Martial Arts of the World

September 15, 2010

In this second edition of a 2001 set, Green, a longtime martial artist and anthropology professor at Texas A&M University, returns as editor and joins forces with Svinth, editor of Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Science, to offer something of a mixed bag: more articles (111 now, 96 then) but fewer pages (705 now, 894 then). The original alphabetical arrangement has been dispensed with in favor of a topical organization. Volume 1 covers "Regions and Individual Arts," which entails broad geographical headings, such as "Africa," "Americas," and so on. Under each appear entries for specific styles associated with that part of the world, as in "Japan: Aikido," "Japan: Judo," etc. Volume 2 takes on "Themes," which make up the social and philosophical underpinnings of these fighting forms. The editors explain their decision to change the organization by stating, "It was hoped that this format...would reduce redundancy while still allowing for coordination and collaboration between entries." From a practical standpoint, however, information is now more difficult to access. An additional caveat is the selection of material--there's an entry for "Gunfighters," as in Wild West trigger-happy types, but none for kung fu, which appeared in the original edition. Note that the publisher does not indicate on the cover or title page that this is a second edition. BOTTOM LINE Despite this reviewer's misgivings, the dearth of reference content on martial arts makes this set the best on the market. Its strength lies in its historical, social, and philosophical grounding of these fighting techniques. Recommended for all public and academic libraries.--Michael F. Bemis, Washington Cty. Lib., Woodbury, MN

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