referencebooks (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} referencebooks) wrote,@ 2005-08-03 10:16:00 |
|
| Entry tags: | ethnic studies, general knowledge, history |
African American Desk Reference
The New York Public Library African American Desk Reference
Published by John Wiley & Sons, on their Stonesong Press imprint, 1999.
Editorial credit to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
This is a high-quality hardbound book of 8" X 9.5", running 606 pages including the index, plus the table of contents and a foreword.
As a desk reference, the book is similar to an almanac, in that it compiles statistics, biographical information, directory information, chronologies and lists, and bibliographic information. Additionally, it has encyclopedic sections with articles about Black history, issues, culture, and intellectual currents.
The book is divided into 19 sections, each with a number of subsections. The 19 sections are:
- The Saga of African American History
- Slavery and Freedom
- Politics and Civil Rights
- The Diaspora
- Family and Heritage
- Religion
- Education
- Health
- Business and Enterprise
- Science and Technology
- The Military
- The Law
- Literature and Language
- Music
- Performing Arts
- Fine and Applied Arts
- The Media
- Sports
- Resources
The index is 40 pages long and filled with proper names. Not only are the likes of Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks and Huey Newton included, but so are Spike Lee, Dr. Dre (Andrew Young), Father Divine, Teddy Pendergrass, Kirby Puckett, Gil Scott-Heron, Professor Longhair, Bobby Seals, Sun Ra, and of course hundreds of people I've never heard of. Also in the index are things like smoking; slave suicide; the Quaker condemnation of slavery; the Second Maroon War; samba; several sub-entries under Pulitzer Prize; kola nuts; Black Jews; literary societies; eight sub-entries under Gender; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Atonin Dvorák; Communism; Nok culture; 92nd Infantry Division; and several subentries under Physicians.
This is a very useful and informative book, good for looking up facts or for educating oneself in a very general, quick and superficial way about aspects of African American culture and history.
