Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Popular Culture: Asian and Pacific Ocean. Edited by Gay Xu and Vinay Dharwadker. 1 vol. 399p. $. ISBN 10: 0-313-33956-2; 13: 978-0-313-33956-1.

The debate over whether the Pacific Rim will replace the power of the Euro-Atlantic will be answered in this 21st century. The cultural heritage of the Pacific Rim cannot be denied, and the fact that students enjoy sushi and Chinese food, participate in Korean martial arts classes, and buy Japanese cars shows our acceptance of some of this culture. The editors have divided the book into architecture; art; dance; fashion and appearance; film; food and foodways; games, toys, and pastimes; literature; love, sex, and marriage; music; periodicals’ radio and television; sports and recreation; theater and performance; and transportation and travel. Within each main topic, authors have divided articles into regions: East Asia and Oceania or South and Southeast Asia. Inset boxes add additional information such as the discussion of the tallest buildings in the world. Eight pages of color photos are inset at 2 locations in the book. Each section has a resource guide with print and website sources and other resources appropriate for the topic: videos/films or recordings, organizations and museums and notes. The appendix includes a 3-page general bibliography. The print is small, but the information is useful for learning about the popular culture of these countries.