A Dictionary of World History (3rd edition)

摘要

It is a mammoth task to compile a dictionary which aims to cover the world's history from the evolution of the earliest hominids to the date of compilation, and it may be thought remarkable that any editor would be bold enough to attempt it. The solution, as revealed in the book's preface, is that the information in it has been digested from the numerous historical entries in the Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia. This is the third edition of a work first published in 2000 and previously reviewed in these columns in its second edition (RR 2007/349), and the revisions, naturally, have been mostly concerned with bringing it up to date (i.e. to late 2014). A total of 4,000 articles are provided, varying in length from 1,300 words down to 20 or so. There is no index, but there are numerous cross-references. A total of 25 maps are included, ranging from the campaigns of Alexander the Great to the partition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This significant feature, however, is mentioned only in small letters at the foot of the title page.