2000

DG -- Europe

These two publications accompanied a 1999 exhibit, "Europe--The Common House," mounted by the Museum for Ethnology in Hamburg. The text volume, Das gemeinsame Haus Europa, is called a handbook in the subtitle, but it only qualifies as such because of its comprehensive themes. Its 1,200 pages contain approximately 130 contributions, some by prominent authors, in the areas of ethnology, folklore, art, geography, philosophy, history, political science, and sociology. Thus one gets a very broad cultural history of the region. Nonetheless, the descriptions of some phenomena--for example, sports or tourism--are very general, so that one wonders what the concrete connection with Europe is. In any case, a handbook would offer not only a broad treatment of the overall theme, but also a particular type of organization that would allow thematic reference to particular topics. In this sense the volume has nothing to offer, because there is neither an index nor good structuring of the articles. For reference questions it would be better to go to true handbooks of the particular fields, rather than rely on finding anything specific in the survey articles, especially since the bibliographical citations are only in the next work.

The bibliography, Das gemeinsame Haus: Fundgrube Europa, which lists the literature for the text volume and gives further citations, is just as broadly defined. In his introduction, the editor suggests that this is the most up-to-date and multi-faceted bibliography of European cultural history currently available. It contains first an 80-page "thematic index," with the same structure as the text volume discussed above. Authors and titles of the essays from the text volume are noted, as is the literature for each essay, in brief form (author and year). The second part (345 pages) is characterized as a "comprehensive bibliography." This section contains more than the full citations relevant to the thematic index, however, so that if one wanted to find all the literature pertinent to a particular subject, one would need to look through all the titles in the comprehensive bibliography in addition to those in the thematic index--an extremely inefficient method.

As for the contents, the unusually broad scope of the bibliography has been mentioned. However, a closer examination shows that not all relevant titles have been included. An example: in the area of folklore, only works were included that belong to the conservative side of this field. Even some works that belong to the "canon" are missing. The same is true for other fields. Looking at the languages included, one finds that German titles predominate, English and French titles are present in respectable numbers, but Spanish and Italian ones can hardly be found, not to mention those in other languages. Nowhere are the criteria for including a title in this bibliography given. The high expectations evoked by the preface are not fulfilled, either by the contents or by the organization. Purchase of the bibliography can be recommended only if completeness in a cultural history, anthropology, or folklore collection is desired. The essay volume, on the other hand, can be recommended more widely because reading it is insightful, but it should not have high priority either, because similar content can be found in other works on cultural history. [jpl/gh]
 
 

Part 1 of the Ritter des Ordens Pour Le Mérite, covering 1748-1918, appeared in 1998 and was reviewed in IFB 99-B09-343. It lists the 5,415 bearers of the order only by rank and by date of award, but with no biographical data. Part 2 will appear in four volumes, offering substantial biographical information about each recipient. Data include name, highest rank, birth and death dates, military biography up to the end of World War One, and the other facts listed above in the subtitle.

Recipients include subjects of both the Austrian and the German emperors. Examples are the Imperial Ottoman Lieutenant-General Damad Enver-Pasha and the Royal Prussian General Field Marshall Ferdinand I, King and Tsar of Bulgaria, Duke of Saxony. The higher ranks predominate, as many more lieutenants and captains enjoyed the opportunity to die for the fatherland. The high ranks were overwhelmingly spared this honor, and a significant number of them lived past 80 and died in retirement. Many of the recipients of the Order Pour le Mérite also pursued a second military career after 1918, and especially after 1933, for example First Lieutenant Hermann Göring, who had been awarded the Order of Merit for "22 aerial victories before the World War I armistice." [sh/ga]
 
 

This volume is not a handbook, but an annotated bibliography with an introductory text. The first edition was published in 1949; a revised second edition appeared in 1972, and a third edition, enlarged by a supplemental volume, came out in 1989. This fifth edition, now published by Stocker, is a reprint of the third edition. The introductory section of 170 pages is followed by an annotated bibliography, first of secondary literature and then of primary literature. An appendix includes name, periodical, and organization indexes. The "bound-with" supplemental volume contains primarily a selective bibliography of secondary literature published between 1972 and 1989. It is unfortunate that this seemingly standard bibliography has not been updated since 1989, and that the supplemental volume has not been integrated into the main volume. Kurt Sontheimer's work Antidemokratisches Denken in der Weimarer Republik (München, 1994) offers an alternative to the introductory text contained in this volume. [jpl/ba]
 
