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Choice
Reference Books
Bulletin/Booklist
Review from: Choice,
July 1998
This fifth edition replaces
and updates the fourth (1981) by adding 1,000 new firsts and completely
reorganizing the entries into broad subject groups. The reorganization
seems well thought out and will enable users to trace new developments
through the years in such subject areas as the military, movies,
education, buildings, and computers. Entries under
"Agriculture," for example, include the first agricultural fair
held annually (1641) and the first genetically altered plants (1986). The
new entries give a sense of the past 16 years, ranging from the first home
screening kit for HIV infection (1996) and the first secretary of state
who was a woman (1997) to the first American to hug the Queen of England
(1991) and the first war that was predicted by pizza orders (1991).
Indexes by years, days, personal names, and places remain, and a subject
index appears for the first time. Recommended for college, university, and
public libraries.
Review from:
Reference
Books Bulletin/Booklist, 1998
According to the preface,
Kane, a freelance journalists, spent the better part of 10 years traveling
around the U.S., gathering facts for what was intended to be a history of
American inventions. The fist edition of FFF was published in 1933—somewhat
grudgingly, by Halsey W. Wilson, "after receiving multiple requests
for the book from reference librarians to whom Mr. Kane had shown portions
of his manuscript." The book was so successful that it spawned a
radio program entitled Famous Fist Facts, hosted by Kane in
1938-39. It also led to the creation of several other reference standards,
including Facts About the Presidents and Facts about the States.
With the fifth edition, FFF
adds 1,000 new firsts and is extensively reorganized, making it much
easier to navigate. Arrangement is now by broad subject category, from
Agriculture to Writing implements. Many of these categories are broken
down into further divisions: Agriculture, for example, has 10
subdivisions, including Crops—Cotton; Flowers; and Livestock. Within
this structure, individual firsts are arranged chronologically. The
editors state the "much of the material in the previous edition was
consolidated to make room for the events of the recent past." New
firsts include astronaut who was a mother (1984), round-the-world
solo sailing trip by an African-American (1990), library to possess
100 million items (1996), and kosher cyber café (1997). Almost
half the volume is taken up by indexes. Instead of the extensive
cross-referencing developed by Kane, there is now a subject index, listing
entries from first abdominal operation other than a cesarean section to
zoo with twilight conditions. An index by years (from 10,000 B.C.
to 1997), and index by days, a names index, and a geographical index have
been continued from the previous editions.
The publication of the fifth
edition of Famous First Facts provides an opportunity to retire an
aging reference classic in favor of a newer model. According to the
publisher, FFF will also be available on CD-ROM and via the Web. |
