Review by Choice Review
This fifth edition replaces and updates the fourth (1981) by adding 1,000 new firsts and completely reorganizing the entries into broad subject groups. The reorganization seems well thought out and will enable users to trace new developments through the years in such subject areas as the military, movies, education, buildings, and computers. Entries under "Agriculture," for example, include the first agricultural fair held annually (1641) and the first genetically altered plants (1986). The new entries give a sense of the past 16 years, ranging from the first home screening kit for HIV infection (1996) and the first secretary of state who was a woman (1997) to the first American to hug the Queen of England (1991) and the first war that was predicted by pizza orders (1991). Indexes by years, days, personal names, and places remain, and a subject index appears for the first time. Recommended for college, university, and public libraries. J. E. Sheets; Baylor University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
From time to time, the Board reevaluates familiar sources. For this issue, we've chosen Joseph Nathan Kane's Famous First Facts, which has recently been updated and revised. It's surprising that this title, a classic in the reference byway of "firsts" compendiums, hasn't been updated in 17 years. Since the fourth edition came out in 1981, there have been other books of firsts, including Historical First Patents (Scarecrow, 1994), Science and Technology Firsts (Gale, 1997), and Women's Firsts (UXL, 1998), but Joseph Nathan Kane's Famous First Facts (FFF) is the granddaddy of them all. According to the preface, Kane, a freelance journalist, spent the better part of 10 years traveling around the U.S., gathering facts for what was intended to be a history of American inventions. The first edition of FFF was published in 1933--somewhat grudgingly, by Halsey W. Wilson, "after receiving multiple requests for the book from reference librarians to whom Mr. Kane had shown portions of his manuscript." The book was so successful that it spawned a radio program entitled Famous First Facts, hosted by Kane in 1938several other reference standards, including Facts about the Presidents and Facts about the States. With the fifth edition, FFF adds 1,000 new firsts and is extensively reorganized, making it much easier to navigate. Arrangement is now by broad subject category, from Agriculture to Writing Implements. Many of these categories are broken down into further divisions; Agriculture, for example, has 10 subdivisions, including Crops--Cotton; Flowers; and Livestock. Within this structure, individual firsts are arranged chronologically. The editors state that "much of the material in the previous edition was consolidated to make room for the events of the recent past." New firsts include astronaut who was a mother (1984), round-the-world solo sailing trip by an African-American (1990), library to possess 100 million items (1996), and kosher cyber cafe (1997). Almost half the volume is taken up by indexes. Instead of the extensive cross-referencing developed by Kane, there is a now a subject index, listing entries from first abdominal operation other than a cesarean section to zoo with twilight conditions. An index by years (from 10,000 B.C. to 1997), an index by days, a names index, and a geographical index have been continued from the previous editions. The publication of the fifth edition of Famous First Facts provides an opportunity to retire an aging reference classic in favor of a newer model. According to the publisher, FFF will also be available on CD-ROM and via the Web.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
