Review by Choice Review
This comprehensive encyclopedia is the work of editor in chief Kurian (who in the past 20 years has produced 20-plus encyclopedias and more than 30 other reference books), five associate editors (all are American Political Science Association-nominated members), and 72 members of the board of editorial consultants and advisers. The encyclopedia's 1,500-plus signed articles represent contributors from nearly 40 countries from a variety of social sciences and humanities disciplines. The volumes include core articles, long interpretative essays, short descriptive articles, breakout articles, lexical entries, and biographies (nearly 300 mostly nonliving persons). The volumes are arranged strictly on an A-Z basis, and each volume has an extensive thematic table of contents arranged by subject or subfield. Entries include see also references and, for those with 500 words or more, a bibliography.Contributors range from very well-established scholars to those beginning their academic careers. The set includes some black-and-white images, maps, and charts. Each print volume contains a complete reprint of the index to the entire set, with main entries in boldface. The introductory essay outlines the essential concepts that the encyclopedia addresses. While the work aims for comprehensiveness, given the extraordinarily interdisciplinary nature of the field, some entries have been overlooked (perhaps out of concern to keep the size of the work within a certain boundary or to keep the subject as close to the core as possible). For example, no entry appears for focus groups (nor is this approach found as an indexed term). Within the confines of what Kurian set out to achieve, no other current work of this scope, breadth, or depth exists.The online version re-creates access to the print version as e-text without enhancements. It does provide users with some options not available in print, including the capabilities to browse images, create a profile, list favorite documents, save searches, format citations, list the last 25 documents visited as part of a document history section, and e-mail documents. The online format does not have the same limitations associated with print in terms of length. With this in mind, inclusion of more information about the contributors--beyond simply listing institutional affiliation--would have been useful, especially their academic rank and department. The advanced search option allows users to "search all text." Thus, searching "focus groups" leads to, e.g., the "Qualitative Methodologies" section. Today's searchers likely will find the online version preferable to print and enjoy being able to import e-documents directly into other electronic software. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. G. R. Walden Ohio State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Prepared with the assistance of the American Political Science Association and designed to serve as a core reference to the central ideas, concepts, and frameworks underlying the study of politics and the intersections of politics with philosophy, cultural studies, sociology, religion, psychology, history, and economics, this encyclopedia includes more than 1,500 signed articles ranging from one-quarter page to seven pages in length. Among the entries are 500 core and interpretative essays. Cross-references guide the user to related entries. Volume 1 includes an alphabetical table of contents, a Thematic Table of Contents, lists of editors and authors, a preface, an introduction, and a comprehensive index. The other four volumes also contain the alphabetical and thematic tables of contents and the index. The introduction provides a discussion of the discipline of political science. A glance at the 44 broad themes outlined in the Thematic Table of Contents gives an idea of what the encyclopedia encompasses. Among the themes are Political Science, Discipline of ; Foreign Policy ; Ideologies ; Law and Courts ; Political Concepts ; and Religion and Politics. The work contains approximately 300 biographies, most of which are for deceased persons. Although there are no entries for individual nations, there are entries for regions (European politics and society, Latin American politics and society) and for some geographical areas or concepts related to nations (Kashmir, Russian political thought). Examples of other entries include Abortion and politics, Cyberterrorism, Freedom of information, International relations, Judicial restraint, Neoconservatism, Quotas, and Race and gender. This is truly a multinational effort; nearly 40 countries are represented by the editor in chief, 5 associate editors, 23 content editors, 72 editorial consultants and advisors, 14 international advisors, and 664 authors. These scholars come not only from the field of political science but from other disciplines within the social sciences and humanities. The encyclopedia that has resulted from their contributions would make an excellent purchase for academic and large public library collections.--Talley, Kaye Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Containing more than 1500 entries written by contributors from nearly 40 countries, this five-volume "synchronic encyclopedia" attempts to cover politics and government in the broadest meanings of these terms. Published and produced with the assistance of the American Political Science Association (APSA), this massive work contains a large number of contributions written by APSA members, ably collated and edited by a team of political scientists led by Kurian (founder & president, The Encyclopedia Society; Encyclopedia of the Third World). Ranging in length from a paragraph to several pages, the signed, A-to-Z entries are enhanced with useful bibliographic references and numerous cross-references. An alphabetical listing of all entries, a thematic table of contents, and a cumulative index helpfully appear in each volume, providing easy access to the text. Maps and black-and-white photographs illuminate information. The eclectic range of entries is impressive: political cartoons, corruption, language and politics, fiscal conservatism, voting machines and technology, and Jewish political theory, to name just a few. BOTTOM LINE Although many encyclopedias on political science have been published in the last few decades, this set seems to offer both the broadest perspective and the most comprehensive coverage. Likewise, though many general topics (communism, social Darwinism) are discussed in countless other sources, this encyclopedia serves best as an outstanding ready-reference source to find numerous political and governmental topics not generally covered in most general or specialized reference works. Highly recommended for public and academic collections serving interested political scientists. [The online version covers the same material with the expected enhancements-advanced search with operators, saved searches, image browse, etc; contact CQ Pr. for pricing.-Ed.]-Donald Altschiller, Boston Univ. Libs. (c) Copyright 2011. 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 Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
