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Choice
Library
Journal
Reference Books Bulletin/Booklist
Midwest Book Review
Review from: Choice, February 2003
One of several "Famous First
Facts" publications that cover narrower subject areas than Joseph Nathan
Kane's basic Famous First Facts (5th edition, CH, Jul'98), this
title supplies nearly 4,000 environmental "firsts," arranged in standard
format: topics listed alphabetically with subdivisions, entries in
chronological order within each category. Approximately half the book is
devoted to five indexes: subject, year, month and day, personal name, and
geographical. A few entries are also found in Famous First Facts….The
broad topics include agriculture and horticulture, scenery, literature and
the arts, as well as more traditional environmental issues such as
pollution, land use, soil resources. Relatively new topics include
"Activist movements," which has seven subdivisions; "sustainable
development" has fewer basic entries, but others are scattered and can be
located only through the subject index….An enjoyable compilation of facts
important and trivial….suitable for public libraries and libraries with
comprehensive environmental collections.
Review from: Library
Journal, September 15, 2002
Similar to Famous First
Facts About Sports, this is another Wilson spin-off of Joseph Nathan
Kane’s classic Famous First Facts (FFF). Compiled by
Formica, a reference book producer, the volume lists 4,000 entries of
international environmental "firsts," using the same subject
classification system as FFF. Entries are first listed under a
major subject category, such as air pollution, climate and weather,
hazardous waste, population growth, and storm, which are then broken down
into various subdivisions. For instance, storms has six subdivisions,
including hailstorms, hurricanes, and ice storms. Entries are arranged
chronologically from 2,700,000,000 B.C.E. (the first verifiable glacial
epoch), through 2060 (the year the normal ozone level will return to the
stratosphere, if the substances that destroy the ozone are eliminated).
Each entry has a four-digit index number that is handy when using the
indexes. Almost half the volume is taken up by various indexes, including
subject, year, month and day, personal name, and geographical area. Only a
handful of entries, such as first national parks, dams, and recorded
earthquakes also appear in the original FFF. As with all FFF
titles, librarians will appreciate the tremendous effort required to
compile all this data in one convenient an easy-to-use resource. This
unique work should be purchased by any size library that needs an account
of environmental "firsts."
Reviewed by Eva Lautemann,
Georgia Perimeter College Library, Clarkston
Review
from: Reference Books
Bulletin/Booklist, Dec. 1,
2002
This volume is the latest in the respected Wilson
Facts Series and utilizes the same formula as Famous First Facts: A
Record of First Happenings, Discoveries, and Inventions in American
History (5th ed., H. W. Wilson, 1997). Editor Formica seeks to
“expand the record of important and interesting” environmental firsts
and presents them in this format from a global perspective. The nearly
4,000 facts are organized into alphabetically arranged subject categories
from “Activist Movements” to “Zoos, Aquariums, and Museums.” Many
categories contain further subcategories. For example, the subject heading
“Wildlife” is divided additionally into “Breeding,”
“Conservation,” “Control,” and “Preserves and Restoration.”
Entries range in length from one sentence to one paragraph and are
arranged chronologically within each category or subcategory. Each entry
is assigned a four-digit indexing number, beginning with 1001.
Nearly one-half of the volume contains the five
indexes: a subject index of topics mentioned in the entries, an index by
years (through 2002), an index by month and day, an index to persons
referred to in the main entries, and a geographical index. A “How to Use
This Book” page begins the work and is useful to readers unfamiliar with
the arrangement of other Famous First Facts books.
Although much of the information contained in this
work could be located in other reference tools, the variety of
environmental issues covered and the chronological presentation complement
other environmental resources. This comprehensive, detail-oriented, and
accessible compilation is a timesaving and valuable reference tool for
environmental researchers. Academic and public libraries alike will find
this a worthwhile purchase for their science reference collections.
Review
from: Midwest Book Review
Capably edited by Ronald J. Formica (Managing
Editor, New England Publishing Associates), Famous First Facts About The
Environment is a highly specialized and thoroughly "user
friendly", 573-page reference book. Half of the volume collects
nearly 4,000 facts about environmental "firsts", from activist
movements and geophysics, to zoos, aquariums, and museums. The second half
is an in-depth index that allows the reader to quickly and easily look up
the appropriate fact for just about any environmental subject matter. An
exacting and thorough gathering of fascinating environmental facts, Famous
First Facts About The Environment is an essential, core reference for
school and community library Environmental Studies collections.
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