1999

BD -- Literature and Literary Studies

All those who own the KNLL­one of the core reference works for literature scholarship­will want to order these supplementary volumes. They might also like to know that a CD-ROM edition has been published (although too late to review here): München: Systema-Verlag, 1999; ISBN 3-634 23231-5: DM 498.00. A suggestion: perhaps the time has come to make reasonably priced paperback editions of KNLL, as well as its predecessor KLL, available to the general public. Such an edition was printed after the publication of KNLL but could be purchased only by members of the book trade. [sh/akb]
 

The four-color facsimiles are reproduced in their original size where possible. Accompanying each manuscript sample is a short essay, which includes a transcription of the text. The essays exhibit a refreshing diversity of approaches and are uniformly well-written. Where letters are used, the authors of the essays have included sketches of the letter writer and recipient, thus shedding light on the relationship between the correspondents. Among them are, for example, Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz and Charlotte von Stein, and Nelly Sachs and Alfred Andersch. Literary scholars familiar with the lives and works of the authors included will derive particular pleasure from this work. [hak/akb]
 

The layout of the catalog retains its original organization and offers additional searching aids through a revised cross-referencing system. Outstanding editorial competency is apparent in the difficult selection of names and works chosen for indexing, where the editors follow an effective middle path between too much and too little. The index volume contains over 14,000 names of people, publications, and institutions.

In addition to the print version of the new catalog, an online version can now be searched on the Internet at <http://www.dla-marbach.de/kallias/hyperkuss. The Internet presentation is distinguished by a clearly organized layout and a user friendly overview of the searching options. In the future, the additions to the electronic catalog will be entered annually, an advantage that already has become clear with the recent addition of the archives of the Piper publishing company and the papers of authors such as Erich Kästner and Karl Kerény. However, despite the currency and other advantages of the online catalog, we would hope that the wonderful printed catalog would still continue to be published from time to time&shy;not least for its excellent typographical format and its fine illustrations. [hak/akb]
 

As promising as the enterprise appears, the execution is unsatisfying in several ways. In a comparative evaluation of relevant literary reference works, there are a number of glaring omissions. The authors have consulted neither Herbert Jacob's Literatur in der DDR: bibliographische Annalen 1945-1962, one of the most valuable sources of bibliographical information about literary publication in the GDR, nor, even more startlingly, Andrea Jäger's Schriftsteller aus der DDR: Ausbürgerungen und Übersiedlungen von 1961 bis 1989 (brought out by Lang, the publisher also of the work reviewed here), which offers by far more information for the period it covers. There are other serious deficiencies which become apparent in using this work and stem from the superficiality of its concept, not to mention imprecise and confusing use of terminology and minor inaccuracies. All things considered, this is not a work that can be recommended without reservation. [hak/akb]
 

There are other features of this work that detract from its usefulness. Names of authors often appear in the text and index with only an initial rather than the full first name. New editions of works are not always cited. The layout is not clear and user friendly. How much the change in publishers has contributed to the unwelcome changes from the first to the second edition is hard to gauge. While the first edition never really caught on among practitioners, it did offer a viable alternative to other reference works in the field. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the new edition. [hak/akb]
 

The book originated within the context of the courses and examinations given at the University of Würzburg but summarizes the material so superbly that many students of German literature studying elsewhere could profit from it. Typographic differentiation and cross-references add to the text's usefulness. Truly a vade mecum! The only defect is the sparse bibliography of secondary literature, which does not even include the most important bibliographic serials in the field, the Bibliographie der deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft and the review journal Germanistik. A new edition would profit from a brief annotated bibliography. One looks forward to the announced next volume of this handbook, for German literature from 1848 to the present. [hak/akb]
 

