Book Description

Following the same format as "Statistical Record of Black America" ( LJ 4/15/91) and "Statistical Record of Hispanic Americans" (Gale, 1993), these fine reference works enable users to gain a better understanding of the profiled minority groups. "The Statistical Record of Asian Americans" covers the "American and Canadian Asian and Pacific Islander population segments''; Native North Americans focuses on "the indigenous population of North America.'' Hundreds of tables (1,857 altogether) and vast numbers of figures are given. More than just governmental sources were used to locate data: periodicals, newspapers, popular trade books, and organizational publications are the basis for some of the tables. Data are both historical and contemporary/current; however, much of the 1990 census was not available for perusal, and additional problems faced by the editorial teams are explained. Topics covered in Asian Americans include attitudes and opinions; business and government; crime, law enforcement, and civil rights; education; employment; health; immigration; income, spending, and wealth; population and vital statistics; and religion. Native North Americans deals with such subjects as history; demographics; the family; education; culture; healthcare; social and economic conditions; land and water management; government relations; and Canada (over 300 pages on this latter topic). Regarding depth of coverage, these volumes put the Statistical Abstract of the United States to shame. To the publisher's credit, both works feature print that is relatively large: squinting at the tables won't be necessary. These are marvelous compilations that many libraries will want to obtain. The current price is almost unbelievable for the amount of material included. Hopefully, updated supplements are being planned. Highly recommended for both academic and public libraries.-- Katherine Dahl, Western Illinois Univ. Lib., Macomb - Library Journal.