This is, claims the preface, the first concise version of the Chambers Biographical Dictionary. The overall impression is of a densely packed, wide‐ranging, and up to date desk reference book. The typeface is rather small and the page‐layouts cramped, but with over 10,000 entries covered in 1,000 pages, it is excellent value for £15 (hardback). It is also a no‐fuss reference work; we go straight in with Finnish architect and designer, Alvar Aalto, Biblical Patriarch Aaron, and US baseball player Hank Aaron, and finish with King Zog, Émile Zola, Zoroasta, Baron Zuckermann, Ulrich Zwingli and Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (b. 1944), Russian Communist politician and rival to Boris Yeltsin in 1966. Apart from some abbreviations listed at the start and some picture credits at the end, that is it – pure reference. The entries are workmanlike and cover the essential facts, yet they read well and eschew hyperbole. References to other entries highlighted are in bold type. A modicum of pictures and some “one‐liners” from the famous are scattered throughout the work.
The international coverage is impressive; all subjects are covered – politicians, sports personalities, artists, writers, scientists; and currency is good. Featured in my morning's newspaper and included here were David Davis (UK Conservative Party politician), John Prescott (UK Deputy Prime) Minister, Mohammed Al Fayed, J.K. Rowling, Saddam Hussein, Bill Wyman (ex‐Rolling Stone) and Keith Waterhouse (UK journalist) (though not Chris Eubank, Sir Jimmy Young or Nasser Hussain).
This is an excellent biographical resource. For such a wide coverage, the Chambers Concise Biographical Dictionary will be hard to match. Suitable for all types of library, large and small.
