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The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change
Quaternary Science Reviews 21 (2002) 1915–1916
Book review
The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change Matthews, J.A. (Co-ordinating Editor); Arnold, Paris, 2001, 690pp, price d125 hardback, ISBN: 0340741090 In describing the aims of this book in the Preface, John Matthews suggests that the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change is intended to be an advanced work of reference for academics, teachers, students and others who may encounter issues related to environmental change in a wide range of disciplines and contexts. He also suggests that there is a clear niche for the book given the topical nature and social consequences of the issues covered. The book certainly has a comprehensive feel to it; in a hardbound A4 size and running to some 690 printed pages, there is plenty of ground covered. The book contains over 3400 terms and the treatment of these varies from simple, concise definitions of one or two sentences through to short review pieces of about 1000 words. It is this latter feature that justifies the word ‘encyclopaedic’ in the book’s title as the editors were obviously keen to ensure the text offered the benefits of both a dictionary and an encyclopaedia. In addition to John Matthews, nine other editors worked on the text and well over 100 contributors (the majority UK-based, but including a significant number from around the world) produced entries. The book is fully indexed and the vast majority of the entries are referenced, allowing the reader to follow up on particular topics in more detail if required. The crossreferencing between entries is also done in a clear fashion, making it easy to turn to related terms described elsewhere. The book is well illustrated, with numerous line diagrams and tables to support the text where appropriate. One of the obvious difficulties that must have faced the editors in compiling this book was defining the coverage and, in particular, deciding what terms to include or exclude. A broad approach has been adopted so the book includes terms related to environmental change over geological and recent timescales, including pre-Quaternary, Quaternary, Holocene, historical, current and potential future changes. A strong focus of the book is, however, on recent climatic change. In attempting to cover this broad territory, the text includes material from the natural environmental sciences such as physical geography, archaeology, PII: S 0 2 7 7 - 3 7 9 1 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 2 4 - 0
ecology, climatology and soil science, as well as materials from the social sciences. Applied material and techniques or methodological topics are also included. As an example, ‘induration’, ‘industrial revolution’, ‘infant mortality rate’, ‘inferential statistic’ and ‘infiltration’ sit side-by-side on the page, as do ‘paramagnetism’, ‘parameterisation’, ‘parasite’ and ‘parietal art’. Some of the longer entries would make a very good introduction to the topic in question for either students or non-specialists and a number of them take an almost mini-essay format. Good examples of these might be the entries on ‘desertification’, ‘human impact on environment’, ‘Holocene environmental change’ or ‘sedimentological evidence of environmental change’ but there are many others. While I’m sure some individuals will take issue with certain entries in their own specialist field, on the whole, the material appears to be very informative and up-to-date. Like the original Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Physical Geography (Goudie and Thomas, 2000) now in its third edition, which was an inspiration for the current book, The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change is actually quite interesting just to dip into and see where the cross-referencing leads you. It would also make an excellent reference book for both undergraduate and postgraduate students and so it is a great shame that the price will almost certainly stop the vast majority of these student groups from buying their own copy. At d125 for this hardback edition, the book is unlikely to be a casual purchase even for many academics working within the broad field of environmental change. This is not to say that the book is not worth the money; the title deserves to find its way onto academic bookshelves and should be considered as an essential purchase for geography and environmental science library collections. A soft-cover edition would, however, be most welcome, especially if it was priced at a similar level to one of Arnold’s other textbooks within this general field, the excellent 730 page Glaciers and Glaciation by Benn and Evans (1998). In summary, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change is a very valuable contribution to the literature on environmental change and the editors are to be congratulated for making an excellent job of such a large and difficult project.
1916
Book review / Quaternary Science Reviews 21 (2002) 1915–1916
References Benn, D.I., Evans, D.J.A., 1998. Glaciers and Glaciation. Arnold, Paris, 734pp. Goudie, A.S., Thomas, D.S.G., 2000. The Dictionary of Physical Geography, 3rd Edition. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 640pp.
