The Blackwell companion to the Enlightenment /

Organized alphabetically, and focused primarily on the years 1720-1780, this fine guide contains terse, clear, and solid entries on the major and minor personalities, institutions, ideas, topics, etc., that constitute the Enlightenment. Most of the numerous topical articles, written by experts from many countries and disciplines, range from a few sentences to a few hundred words, but major essays "Human Nature," "Language," "Novel," "Aesthetics," "Women in Literature," etc. run to four or five pages and include brief bibliographies. The several hundred biographical entries tend to be brief (c. 100-200 words), unsigned, and without bibliographies, though the subject's principal writings usually are listed. Discussions of some major figures e.g., Rousseau, Diderot, Hume run longer and include brief bibliographies. Many black-and-white illustrations from the period enhance the book. Numerous cross-references and a comprehensive 20-page index (in which major treatments of topics and individuals are indicated by bold type) make the work easy to use. As far as this reviewer knows, this volume has no English-language equivalent. Though not indispensable, it deserves a place in all academic and larger public libraries. L. Kincaid; Boise State University