Reference Reviews
Lawrence Looks at Books
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd edition. Edited by William A. Darity, Jr. 9 vols. 5,758p. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 978-0-02-865965-7; 2007-31829. $1,080.
When approached during the 1950s to consider revising E.R.A. Seligman’s pioneering Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (Macmillan, 1930-1935), Seligman’s associate editor, Alvin Johnson, argued against any kind of revision process. He felt that as a synthesis of contemporary thinking, encyclopedias serve as historical documents of their times. Each generation deserved its own encyclopedia, built “new from the ground up.” Thus, the historic International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (Macmillan, 1968) or IESS was an all-new endeavor to define the scope of social science and its constituent disciplines.
The editors of this new edition have adopted a similar philosophy. A new editorial team selected topics reflecting current directions in scholarship. Every one of the 2,990 articles of this encyclopedia was newly commissioned and composed by an expert in the field. From anthropology to statistics, the entries define the key concepts, areas of study and research methods of a variety of disciplines. Numerous biographies document the contributions of pioneers in each field. Reflecting contemporary concerns for economic issues in our society, nearly a fifth of the articles examine topics in economics, econometrics and economic development. There is also extensive coverage of political science, history, sociology, psychology and international relations. These areas of emphasis contrast greatly with the more technical International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Elsevier, 2001), which gives greater attention to psychology, education, anthropology, linguistics, demography, statistics and research methods. However, with its broader topics and an aim for the general reader, the new IESS is a more suitable introductory tool for high school and public library audiences. Yet with its scholarly coverage of a wide range of topics, from alpha males and the American dream to zero population growth and Zionism, the IESS is also an excellent, affordable option for academic libraries.
—John R.M. Lawrence