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American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Frohnen, B., J. Beer, and J. O. Nelson (eds.). (2006). American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia. Wilmington, Del.: ISI Books.

PURPOSE

According to the editors’ introduction, this encyclopedia was created to “contribute to the ongoing effort to understand what it has meant – and still means – to be a conservative in America” (Frohnen, et. al., 2006, x). It offers information about “persons, schools, concepts, organizations, events, publications, and other topics of major importance to the nature and development of the conservative intellectual movement in American since World War II” (Frohnen, et. al., 2006, xiii). Finally, “the intent of this volume is to provide coverage of those matters of importance to each of the major schools of postwar conservative thought and to do so as evenhandedly as possible” (Frohnen, et. al., 2006, xiv).

AUTHORITY

Each entry is signed. A list of contributors appears at the end of the encyclopedia, with a brief biography of each author, providing credentials. The contribution list could also be valuable for students desiring to study conservatism further, as it provides names of professors and writers who may have further resources published on American conservatism.

SCOPE

The entries are topics that have been important to the shaping of the intellectual conservative movement since World War II (Frohnen, et. al., 2006, xiii). The intended audience is for students, journalists, academics, and lay readers who are interested in the conservative intellectual movement (Frohnen, et. al., 2006, xiii). The scope is mostly limited to topics that are after 1945 and are American in nature.

FORMAT

The work is easily readable in normal type, and is not very heavy in bulk. It is only one volume, and the pages will not easily rip as they are used over time. For students of political philosophy and politics in general, this resource will be a good starting point to learn basic information about leading events, places, and persons involved in the American conservatism intellectual movement since World War II. Furthermore, each entry provides further reading suggestions at the end of the entries, providing further resources for research, as well as a “see also” section for related entries found with this encyclopedia.

ARRANGEMENT

The beginning of the book provides an alphabetical listing of entries. The entries themselves then proceed in alphabetical order. Each letter is broken down into its topics. An extensive index is also available to users to quickly locate a specific topic within the encyclopedia.

ENTRIES

The encyclopedia includes 626 entries (Frohnen, et. al., 2006, xiii). These entries vary from 250 to 2,500 words in length (Frohnen, et. al., 2006, xiii). The entries include biographical data, discussion of events, dates, etc. The entries are typical encyclopedia entries.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Special features include the further reading section, as well as the occasional picture of a person or document or place.

USE

This encyclopedia can be used as a good starting point for research on American government, especially when the topic deals with political philosophy. Not only do the entries provide basic information about the American conservatism movement, the entries also provide useful information for further reading materials on the topic at hand. College students, graduate students, and professors alike could find this reference resource very useful. For an academic library that includes more than one course in American government, this resource could provide valuable guidance for American government and political science research papers.

CRITIQUE

At Amazon.com, the book is available right now for $34.65. According to the Booklist review that is available with the book’s page on Amazon, “its bargain price should make it affordable for most” (Amazon.com, n.d.). Also, the Booklist review suggests that the book might fill a gap that could exist in many library’s collections, with its unique subject material.

Overall, I found the book to be very easy to use and navigate, and the entries were informative and not too political in nature. The book proves to be an important resource for students of American politics, in understanding the American conservatism movement of the past 60 years.

REFERENCES

• Frohnen, B., J. Beer, and J. O. Nelson (eds.). (2006). American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia. Wilmington, Del.: ISI Books.
• Amazon.com. (n.d.) American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia: Books: Bruce Frohnen, Jeremy Beer, Jeffrey O. Nelson. Retrieved May 5, 2007, from http://www.amazon.com/American-Conservatism-Encyclopedia-Bruce-Frohnen/dp/1932236430
• Information originally posted on LI813 Spring 2007 Class Wiki; information last updated there, May 7, 2007.

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