Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

The 50 States, 2nd ed. Edited by Charles F. Bahmueller. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, Inc., 2007. 1 vol. 1078 p. $150.00. ISBN 978-1-58765-367-4.

In an age of need for instant information, this reference will be even faster than Google and certainly simpler to sort the information. Students will find comparative statistics in easily read tables on the 50 states and the District of Columbia which was added to this volume and not available in the first edition. Statistical information is given for demographics (based on the 2000 census), vital statistics, the economy, land use, government and finance, politics, health and medical care, housing, education, transportation and travel, and crime and law enforcement. The signed introductory histories are noted as updated by the editors. All photographs and illustrations including the state flag and the great seal are black and white. New appendixes have been added with a general bibliography and guide to Web resources. The rankings will be especially helpful to students who can find both population and area. It is usually surprising to learn that San Jose is ll^th largest city in the U.S. and the third largest city in California (behind Los Angeles and San Diego) and larger than San Francisco. Area rankings include federally owned land, farm acreage while health statistics include percentages of residents who smoke. College enrollments, total highway mileage, registered vehicles, and prison inmate populations among others. This is a must buy for school librarians who can use it to show teachers and students how to confirm statistics from the Internet with an easy-to-use source. It will be a treasure trove for teachers who wish to assign students critical thinking projects to determine why states fall into their rankings and to see if they are still there, gasoline prices being one of immediate interest.