The content of Internet für Germanisten is somewhat more substantial, due to the contributions of Hartmut Schönherr. Divided into sixteen categories, it supplies 160 relevant Internet addresses. Adjectives describing the usefulness of these sites (e.g., informative, useful, content-rich, etc.) are given at the point of the links to them. Pointers are also supplied for useful Germanist sites such as the Düsseldorfer Virtuelle Bibliothek and the Germanist pages of the University of Konstanz Library. Under the rubric "Bibliographien" the usual confusion exists between bibliographies and catalogs. The listing of "Fachzeitschriften" (subject-based research journals) is helpful, although it lacks references to some interesting new initiatives, such as the online journal literaturkritik.de at URL <http://www.literaturkritik.de/home.html. Sites dealing with individual authors, such as Hölderlin, Kleist, and Karl May are also featured. The rubric "Literaturwissenschaft" (literary scholarship) has its strong and weak points. One can locate the Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach through it, but references to other major sites, such as the Goethe- und Schiller Archiv and the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar are missing.

Despite its shortcomings, this resource can be recommended for those students and faculty who have had little experience with the Internet. But one can profit just as much from the website Internet für Germanisten maintained for Germanists by Hartmut Schönherr: <http://members.aol.com/artefact/germanlinks.html. [fsr/tk]
 

In ten short essays Internet sites are described with respect to German authors, German studies, research institutes, bibliographies, and electronic journals. Mailing lists are also discussed, as are literary archives, libraries, museums, and research institutes. The radical growth in the number of literary societies that now have a presence on the Internet is noted, currently eighty-seven (out of a total of 134). In addition, the dynamic text form, or so-called "Netzliteratur," is discussed, as are the simplified possibilities of publishing outside traditional paper modes, characterized in part as "liberation from the publisher." Also noted, however, is the question concerning the quality level of texts published in this fashion. Evaluation criteria for web sites are proposed. This work itself illustrates that there are no uniform standards for citing Internet addresses (URLs). Frequently mentioned in the work are OLLi (Olivers Links zur Literatur), the Web site Germanistik im Internet from the University of Erlangen <http://www.phil.uni erlangen.de/~p2gerlw/ressourc/liste.html, the periodical Computerphilologie, and Internet Resources for Germanists at the University of Wisconsin <http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/german/links.html.

This book and, even more, its Internet version are well-suited for libraries, and also for teachers and students of literature, philology, and medieval studies. [be/tk]
 

Comparing the print version with the CD-ROM, one can easily predict that anyone who wishes to use the KLG for precise and thorough searching will turn to the latter. The search functions are easy to use and allow for a quick retrieval of information that was not possible before. Indexes give the user access to all the information about authors found in the print version: biography; prizes; texts of articles; a listing of the author's works; translations (i.e., done by the author, not of the author's works); lists of works for theater, film, radio, multimedia projects, interviews, and secondary literature. The search system allows for highly detailed queries, within individual articles as well as in all articles, using fields such as: names of authors, birth and death dates, countries of origin, titles of works, institutions and organizations of literary life, prizes and years of awards. Within some of these categories, even more precise searching can be done. For example, under secondary literature, one can find specific information about reviewers, editors, newspapers, journals, and dates of reviews.

By using the CD-ROM database, the researcher can address certain kinds of questions which could not easily be answered before, such as which critics have written about which authors, and which directors have staged the works of which playwrights. One should keep in mind, however, that while the KLG CD-ROM has a definite advantage over the print version in terms of searching for specific information, the essays still deserve to be read thoroughly. Thus, one hopes that the market can sustain both versions over the long run. [hak/akb]
 

Contrary to the prevalent impression in Germany, the editors demonstrate that Feuchtwanger's works were widely published and read in both eastern and western Germany between 1945 and 1989. Although additional indexes would have without doubt increased the usability of the work, this extensive bibliography provides a solid foundation for future critical editions and research about the history and reception of Feuchtwanger's works. It will also be a boon to institutional and private collectors of Feuchtwanger's works. From the holdings information included in the work it becomes apparent that, along with the Deutsche Bibliothek (German National Library) in Frankfurt, the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library at the University of Southern California (USC) holds a major research collection of Feuchtwanger's works. It comprises the bibliographic and working library and archive of the writer, bequeathed to the University by his widow, Marta Feuchtwanger. Information about the Feuchtwanger Library and USC's other archival collections of German exiles (Hanns Eisler, Heinrich Mann, Ludwig Marcuse) is available by contacting Marje Schuetze-Coburn, curator of the collection, at schuetze@usc.edu or from the Feuchtwanger Library website: <http://www.usc.edu/isd/locations/ssh/special/fml. [ab/msc]
 

