America'S International Trade: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues),Used

From Library JournalWritten by a geography professor and a map librarian, this latest addition to the avalanche of international trade handbooks is a good one but not for those who seek countrybycountry protocol. This handbook examines issues of global trade from a U.S. standpoint, covering trade agreements, objectives, growth, balance, laws, and organizations. Short, descriptive entries provide an adequate introduction for neophytes and students, and the lengthy annotated bibliography, while failing to list electronic sources, can be used in collection development. Other helpful works on the subject include The Basics of Foreign Trade and Exchange (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 1993) and A Basic Guide to Importing (NTC, 1994). The present work is recommended as an inexpensive addition to any global business collection.Lisa K. Miller, Paradise Valley Community Coll. Lib., PhoenixCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Product DescriptionA reference on the practices and policies involved in America's international trade, explaining key trade agreements such as NAFTA and GATT and the factors that led to their implementation, and summarizing trade legislation from 1860 to the present. Contains a chronology of US trade legislation and international trade agreements, a directory of national and international organizations, an extensive bibliography of books, journal articles, government documents, and audiovisual materials, a list of US international banks, and a glossary. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.From School Library JournalGrade 9 Up?Poorly written and heavily biased toward 'freetrade' policies, this turgid compilation of facts will find some use by budding policy wonks looking for sources for debate preparation. The initial chapter gives an extremely brief description of trade controls; export promotion; international agreements; modern objectives of U.S. policy; and the growth, importance, and distribution of U.S. trade. After a chronology and brief discussion of trade legislation, most of the book is a directory of traderelated organizations and an extensive bibliography (books are annotated, articles are not). The bibliography does include a few items critical of freetrade thinking (e.g., Ravi Batra's books), but the introduction assumes the goodness of 'unfettered' commerce. The text demands a fairly high level of knowledge of economics, and its design and organization are unattractive to nonmotivated readers. Therefore, libraries should stick with standard works on the topic, like William Hart's The United States and World Trade (Watts, 1985; o.p.) and Trade (Greenhaven, 1991). Both of them have much more explanatory power and are better balanced, though they don't cover recent developments such as NAFTA and the Uruguay Round of GATT.?Jonathan BetzZall, SnoIsle Regional Library System, Edmonds, WACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Review'This handbook draws together a great variety of information on a major issue made topical by passage of NAFTA.' VOYA'Recommended for libraries supporting business communities that import or export as well as for academic libraries.' ChoiceAbout the AuthorE. Willard Miller, PhD, is professor of geography and associate dean emeritus at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.Ruby M. Miller is a retired map librarian from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. The Millers have authored several books for ABCCLIO.