Allan M. Winkler - Encyclopedia of American History. 11 volume set [2009][A]

Book Description
Publication Date: December 1, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0816071365 | ISBN-13: 978-0816071364 | Edition: Revised
This book presents a thorough revision of the Award-winning set. Facts On File is proud to announce the revision of its award-winning 11-volume "Encyclopedia of American History", the landmark reference to American history from prehistoric times to the modern day. This extensive revision features more than 1,000 new and revised entries, as well as a thorough update of existing entries to reflect current research. In addition, a new insert of full-color maps has been added to each volume. Continuing to offer unparalleled depth and breadth of coverage, "Encyclopedia of American History, Revised Edition" provides a balanced presentation of the political, social, economic, and cultural events that have shaped the land and the nation. Each volume editor is a distinguished scholar of American history who has drawn upon the expertise of scores of specialists in writing individual, signed entries of outstanding quality. It meets National Standards for United States History. Ideal for students, teachers, and librarians, the first 10 expertly researched volumes in this authoritative set are arranged chronologically in accordance with the National Standards for United States History. The 11th volume contains the comprehensive set Index. It features content that is clear and easy to understand. Written in accessible language to facilitate students' understanding of each era, the easy-to-read text is enhanced by 750 photographs and 250 full-color and black-and-white maps. Detailed entries cover key events, movements, historical figures, trends, and political developments that define each particular era in American history. Addressing the need for historical literacy, the set is truly inclusive, casting a wide historical net across topics and eras and comprising many lesser-known but still influential figures and events. Key features enhance the set's reference value. It features accessible text and more than 3,300 detailed, fully cross-referenced entries; biographies of significant Americans in each era; a further reading section at the end of many of the signed entries; approximately 1,000 illustrations, including full-color and black-and-white maps, photographs, cartoons, and advertisements, that visually document each era; topical entries in each volume on related subjects such as art and architecture, business, economy, literature, and science and technology; a chronology and bibliography at the end of each volume; an appendix in each volume that contains excerpts of key documents of the era, an individual volume indexes, and a comprehensive set index.

Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up—This revision of the 2003 set boasts an additional volume. As well as including several hundred new entries, Nash states that scores of updates and error corrections have been made. Up-to-date and well-documented sources, cross-referencing, and an exhaustive set index will be appreciated by researchers. Each volume contains a 7- to 12-page insert of accessible, colorful maps charting voyages, battles, and boundaries, and the evolutions of economy, politics, and populations. Relevant black-and-white photographs—some formal portraits, others depicting candid moments—appear every few pages. Concluding each volume are 20 pages of period documents, including full-text speeches, letters, acts, and agreements. Within the chronological volumes, the signed entries are arranged alphabetically, followed by a further-reading list. Social and political history are covered under such categories as pop culture ("Amusement Parks," "Fashion"); entertainment and government ("First Continental Congress," "U.S. Army"); geography ("Cities and Urban Life," "Mariana Islands"); sports; and literature. Ideas and events beyond the boundaries of America had tremendous impact on shaping the country's development, but the connection between occasional entries in the first volume and American history is murky. For example, a new entry profiles Alfonso de Albuquerque. No mention is made of how this sailor/explorer/administrator, a contemporary of Columbus, is relevant to American history. Also, technology and its role in American cultural history is not well represented. Still, considering the massive amount of expertly compiled and arranged information that is included here, it is hard to quibble about a few questionable editorial decisions.—Jennifer Prince, Fairview Public Library, NC

From Booklist
*Starred Review* With its release in 2003, the Encyclopedia of American History relegated many similar titles to the realm of obsolescence. Drawing on a wealth of current scholarly study, this revision not only contains new entries for the years since 2003 (the entry for Barack Obama, for example) but, with several hundred additional entries and revisions, provides significant updates and expansion to the entire set. Almost one-third of the more than 3,300 entries are new or revised. The arrangement follows the chronological divisions of U.S. history set out in the National Standards for United States History, Revised Edition. Once again under the general editorship of Nash, each volume is individually edited by a prominent scholar in the field. Beginning with the first volume, Three Worlds Meet: Beginnings to 1603, and concluding with Contemporary United States: 1969 to the Present, each volume comprises signed A–Z entries covering noteworthy people, places, and events as well as general topics such as crime, immigration, religion, and trade. Each entry contains see also terms in all caps that guide readers from one topic to the next and concludes with a few noteworthy sources for further reading. At the conclusion of each volume are a valuable chronology and a selection of the era's critical documents (for example, the Declaration of Independence, the Atlantic Charter of 1941, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990) as well as a concise bibliography representing the current historiography. New to the current edition are the more than 250 excellent full-color maps inserted in each volume and conveying demographic, elections, expansion, and military information. These maps are richly detailed, contain clear legends, and are pertinent to the era covered. Although this work is short on illustrations, its strengths are its arrangement and lucid writing, which is intended to provide a solid edifice of historical knowledge “for precollegiate as well as college students, for parents of young learners in the schools, and for the general public.” In addition to an index at the end of each volume, volume 11 consists of a cumulative index that allows users to follow the development of particular themes in U.S. history. Although the price of the set could be prohibitive, libraries looking to enhance their U.S. history collections will find no greater overall value. Through an effective presentation of the core themes from American politics, culture, and society, this is definitely the single best general American history reference source on the market today. Highly recommended for high-school, public, and college libraries. --Donna Seaman

About the Author
Gary B. Nash (University of California, Los Angeles) received his Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is currently Director of the National Center for History in the Schools at U.C.L.A. where he teaches colonial and revolutionary American history. He is a published author of college and precollegiate history texts; among his best-selling works is The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, now in its fifth edition. He was president of the Organization for American Historians in 1994-1995.