There is an increasing tendency to give countries, especially developing countries and most particularly newly independent ones, “report cards” showing how well they’ve been doing and even to indicate their respective positions. Under these conditions, Kyrgyzstan might receive something like “needs improvement” or come in—more or less—in the second-to-bottom quarter. Shortly after it became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan was regarded as one of the more promising new states. But when the lessons it was obliged to learn were poorly digested (or perhaps the lessons themselves were poorly thought out), it gradually slipped and lost favor. More recently, however, this small country with a mixed population and limited natural resources has been making headway for many reasons: its political system and democracy, civil society, human rights, economic development, equality, and cooperation with the international community. It is much easier to understand Kyrgyzstan’s indifferent performance as an independent state with some insight into the previous decades and even centuries. The country began as a collection of tribes, and was then poorly absorbed and assimilated into the Russian Empire. Even before becoming an independent state, Kyrgyzstan was more or less rejected by its Soviet masters, classified as a semi-independent “republic.” Not many scholars have studied it, including its own, and not many have written about it; the country has for the most part been lumped together with the Russian and Soviet Empires, and even today normally appears just as part of the Central Asian Republics. So this Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan is particularly welcome because it makes up for previous omissions and fills a gap by providing basic information in a readily usable format. The dictionary contains the standard entries on significant people, places, and events; organizations and institutions; ethnic and political groups; and salient aspects of the economy, society, and culture. Both the chronology and introduction are unusually helpful in providing an overview of the country’s often halting progress, and the bibliography supplies references in English and other languages.

O-DAY is rooted in yesterday. The harvest of the autumn presupposes the plowing and sowing of the spring. The men of the present are the inheritors of the past and are never the earners of their best possessions. No nationality, university, business, church, association is wise to forget its debt to the men who wrought in the times of its beginning. The men responsible for the guiding of the vessel, as it safely bears its present cargo, ought to remember gratefully those who laid the ship's keel and made the anvils ring in patient preparation.

Mozambique is one of Africa’s larger countries and also has the potential to become one of its more important countries. It possesses many natural resources and has an active population that could again develop agriculture and commerce and then create an industrial base. It is located along the coast and provides a natural outlet for several landlocked neighbors. It is also strategically placed next to South Africa, the regional powerhouse. Regrettably, over the first decade of independence, it did not take advantage of those assets, partly because of a destructive civil war and partly because of its ideological orientation. Now that the war is over and it has reverted to a market economy, Mozambique should be able to make better progress. When the first edition of the Historical Dictionary of Mozambique appeared, I pointed out that Mozambique was one of the least-known African states. Little has happened to change that situation. Thus, there are few enough sources of information even today, which is particularly deplorable now that a fresh start is being made. Fortunately, this second edition can fill more of the gaps and bring the story up-to-date. This is done through an extension of the chronology, which recounts the more significant events, and an expanded dictionary section, which contains new and updated entries on persons, places, events, and institutions of note as well as crucial aspects of the economy, society, and culture. The bibliography has also been revised, with more new titles, many of them in English, but also in Portuguese. This second edition builds on the first, and the lead author is still Mario Azevedo, who wrote the first edition. Dr. Azevedo, who was born in Mozambique, is presently chair of the African-American and African Studies Department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has written extensively on Africa, much of this on Mozambique, including a book on Mozambique refugees. This time he is joined by Tomé Mbuia João, also a Mozambican by origin, who works as a broadcaster in Portuguese at the Voice of America, and Emmanuel Nnadozie, who is professor of economics at Truman State University. Together they have produced a very helpful and insightful work on a country that deserves to be better known.