 

First published in 1989 (volume 1) and 1993 (volume 2), this work contains a collection of biographies of the political elite of the Third Reich. Volume 1 covers well-known representatives, and volume 2 lesser-known functionaries of German National Socialism. Contributors are historians from a number of countries. Each of the 43 biographies, on average 13 pages long, contains a photo and concludes with references. A name index also lists persons mentioned in the texts of the articles. This work provides a good overview of the political elite of the Third Reich. It is suitable for academic, public, and school libraries. [jpl/ba]
 
 

This is the first volume of a set that is planned to cover all members of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). The first volume portrays 797 members of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the special police corps of the Nazi Party. Each biographical entry includes the following information, if available: name and highest rank achieved, chronology of important dates, birth date and place, education and training, civilian occupation, career in the Party and the SS, occupation after 1945, death date. This is followed by a section listing honors and by a section of bibliographical references. Some entries include a photo of the person. The length of entries varies and is not dependent on how well known the person was. The name index simply lists the names of the biographees covered. The subject index includes entries under place, position, acronym, rank, honor, and SS unit. [sh+hi/ba]
 
 

This work first appeared in 1982 as Rowohlt's Jugendlexikon Nationalsozialismus. After numerous reprints and 79,000 total copies printed, not counting book club editions, it was republished in 1992 as Nationalsozialismus: Begriffe aus der Gewaltherrschaft 1933-1945.

In this current manifestation, the main body of the encyclopedia is preceded by an alphabetical list of terms treated in the individual articles, followed by an "Orientation Framework" (Orientierungsrahmen) in which references to articles are grouped by subject area. The encyclopedia consists of around 300 articles which are written at a level accessible to the general public and which vary in length from one-half to several pages, with supporting quotations, maps, and charts. Italicized words in each article refer the reader to article-length coverage elsewhere. The appendix includes 25 pages of source texts, a 5-page timeline, and a 26-page name index that itself also contains brief biographical data. The work is very well structured, gives each topic appropriate coverage, and is free of noticeable gaps. A standard work for the general public in Germany, it presents encyclopedic information in a very accessible form. [jpl/jg]
 
 

If the fact that this encyclopedia has gone through six editions in eleven years is any indication, author and publisher have much to be pleased about--although it must be said that over time the pace of new editions has slowed markedly. The fifth edition (1995) was not a "complete revision" (although it claimed to be), as the changes consisted mainly of supplemental bibliographic entries to existing articles, all very impractically collected at the end of the volume. Only one article of this fifth edition--on the GDR--was actually new, but it, too, was tacked on at the end of the volume. The sixth edition at least integrates its predecessor's additions into the main body of the work, adding yet more references to new literature (through 1998), especially to articles of the Lexikon des Mittelalters. But there are hardly any new articles. The difference of 90 pages between the two editions results mainly from a decision to replace page number references in the index with the title of the article in which mention of a given term is made. It is doubtful, however, that a reader will trace references three solid columns long to occurrences of words such as Schwaben (Swabia). Much more welcome would have been an increase in the number of index terms, but these have not increased noticeably, meaning no improvement in indexing granularity. Despite these criticisms, it is nonetheless a very useful work. [sh/jg]
 
 

The purpose of the Arbeitskreis, or "working group," for German regional church history, established in 1992, is to coordinate the work of regional associations active in this field and to represent their collective interests to the outside world. Its principal activities include organizing a conference of its affiliated organizations every two years (there have been four so far) and now, for the first time, publishing a handbook with information on its 22 members, all German except for the Society for the History of Protestantism in Austria. The Arbeitskreis is a heterogeneous and strongly independent group, reflected in the fact that never more than 14 of the members have been represented at any one of the biannual conferences, and reflected also in the very unequal treatment each receives in the Handbuch. Nonetheless, each of the sections is structured roughly the same: (1) Predecessor Organizations; (2) Foundation and Fields of Interest; (3) Further Development; (4) Goals and Objectives; (5) Publishing Activity; (6) Structure, "Biograms," Statistical Information, Statutes and Bylaws, Publications. Of these rubrics, two which deserve special mention are the "biograms," which provide brief bio-bibliographical information on significant members; and the lists of publications, which include journals (and also information on indexes), supplements, series, and other publications. It would have been useful to include information about the availability of these works, since many of these societies still have stocks of their publications, some even from the 19th century.

