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 A dictionary of nineteenth-century history |
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A dictionary of nineteenth-century history Edited by John Belchem and Richard Price Penguin Books, 1994 ISBN 0-141-39039-5 It’s heavy, this book. Very heavy, and then the editors claim they did not even put everything in it. But that is just the thing with books like this: to keep it manageable, there has a lot to be left out. However, the book contains a lot of information that is of interest to everyone who is looking for information on the nineteenth century; be it on colonial facts, social politics, famous persons or just the history of a certain country, it’s in here. It’s not a book to take and to read it from the front page to the end, it’s a dictionary after all. Even though many of the presented articles are boring if you are not really interested in the topic, there are longer articles that give some insight in the life of the nineteenth century in a pleasant and understandable manner. There are many cross-references and ideas for further reading. In the appendices there are some maps and a chronology of the century. What I do miss in this dictionary are graphics and tables with the topics. It’s not that I long for pictures of the famous people, but some graphic overviews might have been more comprehendible than plain text. But maybe I should go looking for a encyclopaedia instead of a dictionary then. Another thing I found a bit disappointing is the focus on the British and American history. Of course, those where great actors on the world stage throughout the century, but there is little place left for the hectic history of Europe. For example, The Netherlands do not even have an entry in the dictionary, nor does any of its colonies. That might be a bit patriotism playing up, but on the other hand, I really do miss a lot of information on European politics and royalty. But the solid 750 page book should be on the shelves of any steampunker nonetheless. It’s a great reference guide, and with just a little imagination it’s a book full of ideas for an alternative history. © Yaghish 2004 |
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