Louis E. Fenech is professor of South Asian and Sikh history at the
University of Northern Iowa. His research concerns the history of
the Sikh people and their tradition.
W.H. McLeod (1932-2009) was professor emeritus of history at the
University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. His area of expertise
covered the Sikh tradition.
The third edition of this very informative historical dictionary
adds considerable information to the earlier edition as well as
presenting a wider array of varied opinions about Sikhism, a
little-known and understood religious tradition in the United
States. Building on his predecessor W. H. McLeod’s work, Louis
Fenech presents a very usable volume, easily navigable and very
informative. Following his preface, which discusses the volume as a
whole and noting today’s new and critical scholarship in the field,
Fenech provides a table of the 10 Sikh Gurus, a map, and an
extremely detailed chronology from the birth of the first Guru,
Guru Nanak, in 1469 to late December 2013. He then gives the reader
a helpful introduction before launching into the dictionary itself,
which is well cross-referenced and thus easy to manage. At the
conclusion of the dictionary, Fenech provides an extensive
bibliography of 79 pages introduced by a table of contents and its
own descriptive introduction. The end result is an extremely
helpful resource for students and researchers of religion,
especially those wanting to know more about Sikhism. This volume
should certainly be part of college and university libraries as
well as larger public libraries. Indeed, church, divinity school,
and libraries connected with interfaith or other religious
organizations would benefit from its easy availability. Its clarity
and usability mean it can serve even the curious middle school and
high school students as they seek to learn about the world about
them.
*American Reference Books Annual*
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