Despite the discrepancies in the treatment given individual historical societies, this is an extremely useful handbook, which we can hope to see published someday in an improved second edition. It might also serve as a model for similar societies and associations, e.g., the diocesan history societies--and the ten further dioceses that do not have any historical societies at all. [sh/jg]
 
 

Considering that the most recent directory of German research societies--Friedrich Domay's Handbuch der deutschen wissenschaftlichen Akademien und Gesellschaften (2d ed., 1977)--is only of historical interest, we must be grateful for every publication of this type, even if limited in scope to a particular region or discipline. On the other hand, such focused directories as this one have the advantage of including less significant groups, or others whose principal purpose is not research and thus would likely be omitted from a national inventory.

This directory includes information on 384 groups that are active in the study of regional or local history, including many whose interest in town or region is mainly tinged with affection. The directory omits groups that are associated with museums or (with the single exception of the commission whose project this is) that are state agencies. The number of organizations covered in this new edition is roughly double that of the first edition (1987), reflecting the many new groups that have come into being in the 1980s and 90s.

The data for these entries, each structured according to the same 13-point outline, were collected by questionnaire and are typical of items in a directory. Of special note is the inclusion of all earlier names of each group, bibliographic information on monographs and periodical publications (also those that have been discontinued), and information on collections and other physical resources. The directory is now supposed to be updated continuously. The reviewer recommends that this information be made available via the commission's new homepage and that other German Länder compile similar directories, using this one as a model. [sh/jg]
 
 

This is the tenth volume to appear in Lutz Reichert's series of studies into Württemberg place names--the first was published in 1982. It is a distinguished body of work, and in 1999 the author was awarded the 10,000 DM Schiller Prize by the City of Marbach am Neckar for his contributions to a better understanding of this part of Germany's geographical heritage.

His approach to the place names of the East Swabian Highlands--the topic of the present volume--is the same that has served him well in earlier volumes. Each alphabetically arranged article begins with the geographical identification of the settlement in question and an enumeration of the variant spellings as documented in historical texts. Each name, along with its evolution over time, is then explained linguistically. Articles normally conclude with references to other published research and with other issues of likely interest to the reader. The volume also includes an overview map of the region, an index of recurring constituent parts of place names, and other useful summary information. It is notable that Reichert also supplies six pages of supplements and corrections to his earlier books of place names. Reichert's methodological approach is to overlook the broader topographical and historical context of these places in order to dwell in greater detail on the linguistics of their names. The reader who accepts his approach will gain many interesting insights. This applies not only to scholars and historians, but also to the lay reader, who will learn, for example, that "Schweindorf" was not named for the well-known farm animal, but rather after an old Germanic settler named Sweino. [ab/jg]
 
 

The qualification of this new edition as "thoroughly revised and significantly enlarged" is not hyperbole. Vis-à-vis the first edition (1985), an early example of the then still uncommon genre of city encyclopedia, this new edition has grown in size, comprehensiveness, number of illustrations, number of contributors, and, of course, also in price. The foreword states that it contains about 3,000 articles. All of them are signed and virtually all are brief, with only very few longer than three columns--e.g., the rubric on "Fugger" at 10 columns. Topics covered are what one normally would expect: city districts and precincts (e.g., the Fuggerei); notable buildings, institutions, business firms, and other bodies; terms and concepts proper to the city's history; historical figures (all deceased) and families; and press and media. Almost all articles end with references to further literature, though these are rather limited. The appendix includes statistical information, lists of honorary citizens, bishops, city administrators and mayors, election results, foundations, as well as weights and measures. Unusual for a work of this type are the 16 introductory articles on topics relevant to Augsburg city history.

