Security system, looking at how it was developed, why it is likely to encounter difficulty, and what has been proposed to fix it. The experiences of other countries are also examined to see what lessons they may offer the US. The book includes a chronology of pensions and social security programs at home and abroad, biographical sketches of the leading officials and personalities who have been instrumental in the program's development, and an annotated guide to the many individuals and organizations that are active in the US Social Security debate. Excerpts of data and documents from 1934 to 2007 are also included. Livingston teaches political science at Middle Tennessee State University. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Wars of the Americas; a chronology of armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere, 1492 to the present, 2d ed.

This two-volume set is a chronology of military conflicts in North and South America from the arrival of Europeans through the October 2006 suppression of protests in the city of Oaxaca by the Mexican military. The material is not presented strictly chronologically as related events are grouped together, thus allowing readers to more easily follow the course of a particular conflict or group of conflicts. Brief introductions are included at the beginning of each of these sections. The author's approach is primarily descriptive and is reflective of his background as a naval historian. Each volume includes a guide to further reading, a glossary, a geographic index, and a subject index. The volumes also include a fair number of maps and other illustrative materials. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Women in the American West.

For generations we thought most of the settling was done by men, that is, before the schoolmarm came to town. Recent scholarship has replaced that fallacy with the fact that women were integral to settlement far beyond bringing in learning and caring for their families. They ran businesses ranging from agriculture to mining to brothels, served as soldiers and ranchers, became entrepreneurs, and participated in politics. Woodworth-Ney (history, Idaho State U.) offers a well-balanced account, including finding previously hidden sources, determining the significant contributions of Native American women to trade and settlement, analyzing gender in Spanish-held areas and in other parts of the southern borderlands, locating women in manifest destiny, defining the influence of polygamy and prostitution, and tracking the accomplishments of "new women." Woodworth-Ney's chapters on how women experienced the Depression and two world wars in the West are particularly interesting. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)