2000

DA -- History and Area Studies

The literature about revolutions, and also about the theory of revolutions, can fill whole libraries. Because the phenomenon of revolution is multi-layered, and forming theories is hard, any dictionary or handbook faces many difficulties. The editor of this volume, a professor of history at the University of Frankfurt am Main, alludes to these difficulties in his introduction. The contributions he has brought together should therefore be seen as a "collection of cases for studying the phenomenon of revolution." They range from the ancient Orient to the 1989 transition in the GDR, and are written by recognized authors. The emphasis is on modern times. Each of the twenty chapters is introduced by a short chronology of related events. They are engaging to read and inspire the reader to further research. There are no footnotes, but the appendix offers some books for additional reading for each chapter. Because of the excellent authors and the variety of the revolutions treated (e.g., the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the revolution of 1968, and the Islamic Revolution of 1979), this volume is suited not only for research libraries but also for larger (German-language) public libraries. [wl/gh]
 
 

Wolfgang Trapp, formerly director of the Bavarian State Office for Weights and Measures in Munich, is an expert in the field of administration of standards. This handbook follows the publication of the third edition of his Kleines Handbuch der Maße, Zahlen, Gewichte und der Zeitrechnung [Concise Handbook of Measures, Numbers, Weights, and the Calculation of Time] (Stuttgart, 1998). It uses numerous tables, sketches, and illustrations to explain the concept of money and coinage and the history of coins and currency, prices, wages, and purchasing power. It concludes with a discussion of the European Currency Union and the introduction of the Euro. It includes a glossary of terms, concepts and abbreviations, a chronology, a bibliography, and a subject index.

The style and depth of treatment of the subject imply that this handbook is intended for a broad audience, ranging from subject specialists to collectors and hobbyists. This diverse work is very useful for the researcher seeking an introduction to the field of numismatics and the history of money. It is one of a very few academic works in German on the subject; most other works being catalogs or guidebooks for collectors. Among the few other scholarly works are Tyll Kroha's Grosses Lexikon der Numismatik [Great Dictionary of Numismatics] (Gütersloh, 1997), Michael North's Von Aktie bis Zoll: ein historisches Lexikon des Geldes [From Stock Certificates to Customs Duties: An Historical Dictionary of Money] (München, 1995), and Das Geld und seine Geschichte: vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart [Money and its History: From the Middle Ages to the Present] (München, 1994).

Wolfgang Trapp's work belongs not only in the private libraries of all interested persons, but also in all research libraries. [wl/ga]
 
 

This handy dictionary grew out of the author's own collection of definitions of terms. Hoffmann has succeeded in writing more than 900 entries that can be understood and appreciated even by the layperson. The text is very readable, and technical details are explained in non-technical language. This dictionary explains the basic concepts of Stone Age archeology; artifacts and types; and research methods. Hoffmann has incorporated the results of recent research into his articles. An alphabetical section of terms and definitions is followed by 12 brief biographies of eminent scholars of the Stone Age, and by a bibliography listing 213 titles. Unfortunately, the volume is not illustrated, but illustrations are planned for the next edition. In view of the fact that currently there is no comparable, up-to-date dictionary of the Stone Age, this volume is to be recommended, particularly to the hobby archeologist and interested layperson. [wl/ba]
 
 

This lexicon aims to cover in one volume all areas of Greek and Roman antiquity. It is designed for the non-specialist and does not require knowledge of Latin or Greek. The signed articles expand on specific terms (names of persons and places, everyday life, literature, antiquity research). The selection of articles appears to be well balanced. Most are relatively short, and conclude with bibliographical references; these, however, have often not been brought up to date. The black-and-white photos and maps prove helpful to the reader. The book contains a useful 50-page appendix that includes a chronology, a listing of the Roman emperors, tables of weights and measures, and a bibliography. Compared to Reclams Lexikon der Antike (Stuttgart, 1996), another one-volume dictionary on antiquity, the Metzler-Lexikon-Antike has a broader approach. The Reclam volume places more emphasis on the literature of antiquity. It is difficult to compare the Metzler lexicon with two other one-volume dictionaries, the Kleines Lexikon der Antike (Tübingen, 1995) and Wörterbuch der Antike (Stuttgart, 1995). The Metzler work does not replace the two older ones; all three supplement each other. The Metzler-Lexikon-Antike presents a good general overview of classical antiquity. It is suitable for school and public libraries, but not necessarily required for academic and research libraries. [kh/ba]
 
 

In 1997, the first part--the alphabetical section--of the complete index to the Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft appeared (see RREA 4:179). In September 2000, the second part, the systematic subject index, followed. Although the alphabetical index was published both in book form and on CD-ROM, the systematic subject index is available only as a CD-ROM, due to its enormous size. It comes with a booklet containing installation and search instructions, as well as sample searches. System requirements for the CD-ROM are a PC with Pentium I (200 MHz); Windows 95/98, 2000, NT 3.5 or higher; 32 MB of memory; and a 200-MB hard drive.

The CD-ROM offers simple, advanced, and alphabetical searching capabilities. The advanced search interface includes access through a number of basic entry points: person, Roman cultural area, Greek cultural area, settlement; and also broad subject categories, such as Egyptology, archaeology, biology, Byzantine studies, philosophy, law, and economics. Numerous subsubject categories include agronomy, agriculture, daily life, anthropology, architecture, education, ethnicity, festivals, contests and games, literature, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, religion, and sports. The time span of coverage is from the 8th century B.C.E. through the 6th century C.E. A weakness of the search engine is that it does not always retrieve all articles that would be relevant to the search entered.

Apart from some inherent search-and-retrieval weaknesses of this database (e.g. the fact that the level of indexing could have been more detailed, and that some articles have been assigned to incorrect classes), the electronic systematic index offers interesting and impressive access to the most comprehensive encyclopedia of classical antiquity that exists. Even Der neue Pauly (see RREA 6:273 below) has by no means surpassed this work. Surely this CD-ROM will increase actual use of the Realencyclopädie.

In the CD-ROM the user has the convenience of having both the alphabetic and systematic indexes combined. Thus it would not have been necessary for purchasers of the CD-ROM to have acquired the print alphabetical index for DM 500.00. Also, it is too bad that online help is not available on the CD-ROM. In any case, it will be incumbent upon librarians to instruct their users in the intricacies of the systematic index. Presumably relatively few libraries with this product will make it accessible as an electronically networked database. [kh/tk]
 
 

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