Subtitled, A comprehensive A-to-Z guide to the important people, places, events and ideas that have shaped the contemporary world. The formidable tasks of selection and compaction seem to have been accomplished with skillful eyes for what information must be included to give readers a basic understanding of a subject in relation to the 20th century and what might be included to pique curiousity and convey "flavor". Eight thousand entries, many (but not most) with at least a few references for further reading, are interspersed with sensibly selected bandw photos--one or two per spread. Includes cross-references and a detailed index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.