Review by Choice Review
This first international dictionary of anthropologists provides biographical sketches of 725 individuals from more than 50 countries. To insure truly international coverage, scholars from throughout the world were encouraged to identify and write about the most important figures in their countries. Each entry consists of a biographical essay of about 500 words describing the contribution of the individual to the discipline, his/her major publications, and a short bibliography of additional sources. An index and brief glossary of important concepts not explained in the text are included. The emphasis of the dictionary is historical and ecumenical. Biographees were chosen for their contributions to the discipline of anthropology and only those born before 1920 were eligible for inclusion. Travelers, missionaries, colonial administrators, museum curators individuals without anthropological training have been included. The historical and ecumenical merge in the compilers' attempts to provide a broader view of the history of anthropology by including individuals associated with European folk studies, Russian ethnography, the Cultural-Historical School, and various non-Western and national orientations, schools, and traditions that are seldom given more than passing reference in English-language histories of the discipline. Kudos and thanks to LARG on the publication of their fifth excellent anthropological reference title. Highly recommended for all public and academic library reference collections that include anthropological material.-C. J. Busick, University of Colorado
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
In a field that, as editor Winters notes, is ``very poorly endowed with reference materials,'' this unique dictionary is a welcome addition. Some 725 contributors to anthropology from over 500 countries are profiled. Not only academics, but missionaries, informants, and travelers, many from non-Western anthropological traditions, are described. Each entry consists of a biographical essay, a list of the subject's major works, and additional readings about the subject. There is a brief glossary and a good name/subject index. Because of the many scholars who wrote the essays, coverage of each subject and of some anthropology subfields vary in detail--some profiles are either too brief or too general. Only individuals born before 1920 are included, leaving out a large number of important individuals in the field. Recommended for all academic libraries at universities with anthropology programs.-- Christina Carter, California State Univ. Lib., Fresno (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review
