Reading About the Environment

Library Journal

The concerned citizen, whether student, executive, homemaker, or union member, who wants to save the planet may be overwhelmed by the vast array of information on environmental problems. Two new annotated bibliographies will enable them to find specific environmental information quickly. The Island Press Bibliography of Environmental Literature lists over 3000 books, monographs, journals, and government reports organized by subject areas such as water, air, land, animals, and law. Each section is introduced by cross references to related sections. The annotations are brief--one to four sentences--yet give very concise information. Most references are to materials in the 1980s, with a few as recent as 1990, and two indexes listing author/title and subject are very thorough. Reading About the Environment encompasses 800 entries from books and popular magazine articles. Sixteen chapters focus on such topics as acid rain, water pollution, toxic waste, pesticides, and visual pollution. Each chapter begins with an introductory essay on the specific issue. Annotations ranging from three sentences to two paragraphs discuss the scope, usefulness, and reading level of the material. An interesting feature is the highlighting of noteworthy entries based on the overview they provide and the scholarly and factual treatment of the material. An excellent author/title and separate subject index accompany the source. There is very little overlap between these books since they are aimed at different levels of readership. The Island Press Bibliography is aimed at academic and research libraries. Reading About the Environment , though a bit outdated in some subjects, should be purchased by public, high school, and college libraries.-- Eva Lautemann, DeKalb Coll. Lib., Clarkston, Ga.

Booknews

The organization of some 800 thoroughly annotated entries is in 16 topical chapters, each introduced with a brief overview of the issue, e.g. overpopulation, air pollution, acid rain. The focus is on timely books and popular magazine articles written for the general reader; also included are classic and seminal works. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)