The dictionary shows all the signs of a publication hastily put together with scissors and paste for the Goethe anniversary in 1999 (Goethe was born in 1749). It is unfortunate that this severely flawed work was brought out by the same publishing house that has recently commenced a critical edition of Goethe's diaries. The CIP subtitle (dropped before publication) promised "everything about Goethe" in 2,200 articles, but this dictionary delivers a lot less than Gero von Wilpert's Goethe-Lexikon (reviewed in RREA 4:110). In addition to much superior factual information, Wilpert provides bibliographic references for further research, a feature lacking in the Metzler dictionary. [sh/rs]
 

Developed as the first phase of a comprehensive study of Jünger's writings, this work does not claim to be a complete bibliography. But with 951 entries, five indexes, a logical and user-friendly arrangement by type of work, and a solid critical apparatus, it is a valuable guide to an author whose well-crafted expressions of largely antihumanitarian ideals cannot be safely ignored. [mb/gw]
 

Author entries are primarily limited to authors of belles lettres and focus as a rule on the work rather than on biographical information. Relatively unknown as well as famous authors are included. There are also entries for institutions such as the Académie Française, for literary prizes, for literary movements such as the theater of the absurd, for twentieth-century genres such as the comic book or historical novel, and for themes such as literatures of the Maghreb or contemporary theater. The article about translation is extensive.

This volume is recommended for libraries and for everyone who is interested in contemporary French literature. [bk/mrh]
 

A section giving details about each prize, arranged alphabetically by "significant" words and not by the official names of the prizes (making it difficult to use) is followed by a section giving the same information arranged by subject. A subject index could have served the same purpose and halved the length of the book. An index of jurors and another one of prizes no longer given come at the end. [sh/mrh]
 

"Pliego suelto" literally means loose leaf. Rodríguez-Moñino's definition refers to a piece of regular size paper, folded twice to obtain eight leaves. As time went by, the concept of the pliego suelto was extended to include notebooks or chapbooks of thirty-two pages or more. Peddlers, blind beggars, and street people made the pliegos accessible to the public, generally, on street corners, plazas, markets, and shops. The pliegos were bound with a string that held them in the middle and were quite affordable.

Rodríguez-Moñino intended his unique compilation to provide accurate and complete access to primary texts of cultural importance for the study of Spanish popular literature of the sixteenth century. For those whose interest is poetry, history, music, or sociological disciplines, the Diccionario de Pliegos Sueltos contributed to a greater comprehension of a protean literary form that included verse, theater, prose, songs, and historical narratives. Rodríguez-Moñino considered the pliegos as literature for the masses. In his original 110-page introduction (reprinted here), he explains: there are "...libros gruesos y caros, para minorías; pliegos sueltos, literatura para las masas" [thick and expensive books for the élite; pliegos sueltos, literature for the masses] (p. 16).

Askins and Infantes continue Rodríguez-Moñino's work and build upon his ground-breaking research. They consider Rodríguez-Moñino's 1970 edition to be the fundamental study that synthesizes questions and problems of real interest to scholars in the field. In their research Askins and Infantes have followed Rodríguez-Moñino's steps in visiting libraries and private collections around the world. The only major deviation from the first edition of the dictionary is the new authors' belief that pliegos can vary in length, whereas Rodríguez-Moñino imposed a limit of twenty pages. For instance, the item described in record 1,056 is twenty-four pages long; Askins and Infantes include it because it was folded differently from a normal pliego. They do not include pliegos Catalans (Catalan pliegos), but promise to publish a separate source for these works.

Askins and Infantes' outstanding bibliographic work extends Rodríguez-Moñino's reconstruction of the literary history of each pliego. The authors are aware of the abundant research generated after the first edition and acknowledge these scholars for their contributions to pliegos research.

