Historical Dictionary of Egypt / Historical Dictionary of Morocco

HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF EGYPT. By ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT. (African Historical Dictionaries, 67). Lanham, MD., Scarecrow Press, 1994. xix + 369pp. maps, $48.50.

HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF MOROCCO. By THOMAs K. PARK. (African Historical Dictionaries, 71). New edn. Lanham, MD., Scarecrow Press, 1996. xxx, + 540pp., maps, $69.50. Goldschmidt and Park's heavyweight historical dictionaries of Egypt and Morocco respectively, are welcome updates of earlier volumes by Joan Wucher King and William Spencer. As with other books in Scarecrow's African Historical Dictionaries' series, these are essential reference works for any country specialist, sitting neatly alongside Clio's World Bibliographical Series.

Arthur Goldschmidt has sensibly limited how far back he goes in Egyptian history. There are advantages and disadvantages with his cut-off date of 1760, but by ruling out ancient and medieval Egypt, he gives modern Egypt the space it needs. A complimentary volume on the earlier period would be useful but would constitute a major...