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The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History. Ed. by Joel Mokyr. New York: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2003. 5 vols, alkaline $555 (ISBN 0-190510507-9).
Nearly a decade in the making, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History is an ambitious undertaking with more than 875 essays describing on a global level the history of economic activity and "human interaction in the economic sphere" (xxii). This interdisciplinary work looks at how people made a living and how that industry changed over time; how they organized into groups or markets; and how even the most basic technology influenced control of the environment or increased production. As a result, topics covered by this encyclopedia are reminiscent of mainstream economics and are divided into general categories...