Encyclopedia of Rhetoric (v. 1)
This ambitious new encyclopedia covers rhetoric from all times  and places in some 200 signed entries by 120 scholarly  contributors from around the world. Bibliographies are appended  to each article, and the index and a Synoptic Outline of  Contents provide fine access points. Typical articles include  "Public Speaking," "Queer Rhetoric," "Synecdoche," and  "Science." This work abstracts rhetoric from people, places, and  cultures in search of the "principles" of rhetoric, excluding,  for example, entries for relevant historical figures. This  emphasis on the abstract differentiates it from the Encyclopedia  of Rhetoric and Composition (Garland, 1996), which has more than  twice as many entries in about the same number of pages and  includes, for example, entries for people. Though these two  excellent books often duplicate each other, both include  information and insights not found in the other. Libraries  serving patrons concerned with the art and history of rhetoric  should have both. Given the high price of both books, other  libraries will have to choose between the practicality of the  older one and the more theoretical emphasis of the newer  one.APeter Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., MICopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.