Social forestry

This set is outstanding in both scope and comprehensiveness. Other geographical encyclopedias tend to be more narrowly focused (e.g., human geography, world geography), limited in content, or both. In this six-volume set, Warf (Univ. ofKansas; editor, Encyclopedia of Human Geography, CH, Jan'07, 44-2471) worked with942 authors to create a work of 1,224 entries, including more than 900 images and3,000-plus pages. The subject is organized into six categories: physical geography; human geography; nature and society (agriculture, environment and people, hazards, disasters, pollution, etc.); methods, models, and GIS (cartography, GIS, qualitative and quantitative techniques, and remote sensing); the history of geography; and people, organizations, and movements (over 150 biographies and 40 organizations). All entries are arranged alphabetically, and the main entries for the set are repeated in each volume. Volume 1 provides additional functionality by grouping entries within the six major categories into two to six subcategories, allowing readers to easily identify broad topics of interest. Detailed access is provided via a remarkable 200-page index at the end of volume 6. Warf acknowledges that entries are not comprehensive portraits, but rather essential overviews. Entries generally range in length from one to three pages, and are accessible to undergraduate students and the lay public. Larger topics, such as human geography, remote sensing, and history of cartography, are often 5-6 pages but can exceed 15. Many entries are accompanied by colored tables, graphs, charts, or photographs, and often are based on recent data. Cross-references to additional entries show the interrelatedness of topics. Finally, each entry has a further reading list ranging from 2 to 15 sources. Summing Up: Essential. A must for academic libraries and larger public libraries; lower-division undergraduates, upper division undergraduates, and general readers.