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A joint effort between Oxford University Press and the renowned American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), this comprehensive work analyzes the archaeological and linguistic data that pertain to the broad cultural milieu of the ancient Near East, the crossroads of three of the world's most influential religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ranging from prehistoric times up to the early centuries of the rise of Islam, the work covers the civilizations of Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Arabia, Cyprus, Egypt, and the coastal regions of North and East Africa.

With 1,100 entries written by 560 contributors from more than two dozen countries, the scope of the encyclopedia is wide and provides a full range of perspectives and approaches to archaeological endeavors. Articles span from Bahrain to Libraries and Archives to Ziggurats and offer cultural, historical, and religious perspectives to a wide range of topics of interest to both scholars and lay people.

The Oxford Companion to Architecture is a new reference book on a popular and much-debated subject. It contains over 1500 A-Z entries covering all aspects of architecture, from architects, building types, and movements and styles to materials, aspects of design, and definitions. It is particularly strong in its coverage of architecture around the world, and of modern and vernacular architecture. The Companion is strongly rooted in an approach to architecture that looks at its social, technical, and practical aspects, as well as viewing it from an art-historical perspective.

With high-quality illustrations to complement and enhance the text, and a bibliographic essay, the Companion is an invaluable reference resource for architects, designers, teachers and students of architecture and architectural history at high school and college level, and the general reader interested in architecture.

It has been written by a team of over 150 contributors, including many distinguished architects and academics, under the editorship of Dr Patrick Goode and two consultant editors, Stanford Anderson and Sir Colin St John Wilson.

Over 3,500 entries

This dictionary is a key reference for those who need familiarity with—and knowledge of—Australian legal terms. Designed for students in response to research, it is structured to ensure comprehensive coverage of core legal content. Clear, relevant, and well-pitched definitions explain the meaning of Australian legal terms and detailed cross referencing is provided; readers are encouraged to learn the meaning of a particular term, link it with related concepts, and locate it within the larger body of law. This second edition has been fully updated, with each entry including up-to-date examples of cases and legislation, as well as revised appendices, and more than 300 new terms in total.

Over 130 entries

This publication, the first of its kind since 1898, represents the work of more than one hundred internationally recognized experts from nearly a dozen countries. It has been designed to satisfy the growing thirst of students, researchers, professionals, and general readers for knowledge about China. It makes the entire span of Chinese history manageable by introducing the reader to emperors, politicians, poets, writers, artists, scientists, explorers, and philosophers who have shaped and transformed China over the course of five thousand years. In 135 entries, ranging from 1,000 to 8,000 words and written by some of the world's leading China scholars, the Dictionary takes the reader from the important (even if possibly mythological) figures of ancient China to Communist leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. The in-depth essays provide rich historical context, and create a compelling narrative that weaves abstract concepts and disparate events into a coherent story. Cross-references between the articles show the connections between times, places, movements, events, and individuals.

The work features a range of appendices, including a timeline of key events, a pronunciation guide, a bibliography, lists of rulers and other prominent people, and other supplemental materials for students of Chinese history and culture.

This critically acclaimed biographical dictionary of American economists offers in-depth biographies of the most important economic figures in American history from the seventeenth century to the present day. All of the major schools of American economic thought are represented, from the Constitutional school to the Keynesian school, and the dictionary includes in-depth coverage of the many overlooked women who have influenced economic thought in America. Individually, the entries capture important contributions to the development of economic thought in America; collectively, they encapsulate the rich diversity of that thought and the influences that have been at play on America economic thinking over four centuries. The Biographical Dictionary of American Economists is an essential reference source for anyone interested in the history of economics and American intellectual history.

2006 ALA/RUSA Outstanding Reference Source

2005Booklist Editor's Choice

2005 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

The second edition of Black Women in America, edited by Darlene Clark Hine, provides expanded coverage of the achievements and contributions of African American women.

Winner of the Dartmouth Medal for Outstanding Reference Publication of 1994, the first edition of Black Women in America broke new ground—pulling together for the first time all of the research in this vast but underrepresented field to provide one of the strongest building blocks of Black Women’s Studies. Hailed by Eric Foner of Columbia University as “one of those publishing events which changes the way we look at a field,” it simultaneously filled a void in the literature and sparked new research and concepts regarding African American women in history. Since the first edition was published, a new generation of American black women has flourished, demanding this landmark reference be brought up to date. Women such as Venus and Serena Williams, Condoleezza Rice, Carol Moseley Braun, Ruth Simmons, and Ann Fudge have become household names for their remarkable contributions to sports, politics, academia, and business. In nearly 600 entries, Black Women in America celebrates the remarkable achievements of black women throughout history, highlights their ongoing contributions in America today, and represents the new research the first edition helped to generate.

‘Provides a global approach to the world of the book and is, in every way, a monumental achievement’ – CHOICE

The Oxford Companion to the Book is a unique work of reference, covering the book, broadly conceived, throughout the world from ancient to modern times. It includes traditional subjects such as bibliography, palaeography, the history of printing, editorial theory and practice, textual criticism, book collecting, and libraries, but it also engages with newer disciplines such as the history of the book and the electronic book. It pays particular attention to how different societies shape books and how books shape societies.

The work includes a substantial series of introductory essays alongside an A-Z section of over 5,000 entries, all linked by thorough cross-referencing and served by a classified index of entries.

The essays provide histories of the subject ranging from writing systems, the ancient and the medieval book, through central aspects of book production, to editorial theory and textual criticism, the economics of print, and the sacred book, as well as 29 surveys of the history of the book around the world, including the Muslim world, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa (these can be found under ‘Essay’).

The entries cover every aspect of this exceptionally rich and diverse subject, ranging from brief definitions and biographical entries to more extensive treatments. The text is illustrated throughout with reproductions, diagrams, and examples of various typographical features.

The Companion is the only reference book of its kind in the field, and has been written by 400 of the world’s best scholars in bibliography and book history.

Much loved for its wit and wisdom since 1870, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable takes you on a captivating adventure through its trademark blend of language, culture, myth and legend. As Susie Dent explains in the foreword, Brewer’s “is not a straightforward dictionary, nor is it an encyclopaedia. It is, in fact, unlike any other reference book that exists, anywhere.” This nineteenth edition encapsulates all the charm and wit that characterise its predecessors and maintains the standards of scholarship and eclecticism that have long been its hallmark.

Thoroughly updated with over 100 new and revised entries – think crowdsourcing, cyberpunk, iPad and mash-up – this unique resource is guaranteed to delight, entertain and inspire in the best Brewer’s tradition. Discover Brewer’s take on angels, heraldry, pub signs and recluses, and delve into the lexicographical world of the eggcorn. Whether you are a committed Brewerphile or a newcomer to its pages of fascinating entries, this edition will draw you in and keep you glued to its rich mix of eccentric nuggets.

This dictionary features broad-ranging entries on the history and doctrines of the major Buddhist schools, information on the spread of Buddhism in Asia and the West, and coverage of issues of contemporary concern such as human rights, abortion, euthanasia, ‘engaged Buddhism’, and the role of women in Buddhist teachings.

A comprehensive and accessible survey of the whole of Celtic mythology, legend, saga, and folklore. It covers the people, themes, concepts, places, and creatures of Celtic mythology, from both ancient and modern traditions, in 4,000 entries ranging from brief definitions to short essays.