Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2021 -

This splendid book is about much more than alphabetical order. Flanders (Univ. of Buckingham), a social historian and critic, takes readers back 3,000 years to the commercial origins of the alphabet and right up to present-day hypertext, a new, decidedly non-alphabetic form of information retrieval. Along the way, one learns not just about the familiar uses of A-Z order--in dictionaries, indexes, concordances, cross-referencing, catalogs, directories, letter grades, and the like--but also about the subtle ways in which the technology of the alphabet (and paper) affected the world. The new technologies changed the way that law was done and how time was recorded, made folding money possible, and eventually yielded bureaucracy and modern business. Flanders organized the work in ten chronological chapters, each with an alphabetic title (for example, "A is for Antiquity," "I is for Index Cards"), showing how organization by letters supplanted earlier views of natural and divine order. Full of historical details and personalities and half-forgotten technology, A Place for Everything has a bit of everything, including more than 30 illustrations. A useful time line is included in the end matter, along with copious references. A must for those interested in the history of the book.Summing Up: Essential. All readers.

Some speakers of Cantonese think their language is in danger of being overtaken by Mandarin, so this volume is welcome. Bauer (formerly, Chinese linguistics, Univ. of Hong Kong) has spent most of his life studying Cantonese. Nearly two decades in the making, this one-way dictionary has many special features, the most interesting of which are the notes on social status of words and their cultural, historical, and political connotations. The introduction explains the special connection between Cantonese and Hong Kong. Also presented are the 5 processes and 12 basic principles of the written language. The inclusion of example sentences in colloquial Cantonese make the volume particularly practical for students. Both stroke and radical indexes are provided, along with a Kangxi radical chart. A table gives phonetic variations in the language's sound system. Also included is a list of Cantonese Romanization with corresponding IPA symbols, and an extensive list of abbreviations. At well over 1,000 pages, this volume is indeed comprehensive.Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

Nevins (librarian, Lone Star College, Tomball) has written numerous books on comics, Victoriana, and pulp literature, including The Evolution of the Costumed Avenger: The 4000-Year History of the Superhero (CH, Sep'17, 55-0038). In the present book Nevins provides an overview of horror fiction across the entire 20th century. The book comprises three chronological parts (each with 5-6 chapters), framed by an introduction and an epilogue. The first part spans the years 1901-39, what the author argues is the latter half of the genre's Golden Age; part two covers 1940-70; and part three covers 1971-2000. The chapters look at major figures and developments by geographic region, niche market, theme, and so on. A true strength of the book is its scope: in a genre stereotypically defined by white, male authors, this book takes a broad, international approach to its subject. Each part includes a chapter that examines horror fiction "outside the Anglosphere," looking at literature produced in numerous European, African, Asian, and South American countries. Though modest in size, the book does an excellent job of discussing many notable, often-overlooked authors as well as all the major writers of the genre. Each is given only one paragraph, but the assessment is substantive and elegantly direct.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers.

Dietz continues his excellent companions to Broadway shows with coverage of the 240 musicals that opened from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2019. As with previous volumes (all reviewed in Choice), Dietz includes shows with new music, revues, magic shows, operas that received their New York premieres, imports, pre-Broadway closings, and special engagements. It is heartening to note that more shows with new music and scripts opened during the 2010s decade than during the previous one (covered in Complete Book of 2000s Broadway Musicals, CH, Dec'17, 55-1202). Technical information (gathered from Theatre World and IBDB.com) includes casts and crews, advertising tags, run dates, name of theater, musical numbers and performers, source material, awards and nominations, and other data, along with plot summaries and cast album information when available. The volume concludes with eight useful appendixes, including one of Black-themed and one of LGBTQ-themed shows. Although Dietz relies heavily on critical commentaries and newspaper reviews, the highly subjective and often amusing comments he adds provide thoughtful consideration not only of individual shows but also of the decade as a whole. This volume, like its predecessors, is a required resource for scholars and fans of Broadway musicals.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.