The Nuevo diccionario retains the organization of the original, which was divided into the following four sections: Pliegos de autores (nos. 1-646), Pliegos anónimos (nos. 47-1109), Las series Valencianas del Romancero nuevo (nos. 1110-1165), and Pliegos poéticos fragmentarios (nos. 1166-1179). Askins and Infantes have added 145 new records to the Pliegos de autores, ninety-five to the Pliegos anónimos, one to the Series Valencianas del Romancero nuevo, and nine new items to the Pliegos fragmentarios included in the section "Versos sueltos." Askins and Infantes use Rodríguez Moñino's numbering system but modify it by adding a decimal to an old number for intercalated entries. In this way, the authors can keep cross-references to older records and leave space for new entries. Revisions are written directly in the text of Rodríguez-Moñino's entries; other explanations are provided in the notes after each entry. Askins and Infantes utilize the symbols and conventions of the original, so that the user will find consistency and exactness in spelling, abbreviations, indications of end of the line (/), and other elements of bibliographic description. They also include notes for facsimiles, a feature not included in the first version.

After each bibliographic description there is a section that helps to organize the new revisions. The inclusion of abbreviations greatly facilitates the use and guidance of this superb tool. For example: Add=addenda, brings important new explanations, e.g., alterations in an item's collation. Sig=signatura is used to provide newly discovered library locations. Askins and Infantes use the term "Desconocido" (unknown) for the pieces not mentioned by modern critics, but which have a sixteenth- or seventeenth-century reference, and whose actual location is still unknown, while "No localizado" designates critically attested items without a known location. The other abbreviations are easy to identify.

After many years of dedicated research, Askins and Infantes have managed to revise old material, add new entries, expand the bibliographic sources, and build an innovative work that is indispensable to the comprehension of this eclectic material. University libraries can enhance their reference collections by adding this twelfth volume in the series published by Castalia.

Martha Zárate (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
 

The authors describe different approaches to be found in Russian lyric poetry during the past thirty years: fin-de- [19e]-siècle, war poets, predominantly Christian, underground, or post-modern poets, for example. Always debatable, these categories do, however, help to characterize or broaden the whole picture. The combination of representative poems (often the poet helped select them for this volume) with personal evaluations by competent experts makes this reference work a valuable aid for teaching and research. [wk/ga]
 

The two volumes under review here have been printed in a run of 13,000 copies, 2,000 more than the previous volumes, a sign of this work's importance in Russia. They cover eighty-nine twentieth-century authors and 195 of their literary works published before 1980. Happily, émigré authors are included alongside authors published in the Soviet Union. Entries are alphabetical&shy;rather than under the editor's intended four broad thematic "blocks"&shy;demonstrating the unity of Russian literature in the century just past.

The editor has chosen to make these two volumes a diverse spectrum of all the types of Russian authors of the twentieth century and not, as in the previous three volumes, a reference work of the leading authors and their best-known works. Thus, one finds here both the most important figures of the century&shy;inter alii Andrey Bely, Mikhail Bulgakov, Andrei Platonov, Valentin Rasputin, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and Mikhail Zoshchenko&shy;and lesser-known writers such as Iurii Felzen, Sigizmund Krzizhanovskii, and B.V. Savinkov (listed under the pseudonym V. Ropshin). Up to five works are cited under each entry. Disturbingly, one does not find such important authors as Daniil Granin, V.E. Maksimov, and Abram Terts.

As in the earlier volumes, the entries are not signed. The individual essays are often excellent and contribute not only to literary history but also to the specialized literature. Thus, despite its atypical selection of twentieth-century Russian literary figures, this encyclopedia belongs to the corpus of needed and helpful reference works in this field. [wk/ga]
 

Item numbers 133--137 and 140--142 were produced by librarians at the National Library for Children, and 134, 138--139 by the Municipal Library.

The first seven are paperback bibliographies on Moldova's major contemporary Romanian-language authors of children's books&shy;Iulian Filip (b. 1948), Vasile Romanciuc (b. 1947), Titus Stirbu (b. 1942), Spiridon Vangheli (b. 1932), Ion Vatamanu (1937-1993), and Grigore Vieru (b. 1935)&shy;all of whom have been translated internationally. Except as noted, in these bibliographies sections on primary works include translations from Romanian.

