100 Entertainers Who Changed America: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries

ABC-Clio’s 100 Entertainers Who Changed America, reviewed here in its e-book version, attempts what is by definition a highly subjective and debatable task. This reality is recognized and embraced by the editor in the book’s introduction. Sickels asserts that popularity is not the proper measure for determining which entertainers “changed America”. Instead, the most important factor is “influence”, although he provides no concrete parameters for how this factor has been weighed in making the selections. An expansive definition of “entertainer” has also been used in selecting subjects for this volume. Actors, singers and other performers are, of course, included...