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International Military and Defense Encyclopedia (review)
- Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies
- Purdue University Press
- Volume 13, Number 3, Spring 1995
- pp. 142-144
- 10.1353/sho.1995.0066
- Review
- Additional Information
- Purchase/rental options available:
142 SHOFAR Spring 1995 Vol. 13, No.3 intricacy of PLO decision-making and the myriad factors that influence that process. Barry Rubin's latest accomplishment fails to take its academic place alongside these distinguished efforts. JoAnn A. DiGeorgio-Lutz Department of Political Science University of North Texas International Military and Defense Encyclopedia, Trevor N. Dupuy, editor-in-chief. Washington and New York: Brassey's (U.S.), 1993. 6 vols. $995.00. As stated correctly in its preface, the International Military and Defense Encyclopedia (IMADE) is the "first and only definitive and comprehensive English-language encyclopedia ofinternational military and defense information." An extraordinary product of more than 400 authors and a very distinguished International Advisory Board, as well as Editorial Board, /MADE is edited by Col. Trevor N. Dupuy, U.S.A. (Ret.). In view of Col. Dupuy's remarkable scholarly background-his more than 60 books include a military dictionary, a volume on world power measurement, the Encyclopedia of Military History and a still-forthcoming Encyclopedia of Military Biography-it is hardly surprising that IMADE is an altogether stunning intellectual accomplishment. Before getting into the variety and importance of the 786 alphabetically arranged topical entries, it is worth saying a few words about IMADEs rationale and development. Because the work is designed, in the words of Executive Editor and publisher Franklin D. Margiotta, "to cover the world's experience and knowledge about the military and defense," and to do so "with as little ethnic or cultural bias ~s possible," there is scarcely a major military or defense subject that is not covered and indexed. Moreover, the Encyclopedia is appropriate at all levels of scholarly sophistication, and at times represents an authentic creation of knowledge as well as an authoritative synthesis. Other special features warrant mention. IMADE articles are often multidisciplinary. Any consideration of the constituent articles reveals an indispensable yet novel juxtaposition of orthodox military analysis and conceptualization with political science, regional studies, international politics, sociology, psychology, engineering, law, etc. As a professor of international law (one who customarily joins jurisprudential with strategic analyses in assessments of world politics), I was especially pleased to see Book Reviews 143 articles not only on Military law and law of the Sea and Piracy, but also on the Geneva Conventions, Hague Conventions, Legal Assistance, Rules of Engagement, and War Crimes. Regarding balance, Col. Dupuy and Col. Margiotta were careful to resist too great a singularly American focus. Hence, they put together almost 60 articles from British scholars, more than 60 by German authors, and even 30 from Egyptian authors of flag ranks. The Advisory Board, Editorial Board, and author list contain specialists from 17 countries and four continents. During the editorial review, which was quite obviously meticulous and thorough, articles were reportedly returned to the separate authors for examples beyond narrowly British or American experience. lMADE is organized into seventeen major subject areas. The length of the 786 articles ranges from 100 to more than 10,000 words. Most of the articles seem to have the informed layperson in mind. Some, however, are more narrowly technical and will be useful only to the knowledgeable specialist. From the standpoint of Jewish Studies, this outstanding reference work contains several pertinent entries, including: State of Israel; ArabIsraeli Wars; Egypt; Jordan; Lebanon; Middle East; and Syria. The article on the State of Israel is essentially well balanced, fair, and rich in important facts. RecogniZing that "Palestine has been the homeland of the Jewish people since they first settled there in the second millennia [sic] B.C.," it identifies Zionism "as a reaction to modern anti-Semitism" and the PLO as one of several "Arab guerrilla and terrorist organizations." At the same time, in a paragraph that is out-of-date, lacking in prescience, and insufficiently nuanced, the authors-David 1. Bongard and Trevor Dupuy himself-state: "The Israeli government's adamant condemnation of the PLO as an outlaw terrorist organization is particularly ironic in light of the activities of some Israeli statesmen (such as former Prime Minister Menachem Begin and current Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir) with Jewish terrorist organizations operating against the British Mandate during the 1940s. While modern politics have seen numerous transformations from guerrilla...