Although it has actually been around since the early days of filmmaking, science fiction cinema is a contemporary and futuristic genre. It deals with events that usually take place at a far-off time and often faroff place; thus it appeals to the human desire to understand and perhaps predict the future. It also helps to explain science and technology and where they could be leading us. Science fiction cinema tackles prickly problems, often in a context that make them more real than reality— problems such as environmental degradation; overpopulation and pressure on space and goods; friction between the sexes, races, and nations; and the coming and substantially greater difficulties in dealing with rogue computers, robots, clones, and possibly even aliens (if we can believe what we see in the movies). Although science fiction cinema is often termed escapism, it is also an attempt to come to terms with a rapidly changing world. Consider the words of the great science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke: “We all want to escape occasionally. But science fiction is often very far from escapism, in fact you might say that science fiction is escape into reality. . . . It’s a fiction which does concern itself with real issues: the origin of man; our future. In fact I can’t think of any form of literature which is more concerned with real issues, reality.” This Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema is an excellent guide to the field. The chronology illustrates how long the movies have been around and charts some of the major advances—and films—over the years. The introduction then provides an overview, reminding us that science fiction cinema is hardly monolithic; rather, it consists of different genres, produced in an increasing range of countries, and using varying techniques. The bulk of the information, as usual, appears in the dictionary, with entries on directors, actors, and films. Other entries deal with topics such as monsters, alien invasions, utopia, and dystopia, as well as production sites (half a dozen countries), technical aspects, and new technologies (computer-generated imagery). The bibliography provides resources for further information. It was written by M. Keith Booker, who is the James E. and Ellen Wadley Roper Professor of English at the University of Arkansas. He is also the director of the university’s Program in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies. Therefore, Dr. Booker does not simply deal with science fiction in the abstract; he shows how films and their writers, directors, actors, and genres fit into a historical context and relate to us in the present. He has also written dozens of books on literature and popular culture—more broadly and more specifically, half a dozen books on science fiction, with two recent publications dealing with science fiction cinema: Alternative Americas: Science Fiction Film and American Culture and The Science Fiction Handbook. This volume, therefore, presents a wealth of experience and knowledge for a variety of audiences.

Historical dictionaries are useful books for all countries, but they are more essential for some than others. Albania is a case in point. Never particularly well known by outsiders under earlier regimes, it was deliberately and almost hermetically closed to the outside world during the communist era. Now it has thankfully become free again, its borders are open and it can be visited, and it is increasingly integrating with the rest of Europe and beyond. Nonetheless, it still remains relatively remote, and our knowledge of it is sparse. Worse, some of the things we think we know are wrong. So it takes a lot of effort to learn about Albania, although that was already lessened considerably by the previous edition of this Historical Dictionary of Albania, and will be even more so by the second edition. This volume takes a long view, presenting the various peoples, regimes, and rulers who shaped its earlier development and the leaders who are now seeking other, more promising directions, although not always successfully. Nonetheless, there has been progress, and it can best be seen by taking a long view, which is one of the strong points of this book. It also takes a very broad view, covering not only history and politics, but also economics and social customs, foreign policy, language, culture, and religion. And it adds a further dimension: the Albanians living outside of the country, whether in neighboring Kosovo or the more distant diaspora. Literally hundreds of entries in the dictionary section are buttressed by a list of acronyms, a chronology, and an introduction. And those who want to learn more about specific topics should consult the impressively large bibliography.

