UXL Newsmakers

This four-volume reference for middle-school and, perhaps, early-high- school level students profiles prominent people active in the fields of art and design, business, entertainment, government, music, science, social issues, sports, and writing. One hundred entries are arranged alphabetically and include b&w photos and references (including relevant websites). Each of the four volumes contains the comprehensive index, which occupies about 45 pages. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

Aimed at middle and some secondary school students, this encyclopedia provides about 100 biographical entries on individuals who are making headlines in a wide variety of fields, including music, sports, literature, science, and government. Each entry includes date and place of birth, a narrative biography, and a bibliography of print and web sources. In addition, each entry features black-and-white photographs of the biographee and sidebars that highlight aspects of the individual's life and career. Nicely designed with easy-to-read type, every volume contains a helpful index to the entire set; a vocation index is also useful. While the emphasis on popular culture personalities undoubtedly reflects the interests of young people, the work does contain profiles of major political and cultural figures, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and architect Daniel Libeskind, the designer of the World Trade Center memorial and Berlin Jewish Museum. A quibble: the Saddam Hussein entry should have included a better bibliography. Bottom Line Since a WorldCat search yields surprisingly few juvenile biographical encyclopedias, this well-written reference work fills a void and is recommended for public and school libraries.-Donald Altschiller, Boston Univ. Libs. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.