Reference works

A wide-flung archipelago lying between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Indonesia is the world's most populous Islamic country.

Not long after becoming public health concerns in the 1980s, HIV and AIDS were featured in a number of works of fiction, though such titles were written primarily for adult readers.

Ethiopia is clearly one of the most important countries in Africa.

Consisting of two houses-the Senate and the House of Representatives-and 535 members-100 Senators and 435 Representatives, the U.

One of the most powerful forces in world culture, American cinema has a long and complex history that stretches through more than a century.

Golf has been called the greatest of all games, but it has also been derided by none other than Mark Twain as nothing more than a good walk spoiled.

Bangladesh (literally, the land of the Bengalis) is the most recent addition (in 1971) to the independent nations of South Asia.

Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as the most important composer and lyricist of musical theater in the second half of the 20th century.

In A Style and Usage Guide to Writing About Music, Thomas Donahue presents a collection of guidelines to help express through the written word the special notations, terms, and concepts found in the discipline of music.

Croatia, a former republic of Yugoslavia, has been a self-declared independent state since July 25, 1991.

The Beat Movement was one of the most radical and innovative literary and arts movements of the 20th century, and the history of the Beat Movement is still being written in the early years of the 21st century.

Approximately three fifths of the emigration from the United Kingdom to America arrived in the 19th century.

While it can be traced to the 1700s, the term thanatology has gained traction in recent decades to refer to the study of death.

Soccer is the world's most popular sport and one of the globe's best known cultural practices.

The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century has traditionally been viewed as marking the onset of modernity in Europe.

The human voice an incredibly beautiful and expressive instrument, and when multiple voices are unified in tone and purpose a powerful statement is realized.

In spite of Singapore's small size, it has long had a major impact on the world because of its geographical location and its wealth.

Film noir-literally "e;black cinema"e;-is the label customarily given to a group of black and white American films, mostly crime thrillers, made between 1940 and 1959.

The period from the outset of World War I to the end of World War II was among the most significant in the history of the United States.

Benin is now perceived of as a model of democracy in Africa because it has successfully established a democratic political system based on consensus and regular and fair elections, and it continues to improve its electoral and parliamentary systems.

Naval intelligence is one of the most vital, and sometimes decisive, forms of intelligence.

One of Japan's major religions, Shinto has no doctrines and there are no sacred texts from which religious authority can be derived.

There are several eras in the history of Christianity radical forms of the tradition are obvious: the early church of the first five centuries, the medieval era, the age of reform, the early modern era, and the contemporary era.

When we speak of "e;classical music"e; it often refers rather loosely to serious "e;art"e; music but at the core is really the music of the classical period running from about 1730 to 1800, give or take.

Spanish cinema is emerging as one of the most exciting, fascinating, and special cinemas in the world.

Russian literature is most celebrated for its Romantic and modernist poetry and 19th-century novels.

The nearly 150-year-old sport of cycling had its first competition in France in 1868.

Although China's intelligence activities may not have been well documented, they can be traced back to the ancient writings of Sun Tzu, and espionage has been a characteristic of Chinese domestic politics and international relations ever since.

Approximately three fifths of the emigration from the United Kingdom to America arrived in the 19th century.

All places undergo change, but in few has this change been quite as sweeping as Ireland - both the independent Republic of Ireland and dependent Northern Ireland - so it is good to see where it is heading at present.

African American Theater is a vibrant and unique entity enriched by ancient Egyptian rituals, West African folklore, and European theatrical practices.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, dozens of anarchist publications appeared throughout the United States despite limited financial resources, a pestering and censorial postal department, and persistent harassment, arrest, and imprisonment by the State.

From Altar-Throne to Table: The Campaign for Frequent Holy Communion in the Catholic Church investigates what the celebrated scholar of liturgy Robert A.

The overriding theme of this work is that women's struggles, human rights, myths, and literary expression are indispensable to an understanding of the modern culture and socio-political development of the Middle East region.

Portugal is a small Western European nation with a large, distinctive past replete with both triumph and tragedy.

The modern reputation of Friends in the United States and Europe is grounded in the relief work they have conducted in the presence and aftermath of war.

The Historical Dictionary of the George W.

One of the most pervasive phenomena that distinguish the early 21st century is the prevalence of international organizations (IOs).

With 110 million members worldwide, Baptists are surpassed only by Roman Catholic and Orthodox groups as the largest segment of Christians.

Czechoslovakia has been at the center of some of the most difficult-and tragic-episodes of modern European history: its sacrifice to Nazi Germany at Munich; the Communist Coup of 1948; and the military crushing of the Prague Spring.

Figure skating is the most popular televised sport at the Olympic Winter Games and is the oldest of the winter sports, having first been contested at the Games of the fourth Olympiad in London in 1908.

Given the rivalries and suspicions prevailing in the Middle East, it is not surprising that most of these states are very concerned about espionage and infiltration.

Modern Chinese literature has been flourishing for over a century, with varying degrees of intensity and energy at different junctures of history and points of locale.

In the early 21st century, Buddhism has become ubiquitous in America and other western nations, moving beyond the original bodhi tree in India to become a major global religion.

The history of sexuality is central to social history, the history of ideas, the realization or repression of human rights, and other areas of focus.

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Environmentalism involves hundreds of international environmental groups, thousands of national groups, and tens of thousands of local ones.

The foreign relations of the People's Republic of China have gone through dramatic change since 1949.

Journalism is the discipline of gathering, writing, and reporting news, and it includes the process of editing and presenting news articles.

The world as we have known it for the past century would have been very different without petroleum.