American travel writers, 1850-1915 /

A well-researched contribution to the series, this volume follows American Travel Writers, 1776-1864, ed. by James Schramer and Donald Ross (1997), continuing its coverage for 1850-1915. It presents writers who wrote in the travel genre and typify US society and civilization of the period. British travel writing is covered by British Travel Writers, 1837-1875 (1996), British Travel Writers, 1876-1909 (1997), and British Travel Writers, 1910-1939 (1998), all edited by Barbara Brothers and Julia Gergits. Each entry is written by a recognized expert, offers a concise biography, a bibliography of selected publications, and references. The biographies include a historical perspective of the time period, significant facts about the writer, and appropriate drawings and photographs. Entries often include a reproduction from the title page of one of the author's works. Recommended for all libraries; those that already subscribe to the series or specialize in travel literature will want to be sure to add this one. D. A. Forro; Michigan State University

The Dictionary of Literary Biography is certainly a well-known and excellent set that has real value for undergraduate literary research. But these costly volumes tumble out endlessly, with seemingly infinite variations and extensions on various literary themes. American Travel Writers, 1850-1915, for example, directly complements DLB's Volume 183, American Travel Writers, 1776-1864, making it clear that pre-1776 and post-1915 remain possibilities. British Reform Writers, 1832-1914 likewise complements DLB's Volume 158, which covers 1789-1832, leaving pre-1789 and post-1914 as additional possibilities. Approximately half of the writers included in these two new volumes show up in other volumes in different guises. But do we really need Nelly Bly in one volume as a journalist and in another as a travel writer, or five different variations on Henry James? Do we need this much information on secondary and even tertiary writers? One can, of course, instead use the "Concise" editions, although the "Concise" edition of the American series is now ten years old. Perhaps we should expect a revised "Concise" edition as well as another of Gale's revision series, since the earliest volumes of the primary set are now 20 years old. This set is too much of a good thing; most libraries can purchase only the most relevant volumes or wait for Gale's special discount offers.‘Peter A. Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., Mt. Pleasant, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.