Atlas of the Celtic World
Haywood, a research fellow in history at the University of  Lancaster and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great  Britain, has authored a number of historical reference  resources, most recently the Encyclopedia of the Viking Age. His  new book is a historical, cultural, and linguistic survey of the  Celtic peoples from prehistoric times to the modern era,  presented in a series of 54 full-color maps with accompanying  text and 160 illustrations. This approach is welcome, as recent  historical atlases (e.g., Atlas of World History, Oxford Univ.,  2001) have treated the Celts as peripheral to the classical  civilizations and the evolution of the modern nation-states. The  Times Atlas of European History (1994) provided some focus on  the development of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland but is out of  print. The atlas is divided into three parts: "The Continental  Celts" (including the Urnfield, Hallstatt, and La T?ne cultures  and the Gauls of Brittainy), "The Atlantic Celts" (covering the  Britons and the evolution of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales), and  "The Modern Celts" (covering the 18th to 20th centuries and the  Celtic diaspora and revival). The maps range from a world view  of the Celtic diaspora to Europe in general to European regions  appropriate to the topic. An extensive chronology lists  significant events in Celtic history from ca. 1200 B.C.E. to the  2001 opening of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.  Interestingly, although the chronology includes the only direct  reference to the 1296-1328 Scottish Wars of Independence from  England, there is no mention of William Wallace. The select  bibliography features recent English-language publications  intended for the general reader. This handsome and informative  resource is recommended for public libraries. Edward K. Werner,  St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FLCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.