This set revises the publisher's The Twentieth Century: Great Events (1992) and supplement (1996) and The Twentieth Century: Great Scientific Achievements (1994) and its supplement (1997). About 25 percent of the 1,000-plus articles are updated, and more than 200 articles have been added, offering a wide-ranging overview of events from 1900 until the 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Arrangement is chronological. Each volume has a complete list of contents as well as a «Category Index» that lists entry headings alphabetically under more than 60 topics, such as agriculture or weapons technology. Each one-thousand-word article begins with a headline-style title that announces the event (e.g., «Allies Fight Turkey at Gallipoli,» «Nepal's Crown Prince Murders His Royal Family»), followed by a sentence or two summarizing the event and its significance. A shaded box pinpointing the «What,» «When,» «Where,» and «Who» of the event is followed by a more detailed description and a discussion of the immediate impact of the event as well as its impact over time. Black-and-white maps and photographs add value. The last volume of the set offers a time line of each event, noting the category and the country or region involved. The «Geographical Index» lists selected articles under the names of more than 225 localities. The «Personages Index» is an alphabetical list of the more than 3,000 individual names that appear under the «Who» category in the shaded box of each entry. Finally, the «General Subject Index» includes all names in the «Who» boxes as well as anyone found in the article text. It is debatable whether some events, such as «Pets.com Announces Withdrawal from the Internet,» truly qualify as «great.» Nevertheless, this well-organized set provides useful summaries for middle-school students and up and should be considered by every library that serves them. RBB.

Great Events: 1900-2001 supersedes Great Events: The Twentieth Century (13v., 1992) and Great Scientific Achievements: The Twentieth Century (10v., 1994) and their supplements, whose coverage is limited to international events, political history, and science/technology. Articles in the work under review describe major events, have a brief summary, a "what, when, where, who" fact box, and an essay averaging two pages in length that provides clear details and consequences. Essays are signed; the first volume has a roster of contributors with their affiliations. Recent years are covered more extensively; the first two and one-half volumes are devoted to 1900-50, the last two and one-half to events since 1990. Each volume lists contents for the entire set and supplies an index by discipline. The final volume has a general index (121 pages) of categories, places, persons, and subjects along with a time line, which is redundant, since articles are organized chronologically. The set is printed in a readable font, has black-and-white illustrations and maps, and is continuously paged. Bibliographies would increase the set's interest to scholars, but the set is intended for a middle school audience and higher. Its information is available elsewhere, but the essays and arrangement are nicely done. Recommended for general readers and lower-division undergraduates. L. B. Harris University of South Carolina Lancaster