Adopting Popular Culture Association founder Ray B. Browne's definition of popular culture as "all the experiences in life shared by people in common, generally though not necessarily disseminated by the mass media," the new version of this encyclopedia covers 58 topics in great detail. Combining the contents of the Handbook of American Popular Literature (Greenwood, 1988) and The Handbook of American Popular Culture (2d ed., Greenwood, 1989), the Guide has eliminated chapters on advertising, detective and mystery fiction, and gender studies as being exhaustively addressed in other works. Chapters have been added on amusement parks, do-it-yourself home improvement, housing, living history and reenactments, museums and collecting, and New Age movements. The introduction has been lifted intact from The Handbook of American Popular Culture, but the front matter includes a lengthy new essay on the study of popular culture by Michael Dunne.
Articles, written by subject experts in generally readable (if not scintillating) prose, run between 20 and 50 pages in length. Each chapter includes a brief chronological survey of the development of the subject under consideration; a critical guide in essay form to the standard or most useful reference works, bibliographies, histories, critical studies, and journals; a description of research centers or sources of primary and secondary sources; and a checklist of works cited in the text. Aimed at a wide cross section of users, from reference librarians to general readers, the Guide serves as a sound source for research purposes as well as for interest reading. Some chapters (e.g., "Fashion" and "Television") include a pictorial section following the text of the chapter. Aside from the chapter-end illustrations, the text is amply illustrated in black-and-white photos and reproductions. The very extensive index provides a sound navigational aid.
The lengthy topical essays of this resource make it a complement to the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (St. James, 2000), and it is recommended for large public and academic libraries. RBB
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Review
“...a good starting point for 58 topics that range from automobiles and fashion to pornography. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.”–
“Starred Review ... an ideal starting point for serious research....Recommended for all academic libraries and medium to large public libraries.”–
“[t]hese bibliographic essays provide students with excellent, up-to-date direction for pursuing research on a broad spectrum of popular culture topics and are highly recommended for academic libraries.”–
“[A]n ambitious and scholary contribution to the field of popular culture....[T]here is no finer or more succinct reference source for those interested in popular culture's many manifestations.”–
“[i]ntended for the student and the serious researcher in need of guidance to quality sources for numerous topics related to popular culture. Reference librarians in academic as well as larger public libraries will turn to this set when guiding patrons to further sources and basic background information.”–
“Students searching for help in locating resources specific to different aspects of popular culture will find these volumes and excellent starting point....[T]his set would be an excellent addition to any high school or public library collection.”–
“There is no other reference work on the market just like this one....There is very little that Americans might choose to do with their spare time that is not discussed in this set....This set is excellent for research. Recommended.”–
“Aimed at a wide cross section of users, the Guide serves as a sound source for research purposes as well as for interesting reading....recommended for large public and academic libraries.”–
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