Gale,West's Encyclopedia of American Law in 13 Volumes 6727 pages
The new edition of this standard legal reference is a worthy successor
to the original. The encyclopedia contains a comprehensive overview of
American law, covering historical and current terms, concepts, events,
movements, cases, and significant persons. New cases, events, and
trends have been thoroughly integrated into existing entries. Some,
such as
Absentee voting, Jurisdiction, and
terrorism, have been substantially rewritten, while many others, such as
Abington School District v.
schempp,
abortion, and
Judge advocate
have new content appended. Omissions from the first edition have been
corrected, with new entries for Ralph David Abernathy, Bella Abzug, the
Amistad mutiny, and the "abuse excuse" as well as for George W.
Bush, Tom Ridge, and Kenneth Starr, of recent import. Of the more than
5,000 entries, 2,000 have been revised and 630 are new. Even the
photographs have been updated--different photographs are often used,
even when article content is the same. How were several hundred
entries added and others lengthened while only one volume was added to
the size of the set? The greatest change seems to be a sharp decline in
the number of photographs, tables, and charts. Color has also been
eliminated. Nonetheless, the set still contains numerous illustrations
that enrich the text and help show the effects the legal system has on
individuals. Other changes include the use of italics for the
definitions that begin each entry on a legal term, making these easy to
distinguish, and the addition of further readings to a majority of main
entries. Useful features in both editions include "In Focus" essays on
controversial issues, time lines for all biographical entries that show
important moments in the subject's life as well as important historical
events, a dictionary of legal terms, an index of cases, and a general
index. An appendix volume has been helpfully renamed
Primary Documents
and contains the text of speeches, legislation, and historic legal
documents ranging from the Magna Carta to the Treaty with Sioux Nation.
The "Milestones in the Law" features, which have the text of landmark
cases, briefs, and related documents, have been gathered into another
appendix volume. This beautifully edited encyclopedia is highly
recommended for high-school, community college, public, and
undergraduate libraries.
Jan Lewis
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