Except for the fact that this encyclopedia (like most others of the genre) lacks a worthwhile city map with coordinates that could have been used to locate the items described in it, this is an exemplary work, well worthy of emulation for other municipalities. [sh/jg]
 
 

There is nothing new to report about the Berlin-Bibliographie. The lag time between reporting year and publication--five, most recently even six years--is still decidedly too long, especially considering the relatively low number of publications covered (3,262 and 3,272, respectively). Criticisms voiced in an earlier review (see RREA 1:528) still apply, e.g., regarding inconsistent indexing term assignment. But there are other deficiencies. In the veritable ocean of biographies that are cited, only works on individuals are indexed--general biographical works on Berliners are not listed, making it almost impossible to find these general bibliographies. [sh/jg]
 
 

This "lexicon" about Berlin consists of a personal and sometimes nostalgic selection of 1,000 short articles dealing with typical Berliner vocabulary choices, turns of phrases, and places. The work is more appropriate for a tourist's rucksack or a recent immigrant's book shelf than for libraries. [sh/ldb]
 
 

Lexikon: alle Berliner Straßen und Plätze draws heavily from the data in Wegweiser zu Berlins Straßennamen. Although the Lexikon has recycled much of its information from the Wegweiser and adds very new little new material, its A-Z, 4-volume format makes it worthwhile for libraries, since most libraries have not acquired all of the 23 volumes included in the Wegweiser. [sh/ldb]
 
 

One wonders whether a phenomenon like "daily life" can really be successfully treated in the encyclopedia format, and although this Lexikon provides an interesting read, the worth of many of the terms that are included is debatable. A systematic, chronological, or literary treatment of the theme has many advantages, and many such works already exist. The present work contains articles from wide-ranging fields such as film and taxes and includes illustrations from the German News Service. The official nature of these illustrations detracts from their impact, especially for those readers who did not experience life in the former GDR. Therefore, this work is primarily recommended for libraries in the new German states and in libraries with existing strong collections of GDR material. [jpl/ldb]
 
 

Although recent encyclopedias describing many small and middle-sized cities exist, one for Hamburg has been lacking until now. For comparison, although these cities are much smaller, one may consult the RREA reviews for the Bremer Lexikon (see RREA 4:154) and the Augsburger Stadtlexikon (see RREA 6:292). As is typical for such city encyclopedias, the Hamburg-Lexikon consists of many short articles dealing with subjects such as topography, population, buildings, and businesses. A little less typical is the inclusion of fewer than 200 biographical entries. Also, the omission of bibliographic citations and a detailed city map naturally reduces the value of the work significantly. Nevertheless, this is a good beginning, and one can hope for an expanded second edition with a bibliography. [sh/ldb]
 
 

Because this volume has no preface or postscript, the reader needs to browse through the book to ascertain that this is a collection of short articles about what is "typically Hessian," from individuals to animals, from festivals to plants. Lacking any prefatory materials, it is hard to predict what content might be included, and because of inconsistencies in alphabetization, it is also hard to know where to look for a known item. The content stresses Hessian curiosities; the two authors have written on this topic before (Geheimnisvolles Hessen, Marburg, 1996; Hessens große Räuber, Frankfurt am Main, 1995). The book is more for the pleasure reading of Hessen natives than for the reference shelf of libraries. [sh/ldb]
 
 

This CD-ROM bibliography contains the contents of the four sections in six volumes of the precursor of the serial Mecklenburgische Bibliographie, the bibliography of the former East German state Mecklenburg that began in 1945. Two of these preceding bibliographies deal with history, one with regional studies, and one with natural history. The CD-ROM is not a unified database for all four works, and the history and natural history sections must be searched separately. Although not ideal, using the CD-ROM is easier than working with the print volumes. The user can also browse through the systematic table of contents of each work and access the data through hyperlinks. [sh/ldb]
 
 

The second edition of this encyclopedia of North Rhine-Westphalia, which first appeared in 1996 in commemoration of the state's founding after World War II, adds over 100 new articles. The articles are informative and well written, and graphics and tables illustrate many articles. Unfortunately, the inclusion of a small number of black and white photographs detracts from the content because of their poor quality and seemingly arbitrary selection. Since the NRW-Lexikon focuses on postwar events, the reader should also consult Nordrhein-Westfalen: Landesgeschichte im Lexikon (see IFB 94-2-318) for a deeper historical perspective. [sah/ldb]
 
