Major Acts of Congress (3-Volume Set)

Entries are arranged alphabetically; a topic outline helps integrate related acts, as does the liberal use of see also references. Public Law and Statutes at Large citations are included in the body of each article; a separate table of acts and citations would have been useful. Bibliographies conclude each entry. Most bibliographic references are to books, although some government documents, law reviews, and journals are included. Internet resources are generally listed separately; government sites predominate and thus should be accurate for longer than is typical for Web addresses. In addition to summarizing and often excerpting the acts, most articles discuss the underlying need for congressional action, prior attempts at legislation, lobbying efforts for and against the legislation, court challenges, amendments, and effects of the act. Liberal use of white space, shading, and different typefaces for excerpts, blurbs, and sidebars help readers focus on important elements. Photographs, editorial cartoons, and scanned documents also enrich the work. Each volume includes the same five appendixes. Two are useful to repeat: a cumulative index and a glossary. However, the decision to include the U.S. Constitution, a time line, and an index of court cases in each volume unnecessarily increases the size of the set.