Sierra Leone is another African country that has had more than its share of troubles. Many of these were not even its fault. There were more than enough causes of friction; the country began as a colony, West Africa, like neighboring Liberia, to receive liberated Africans and freed slaves and evolved into a British protectorate that reached much farther inland and included a variety of ethnic groups, some in conflict with others. Still, Sierra Leone got off to a reasonable start politically and economically, despite differences within the elite, punctuated by military intervention. The worst troubles, however, resulted from the spread of Liberia’s civil wars into its neighbor, Sierra Leone. It took intervention by an African military force dominated by Nigeria to sort that out and to restore a tenuous peace. Now Sierra Leone has another chance, and with considerable effort and luck may fulfill some of its earlier promise. That is, at any rate, what the Sierra Leoneans and their friends hope. Much of this historical review of the country will be complicated and inexplicable to outsiders. Indeed, many Sierra Leoneans cannot grasp what has happened either. The causes and explanations—at least some of them—only become clearer with a rather long view, such as that provided by this Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone. It traces the history of the region from earlier times through colonial rule and into independence, through somewhat happier times into troubled times, and finally until the present. The course of events can be followed most simply through the chronology, and the explanations begin to fall into place with the introduction. But the core of the book is a compilation of several hundred entries in the dictionary concerning crucial events, ethnic groups, movements, political parties, and especially persons—persons whose actions and influence strongly impacted events. This study includes a bibliography, listing many sources that can shed further light on specific aspects and features of the country and its history. This is the second historical dictionary on Sierra Leone, the first having been written by Cyril Patrick Foray and published in 1977. That is more than 25 years ago, an exceptionally long time for books in this series. But it would have been hard to know exactly what was going on in Sierra Leone for the past decade or so. And it would have been even harder to find someone who could present it cogently. This meant it was necessary to wait until the right author could be found, ultimately in the person of C. Magbaily Fyle. Dr. Fyle knows Sierra Leone far better than most, having been born and educated in the country, having taught history at Fourah Bay College, and having also served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and university public orator. In addition, Dr. Fyle was a member of many boards and was a nonexecutive director of the Central Bank of Sierra Leone. Since 1991, C. Magbaily Fyle has been a professor in the African American and African Studies Department of Ohio State University. However, it takes more than knowing; it is also necessary to convey this information, something he has been doing for decades as the author of numerous articles and eight books, including The History of Sierra Leone: A Concise Introduction. This entirely new volume brings the story up to date for the many readers who want to know what happened and begin to understand why.

This scholarly treasury of over 450 distinguished quotations, divided into 170 categories, focuses on the best thinking in the disciplines of psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence, from the classical period of Greece to contemporary cognitive science. Quotations are arranged chronologically within categories. This work will be of interest to scholars and professionals in psychology, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science as well as undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines.

The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of New Zealand describes the many changes that have taken place during the past decade while building on the solid foundation of the first edition, which already traced New Zealand's long and lively history. The book's introduction gives an overall view of the country, while the chronology plots the path from the earliest settlers to the present. The dictionary includes hundreds of cross-referenced entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions as well as significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects. Everything from the examination of the relations between the Pakeha and the Maori to the country's environmental policy is covered in this reference. Further research is enabled by the extensive bibliography.

Despite the tendency of history to repeat itself, some eras are truly unique, the Chinese Cultural Revolution being a case in point. This was not a revolution, nor was it a civil war; it probably came closer to a free-forall. There were different sides, but the membership constantly changed, new ruling class against old ruling class, have-nots against haves, young against elders, uneducated against educated, countryside against city— just some of the dividing lines. This was exacerbated by ideology, but power was an even stronger drive. Some of the slogans of the time probably defi ne it just as well, such as “turning the world upside down to create a new world,” and it did look as if the monkey god had been let loose. Yet, even then, someone was pulling the strings and this someone was an aging Mao Zedong, unwilling to tolerate any rival and even to trust old comrades. For the greater part of the decade 1966–1976, the Cultural Revolution wreaked havoc in the world’s largest society, undermining the party, government, and army, weakening the economy, society, and culture, and affecting China’s 800 million people and harming or destroying an eighth of the population. The strongest hope among most of the survivors was never to live through such a period again and to make it truly unique. Given the confusion that reigned at the time and the uncertainty about many events that still prevails today, it is essential to have a book like this Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Cultural Revolution to help clear up some of the points. This book does not claim to be the last word, which is defi nitely in its favor, but it brings us another step closer to understanding what still remains an extremely convoluted and confusing era. This it does, fi rst, through a chronology tracing the events showing at least what happened and when. The introduction then endeavours to fl esh out the chronology by putting events and people in their places and showing how these events and people relate to one another. The countless details are extensively elucidated in entries on signifi cant persons, places and institutions, the more momentous events, the political and ideological movements, and much more. Since this did take place in China, the glossary is a useful tool for those researching it in Chinese. For those who want to know more, the bibliography is an excellent starting point.