★ 02/01/2018
Bartrop (history, Florida Gulf Coast Univ. Resisting the Holocaust Genocide) and Dickerman (Holocaust & genocide studies, Stockton Univ., NJ), guiding 100 other contributors, present a concise historical overview and six compact essays on causes, perpetrators, victims, bystanders, reactions, and consequences (extending to the present) of the Holocaust, followed by 600 entries. Volume 3 is devoted to 110 survivor testimonies, most published post-2000 (with a topical guide), and Volume 4 to thematically organized documents (speeches, affidavits, correspondence, etc.). Two of the 15 maps include statistics (populations, deaths); all are thoroughly labeled, conveying the genocide's geophysical extent. Informative captions accompany the many black-and-white photos. See-also lists provide cross-references. Several entries may be new to general readers (e.g., Roddie Edmonds; Osako Tatsuo Helga's Diary), and some assess scholarly controversies (Channel Islands; Historikerstreit). Objectivity distinguishes even the entry on Hitler, which confines itself to facts and eschews speculation. Inevitably there are omissions, but overall the coverage is impressive. There are already many Holocaust resources: this one stands out with its numerous recent survivor accounts and ease of use and because it is so up to date (the last comparable work being Robert Rozett and Shmuel Spector's Encyclopedia of the Holocaust). VERDICT Not for academics only, but an invaluable source for anyone interested in human history and potential for good and evil.—Patricia D. Lothrop, formerly of St. George's Sch., Newport, RI