Itself a classic, the Klassiker des politischen Denkens is being offered in a reworked paperback edition. Based on the original bound editions, volumes 1 and 2 have undergone substantial revision--new authors for over half the entries and an updated bibliography. Articles, which average 15 pages in length, are preceded by a biographical timeline of the political thinker being discussed and followed by a concise bibliography.

Because it provides an excellent introduction to the history of political thought, Klassiker des politischen Denkens is often used as a textbook at universities, and is also appropriate for public libraries. [jpl/jb]

 

With 1,500 entries, this lexicon has a broad reach, defining all areas of political science. The authors have, however, limited themselves to the facts, omitting geographical terms, persons, corporate bodies, and NGOs; other international organizations are selectively included. It is a good lexicon, worth its price. [jpl/mrh]

 

Born in Cologne in 1901 as Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin, Eric Voegelin studied in Vienna, the USA, and France. He taught at the University of Vienna until 1938, when he was dismissed by the Nazis. He emigrated to the USA to teach, but returned to Germany and held a professorship in Munich from 1958-1974, during which time he also established the Politologisches Institut [Institute for Political Studies]. From 1969 to 1974 he was again in the USA as a professor at Stanford University. He died in 1985 in Palo Alto, California. This comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary works serves to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Building on his earlier work on Voegelin, an essay entitled "Eric Voegelin: A Classified Bibliography" published in the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library of Manchester (volume 76, p. 1-180), Price divides this bibliography into 21 chapters: 14 chapters for primary literature, including translations, and 7 for secondary materials. To provide access to the primary works subdivided by type, e.g., monographs, essays, reviews, lectures, etc., Price has included a chapter entitled "Union List" that reassembles all the titles in chronological order. The secondary materials are not so scattered, the most extensive chapter being the one devoted to reviews of Voegelin's works. The 2,920 entries are not numbered, and there are no indexes. [sh/jb]

 

With 122 articles on over 1,000 pages this is a very large work, and it would be too much to expect complete consistency and continuity among the various country entries. As it is, the quality of the articles is quite uneven and ranges from the in-depth and analytical to the very narrow. One of the editors and several of the contributors are experts in international studies, others are not.

The articles average about nine pages and usually contain a chronological outline, the main body of the text, and a select bibliography. The coverage focuses on developments since the beginning of the 20th century, and often includes aspects of domestic issues without which foreign policy often cannot be understood. What is often missing is a more analytical approach that would include such aspects as foreign trade policy, security policy and developmental aid. Only the better articles manage to include these aspects, and few encompass the whole range of polity, politics, and policy in their treatment of the different countries.

In a handbook published in a reputable series the complete lack of indexing is quite regrettable. Yet because of its unique coverage, and in spite of its various shortcomings, libraries will probably want to add it to their collections. [jpl/rs]

 

This is the revised and augmented biographical part of a 1997 thesis. It is similar in character to other titles in this respected series.

A lengthy introduction deals with the historical context of the November 1918 German revolution as well as with sources and methodological approaches used in preparing this work. The main part lists 3,730 brief biographies of deputies who attended the two congresses that resulted from the revolution. Depending on the available sources, the entries vary from a few lines to about half a page. An analytical index allows the breakdown of these representatives by categories such as political faction, function, party affiliation, political office before and after 1918/19, electoral district, etc. Thanks to this dictionary, future research on this understudied aspect of German history will be based on a solid foundation. [sh/rs]

 

The Volkskammer of the German Democratic Republic published an official biographical handbook from the second to the ninth term (first under the title Handbuch der Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 2-3, 1957-1959, then under the title Die Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 4-9, 1964-1987). The last parliament, elected in the free election of March, 1990, was unable to publish an official handbook but had to make do with a short biographical dictionary issued by a commercial publisher, Die Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1990, which contains nothing but small portraits, brief biographical data, and a table of the election results.

The parliamentary handbook described here was first announced in 1997 and finally appeared in 2000. It attempts to create a "regular" handbook on the basis of material deposited in the German Federal Archives, Potsdam, after October 3, 1990. As is common in newer parliamentary handbooks, it has a long introduction giving basic sources and tables. The main part contains short biographies of the 409 deputies with the following information, if available: (1) entry heading with name, occupation, address, and photo (the last three as of 1990), date and place of birth, date of death if applicable, parents' occupation, religion, marital status and number of children (also as of 1990); (2) education; (3) career progress; (4) voluntary and non-professional activities; (5) party careers; (6) political and state functions in the GDR; (7) data on membership in the Volkskammer; (8) offices held after 1990 (65 percent of the deputies had a continued political career in the Bundestag, the European Parliament, or state parliaments); (9) elections lost since 1990; and (10) sources. There are no indexes. [sh/gh]

 

The biographies of Austria's presidents, chancellors, and cardinals in this trio of titles were written by journalists and non-fiction writers, which accounts for the accessible style of the writing. Averaging 25 pages in length, the biographies concentrate on the background, career, and political influence of the individuals in question, all within the context of the historical events and political developments of the day. This approach serves to create a multifaceted portrait of Austria's political culture.

The volume on presidents is perhaps less important, given the representative function that Austrian presidents play, but occasionally even Austria's presidents can attract world attention, as was the case with Kurt Waldheim. The volume on chancellors focuses on their political careers and includes information about their political activities, e.g., cabinet posts, after leaving the office of chancellor. There is even information on the coalition between the Christian Democrats and Jörg Haider's Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs [Austrian Freedom Party]. At first the inclusion of cardinals in this group may seem odd, but it is justified by the central role that the Roman Catholic Church plays in Austrian politics.

These three volumes form an impressive set. Given their popular writing style, they are most appropriate for public libraries. [jpl/jb]

 

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Italian Republic (1998) Editoriale Italiana has issued a reference work on the Italian parliament and its members. Its source is the unofficial parliamentary handbook I deputati e senatori del ... parlamento repubblicano, cited as La Navicella (see IFB 99-B09-784). The main biography lists senators and representatives with short biographical data. Additional sections considerably increase the value of this title as a reference work on the history of Italian parliamentarianism since World War II. These include: members of the assemblies that drafted and promulgated the Constitution; the text of the Constitution; lists of other government officials such as presidents, ministers, and justices; and a chronological overview of the legislative acts of the various administrations. The index integrates all personal names as well as acronyms for institutions and political parties. [sh/mjc]

 

The review of the original, 1995 edition (IFB 99-B09-139) mentioned the selection criteria: lawmakers and high-ranking officials, legal theorists and philosophers, legally versed clerics, judges and lawyers but no rulers or politicians connected with a single book or law. The scope is international and the dates range from the first millenium BCE to the 20th century. The new edition includes about 15 new articles and 28 pages; other changes are mostly limited to corrections. The additions are welcome ones, even if they further exemplify the relative uneven coverage. Normally such a work would simply be republished as a paperback. [sh/mm]