 

When the printed edition of the Lippische Jahresbibliographie [Lippe Annual Bibliography] was discontinued with the year 1986, the information for later publications was gathered in a database that is now offered as a CD-ROM beginning with 1987. Older titles are constantly being added, and the volumes covering imprints to 1975 will be scanned and included also. The CD-ROM provides searchable indexes and free text searching, as well as a display of the Lippe classification system. Two versions per year have been announced, although one would be sufficient. In comparison to the bibliography for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Lippe bibliography contains over 50 percent more titles, because it includes newspaper articles. [sah/mjc]
 
 

Included in this regional dictionary for Saxony-Anhalt are 600 biographical sketches of those who were born or had an influence in the area from the Middle Ages to the present, excluding contemporaries. One naturally would not look here for famous individuals such as Bismarck or Winckelmann, but rather for personalities of second or third rank. It would also not be the first stop for those interested in further literature, such as that offered by the Allgemeine Deutsche Biografie, Neue deutsche Biografie, or Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Of primary interest are the articles on the numerous people who do not appear in any other biographical dictionary. [sh/mjc]
 
 

The Thuringia Handbook is a fact-filled reference work issued for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the state. It offers an overview of the history, state symbols and capital city, sources and documents of the parliament, government, and administration; short biographies of the members of the government; a bibliography of government publications; an index of archival holdings; and a general bibliography. It is an excellent reference work for factual information on the state of Thuringia. [sh/mjc]
 
 

Modern Eichsfeld, which lies partially in Lower Saxony and partially in Thuringia, has been influenced culturally by its long association with the Catholic archbishopric of Mainz. Traces of that history are still visible in this biographical dictionary, which originally bore the subtitle Religiöse Lebensbilder. Numerous contributors to the second edition scrupulously retain the original text and mark new material. It contains articles on all persons who were born in or who influenced Eichsfeld, as well as descendents of Eichsfeld parents who became important elsewhere but were not born in the region themselves. Many entries are extremely short, consisting of only a name, dates, location, occupation, and source. The citations of sources or further literature to each article are welcome, particularly the references to a personal informant. This work is intended for locals interested in their home area and for researchers in local history. Because of the numerous less well-known individuals included in this dictionary, it should have a place in all relatively large research libraries. [sh/mjc]
 
 

The six hefty volumes of the first edition of this encyclopedia have been turned into a handy 12-volume set that includes not only the entries of the original edition, but numerous revisions and updating of their content, plus new articles. Tables and statistics have been brought up to date and the illustrations digitized to improve their visual quality. Although the price has been reduced by a third, the finished appearance is even more attractive than before. The 100,000 entries are 85 percent tailored to suit Swiss interests and perspectives; the remaining articles are extracted from Meyers Lexikon. For a discussion of the contents, the reader can consult the review of the first edition in RREA 1:544. The majority of the references to further literature have not been expanded. Small errors and omissions should not diminish the value of this useful and readable work. Libraries that did not purchase the first edition because of the price should not forego this one. It may be the last Swiss encyclopedia in printed format. [mvm/mjc]
 
 

Although the occupation of France lasted only from 1940 to 1944, this dictionary appropriately includes the period from the Munich Agreement in 1938 through the end of the Vichy government and the purge. The biographies of the French and the Germans involved are rather short, and geographical topics are few. On the other hand, subject articles are comprehensive. Scattered throughout the text are sidebars with text and quotes that highlight particular events. There are selected references to further literature, and a general bibliography of French monographs. Unfortunately the work lacks an index organized by subject. In all, it is worth acquiring for German libraries as a reference work on a recent period of French history that has not been laid to rest any more than have the years 1933 to 1945 in Germany. [sh/mjc]
 
 

This encyclopedia forms part of the publisher's unnumbered series Dizionari and, with its extensive entries, appears aimed at a broad lay readership. Unusual for an encyclopedia, it begins with a 130-page long introductory essay, and continues with 1,250 keyword entries about individuals, corporate bodies, events, and terms, most of which are short and unsigned. Entries do not include bibliographies, and there are few entries for geographic areas. The introductory matter includes only an alphabetical listing of entries, not a thematic one, which would have made the encyclopedia more useful. Despite the inclusion of an appendix on fascism in Italy from 1910-1945, many of the entries in this work do not deal with Italy or Italians at all. One wouldn't look for treatment of these non-Italian themes in this work, and these entries are often so brief and inadequate that even Italian readers will find them of little help. [sh/sbd]
 
