Howgego, Raymond John. Encyclopedia of exploration, 1850 to 1940: continental exploration. Hordern House, 2008.
l,047p indexes ISBN 9781875567423, $277.27
This is the fourth and last volume of a very comprehensive set of encyclopedias on the history of exploration: the first covers to 1800 (CH, Jul'03, 40-6175); the second, 1800-50 (CH, May'05, 42-5001); and the third, the oceans, islands, and Polar regions, 1850-1940 (CH, Mar'07, 44-3645). This final volume covers continental exploration for the period 1850 to 1940 and has the same organization, layout, and impressive appearance as the previous ones. It features 911 major articles on explorers and 12 on regions, e.g., "Alaska: Inland Exploration, 1860-1900." The entries are written in a balanced, clear, and concise manner. Each entry contains separate bibliographies of primary and secondary sources. The volume is well indexed, with a general index and list of regional articles at the back. Separate listings for ships (1,072), all persons named (2,982), a geochronological index for all volumes, and addenda/corrigenda for the set are located at the publisher's Web site <http://hordern.com/publications/explorers-encyclopedia/index.aspx>. The complete set of four volumes represents one of the finest reference works to be produced in the last decade. It is far more comprehensive than The Oxford Companion to World Exploration (CH, Jul'07, 44-6017), ed. by David Buisseret. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. - S. R. McEathron, University of Kansas