Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia - Hardcover

"Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia is the type of reference work that students will naturally turn to in order to locate background information on a topic. Each chapter provides a straightforward treatment that places the issue in historic context while keeping a focus on current status and recent developments. In addition, each chapter offers solid leads to books, journal articles, and Web resources useful in furthering a student's research. Libraries serving undergraduates and high school students with assignments on global issues will find this set worth considering." --Against the Grain

"This valuable three-volume reference work will be especially useful for undergraduate students because it covers topics that are of high interest and frequently chosen. ... The essays offer readers thorough and detailed background on each issue, including historical development and contemporary perspectives. Especially useful are the current statistics that are frequently included. ... This set is particularly valuable for its international coverage and clear explanations of social issues with historical perspectives. The 70-page index increases functionality and improves the subject access. An indispensable addition for college libraries and for large high school collections. Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers." --Choice

"Although there are numerous works on globalization which discuss, in whole or in part, many of the same subjects, this one stands out for its explicit emphasis on social issues. ... Admittedly ambitious, it, nonetheless, accomplishes what it sets out to do (i.e., address many of the major issues confronting global society). Students of global studies and international relations should find it a useful source for authoritative overviews and background information. Recommended for both academic and public libraries." --Reference Reviews

A tour de force compendium of 136 current concerns, Sharpe’s three-volume overview summarizes the parameters and possible outcomes of world problems ranging from government secrecy and underground economies to polio outbreaks and higher education. Written by 91 contributors from the U.S., Holland, Britain, Germany, Austria, Chile, France, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, and Australia, the entries present the difficulties inherent in settling controversies in clear language, charts, and photos. Commentary includes the historical impact of Ryan White’s death from AIDS, the global proliferation of tobacco use, the struggle of the Maori for indigenous people’s rights, educational parity for women, and the World Bank’s influence on deforestation. Corroborative documents present historic opinions, as with the 1996 U.S. Defense of Marriage Act, a 2009 World Health Organization overview of pharmaceutical controls, and a 2012 summation of U.S. anti-cyberbullying laws. Entry bibliographies include timely books, journal articles, and electronic-source material. Primary and secondary indexes guide users to such specifics as five instances of oil spills, five ethnic issues, and nine examples of malnutrition. A valuable, reasonably priced reference set for school and public libraries, this deserves a space on the social-studies shelf. --Mary Ellen Snodgrass