 

A biographical encyclopedia of the Parma region with 11,981 entries in almost 4,000 pages arouses both interest and skepticism, but the author's publications on Parma regional history prove him to be an industrious scholar. A work of such depth by a single author must surely rely on compilation, which the author duly notes. The author has not only mined even the earliest 16th-century sources, but has also attempted to correct inaccuracies in these earliest works. Many entries span several columns thanks to the author's eagerness to include passages from an individual's writings if such inclusion provides insight into the region's history. Entries consist of the name, birth and death dates and places, genealogical information, and the biographical details proper. As long as none of the numerous historical commissions see it as their mission to produce a new biographical dictionary from the sources, this work can serve as a useful tool. [sh/sbd]
 
 

Italians are unfamiliar with their own country and seldom travel (especially within Italy), and the most important Italian travel literature has been written by non-Italians. This cliché has existed since the 18th century, and was reinforced as recently as the mid-20th century in the two most important anthologies of writings by Italian travelers: Viaggiatori del Settecento [Eighteenth-Century Travelers] (Torino, 1950) and Letterati, memorialisti e viaggiatori del Settecento [Eighteenth-Century Authors, Memorialists, and Travelers] (Milano, 1951). With a single exception, the travels recounted in these collections take place outside of Italy. Additionally, no studies have specifically addressed the theme of Italian travelers in Italy until Luca Clerici's recent contributions: the bibliography under review here and its complementary anthology, Il viaggiatore meravigliato: italiani in Italia, 1714-1996 [The Astonished Traveler: Italians in Italy, 1714-1996] (Milano, 1999). At the time of writing, Clerici was affiliated with the University of Milan's Department of Modern Philology, and had authored and edited numerous publications dealing with modern Italian literature and travel literature of the 18th to 20th centuries. His bibliography is the first devoted solely to writings by Italians about travel in Italy. It lists more than 1,800 published and manuscript works, belying the cliché paraphrased above and constituting a fundamental contribution to this heretofore-neglected area of study.

Clerici's 15-page introduction describes his approach and the challenges involved in compiling his bibliography, and provides a thorough and well-documented background on his subject. He opens with an historical overview of the cliché which he intends to lay to rest, and attempts to explain its existence and longevity. After laying the historical groundwork for his bibliography, Clerici outlines the types of resources he consulted: traditional bibliographical and geographical reference sources; regional and local bibliographies; public and private library files and catalogs; manuscript inventories of various libraries; publishers', antiquarian, and auction catalogs; and anthologies of travel literature. Clerici's detailed description of his sources results in a rich bibliographical essay about the last 3 centuries of literature of Italian travel in Italy.

A primary challenge in compiling the bibliography arose from "questions of identity," including: conflicting bibliographical information (i.e., lack of authoritative headings); references to irretrievable works; words with multiple meanings (e.g., bozzetto once designated both travel accounts and fictional stories); travel-related terms whose meanings changed over time (e.g., guida); misleading titles (e.g., Il giro d'Italia in automobile announces a sports event); and, fantasy titles (notably in the 20th century). Clerici notes that because he could not physically examine every title listed in the bibliography, the possibility exists that some entries may be inappropriate. He also notes that the bibliography is chronologically unbalanced, due to each successive century's increase in publishing activity, individual mobility, and popularity of travel writing.

The bibliography is organized chronologically by century, by year of publication within each century, and alphabetically by main entry within each year. Manuscripts are entered under the year of the journey described. Reprints and works published in a century different from that in which the journey occurred are entered twice, the earlier entry referring to the later one, where full information is provided. Clerici's principal criterion for selecting material was that the work showed intent of travel, thus excluding excerpts from memoirs, correspondence, and books not entirely devoted to travel. The bibliography covers a range of travel literature too broad to describe here, but includes, for example, poetry, scientific reports, atlases, and testimonies of travels by sovereigns and church officials, as well as the expected travel-related accounts of various types. In addition to bibliographical information, many entries include annotations containing quotations from the item describing its purpose or scope, multivolume contents notes, principal destinations discussed, information regarding variant editions and publication history, and manuscript locations. Locations are sometimes, though not always, given for published items lacking publication information. Clerici apparently included such information as it was available, but his introduction does not address this point. ISBNs are not given.

