bout de papier, Vol. 6, No. 3 (1988), pp. 45–46
) The Canadian Encyclopedia, Second
; Edition, 1988, Hurtig Publishers, 2736 pp.,
(4 volumes). $225.00
Publishers of encyclopedias have always had the daunting task of determining what to include and the space to be given to any single subject. In today’s publishing world, price is also an important factor in selling the general public a ’user friendly’ reference work that will not soon be outdated. On all accounts, the Editor-in-Chief, James Marsh and the publisher have done a superb job. Given the rave reviews and instant sales that greeted the publication of the first edition in 1985 (155,000 sets sold out in three months), it would have been easy to issue a second edition just to make a profit. The publishers are to commended that they resisted this temptation and came up with a much better and more comprehensive second edition.
The differences between the two editions are worth noting. Authors were asked to update their original entries and in addition there were the queries and corrections submitted by interested Canadians who wanted it to be a work of excellence for all time. There is, very simply, no other single source containing such a wealth of information on virtually every aspect of Canada and its people. Events up to January 1988 have been included which brings in entries on Meech Lake, pop musician Bryan Adams and runner Ben Johnson. Expansion to a fourth volume was necessitated by the addition of 1700 new entries, the expansion of many entries on the cultural side, in particular, and a vastly improved index. The index was expanded from 97 pages to a hefty 372 pages, which leaves no important fact or person unaccessible. The second edition is also more attractive with 673 new photos (total is now 1,600), 50 new maps (out of a total of 308), 61 new graphs and 37 new pieces of original art.
The range of entries should please all users. Those who want to know more about the city they were born in can read a brief history that is more than political history. Those Canadians who have sought their fame and fortune elsewhere, like Lorne Green and Gordie Howe, are also included along with those who remained north of the 49th parallel. There are also articles on topical issues such as impaired driving, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Canada and AIDS. And, for those of us who live in the world of bureaucratise, there is even an explanation on what constitutes a “Green Paper” and the Canada Pension Plan. The encyclopedia also offers short and helpful synopsis of Canadian businesses. General articles pertaining to subjects like zoology, offer a definition, a brief outline of development, followed by an essay on the subject in the Canadian context and Canadian contributions to the discipline. Many of these kinds of essays are original works written by the best in the field and verified by their peers. For those interested in women in Canada, there is an evening’s reading in such sub-topics as women in exploration, Canadian literature, religious movements, sports, medicine, politics, police forces, Chatelaine, film, etc., in addition to biographies on luminaries like Alice Chown, Marion Dewar, Agnes Macphail, Thérèse Casgrain, Barbara Ann Scott, Jenny Kidd, and Vicki Keith. Graphs offer helpful statistical representations in an easily readable format. The one on international visitors to Canada, from Statistics Canada, provides much useful information but one wonders why a similar graph on immigration and demographic trends available from CEIC was not used to flesh out the two excellent articles on immigration and immigration policy. Many of the articles also include a brief guide to published works on the subject.
What is impressive about all this scholarship, is the number of people involved. It took an estimated 5,000 Canadians to produce this masterpiece. The editorial team and their professional consultants, the list of whom reads like a who’s who of Canada, are to be commended for their efforts at integrating the contributions into a usable and ascetically pleasing format. At the same time, the second edition is not without its errors, mainly in the newer and updated entries. The problem is less with the authors than in the process of editing which did not allow the authors to proofread the edited versions of their essays. All the same, these are minor and should not detract from the usefulness of the work as a whole. The index could also be improved to pick up subject matter whose title does not fall under the main index entry. For example, anyone wishing to read about Canadian universities will find many excellent entries but all of these are found in the index under universities, as when the name begins with Bishops rather than University of. Encyclopedias, however, are to be used for references on specific subjects, with 9,700 to chose from, rather than a source for a student’s topical essay.
There is always the question of when to buy into an encyclopedia. If you missed the first edition, then this is a good time as the third edition, which will not appear before 1992, at the earliest, will not undergo such extensive revisions as the first edition. Furthermore, there may well be an annual or biennial supplement. Informatics, being what they are, before long electronic means are likely to be used for updating and accessing. Maybe through COSICS we will someday be able to tap into this goldmine of information from our desks at home and abroad. Whatever means is found to keep the entries relevant, it is sure to have a long shelf life. For those that bought the first edition, I hope that you took advantage of the publisher’s offer to trade upwards. For those who find if difficult to part with $225 for the second edition, there is even better news. The standard going price is $175 but Coles and W.H. Smith have specials on for the incredible sale price of $99. Even if you miss the bargain, at $175 you will have made a good investment that no Canadian should miss, least of all those who represent us abroad and require an easy guide to understanding everything there is to know about our country. And for the family, you may just learn a little more about where you came from, the organizations you belong to, the fauna around your home or in the Arctic, and people in the news.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 6, No. 3 (1988), pp. 45–46. Read the rest of this issue →
