Katz delves deeply into reference history...every page is filled with facts that you can drop casually at the next cocktail party or budget hearing...

Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie

Katz's way with words is apparent throughout...an illuminating and readable book.

Choice Reviews

...a delight...this book should be read by all aspiring reference librarians...a welcome addition to library literature and the history of the book.

Lisca

The particular strength of this informative work is that it assembles material from diverse sources into a well-integrated study of the entire spectrum of reference materials. A thoroughly readable and authoritative history enriched by Katz's eclectic selections of comments, reflections and criticism from compilers and readers of reference works.

AB Bookman's Weekly

I know of no such book as this: a history of reference sources in general...a dip into just one page and I was hooked. What more heady read for a reference librarian than a book about the origin of the books of their trade, and how they came to be, and why...now we have a history devoted to "our" books, our inheritance...with some 400 pages of text, a 27-page index, and 956 bibliographical and elaborative notes, Katz has done us a tremendous service...the depth of knowledge is impressive...anyone doing historical and literary research or interested in our intellectual history would do well to use this.

Bob Duckett, Reference Reviews

...fascinating survey of reference titles...

American Libraries