With this third edition of a work tracing the historical roots of socialism and its current relevancy as a global movement, Lamb offers a timely reference work updating both previous editions, including the first one, written by James Docherty and published in 1998 by Scarecrow. With close to 500 entries, this one includes a comprehensive A–Z list of people, events, organizations, countries, and concepts associated with socialism over the last 500 years. As the author explains, the third edition offers a special focus on ‘the revival of social democracy’ in Eastern Europe, Latin America, South America, and Africa. The work is noteworthy because of its inclusion of women, with entries ranging from former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet to German Marxist Clara Zetkin. There are also new entries, such as one on homosexuality, which details a long history of the movement's support of LGBT rights and gives readers important perspectives on inclusion and diversity in the movement. In addition to 60 new entries, the dictionary offers extensive cross-referencing, a glossary of terms, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, and an extended chronology spanning 1516–2015. Although the bibliography is by no means comprehensive, it does offer a breadth of primary, secondary, and online resources. Because of its scope, this work will have broad interdisciplinary appeal for students interested in international relations, political science, history, gender studies, literature, and religion.

Summing Up:Recommended. All academic levels; general readers.

Choice Reviews

Over 500 compact entries document the various tenets, events, institutions, policies, people, and more associated with the Socialist movement. These entries are arranged alphabetically and are generously cross-referenced for ease of navigation. . . .This third edition has been extensively updated with new entries, as well as expanded chronology, introduction, and bibliography sections. In particular, the extensive bibliography is highly organized, and the introduction section does well in defining Socialism as well as conveying its origins, development, and schisms that pushed it into the many-faceted force for social change it is regarded as today. The book also includes a helpful acronyms and abbreviations section, as well as a glossary. . . .[R]eaders can absolutely benefit from the [book's] highly readable format and intelligent breakdown of its abundant material.

American Reference Books Annual

The Historical Dictionary of Socialism is a quality reference publication for beginning researchers with thorough, concise information. The resource would be a great starting place for a high school or undergraduate to begin research on the topic. . . .[T]he almost 75 page bibliography provides an extensive, impressively organized list of further resources and publications. The author has meticulously organized the sections of the bibliography under certain themes and resource types, it will be of huge benefit for researchers in need of further reading. There are other reference titles on the same topic in the same style as this historical dictionary; however, this volume is of high quality, and the information it provides is thorough and up to date. The HistoricalDictionary of Socialism would be a great addition to a general reference section in any public or academic library.

Reference Reviews