The first of these titles is devoted to the author and illustrator Iulian Filip. The volume begins with the editor's methodological note, three brief essays about the author, and the author's chronology. The bibliography of 1,095 alphabetical entries is divided into three sections, with each containing critical essays on Filip: literary works, illustrations, and critical works. The first and third sections are haphazardly arranged, as they do not distinguish between primary and secondary literature. The first section includes books; works in collections and in periodicals; humorous works; parodies; translations by language; stage works; screenplays; newspaper articles; reviews of Filip's work; lyrics and works set to music; recordings; and works edited. Prefacing the translation subdivision is a speech by the president of Hungary's writer's union&shy;indeed a great honor for a Romanian-language author. The second section is prefaced by an introductory essay, and the bibliography is subdivided twice: Filip's illustrations for his own works, and his illustrations for the works of others. The third section, "Life and Literary Activities," begins with three introductory essays, and then is subdivided into critical works on, interviews with, and lectures on Filip; lectures by Filip; political writings by and about Filip; Filip's television works; his radio works; and radio works performed by others. The book concludes with two indexes, name and title, with reference to entry number (as do all the works reviewed here). Of all the author bibliographies reviewed here, this alone annotates citations, albeit briefly. As is the case for all the works reviewed here, the bulk of citations are to works published in Moldova, Romania, Russia and the former Soviet Union, the exception being for translations.

Romanciuc's bio-bibliography begins with three introductory essays and a chronology, and contains 438 citations arranged alphabetically by title in the following rubrics: books; works in collections and in periodicals; newspaper articles; lyrics and works set to music; translations by Romanciuc; edited works; critical works on Romanciuc; and radio works. Three indexes, name, title, and periodical, conclude the volume.

Stirbu's bio-bibliography begins with a methodological note and two brief introductory articles. The bibliography contains 429 entries arranged alphabetically by title in the following rubrics: works, subdivided by genre, including translations; translations by Stirbu; and works about Stirbu. Also included are name and title indexes. This volume was produced by photocopying and bound in-house, and is the only title reviewed here not produced by offset press.

Vangheli, a 1998 finalist for the international Hans Christian Andersen Prize, is Moldova's most celebrated contemporary children's author, known for his slow, meticulous work, as well as his extensive public service on children's issues. An introductory essay precedes a methodological note. The bibliography of 559 citations is subdivided into books; works in collections and periodicals; collaborative works; miscellaneous works; translated books; translations in periodicals; translations by Vangheli; edited books; and critical works about Vangheli. The book concludes with three indexes: illustrator, translator, and translation language. Vangheli's bibliography differs from the other author bibliographies in two respects. First, although Vangheli's name does not appear on the volume, he in fact verified each entry and was involved in the entire production process. Second, citations remain in Cyrillic, and are not Romanized. An expanded second edition of this bibliography is in production by the National Library for Children.

Vatamanu's bibliography suffers from the same incoherence as Filip's. It begins with a methodological note, a long introductory essay which is briefly summarized in English, two pages of quotes by various authors on Vatamanu, and a chronology. The bibliography of 949 chronological entries is divided into two parts, works and "Life and Activities," both of which include primary and secondary literature. The first section is subdivided into books; works in collections and in periodicals; translations, by language; posthumous publications; works in periodicals; reviews of Vatamanu; works set to music; translations by Vatamanu (including Cavafy, Dickinson, Frost, and Whitman); reviews of his translations; reviews by Vatamanu; and works edited. The second section is also prefaced by a long essay. Unlike the rest of the book, the first subdivision on critical works is not further subdivided into identifiable categories. Instead, asterisks separate the groupings: encyclopedia articles; necrologies; political writings; critical works; dedicatory works; interviews; and a filmography (seven of eight are documentaries, and one is an acting role). The volume concludes with name, title, and periodical indexes. When applicable, subdivisions lists Vatamanu's Romanian-language works first, followed by Russian-language works. Of all the author bibliographies, Vatamanu's is the most heavily illustrated, containing dozens of photographs and manuscript facsimiles.

