Bibliographies and Guides to Historical Literature
American Foreign Relations since 1600: A Guide to the Literature / Robert L. Beisner, editor. - Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2003. - 2 v. (xviii, 2065 p.) ; 26 cm. - Rev. ed. of: Guide to American foreign relations since 1700 / edited by Richard Dean Burns. 1983. - Includes bibliographical references and indexes. - Call Number: REF E183.7.G84
Excellent annotated bibliography covers the full span of U.S. diplomatic history with over 16,000 entries covering reference works, primary materials, historiography, biographical, thematic and geographical studies, and much more. Organized into 32 chapters following a chronological pattern, about three-fourths of the bibliography is devoted to 20th century topics. This should be the first stop for any student doing a research paper on a topic in U.S. diplomatic history.
The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature / general editor, Mary Beth Norton; associate editor, Pamela Gerardi. - New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. - 2 v.; 27 cm. - Call Number: REF D20.A64
Carefully selected books and articles covering all major topic areas in historical research. Not intended to be exhaustive; instead the editors emphasize the best and most important works published for each subject area, concentrating on writings published between 1961 and 1992. All entries contain brief, useful annotations. Section 47 in Volume 2, "International Relations, 1815-1920," details the material most relevant to the course. Should be supplemented with a search in relevant history databases (e.g., Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life) and the Book Reviews section of the Journal of American History, the American Historical Review and other journals for the period after 1992.
The American History Highway: A Guide to Internet Resources on U.S., Canadian, and Latin American History / Dennis A. Trinkle, and Scott A. Merriman. - Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2007. - Dennis A. Trinkle and Scott A. Merriman, editors.; Includes index. - Call Number: E16.5.A46
Organized under topical and chronological headings, this guide features 37 chapters with annotated citations to web sites selected by the editors as useful for historical research. The book contains a CD-ROM with a PDF version of the text for easier direct-to-web browsing of the contents.
1,184 numbered references to English-language materials relating to the military history of the U.S., including all branches of the armed forces. Also functions as an accessible, selective guide to other relevant reference sources in military history. The first 14 chapters offer a chronological treatment of armed conflicts from the Colonial era through the Persian Gulf War. The remaining nine chapters treat specific topics such as terrorism and intelligence and espionage, and various information resources such as journals and organizations and associations. Approximately two-thirds of the entries have annotations that vary greatly in length from a few words to half a page, but are pertinent and clearly written. PLEASE NOTE that this is an electronic book; access to it from off-campus requires the creation of a personal netLibrary account on campus. [Choice]
American Popular Culture: A Guide to the Reference Literature / Frank W. Hoffmann. - Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. - Includes indexes.; Electronic reproduction. Boulder, Colo. : NetLibrary, 2000. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to NetLibrary affiliated libraries. - E169.1H64 [E-BOOK]
Bibliographic guide to reference materials and other sources of information on popular culture in the U.S. Along with the topical chapters, there are also chapters on special research collections, societies and associations dedicated to popular culture, and important journals in the field. PLEASE NOTE that this is an electronic book; access to it from off-campus requires the creation of a personal netLibrary account on campus.
Handbook for Research in American History: A Guide to Bibliographies and other Reference Works / Francis Paul Prucha. - Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, c1994. - ix, 214 p. ; 23 cm. - Includes index. - Call Number: REF E178.P78
One of the best guides to reference sources in history. Describes 1,000 titles under 19 source-type categories, including manuscripts, oral history materials, government documents, local history collections, statistics, and picture sources. Does not include the web.
United States History: A Selective Guide to Information Sources / Ron Blazek, and Anna H. Perrault. - Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1994. - Includes indexes.; Electronic reproduction. Boulder, Colo. : NetLibrary, 2000. Available via World Wide Web. - E178.B57 [E-BOOK]
The editors successfuly span the chasm between traditional listings of sources in American history and the burgeoning literature of the "new" history's attention to social and economic history of minorities, urban areas, science and technology, and popular culture during the last 30 years. Arranged by broad topic areas (general, politics and government, diplomacy, military, regional history, economics) the guide balances its focus by devoting 420 of its 947 main entries to the section on social, cultural, and intellectual history. Content coverage ends in 1975, but sources were published as late as 1993. Many main entries offer, besides lucid evaluative annotations, cross-references to "minor entries." There is an author-title-subject index. Entries are subdivided somewhat artificially in each subject category into sections entitled "library resources," "bibliographic sources," "information sources," and "biographical sources," and annotations spotlight strong points for the source, such as biographies, for particular groups of users. An essay prefacing each topic describes: publishing and research trends in that area; related associations and their publications; data sets such as census and those of Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, and the usefulness of indexes available in electronic format. [Choice]
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