Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability 7/10: China, India, and East and Southeast Asia: Assessing Sustainability

Reviews

1. Choice – 2012-07-01

   In their introduction [to the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, vol. 7: China, India, and East and Southeast Asia: Assessing Sustainability] the editors acknowledge that encyclopedias give a picture of what is happening at a particular time. This approach may seem strange when examining areas like China and India, where change is constant. The editors note that an encyclopedia “forces us to slow down, to look in depth at what’s happening in many fields, in many countries” — in this case by examining multiple ecological systems, along with topics such as factories, cities, and villages. The introduction provides interesting facts about the regions covered and describes the context for sustainability in Asia. Categories include “Business and Economics”; “Environmental History”; “Human and Physical Geography”; “Industry and Manufacturing”; “Natural Resources”; “Politics, Law, and Government”; “Science, Technology, and Medicine”; and “Society and Social Welfare.” Articles summarize historic events and trends that affect the many cities and subregions in the countries studied. Entries discuss traditional knowledge, indigenous peoples, and cultural features, along with changes associated with rural and urban development. Individual articles are devoted to particular rivers, endangered species, ecotourism, and consumerism. Public health, traditional medicine, and water — use, rights, and security — are all addressed. Like other volumes in this set, volume 7 begins with a list of entries. A reader’s guide groups articles by category. These, and a good index, make the volume navigable. As with earlier volumes, alphabetically arranged articles provide cross-references to related topics, offer “further reading” suggestions, and are signed with author affiliations but no professional titles/credentials. Volume 8 and volume 9 are among the final volumes of this encyclopedia; they also examine how complex, multidisciplinary topics relate to assessing sustainability in specific regions of the world. Volume 10, subtitled The Future of Sustainability, completes the set, which is also available electronically. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.

2. Reference & Research Book News: February 2013 – 2013-02-01

   Suitable for early undergraduate or general readers, the publisher’s 10-volume Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability has been carefully planned to bring together a great deal of information in a package structured for student research. The planners have taken the very broad concept of sustainability and looked for logical ways to divide and sub-divide relevant material for presentation in alphabetically arranged articles.