Vieru, also an Andersen Prize candidate, is the most prolific Moldovan children's author, yet this does not explain the publication of two bibliographies&shy;each library unknowingly began its project simultaneously. The earlier bibliography contains 1,946 entries arranged chronologically. It begins with a methodological note, an introductory essay, excerpts from authors on Vieru, and a chronology. The bibliography is divided into primary works; secondary works; and radio works. The first section is subdivided into books; collections in periodicals; translations, by language; reviews; works set to music; anthologies; critical and other works; translations by Vieru; and works edited. The second section is subdivided into life and works; interviews; Vieru's fiftieth anniversary; and dedicatory poems. The third section contains unnumbered entries subdivided into monophonic radio works (70), stereo radio works (229), and recordings (7). The volume concludes with periodical, name, and composer indexes. This final section is unique to the two Vieru bibliographies, as are the many photographs of Vieru contained within and the composer index. One shortcoming is the lack of a title index.

The later bio-bibliography begins with a methodological note, three short articles, two pages of quotes on Vieru, and a chronology. The bibliography contains 2,801 chronological citations segregated by primary and secondary literature. The first is subdivided into books; works in collections and in periodicals; dedications; collaborative works; newspaper articles; musical adaptations; filmstrips; translations by Vieru; and edited works. The second section includes general works; reviews and articles about specific books; and dedicatory verse. The volume contains four indexes: name, title, translation language, and periodical. Overall, this Vieru bio-bibliography is superior to the former, in that it contains an additional nine hundred citations, including the unique categories of newspaper articles and filmstrips. Yet, libraries with an interest in Moldovan or children's literature on a research level would benefit from acquiring both titles.

The final titles are hardcover, and although general in nature, are the most important from the standpoint of library reference, as they provide an overview of twentieth-century Moldovan children's literature. The first of these titles, Literatura pentru copii editata in Moldova sovietica: indice cumulativ 1924-1974, is bilingual, but entirely in Cyrillic (prior to 1989 Moldovan Romanian was written only in Cyrillic). Thus, the table of contents and section headings are in both Romanian and Russian. The 3,764 entries are organized into two sections, each of which is subdivided further, and each of which betrays the title's communist origin. The first is artistic literature, the subdivisions for which are political and linguistic: "Moldovan" (i.e., Romanian-language), Russian, Soviet, and world literature. These four categories are subdivided further into folk, classic, and Soviet literature, with the exception being for world literature, which is subdivided twice: folk, and classic and contemporary literature. The second section, "scientific-artistic and scientific-popular literature," is subdivided into works by Marx, Engels, and Lenin, and about the communist party and Soviet Union; communist morality, politics, and history; geography and ethnography; natural science and atheism; health and sport; technology; agriculture; publishing; plays for pioneers and other youth groups; popularization of science and culture; and reference works. The volume concludes with three indexes: author, compiler, editor, and translator; illustrator; and anonymous works.

Whereas the earlier title has its strength both in its historical overview of Moldovan children's literature and in its multi-ethnic perspective, the later title, Scriitorii Moldovei in Lectura Copiilor si Adolescentilor: Dictionar Biobibliografic, has its strength in providing an overview of contemporary, mostly post-war, children's writers. The volume surveys 102 writers (predominantly ethnic Romanians) who have contributed significantly to children's and young adult literature. Each alphabetic entry includes an author photograph, brief biography, and a bibliography of primary and secondary literature (the latter under the usual heading "life and activities"). Primary works exclude translations, and secondary works are limited chronologically to the period 1973 - October 31, 1993 (although some citations date to the 1960s), and geographically to Moldova, the Soviet Union, and Romania. Each author bibliography is subdivided into Romanian and Russian works, the latter of which are printed in Cyrillic.

