ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 52 2 /C&RL News N ew Publications George M . Eberha rt The C a m b rid g e Illu s ­ tr a t e d A tlas o f W a rfa re : T h e M id d le A g es, 7 6 8 — 1487, by Nicholas H o o p er an d M atthew B ennett (192 pages, March 1996), aims to b rin g to a p o p u la r form at m u ch o f th e academ ic re ­ search on medieval warfare c o n d u c te d in th e p a s t 40 years. The com plexity an d s o p h is tic a tio n o f m ilitary o p eratio n s o f th a t era are p o rtray ed h e re in d etailed maps, plans, an d o ther illus­ trations. O f particular interest are the campaigns an d consequences o f th e Crusades, Scandina­ vian raids and conquests in the 9th to 11th cen­ turies, and a discussion on w hether or not there w as a revolution in military technology in the 16th century. A w ell-inform ed an d readable history. $39.95. Cambridge University Press, 40 W. 20th St., N ew York, NY 10011-4211. ISBN 0-521-44049-1. Concise Encyclopedia: Biology, translated an d revised by Thom as A. Scott (1287 pages plus 48 plates, February 1996), w as originally published by F. A. B rockhaus Verlag in Leipzig u n d er the title ABC Biologie. Scott’s translation adds new ly discovered animal species an d re­ places the G erm an citations w ith English-lan­ guage references. T he 7,000 descriptions in­ cluded here are technical and m ore detailed than th e w ord “concise” in the title w ould lead you to believe. Each taxonom ic category is defined in terms of its m orphology, physiol­ ogy, phylogenetic relationships, distribution, and ecological an d econom ic im portance. Mod­ ern topics in classical an d m odern genetics are covered, including th e m olecular biology of gene cloning; similarly, biochemistry, m etabo­ lism, earth history, evolution, ecology, and bio­ g eo g rap h y are w ell rep resen ted . T he 1,200 drawings, formulas, an d tables enhance u n d er­ standing. This volum e is a w orthy com panion to de G ruyter’s Concise Encyclopedia: Chemis­ try (1994). $99.95. Walter de Gruyter, Inc., 200 Saw Mill River Rd,, H aw thorne, NY 10532. ISBN 3-11-010661-2. Jane's International Defence Directory, 1996, edited by Ian T andy (1109 pages, 13th ed., March 1996), is o n e o f Ja n e ’s lesser know n direc­ tories, bu t if y o u ’re buying o r selling m ilitary e q u ip ­ ment, this is w here you will find the addresses an d tele­ p h one num bers of everyone from the Israeli Police Min­ istry to C. R aym ond H unt Associates (American m anu­ facturers o f assault boats and raiding craft). T he major ar­ rangem ent is by country, fol­ low ed by a product index. (At least chemical an d bio­ logical w eapons aren ’t included.) Libraries will probably find the listings for foreign em bas­ sies, defense agencies, civil police, coastguards, customs and excise offices, research organiza­ tions, and multinational intergovernm ental or­ ganizations m ost useful. $425.00 (CD-ROM, $795.00). J a n e ’s Information G roup, Ltd., 835 Penobscot Building, Detroit, MI 48226. ISBN 0- 7106-1306-7. Pa n-Africa n Chronology, by Everett Jen ­ kins Jr. (440 pages, February 1996), outlines the history of African peo p le and their struggles for freedom throughout the world, from Portu­ g u ese e x p an sio n in 1400 to th e T hirteenth A m endm ent abolishing slavery in 1865. Jenkins discovered that most histories o f African Ameri­ cans isolated them from the rest of th e global diaspora that included African, Chinese, East Indian, Iberian, Dutch, British, Mexican, Cana­ dian, and o th er m ovem ents. His chronicle o f events is p e p p e re d w ith comm entary, statistics, a n d ex tracts from d o c u m e n ts th a t p u t th e struggle in a w ider perspective. W ithout this insight, th e m isinform ation an d false assum p­ tions in history textbooks (as Jam es W. Loewen pointed out in Lies My Teacher Told Me, New Press, 1995) will b e p erp etu ated an d cinematic stereotypes enforced. Put this one next to The People’s Chronology o n th e referen ce shelf. $49.95. McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-7864-0139-7. ■ George Eberhαrt is editor and compiler of The Whole Library Handbooks fo r ALA Editions (1991, 1995). He served as editor o f C&RL News from 1980 to 1990. September 1996 /5 2 3 Search more! More of the data you need is now on the web. Ei CompendexWeb. Here’s th e w orld's m o st com prehensive engineering d atab ase, w ith fixed-price searching in th e online environm ent of th e WWW, directly from Ei. 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