Heads of State and Government

Rating:
Summary: Sound reference work worthy of a 3rd edition.
Review: The 1st edition of this work was designed as a comparatively short reference guide to leaders of mostly present day nations. In the 2nd edition, coverage of both global leadership and major international organizations has been expanded considerably.

Newly emerged countries and their leaders are included. Contrary , however, to da Graca's preface to the 2d edition the scope of this work has not been broadened; rather its coverage has been deepened. This new edition is structured into four parts: front matter, which oddly enough includes an interesting section called "Statistical Records" that might serve the reader better as a more fully developed section of its own or as an appendix; "Section A: Major International Oganizations"; "Section B: Countries and Regions"; and a surname index.

Since the number of international organizations covered has increased nearly threefold, the title should perhaps be expanded to reflect the inclusion of this area. Also, because "Major International Organizations" is a briefer section, it might make sense to position it after the main "Countries and Regions" section.

In comparing the 1st edition with the 2nd, it is clear that the author has done an outstanding job in his research. The text is crisp, well articulated, and to the point. The work's primary strength lays in its unique presentation of historic political succession rather than those leaders on the current scene. It fills a niche in the college or university collection as an exhaustive, chronological register of past world leaders. It supplements or works in tandem with other reference tools, such as historical gazetteers and annual political handbooks.

This resource would benefit greatly from several additional elements-an inclusion criteria statement that explains why certain organizations were selected or omitted, a glossary of leader titles (e.g., prime minister, emir, viceroy, caliph) for the political novice or typical college freshman, and additional indexing. A geographic index is a necessity in this type of work. Readers looking for Tibet or Taiwan, for instance, may be surprised that no independent entry or cross-referencing exists. Should the author and publisher decide to release a 3d edition, this title would be a strong candidate for a multi-volume work and an even stronger candidate for an online database.

-Timothy E. McMahon and Kathryn M. Blessing