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American Reference Books Annual 2004 
Lawrence Looks at Books, April 2003
Reference Reviews, October 2003
Wisconsin Bookwatch, June 2003

Review from: American Reference Books Annual 2004 

The latest edition of Current Biography Yearbook—now entering its seventh decade of publication--follows true to form to its predecessors (see ARBA 98, entry 22 and ARBA 93, entry 37). Indeed, the current volume is a bit more expansive than earlier editions in that it boasts more than 200 entries. There is a simple alphabetic arrangement of subjects, and all are currently living (or at least, were at time of publication). Although a high proportion of the biographical sketches are devoted to entertainment and sports figures, there is also a generous sprinkling of business, political, artistic, and intellectual leaders. The index by profession toward the end of the volume allows a quick overview of the range of endeavors pursued by the subjects. The sketches are generally limited to around 2,000 words, yet certain political figures, such as Harvey Pitt and Donald Rumsfeld, are given more in-depth examination. The individual portraits are not meant to court controversy, and each of the contributors clearly tries to be as even-handed as possible. As in earlier editions, the individuals being portrayed are allowed to speak in their own voice as much as possible.

The online version of this product, Current Biography Illustrated, provides more than 25,000 articles and obituaries provided from past issues of Current Biography. The biography's remain unchanged, but more than 19,000 illustrations are included on those profiled. Each year nearly 450 new biographies are added. Users can search by name, profession, place of origin, birth or death date, ethnicity, gender, or popular works. A bibliography provides users with new resources for further study. Building on its solid reputation, Current Biography Yearbook and Current Biography Illustrated remain an essential purchase for reference collections at all levels.

Review from: Lawrence Looks at Books, April 2003

Building on the success of the long-running Current Biography Yearbook, H. W. Wilson has introduced a new annual focusing on newsmakers outside of the United States. In a fashion similar to the original, Current Biography International Yearbook details the lives of 200 celebrities from all walks of life. Activists, artists, businessmen, conservationists, writers, musicians, athletes and scientists are surveyed. Activist Vandana Shiva, Canon President Fujio Mitarai, actress Emmanuelle Béart, author Gabriel García Márquez, explorer Sir Edmund Hillary and Australian runner Cathy Freeman are among those featured. This inaugural guide is particularly strong on political biographies, with sketches of Yasir Arafat, Queen Elizabeth II, Paul Kagame, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, Vladimir Putin, Ariel Sharon and Desmond Tutu. The entries provide pronunciation guides for the individual's name, mailing addresses, detailed biographies that are often based on interviews or published writings, and suggested readings. This new guide matches the quality of the original in every way and will increase the depth of biographical collections.

How does the new companion volume affect the content of the original Current Biography Yearbook? Well, this year's edition is perhaps a little less cosmopolitan -- fewer than 10 percent of the entries feature foreign nationals. Some, like film director Peter Jackson, Japanese slugger Ichiro Suzuki, opera singer Olga Borodina, and tennis stars Anna Kournikova and Lleyton Hewitt, have enjoyed some success in the United States. Others, like the newly elected President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and Nobel Prize-winning writer José Saramago, are enjoying particular prominence of late. As usual, the 205 entries feature a pleasantly surprising mix of newcomers and established figures. For instance, the selection includes Michael Bloomberg, Hillary Rodham Clinton, David Letterman, "Dr. Phil" McGraw, George Lucas and Tom Brokaw, as well as anthropologists Sherry Ortner and Olga Soffa and musical groups Creed and Fugazi. Ann Landers, Alan Lomax, Rosemary Clooney, Lionel Hampton and Billy Wilder are among the 136 obituaries noted this year. Although the pictures are occasionally muddied, Current Biography Yearbook remains an excellent resource for finding substantial biographies of prominent people.

Review from: Reference Reviews (UK), Vol. 17, #8

Now in its seventh decade of publication, Current Biography Yearbook will be familiar to all those with an interest in biographical reference material. The entries remain, as before, at an average of 2,500 words in length, each being an account of the subject's life and career with basic biographical statistics, a monochrome photograph, assessments of the person's contribution to her or his field of endeavor and a bibliography. The profiles attempt to be objective and, indeed, are largely factual, with elements of critical appraisal being injected through direct quotations from named commentators….

The articles in Current Biography Yearbook are full of valuable background information, not only about the subject but also on her or his chosen area of work. In reading about the commander in chief of United States Central Command, General Tommy Franks, one is informed of the role of his post in "directing the day-to-day combat operations of the American-led antiterrorism campaign" and that "together with President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, Franks is one of the four military and government officials charged with leading the military portion of the campaign." Furthermore, there are profiles of people from widely differing backgrounds—that of the aforementioned Myers immediately follows one on Ty Murray, a professional cowboy and rodeo performer. It should also be noted that there are entries for musical groups (from the Emerson String Quartet to the rock group Flaming Lips) and the occasional re-written entry such as that for the actress Maggie Smith that updates an earlier article which appeared in Current Biography in 1970.

The volume is completed by 60 pages of brief obituaries, …a classification of entries by profession and the index to the January 2001 to November 2002 issues of Current Biography.

Review from: Wisconsin Bookwatch, June 2003

Current Biography Yearbook 2002 with Index 2001-2002 is a solid collection of biographical sketches of notable people from all walks of life, from politicians to actresses to anthropologists, children’s writers, golfers, and more. A black-and-white photograph of each featured individual along with a concise yet information-packed summary of his or her life makes for a first rate, at-one’s-fingertips reference for a cross-section of the best and the brightest of 2002.