According to the foreword, this strongly US biased dictionary includes “comprehensive coverage, succinct definitions, remarkable readability, and sophisticated explanations of both classical and contemporary concepts, ideas and terms”. The coverage includes public and public service organizations and policies, multinational and international. The consulting editors are all based at American universities, and as a whole the dictionary is well compiled, clearly laid out, and easy to use. Entries are marked in bold and cross‐references in upper case.
The dictionary begins with Ability to pay and ends with Zoning, Spot. In between is a huge range of entries. These range from one‐line explanations of straightforward subjects such as accounting and Gantt charts, to more complex multiple definitions of concepts such as administration. The dictionary also includes brief biographies of important policymakers, from Edmund Burke to Aristotle, and international terms such as balance of payments, balance of power and balance of trade. There are some good definitions throughout of days that have changed the world, and terms that have come to acquire additional meanings. The definition of black is particularly interesting here, although UK readers would need to bear in mind that the British equivalent of Black Friday was Black Wednesday.
This dictionary is full of snippets of information – if you want to find out about the origin of the word boycott, this is the place to look. Many of the terms originated in the world of war. Clausewitz, the famous Prussian General who wrote a military treatise, features, as do Commander in Chief, damage control, and collateral damage. Phrases that have become increasingly familiar in the news of the day can all be found here: whether you need a definition for the brain drain, the origin of Catch‐22, or to find just what contracting out really means, this dictionary can help.
There are some differences between UK and US terms of which the reader should be aware. The cooling off period and the minimum wage, for example, both appear to be different in the USA from the UK. Many of the Civil Rights Acts mentioned and the many entries on federalism are irrelevant to the UK, although they do give an interesting picture of American society. There is a very American bias in many of the entries – the entry on global warming is particularly telling. The Kyoto agreement is also conspicuous by its absence. The tax section, as would be expected, is very US biased and there are many entries on organization. The entries for some American topics, however, could be welcome if taken up in the UK. The concept of “potty parity”, for example, where sufficient toilet facilities are provided in public places for both men and women, would meet with applause from British females.
There are some intriguing entries that are not where they might be expected. The needs hierarchy of life in general, for instance, is in the dictionary, but not under Maslow. Some of the laws that are outlined are not government made, but the unofficial laws of nature. Here too, there are some curious omissions. Miles’ Law (“Where you stand depends upon where you sit”, which holds that views change depending on who you are working for) gets a mention. Murphy's Law (the law that anything that can go wrong will) does not. This book taught me at least one new term: if you need a synonym for gobbledegook, then bafflegab appears to be a worthy choice. I also learned a clear definition of Mickey Mouse style of management and exactly what constitutes a sinecure.
This dictionary would be of use to those studying the American constitution, to journalists covering American public affairs, and to the generalist looking to gain an overview of the subject area. As long as the reader bears in mind that this is aimed squarely at a US readership, this would be a cost‐effective and valuable addition to the reference shelf.
