Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

Gale Encyclopedia of World History: Governments. 2 vols. 711 p. Detroit: Gale, 2008. ISBN 13: 978-1-4144-3152-9; ISBN 10: 1-4144-3152-X. $220.

One of the important goals in studying governments is the placing of one country’s government in the context of its own history as well as in comparison to other governments in a region or of an era. This two volume set provides a starting point for investigating governments from ancient civilizations through the 21st century. Organized chronologically into nine chapters representing major historical eras, each chapter includes a one-page introductory essay, followed by the entries for individual governments. The entries follow a consistent format that includes type of government, background, government structure, political parties and factions, major events and aftermath (or, if a current government, the 21st century). All current member states of the United Nations are included, as well as other areas of sovereignty like Vatican City, Hong Kong and Palestine, and some international governing bodies like those formed by the Antarctic Treaty, the United Nations and the European Union. This resource offers deeper content than a textbook but still would be considered introductory and attempts to remain balanced in its viewpoint. As with the Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History: Government and Politics, the consistent format of the chapters may make this a flexible and effective resource for classroom teachers, especially in the eBook version. Recommended for high school, public and academic libraries.
—Doug Achterman