Encyclopedia of world crime : criminal justice, criminology, and law enforcement /

The review for this title will appear for the present only in the printed version of CHOICE. -C. H. Handy, Westfield State College

Nash has compiled a huge amount of information in this set, detailing every aspect of crime from biblical times to 1988 (yearly updates are planned). The first four volumes have entries from A to Z, mainly by name (of criminals, lawyers, etc.). Volume 5 contains a dictionary and many helpful supplements, e.g., a listing of landmark court cases; Volume 6 is an index by name and subject. This mammoth undertaking makes available in one source almost every major crime in history, and the range is amazing, from Roman emperors to the Wild West and the Chicago underworld. Each entry ends with a helpful bibliography, and many have photographs. There are errors, however, ranging from somewhat minor (William Cruse's murder spree was in Palm Bay, Florida, not Bartow) to more egregious (a murderer named Hickman is the subject of two entries--a two-page one with photos, and a shorter one under the misspelled name Hinkman). Such errors, combined with a claim on the copyright page that the set has somehow been ``seeded with information to detect any unauthorized use or duplication,'' make this a fascinating yet flawed set, useful mainly as a background source for information to be verified elsewhere (and here the bibliographies will be handy). Recommended, with reservations, for large reference and law collections.-- Sally G. Waters, Stetson Law Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.