Part of Facts On File's A to Z of African Americans series, this volume deals with African American social reformers and political activists from the eighteenth century up to the present. Its intended audience is high-school students, undergraduates, and the general public. The author includes 164 profiles, each one between one and three pages long, with Martin Luther King Jr.'s entry the longest at almost four pages. Other entries include Joseph Cinque, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, and Sojourner Truth. Rummel has written other biographical works, such as Langston Hughes (Chelsea, 1988) and Malcolm X (Chelsea, 1989).The book begins with an introduction that provides historical context. The actual articles are listed in alphabetical order and include cross-references to other individuals profiled in the book. Fifty black-and-white photographs accompany the text. After each entry the author provides a list of further readings, and he has also included a general bibliography at the end of the work. There is a general index as well as one that lists individuals by year of birth and another by their main activities, such as abolition and education. In clear, concise language, the author manages to write entries that strike a good balance between the personal and the public, briefly sketching backgrounds before delving into accomplishments and professional activities. One minor flaw is the fact that so many of the further readings listed after each entry are Web based; at least one Web site we checked was already out of date and inaccessible. This book is recommended for high-school, undergraduate, and public libraries. Although there are other works that discuss reformers from a particular era, no other work covers this 200-year span.

Gr 8 Up-These biographical dictionaries highlight the lives and accomplishments of notable individuals, past and present. Each volume contains 125 to 200 alphabetical entries, all of which provide some biographical details and concentrate on events related to achievements in that field. Athletes includes sports from automobile racing to wrestling. An appended list subdivides major sports, so Ernie Banks and Derek Jeter are grouped under "Baseball Infielder" and Gale Sayers and Marshall Faulk under "Football Running Back." Unheralded women such as Earline Brown (shot putter) and Flo Hyman (volleyball) accompany more common names such as Althea Gibson. Performing Arts includes actors, dancers, choreographers, composers, and musicians and singers from ragtime to rap. Many entries, including those on Angela Bassett, Fats Waller, and Leontyne Price, provide cross-references to individuals who influenced the performers. Social Leaders contains abolitionists, separatists, civil rights activists, educators, newspaper publishers, and others whose efforts focused on the issues of their day. Entries on W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks accompany those on scores of lesser-known men and women. Nearly all entries have a Web-site reference. Science, Math, and Invention includes trailblazers who broke color barriers in their field, such as Frederick Drew Gregory, Deputy Administrator of NASA; and Sarah Breedlove Walker, the first self-made woman millionaire in the U.S. Average-quality, black-and-white portraits are scattered throughout. Overall, these are fine reference sources.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.