Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, 5th Ed. Detroit, Mich.: U*X*L Gale, 2007. 10 vols. 3167 p. $520.00. ISBN 10: 1-4144-1095-6; 13: 1-4144-1095-1.

This new edition provides updated information on 194 countries and the dependencies of France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Each begins with the country name for English speaking nations, its official name, and the name in the language of the country with their flag and coat of arms in black and white. The capital is given in English and also a written description of the flag, the national anthem, the monetary unit, weights and measures, holidays, and the time in relationship to Greenwich Mean Time. The 35 numbered headings in each article include location and size, topography, climate, plants and animals, environment, population, migration, ethnic groups, languages, religions, transportation, history, government, political parties, judicial system, armed forces, economy, income, industry, labor, agriculture, domesticated animals, fishing, forestry, mining, foreign trade, energy and power, social development, health, housing, education, media, tourism and recreation, and famous people. Suggestions are provided for further reading. A profile of each country’s leader, most with a black and white photograph, a geographic profile table ranking the country in land area, highest and lowest points, average rainfall and temperature, are provided as well social indicators: number of television sets and Internet users. Other inset boxes have yearly growth rates, components of the economy and balance of trade. A few black and white photographs also show landmarks and city streets or the countryside. The coats of arms of the countries presented in the volume are found in color on the front endpapers and the flags are shown on the back. This is a good starting point for research and is useful to begin compare and contrast assignments. However students will want to augment any research with more fact finding as the information in the numbered headings is very brief.