The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia. By Ulrich Marzolph and Richard van Leeuwen. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004. 2 vols. 920 p. $185.00. ISBN 1-57607-204-5.

To learn about a culture one can research their legends and at this time it is critical for students to understand ancient Mesopotamia, India and Egypt. These legends dating back more than 1,000 years are a major contribution of Arabic and Islamic culture to world literature and provide more than a hint of the mores, geography and topography of these areas.

This encyclopedia is divided into three parts, plus appendices. Part I provides 14 short essays on specific subject areas relating to the study of the "Arabian Nights." Part II, "The Phenomenon of the 'Arabian Nights'" is an alphabetically arranged survey of 551 stories. "The World of the 'Arabian Night'," Part III contains 270 alphabetically arranged entries covering origin, character, context and aftermath of the "Arabian Nights."

Individual articles have one or two references to search for additional information. A few black-and-white illustrations may also be found in the text. The appendices include a "Concordance of Quoted Texts," "Closely Corresponding Stories Quoted in the 'Arabian Nights Encyclopedia'," "Concordance for Quotations of Chauvin 1892-1922," "International Tale-Types Corresponding to the System of 'The Types of the Folktale'," "Narrative Motifs According to Stith Thompson's 'Motif-Index'," and a 41-page bibliography. This is not your usual reference book, and it will help literature teachers with explaining different types of folktales and motifs. It is also useful when studying the history of a country and as a guide to looking at folktales of a region in order to match them to current events. Recommended for consideration, although it may need to be a joint purchase with the public library.