Some Sources of Contemporary Biography Available to Purchase

The paths of research into historical biography are well‐trodden and familiar, but the jungle of documentation leading to similar information about our contemporaries is by comparison almost unmapped territory. For there are gaps in the coverage of reference books relating to contemporary biography and unco‐ordinated chapters sometimes lie in unexpected places. To make available anything like comprehensive data on the personalities of our time, therefore, demands acquaintance with a variety of material, not all of which is within the purview of normal library stock. The scope of the present inquiry relates to some of these factual and critical sources where they are accessible in printed form. It is not concerned with letters, family papers or other documents which are more the province of the biographer than the librarian.