American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals. Volume 2: Diaries Written from 1845 to 1980 (review)

366civil war history American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals. Volume 2: Diaries Written from 1845 to 1980. By Laura Arksey, Nancy Pries, and Marcia Reed. (Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1987. Pp. 501. $98.00.) This volume fulfills the promise raised on the publication of volume 1 in 1983. For the reader of Civil War History it provides a nearly overwhelming abundance of riches. The subject index under the heading "Civil War" covers eleven pages, with three columns to each page. The indexing is detailed and it seems to be exhaustive. In addition to this heading in the subject index, the reader may also consult the name index to locate references to Civil War figures, or the geographic index may be used to find citations for specific places. The format and arrangement of this volume follows that of the earlier volume. Entries are arranged chronologically by the first date used in the diary or journal. Within each year the entries are arranged alphabetically by author. Full bibliographical citations are provided for each entry , editors are listed, and reprints are noted. The high quality of annotation , so much appreciated in volume 1, is maintained here. Each entry is numbered, beginning with 2783 (volume 1 ended with number 2782) and continues to number 6046. Thus 3263 diaries and journals are described in this volume. As noted above, there are name, subject, and geographic indexes, and these indexes are for entries in this volume only. Readers, scholars, and librarians will welcome this outstanding reference work. With its companion volume it stands as a major tool forlocating the rich resources to be found in American diaries and journals. Dean H. Keller Kent State University ...