New history bibliography is a 'treasure trove' of facts

By ROBERT M. SUTTON

Ellen M. Whitney, compiler; Janice A. Petterchak, editor; Sandra M. Stark, associate editor. Illinois History: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 1995. Pp. 603 with author and subject index. $85 (cloth).

Less than five years after the appearance of John Hoffmann's warmly received and justly celebrated Guide to the History of Illinois, the Prairie State has been honored with another treasure trove of historical and literary references.

Six years in the making, Illinois History: An Annotated Bibliography is the most recent publication in Greenwood Press' monumental series of bibliographies of the states. With 4,620 bibliographic entries, this impressive volume surveys the vast literature of Illinois history in a comprehensive fashion.

The credentials of the compiler and editors are noteworthy. Ellen Whitney, perhaps best known as the editor of the Black Hawk War records and papers, was for years the editor of the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society before her retirement in 1978. Janice Petterchak has been on the staff of the Society since 1971, and has been director of the Illinois State Historical Library since 1987. Sandra Stark is senior librarian at the Historical Library.

In order to master the volume of writing on Illinois historical subjects, the editors have been forced to impose both order and limitations on their project. In the first major segment of the work, references have been organized into 10 chronological divisions ranging from prehistory through the territorial period and early statehood, the Civil War years and on to the present. Each of these areas of coverage is further divided into multiple subsections, facilitating the search. The combined experience, knowledge and skill of the three collaborators is revealed in the accuracy of the citations and the usefulness of the annotations.

Following the chronological divisions, four additional areas are presented — subjects; biography; general and regional histories and reference sources; and historic sites — each with its own introduction and definition. The subject and specialized areas described here make up more than 60 percent of the coverage in this welcome guide.

Few will be surprised to discover that references to and about Abraham Lincoln make up, far and away, the largest single entry in the book. There are more than 400 references to Lincoln alone, not counting the Lincoln-Douglas debates or Lincoln sites and memorials.

Other major entries in the bibliography include the Civil War, politics and government (including elections), Native Americans, business and industry and Chicago. On the lighter side there is an unexpected reference to Tootsie Roll candies, and Hugh Hefner earns an entry as a Chicago businessman with "editorial and business genius."

Only by noting the subject areas excluded from coverage in the Illinois bibliography can one begin to grasp the full extent of the literature of Illinois history. The editors make it clear in the preface that they have chosen (out of necessity) to exclude a retinue of potential entries from their study. With a few exceptions, poetry and fiction are not included, nor are textbooks, juvenile literature, most state laws, revised statutes and routine government documents, foreign language publications, city directories and most theses and dissertations.

Though it is not possible in a brief review to deal adequately with the many sterling qualities of this magnificent volume, one can say with confidence that it would be difficult to think of a significant topic in Illinois history for which one — and in most cases many — references could not be found. For the serious researcher, this will be the place to begin.

Illinois History: An Annotated Bibliography is supported by all the useful auxiliary features that one expects to find in a reference work of this magnitude. The entries are preceded by a detailed chronology prepared by Petterchak that records significant Illinois events from the dawn of history to the devastating floods of 1993. A comprehensive subject index prepared by Whitney, and an equally extensive author index by Stark conclude the volume.

Until his retirement, Robert M. Sutton was a professor of history and director of the Illinois Historical Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A former president and life member of the Illinois State Historical Society, he has written and spoken extensively on Illinois history.

October 1995/Illinois Issues/35