Excellent author and place indexes offer access to the entries, and the author index includes biographical information when available. The place index normalizes variant spellings of place names to the current spelling, e.g., works about Apruzzi are found under Abruzzo. In less obvious situations explicit See references are made, e.g., from Ceneda to Vittorio Veneto, and appropriate See also references are present. Twelve black-and-white plates of facsimiles and photographs enhance the bibliography; the reader is referred to the relevant entry for each illustration. Clerici's well-constructed, accessible, and attractively produced bibliography will be extremely useful to those interested in travel literature and Italian history and culture.

Renée McBride (University of California, Los Angeles)
 
 

This work consists of approximately 12,600 acronyms for corporate bodies mentioned in primary and secondary sources on the history of east-central Europe, as well as entries found in important acronym sources already extant. Most of the entries refer to Polish organizations, due largely to the heavy use of material in the Herder Institute press archives. The entries not only resolve the given acronym, but also include a literal German translation of the expanded name, as well as other information about the name, such as the period of time during which it was valid. [sh/sbd]
 
 

Previous annual volumes of this bibliography were reviewed in RREA 2:255 and 4:150. With the publication of the 1997 volume, the publisher has improved the layout, but the topical arrangement remains the same as before. The volumes conclude with the familiar multipart index for author, title, persons as subjects, place names, and key terms. [sh/sbd]
 
 

The continuation of this useful biographical encyclopedia of postwar Poland has been anticipated for two years, from which one may well conclude that the electronic conversion of the Herder Institute data is a demanding process. A review of the first volume of this work in IFB 99-B09-720 offers a detailed description of the content, scope, and compilation methodology of this project. Based on the description of the project in the first volume, one can expect two additional volumes to appear. [sh/sbd]
 
 

The 1995 volume of the Bibliographie zur Geschichte Ost- und Westpreußens signals the beginning of the Herder Institute's administration of the project and the cooperation of various Polish organizations. The methodology has improved, as have the indexes. One must accept that such changes necessarily slow the pace of work. One hopes, however, that the cooperating parties place a heavy emphasis on the timely publication of succeeding volumes. [sh/sbd]

The publication of this volume unifies 10 separately issued fascicles, the first 9 of which were reviewed in IFB 99-B09-636. Introductory remarks in this current volume repeat the editors' plans for the remaining volumes in the edition, including a supplemental volume that would cover individuals who have died since the publication of the first volume in 1974. The selection and inclusion criteria are again those mentioned in the earlier review. This dictionary serves as a valuable supplementary work to the Österreichisches biographisches Lexikon, 1815-1950. [sh/sbd]
 
 

Bibliografia municipiului Chisinau (BMC) originally was planned to be the first issue in an annual series by the Chisinau (Moldava) Municipal Library (Biblioteca Municipala Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu). Unfortunately, lack of funding has resulted in this being the only issue. The genesis of this publication lies in the skill and dedication of Eastern European public librarians, who compile local-interest bibliographies using the medium of catalog cards. Data prior to and after 1995, then, do exist, but only on cards at the Chisinau Municipal Library. The bibliography aims to provide detailed documentation on Chisinau (formerly Kishinev)in all subject areas. The in-house bibliographies include monographs, while BMC covers only serial citations, but this is in no way a weakness. BMC's list of indexed titles is impressively extensive: 99 serials published mostly in Moldova (e.g., Flux, Literatura si arta, Moldova Suverana ), Romania (e.g., Adevarul, Romania libera, Romania literara, Romania Mare), and Russia (e.g., Izvestiia, Kommersant, Rossiiskaia gazeta,Trud ). Several Moldovan minority language publications are also included, primarily in Russian (e.g., Kommersant Moldovy, Kishinevskie novosti) and in Gagauz (e.g., Ana Sözü). Most of the indexed titles are general interest magazines and newspapers, complemented by a few specialized newspapers (e.g., Gazeta sporturilor), magazines (e.g., Femeia Moldovei, Istoki, Kodry, Uchitel´skaia gazeta), newsletters (e.g., Ekonomicheskie novosti Rossii i Sodruzhestva), and society, political, and government publications (e.g., Nezavisimaia Moldova, Zakon i Zhizn).

