The philosophy behind this annual has been to critically evaluate 200 major works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction published during the previous year. The two hundred works represented in this year's annual are drawn from categories such as: fiction; poetry; literary criticism, literary history, and literary theory; essays; literary biography; autobiography, memoirs, diaries, and letters; biography; history; current affairs; science, history of science, and technology; medicine; nature, natural history, and the environment; economics; ethics and law; psychology; sociology, archaeology,and anthropology; language; philosophy and religion; fine arts; music; media; travel and women's issues. The articles are arranged alphabetically by book title. A complete list of the titles included can be found at the beginning of volume 1. Each 2000 word article begins with a blockof top matter that indicates the title, author, publisher, and price of the work. When possible, the year of the author's birth is also provided. The top matter also includes the number of pages of the book, the typr of work and when appropriate, the time period and the locale represented in the text. Next comes a capsule description. When pertinent, a list of principal characters or personages, with brief descriptions, introduces the review. These original essay-reviews analyze and present the focus, intent, and as relative success of the author, as well as the make-up and point of view of the work under discussion. To asist the reader further, the articles are supplemented by a list of additional reviews for further studyin a bibliographic format. Every essay also includes a brief biography of the author, and thumbnail photographs of the book covers and the included as available.