References sources provide information about specific people, events, and topics. These can be great sources to help identify effect keywords when searching primary sources, and often provide citations for additional information including other primary or secondary sources.
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations by Using humanistic principles to strip away the jargon and narrowness inherent in much of modern-day political scholarship, this historical encyclopedia reclaims the breadth of vision, the privileging of factual evidence over theory, and the moral tenor prevalent in classical political inquiry. Over 6,000 alphabetically arranged entries accompanied by 29 maps make this single-authored set the definitive desktop reference work on international relations and international history. The book's primary focus is upon the rise of the Great Powers and the course of world civilizations, their formative wars and diplomatic, political and economic relations. But a serious effort is made to cover all of the smaller and less powerful regions and their local history, along with how progressive inclusion into the modern state system affected them, both for good and ill. Written with elegant clarity and leavened by healthy doses of professional skepticism and humor, this thoroughly cross-referenced work addresses general as well as specialized readers seeking clear and concise sketches of the topics, simple and complex, that have shaped political and historical developments in our world. The work takes firm stands on important issues. It is not morally neutral on the meaning of historical persons or events. But it is eminently fair: its standard of objectivity and judgment has been to write aout all nations, religions, and events as a historian without country or religion, in the words of John Quincy Adams. While remaining deeply serious and cognizant of the role of the tragic in human history, this book often displays biting wit and overall personality--a great benefit of the single-author approach. Whether or not readers agree with a given interpretation, they are always paid the deep respect of having their intellect minds and moral consciousness engaged with the deeper meaning of the history of international public affairs.
Encyclopedia of the Interwar Years: From 1919 to 1939 by 
The Encyclopedia of Propaganda by The Encyclopedia of Propaganda examines in great detail the historical, political, sociological, cultural, and artistic aspects of this propaganda around the world. It addresses those forms of communication--mass communication in particular--that are intended to produce changes in thinking and behavior. This well-organized, easy-to-use A-Z reference will be a valuable research tool for students of world history, politics, and literature, and essential for those needing to make judgments about the credibility and relevance of the information they encounter. [.rt error 1]
The Encyclopedia of the Modern World by Covering the beginnings of the 20th century up to the present day with great detail and depth, more than 8,000 entries contain comprehensive information unavailable in any other similar volume. This highly detailed encyclopedia spans the full extent of world history since 1900, including world leaders, diplomacy, conflicts, government, explorers, inventions, music, literature, film, athletes, and more. Originally compiled from numerous Facts On File publications, this new edition has been completely updated by a senior scholar in world history and now contains hundreds of new entries concerning recent events. To accommodate the new entries, artwork, and recent information, this new edition has been expanded into three easy-to-use volumes. New entries include: Al Qaeda; Madeleine Albright; Kofi Annan; Osama bin Laden; Tony Blair; George W. Bush; William Jefferson Clinton; Clones and cloning; Czech Republic; East Timor; European Union; Bill Gates; Globalization; Human Genome Project; Islamism; Steven Jobs; Hamid Karzai; Microsoft; Napster; NASDAQ; Vladimir Putin; J.K. Rowling; September 11, 2001; and Tiger Woods.
Nations and Nationalism by A comprehensive and revealing compilation of essays analyzing the varied dimensions of national identities and nationalisms across world regions and through time. The pervasiveness of nationalism, its many manifestations over the centuries, and the widely scattered way it has been studied make it a particularly difficult subject to approach and explore. ABC-CLIO offers the finest comprehensive reference available on an essential topic in modern world history. Across four volumes, Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview covers all aspects of nationalism, in all parts of the world, from the time of the French Revolution to the present day. Nations and Nationalism helps students, researchers, and other interested readers explore national identities and nationalistic movements in historical context. Organized chronologically, its four volumes combine thematic essays on different characteristics of nationalism with case studies of key historical developments involving specific nations at specific times. The encyclopedia focuses on Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with featured coverage of nationalist cultural creations, including literature, music, symbols, and mythologies. * Over 150 contributors--distinguished international scholars from a wide range of disciplines * Over 100 country essays covering all major world regions from the origins of modern nationalism in the 18th century to the present * Over 40 thematic essays that frame the country studies with discussions of different contexts and central issues in the development of nations and nationalism * Hundreds of photographs and illustrations portraying important persons, monuments, places and artifacts *Over 60 historical and modern maps to help orient the reader * A general index offering access to the entries by different topics, places, and persons
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World by The Encyclopedia of the Modern World delves into the period from 1750 to the present, providing special attention to social, economic, cultural and political topics applicable to the time.The breadth of knowledge offered within this multivolume set is astounding, with features spanning articles on countries, regions, and ethnic groups; themes involving social history, demography, family life, politics, economics, religion, thought, education, science and technology, and culture;events such as major wars; and extensive coverage of the United States. Detailed articles cover not only the major facts but the interpretations as well and are written for readers who are not specialists in the particular area. Enriched with over 800 halftones and 50 maps, this reference work isessential for any scholar, general reader, collector or curator interested in this rich and varied time in history.Through its fluent global coverage The Encyclopedia of Modern World provides information about and interpretation of major developments across particular regionsboth salient events and regional perspectives on common themes such as politics, demography, social class, and gender. Readers can exploretopics that have global implications, such as migration, childhood, and foods, topics that can be viewed through a combination of global patterns and key comparisons. Entries also shed light on standard geographic and ethnic units, such as Scandinavia, Korea, or the Gypsies, in the modern period.The Encyclopedia presents unprecedented coverage of global processes and institutions themselves including the International Red Cross, and the League of Nations. All readers alike will benefit from the vast outpouring on world history in the modern period all captured within this convenientresource.