商品簡介
A helpful list of 62 themes with their included entries precedes the entries themselves, which are arranged alphabetically. Among the themes: the arts; 20th-century decades; cultural institutions; education; the economy; food and drink; fashion and design; language and national identity; media, politics and history; religion, sport and leisure; and, a particularly large category, writers. Aiming to trace connections linking events and structures, as well as their evolution through time, the narrative sections, like those on decades and on individual countries, help readers weave a web to better catch the more specific entries. The encyclopedia covers high and popular cultures and their interactions, with variety and hybridity indicated on nearly every page. On one page, for example, one learns "Churubusco Studios" was founded in 1944 in the heyday of Mexican cinema, that "chutney" is a kind of up-tempo music with irreverent lyrics popular among East Indians in Trinidad and Guyana, and that the "CIA" was active in Guatemala in defense of the United Fruit Company and Bay of Pigs invasion. Entries over 400 words carry "Further Reading" sections, and the index is extensive. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