John Walden School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews, Irvine Building, North Street, St Andrews, FIFE, KY16 3AL, UK
Book review
The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change Matthews, J.A. (Co-ordinating Editor); Arnold, Paris, 2001, 690pp, price d125 hardback, ISBN: 0340741090 In describing the aims of this book in the Preface, John Matthews suggests that the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change is intended to be an advanced work of reference for academics, teachers, students and others who may encounter issues related to environmental change in a wide range of disciplines and contexts. He also suggests that there is a clear niche for the book given the topical nature and social consequences of the issues covered. The book certainly has a comprehensive feel to it; in a hardbound A4 size and running to some 690 printed pages, there is plenty of ground covered. The book contains over 3400 terms and the treatment of these varies from simple, concise definitions of one or two sentences through to short review pieces of about 1000 words. It is this latter feature that justifies the word ‘encyclopaedic’ in the book’s title as the editors were obviously keen to ensure the text offered the benefits of both a dictionary and an encyclopaedia. In addition to John Matthews, nine other editors worked on the text and well over 100 contributors (the majority UK-based, but including a significant number from around the world) produced entries. The book is fully indexed and the vast majority of the entries are referenced, allowing the reader to follow up on particular topics in more detail if required. The crossreferencing between entries is also done in a clear fashion, making it easy to turn to related terms described elsewhere. The book is well illustrated, with numerous line diagrams and tables to support the text where appropriate. One of the obvious difficulties that must have faced the editors in compiling this book was defining the coverage and, in particular, deciding what terms to include or exclude. A broad approach has been adopted so the book includes terms related to environmental change over geological and recent timescales, including pre-Quaternary, Quaternary, Holocene, historical, current and potential future changes. A strong focus of the book is, however, on recent climatic change. In attempting to cover this broad territory, the text includes material from the natural environmental sciences such as physical geography, archaeology, PII: S 0 2 7 7 - 3 7 9 1 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 2 4 - 0
ecology, climatology and soil science, as well as materials from the social sciences. Applied material and techniques or methodological topics are also included. As an example, ‘induration’, ‘industrial revolution’, ‘infant mortality rate’, ‘inferential statistic’ and ‘infiltration’ sit side-by-side on the page, as do ‘paramagnetism’, ‘parameterisation’, ‘parasite’ and ‘parietal art’. Some of the longer entries would make a very good introduction to the topic in question for either students or non-specialists and a number of them take an almost mini-essay format. Good examples of these might be the entries on ‘desertification’, ‘human impact on environment’, ‘Holocene environmental change’ or ‘sedimentological evidence of environmental change’ but there are many others. While I’m sure some individuals will take issue with certain entries in their own specialist field, on the whole, the material appears to be very informative and up-to-date. Like the original Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Physical Geography (Goudie and Thomas, 2000) now in its third edition, which was an inspiration for the current book, The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change is actually quite interesting just to dip into and see where the cross-referencing leads you. It would also make an excellent reference book for both undergraduate and postgraduate students and so it is a great shame that the price will almost certainly stop the vast majority of these student groups from buying their own copy. At d125 for this hardback edition, the book is unlikely to be a casual purchase even for many academics working within the broad field of environmental change. This is not to say that the book is not worth the money; the title deserves to find its way onto academic bookshelves and should be considered as an essential purchase for geography and environmental science library collections. A soft-cover edition would, however, be most welcome, especially if it was priced at a similar level to one of Arnold’s other textbooks within this general field, the excellent 730 page Glaciers and Glaciation by Benn and Evans (1998). In summary, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change is a very valuable contribution to the literature on environmental change and the editors are to be congratulated for making an excellent job of such a large and difficult project.
1916
Book review / Quaternary Science Reviews 21 (2002) 1915–1916
References Benn, D.I., Evans, D.J.A., 1998. Glaciers and Glaciation. Arnold, Paris, 734pp. Goudie, A.S., Thomas, D.S.G., 2000. The Dictionary of Physical Geography, 3rd Edition. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 640pp.
John Walden School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews, Irvine Building, North Street, St Andrews, FIFE, KY16 3AL, UK