This will end those tedious party games

by J. H. BARNES
Who did what? The Mitchell Beazley Illustrated Biographical Dictionary (Mitchell Beazley £4.95) This is the ultimate in a wellproduced and exhaustive encyclopaedia. In a little under' 400 pages the book claims (and to a large extent it justifies its claim) to enable the general reader to understand easily and rapidly the essential achievements of the people who shaped our world. Your world, I should say — you are welcome to my share.
Well, any book aiming for such a high ideal is bound to fail. One doesn't understand the achievements of say, Malthus or Manet, but one does at least have a quick way of checking that one has got the general idea and can distinguish Manet from Monet or Malthus from..
Stopes. .
And even if the achievements remain incomprehensible one at least knows what they are. The hook, incidentally would be incomparably improved if in the next edition, which it warrants, a very short
bibliography were placed at the foot of each entry.
The entry for Jesus Christ is interesting. Save . that Robin Hood• did not presumably die between two thieves he entries (had there been one Tar Robin Hood) would be interchangeable. Christ, you see, was "loved by the common people" and killed by "the ruling class." Incidentally Hitler's entry is twice as long as Christ's.
But the book is worth looking at. It is especially valuable as it is likely to end once and for all those tedious party games where one person having announced the initial of a famous person's name the others are compelled by asking questions (to he answered by either yes or no) to guess the name. Anyone who picks "S" has 21 pages to work. through.
One final thing looking through the records of these men (distressingly, there are few women) who have shaped our world, 1 feel I owe a debt of gratitude to the editors who, however unjustly, have excluded you and me. It's really (with a few exceptions) an unsavoury collection of people.