The 'Kirkus' 2006 Reference Review

What is a more glorious example of the very concept of "book" than an excellent reference volume? So it has always been, and so it continues today, even as information and data become more and more readily available in digital form. While Google, Wikipedia and other online giants race forward in their quest to provide global information access, both traditional and brand-new reference publishers continue releasing invaluable reference materials across a wide range of disciplines. Frequently, these print editions have robust digital companions; occasionally?hold your breath?they are pure old-school ink-on-paper resources. In our second annual Reference Review, we look at all of the above, highlighting the most engaging, authoritative and relevant books?and digital resources?of the year. All the usual suspects are here?Princeton Review, Oxford University Press, Houghton Mifflin, Merriam-Webster, National Geographic?plus some fascinating new material from DK Publishing, Praeger, Facts on File, SAGE Publications and the all-digital Alexander Street Press. The interests represented are myriad: language, science, psychology, technology, food, climate change, global warming, music, sports?even superheroes. After all, what discipline could possibly not deserve its own glorious reference book?

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