Craddock James (editor). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Volume 29: Supplement A - Z

Gale Learning, 2009. — 582 p.The study of biography has always held an important, if not explicitly stated, place in school curricula. The absence in schools of a class specifically devoted to studying the lives of the giants of human history belies the focus most courses have always had on people. From ancient times to the present, the world has been shaped by the decisions, philosophies, inventions, discoveries, artistic creations, medical breakthroughs, and written works of its myriad personalities. Librarians, teachers, and students alike recognize that our lives are immensely enriched when we learn about those individuals who have made their mark on the world we live in today. Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Volume 29, provides biographical information on 175 individuals not covered in the 17-volume second edition of Encyclopedia of World Biography (EWB) and its supplements, Volumes 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. Like other volumes in the EWB series, this supplement represents a unique, comprehensive source for biographical information on those people who, for their contributions to human culture and society, have reputations that stand the test of time. Each original article ends with a bibliographic section. There is also an index to names and subjects, which cumulates all persons appearing as main entries in the EWB second edition, the Volume 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 supplements, and this supplement—more than 8,000 people! Articles. Arranged alphabetically following the letter-by-letter convention (spaces and hyphens have been ignored), articles begin with the full name of the person profiled in large, bold type. Next is a boldfaced, descriptive paragraph that includes birth and death years in parentheses. It provides a capsule identification and a statement of the person’s significance. The essay that follows is approximately 2,000 words in length and offers a substantial treatment of the person’s life. Some of the essays proceed chronologically while others confine biographical data to a paragraph or two and move on to a consideration and evaluation of the subject’s work. Where very few biographical facts are known, the article is necessarily devoted to an analysis of the subject’s contribution. Following the essay is a bibliographic section arranged by source type. Citations include books, periodicals, and online Internet addresses for World Wide Web pages, where current information can be found. Portraits accompany many of the articles and provide either an authentic likeness, contemporaneous with the subject, or a later representation of artistic merit. For artists, occasionally self-portraits have been included. Of the ancient figures, there are depictions from coins, engravings, and sculptures; of the moderns, there are many portrait photographs. Persons, places, battles, treaties, institutions, buildings, inventions, books, works of art, ideas, philosophies, styles, movements—all are indexed for quick reference just as in a general encyclopedia.