The Blackwell History of the Latin Language charts the development of Latin from its prehistoric origins in the Indo-European language family, through the earliest texts, to the creation of the Classical Language of Cicero and Vergil, and examines the impact of the spread of spoken Latin through the Roman Empire. Accessible and intelligent, this is the first book in English in more than 50 years to provide comprehensive coverage of the history of the language.

• COVER: Guess Who Came to Dinner? - A visit from George Clooney, home handyman and the last true movie star
• WORLD: Cuba's Chance - With Fidel Castro finally fading from the scene, his brother and heir Raúl has a golden opportunity to take the country on a new path to freedom. The U.S. can help--if it is prepared to break some shackles of its own
• HEALTH & MEDICINE: Stuck on the Couch - Psst! Exercise is good for you. Knew that already? So do most of us, yet we still do nothing about it. Here's why
• ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: Who Owns History? - Nations want their looted art returned. Great museums want to keep the treasures. Is there a right way to divide the past?

This eighth installment of Salem's Great Events from History series identifies key events that helped to shape the course of the history of the world from 1901 to 1940. In more than 1,000 essays, a plethora of topics are presented, including Canada claiming the Arctic Islands (1901); the plague killing 1.2 million in India (1907); Gertrude Ederle swimming the English Channel (1926); Stalin beginning the Purge Trials (1934); and Germany hosting the 1936 Olympics. A number of the entries are revisions of material appearing in earlier Salem publications, such as Great Events from History (1972–1980). Approximately one-quarter of the content is new. Each signed essay—averaging three to five pages—presents material in a similar, user-friendly format. At a quick glance, bold type indicates the exact date of the event, its locale, various topical categories (e.g., civil rights and liberties, science and technology), and major figures involved. This information is followed by a summary describing the event and an assessment of the historical significance or long-term ramifications. A generous annotated list of resources amd see also references wrap things up. The text is relieved somewhat by black-and-white photographs, illustrations, tables, maps, and diagrams. Sidebars provide extra information or excerpts from primary sources (speeches, writings, and other documents). Each volume also has its own unique table of contents and historical maps representing the world regions, but an alphabetically arranged keyword list of contents and a list of maps, tables, and sidebars for the whole set are also included. Volume 6, in addition to essays, houses all the indexes (geographical, category, personage, and subject); a bibliography; a "Chronological List of Entries"; and a directory of suggested electronic resources. Initially daunting in appearance due to its size, this resource is remarkably readable, and the reader is able to locate essential facts with ease. A fount of accessible, valuable material, it is a necessary purchase for libraries already owning earlier installments of this series or for institutions where curriculum has a strong focus on the early part of the twentieth century. Recommended for high-school students and above.

From Booklist
Another in Greenwood's series of biographical dictionaries on women, this book details the lives of roughly 200 historians. Not all of them are academic historians; some are biographers (Catherine Drinker Bowen, Fawn Brodie) and others writers of popular history (Barbara Tuchman). While most of the women are deceased, many contemporary historians, such as Natalie Zeman Davis, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Gerda Lerner, Joan Wallach Scott, and Darlene Hine, are profiled. Since historians who are best known as administrators, such as Jill Ker Conway and Mary Frances Berry, are included, it is odd that there is no biography of Hannah Gray. Many of the subjects specialize in women's history, but there is a good distribution of scholars from all fields, from ancient history to modern U.S. and European history. The detailed index has entries for fields, so it is possible to find African or Asian historians, for example.Each entry is a page or two in length, and identifies the woman's field and her professional contributions. Apparently some of the living historians responded to a questionnaire from the editors, and their entries often contain personal information about spouses, children, and hobbies. Each entry concludes with a list of additional sources about the woman; some have a list of books by the woman. There is an insert of black-and-white portraits of 30 of the subjects. An interesting contribution to collections in history and women's studies.

No nation in modern history has had a more powerful sense of its own distinctiveness than the United States. Yet few Americans understand the immensely varied sources of that sense and the fascinating debates that have always swirled around our attempts to define "American" with greater precision. All too many have come to regard the study of their national history as tedious, just as they fail to embrace the past as something in which they must be consciously grounded. In this introduction to the study of U.S. history, Wilfred M. McClay invites us to experience the perennial freshness and vitality of this great subject as he explores some of the enduring commitments and persistent tensions that have made America what it is.