All titles are available for purchase at a reasonable and negotiable price, or by exchange. Contact each library directly at: Eugenia Bejan, Assistant Director, Biblioteca Nationala pentru Copii Ion Creanga a Republicii Moldova, Str. Sciusev nr. 65, Chisinau MD 2012, Moldova, tel./fax. (373) (2) 24-33-83, e-mail bibcopic@cni.md; and Lydia Kulikovski, Director, Biblioteca Municipala B.P Hasdeu, Bd. Stefan cel Mare nr. 148, Chisinau MD 2012, tel. (373) (2) 22-12-31, e-mail lydia-kulikovski@mail.com. Both librarians are fluent in English. UPS and DHL have offices in Chisinau, and it is highly advisable that libraries interested in obtaining these titles arrange for prepaid postage via one of these couriers&shy;this will reduce or perhaps eliminate the cost per title, and will ensure safe receipt. Alternatively, libraries may consider using a vendor specializing in the region, such as Kubon & Sagner in Munich, Germany (<http://www.kubon-sagner.de/), to obtain the titles on firm order.

Beau David Case (Ohio State University)
 

The selection contains not only literary works in the strict sense, but also other genres normally found in the classics canon, such as philosophy, historiography and science. Each article follows a pattern in presenting its information: the original title and German translation of the title are followed by brief information such as author, genre, and date. The longer articles note the contents of the texts, sources, historical situation at the time of its writing, and influences on later literature. Each entry also includes the most important editions of the text in question and notable secondary literature. Due to its accuracy and precision, this work is sure to become an oft-used reference for students in classical studies. [hak/hh]
 

The CD-ROM is based on volumes 1-10 (1980-1989) and 17 (1996), but is not identical with the print edition; the electronic version includes only the bibliography's core subjects: authors and texts in literature, theology, and philosophy, plus reviews of these pertinent works. The next version (CD-MEL 2) is intended to cover the remaining topics: literary genres; school subjects; scientific disciplines; church, legal, and political history; writing culture, and so forth for volumes 1-10 and the most recent volume. The digitization of volumes 11-20 will, according to SISMEL, take some time, due to the enormous amount of labor required.

The detailed user's guide is written in Italian and in English. The dialogue fields and explanations of buttons are available in all five working languages, but other features may not be. Fortunately, there are few errors of omission or typography.

One can search the Medioevo Latino database by many different fields: medieval authors and titles (including pre-Middle Ages works), by the Latin form of the name; modern authors, editors, compilers and/or critics of works indexed; medieval manuscripts (including depository location, library, special collection and call number); journals and monographs; geographic names in the titles and tables of contents; Latin-language concepts treated in the works; and finally all terms and names found in the database. Boolean searching is possible also, with chronological or alphabetical sorting, short or long displays, and easy downloading and printing of results and of searches. CD-MEL 1 permits the creation of personal bibliographies from the (almost) completed 1978-1988 index (including abstracts) of medieval literature. This database's appearance simultaneously with the completion of the Lexikon des Mittelalters (see RREA 5:220) is highly welcome and fills the need for an electronic bibliographic tool for current resources in medieval studies.

But considering that CD-MEL 1 will be superseded by a better upgrade (CD-MEL 2), the vendor should offer a discount to purchasers of the second version who already own the first. The contents of volume 18 (1997) of Medioevo Latino can be found on the SISMEL web site at <http://www.sismel.meri.unifi.it. [ch/ga]
 

The second volume of the revised edition focuses on the history of literary genres and on historical linguistic and editorial aspects of research in neo-Latin literature. The largest part of volume 2 covers individual literary genres, offering a systematic overview of poetry, drama, artistic, and scientific prose. Brief lists of representative writers from these genres are given, along with meaningful examples of appropriate texts. Each section includes a comprehensive bibliography of pertinent studies, editions, and secondary literature about individual authors. Although much space is given to the humanities, the materials covered here also make clear the paramount importance that Latin held, into the eighteenth century, for the Europe-wide transfer of knowledge in the natural and earth sciences. The work closes with a bibliography of bibliographies, catalogs and databases that give access to the scarcely comprehensible wealth of printed neo-Latin texts. Five excellent indexes provide access to authors, places, topics, manuscripts, and Latin phrases.

The Companion surveys current research literature and bibliographic tools, offering a key to discovering the rich creativity of neo-Latin authors and serving as a sweeping history of this long neglected literature. [ch/ga]

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