Encyclopedia of African American society /

In his introduction, Jaynes (Yale) states that the objective of this two-volume set is "to provide a reference base for those interested in obtaining information about the significant events, institutions and activities that have taken African Americans along the path leading to their present positions and that have provided the source of continuing cohesiveness that allows both African Americans and the rest of the world to think of Americans of African descent in terms that justify the nomenclature 'African American society.'" The nearly 700 well-written entries are alphabetically arranged. Although the list of contributors responsible for them is impressive, many entries are not signed. Among the entries are biographical sketches of approximately 140 notable African Americans. Each entry varies in length from a half page to three pages and provides "see also" references or titles for further reading. Included in each volume are a useful "List of Entries" and a "Reader's Guide." The latter classifies entries into 18 categories, which readers may find especially valuable. Listings of "African Americans in Halls of Fame," "Colleges and Universities with African American/Black Studies Programs, by State," and "Selected African American Heritage Sites" are found in volume 2. Illustrations are sparse throughout the volumes. This reference source will prove useful to any African American studies collection, especially those serving high school students and undergraduates; for serious researchers it will be valuable as a starting point. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers; two-year community college students. N. M. Allen University of South Florida at Sarasota/Manatee

Geared to the lay reader and the senior-high-school and lower-level-college student, this encyclopedia offers close to 700 "concise essays" that provide "a starting point for learning basic facts and ideas about African American society and for obtaining guidance about where to go for more information." The entries are cross-disciplinary and focus on "social events, issues and ideas of consequence." There are also many biographical main entries, but some biographical information is incorporated into sidebars for nonbiographical topical entries (e.g., Matthew Henson, who accompanied Robert Peary on Arctic expeditions, is covered in a boxed sidebar within the entry for Explorers0 ). Preceding the main body of alphabetical entries are a list of entry headings with somewhat incomplete cross-references; a "Reader's Guide" listing 118 general topical categories (for example, "Concepts and Theories"; "Fine Arts, Theater, and Entertainment"; "Organizations and Institutions") followed by appropriate entry headings; a list of 18 principal contributors, half of whom are described simply as "independent scholars"; a table of contents for 49 black-and-white illustrations dispersed through the two volumes; and a three-page introduction. The main entries are clearly and simply written, and they often contain sidebars consisting of document excerpts, biographical information, or a description of a historical event. Most of the shorter entries have no author identification, and only about half of the longer entries are followed by an author byline. Most of the entries also end with see also0 cross-references (additionally, there are a few see0 references in the encyclopedia's body of main entries). About three-quarters of the entries also contain a further reading list of one to six books. Several appendixes follow the main entries: a partial list of "African Americans in Halls of Fame" along with the names of black Americans who have been recognized for their achievement in different fields; a partial list of American colleges and universities with African American/Black Studies programs (but no contact information); a list identifying the names and addresses of "Selected African American Heritage Sites;" an unannotated 20-page bibliography; and an index with main entries in bold. The bibliography is too big to use effectively, and much of the information in the appendixes seems to be randomly selected and can be found elsewhere with more context and detail. Broad in scope and easy to access, this reference source will be useful mostly to high-school and college students who are just beginning research related to the history, culture, and society of black Americans. Libraries serving those seeking more scholarly rigor and detail should rely on the large, five-volume Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience0 (Oxford, 2005), edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr. --Jack Forman Copyright 2005 Booklist

Although remarkably different in many ways, these reference works actually overlap. The highly selective Encyclopedia of Black Studies (EBS), edited by Asante, founding editor of Journal of Black Studies, and colleague Mazama (both African American studies, Temple Univ.), focuses on the conceptual, often reading like a basic textbook, with good suggestions for further reading. It is made up of 240-plus signed essays examining key issues related to black studies, from its emergence in the 1960s to the present, including the relationship of African American studies to African studies, the culture wars of the 1980s, and the Marxist influence on the lives of African Americans. The lists of doctoral programs, major journal titles, and professional associations are helpful inclusions. However, some omissions are quite shocking: while the Mali Empire and Mansa Kankan Musa earn attention, for example, there is no entry for the Civil Rights Movement or for a monumental figure like Martin Luther King Jr. The editors' desire to escape the limiting perspectives of African American studies and embrace a more expanded view of black studies cannot exonerate them from such brazen oversights. Encyclopedia of African American Society (EAAS), on the other hand, is truly comprehensive. Edited by Jaynes (African American studies & economics, Yale Univ.; Branches Without Roots: Genesis of the Black Working Class in the American South, 1862-1882), the two-volume set touches on virtually every aspect of African American life and history, including entertainment, literature, politics, religion, sports, and law. In more than 700 signed essays, it recounts the intellectual underpinnings that defined a people and their movements, explains actions that transformed a nation, and describes the personalities and realities that shaped and continue to shape the black experience in America. Unlike the EBS, which aims for a larger perspective, the EAAS, as if to counter the former, works to maintain an African American focus. Thus, the two works complement each other well, though more by their omissions than by any positive design. Bottom Line Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, edited by Henry Louis Gates and others, surpasses both of these resources in scope and dimension. Comprehensive academic collections, however, may want to consider them, though they are best purchased as a pair.-Edward K. Owusu-Ansah, CUNY Coll. of Staten Island Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 8 Up-With particular focus on social issues, the more than 700 alphabetically arranged articles here seek to provide readers with background information on the history and place of African Americans in this country's cultural and economic matrix. Ranging in length from a column to six-plus pages, the entries, sandwiched between a topical table of contents and a detailed index, encompass subjects as huge as the origins of slavery or the course of the Civil Rights movement down to discussions of the "Cakewalk," the "Sambo stereotype," and hip-hop's "Zulu Nation." Many end with short reading lists and "see also" references. Strangely, some articles are signed and others are not, but all offer uniformly clear, concise overviews. However, very few include any illustration or reference to visual material on the Web, and scholars hoping for leads to other resources will get little ready help from the indigestibly huge bibliography at the end. Though Anthony Appiah's Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (Oxford, 2005) is a far deeper well of information, the somewhat narrower scope and topical approach here give this set some value as a supplementary addition for comprehensive collections.-John Peters, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.