BMC contains 2,736 entries, most of which have single-sentence annotations, and are indexed both by author's name and by subject. The entries themselves are divided into the 19 subject groups of Generalities, Religion, History, Sociopolitical Life, Military, Judiciary and Police, Economics, Nature, Health, Sports and Tourism, Science, Education, Culture, Press, Libraries and Library Science, Museums and Archives, Arts, Film, and Circus. Most of these broad subjects are further subdivided. The Arts section, for example, includes subsections on Plastic Arts, Architecture, Photography, Music, Theater, and Dance. Subheadings are even further subdivided, such as Painting and Sculpture under Plastic Arts.

Very little news from Moldova is carried by the Western press, and even less reaches the American media. For example, the most prolific coverage of the 1995 Moldovan student strike was in The Chronicle of Higher Education, which ran two articles on the event. The New York Times did not cover the event at all. BMC, on the other hand, has seven pages and 120 citations from Moldovan, Romanian, and Russian publications. BMC certainly proves its worth for coverage of topics important locally and internationally.

Chisinau: enciclopedie (CE) aims to be a new history of the city, focusing on architecture and personalities. CE begins with the editor's preface, and a seventeen-page introduction to the city, covering topics of geography, geology, climate, flora and fauna, demographics, and history. A nine-page chronology, a three-page Russian and Romanian-language bibliography, and a list of contributors conclude the volume. CE includes approximately 2,300 entries, most signed by their 164 authors, whose topics range mostly from the 18th century to the present (living personalities, however, are excluded). As the editor explains, all the entries in some way shaped the personality of the city--from historical buildings and monuments, to noted figures, including artists, composers, musicians and singers, writers, politicians, scientists, educators, clerics, and more.

The only quarrel one could have with CE is that some entries have a tenuous connection to Chisinau. For example, Mircea Eliade, the Romanian-born scholar of religion, who probably never set foot in Chisinau (nor in Moldova), nonetheless has a half-page entry, the reason becoming apparent only in the last sentence: a street and a lyceum bear his name. The Romanian writer and historian Nicolae Iorga is another example. Iorga did visit Chisinau, staying at Hotelul Suise (also an entry), and has a street named after him. Or, finally, Yehudi Menuhin, student of the Romanian composer George Enescu, who gave a recital in Chisinau on November 30, 1962. One could compliment the editor for being so thorough. The editor claims that CE's perspective is "equidistant." It certainly improves upon Andrei Ivanovich Timush's Kishinev: entsiklopediia (Kishinev, 1984), which, as the introduction states, is a Soviet ideological and revisionist historical text. However, the inclusion of so many ethnic Romanian personalities, as these examples show, begs the question whether this publication is nationalistic, or whether it is merely accurately representing history and demographics. Romanians have, after all, comprised the largest ethnic group for centuries. Yet, there is balance. Many of Moldova's other large ethnic groups are represented in CE. A quick scan reveals Ukrainian, Russian, and Greek personalities, representing Moldova's second, third, and eleventh largest ethnic groups.

The volume is heavily illustrated. Nearly each page has at least one photograph or illustration of a person, place, or object. Particularly interesting are the historic photographs or drawings of Chisinau's beautiful architecture from the 18th through the 20th-century. These illustrations are extremely valuable, because the majority of the early buildings have since been destroyed. The Red Army razed most of them during and after the Second World War, and what they did not was destroyed by earthquakes in 1834, 1940, and 1977. The bulk of the architectural illustrations are reprinted postcards, undoubtedly those held in the National Library's (Biblioteca Nationala) special collection of 60,000 illustrated Moldovan postcards.

These two outstanding Moldovan publications offer an excellent reference collection on the Republic of Moldova and its capital city by providing unique, valuable information unavailable in other sources.

To acquire these titles, libraries should consider using a respected East European vendor who specializes in Moldova, such as MIPP International <http://www.mipp.msk.ru/books/>.

Beau David Case (Ohio State University)

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