The World almanac of the American West / introduction, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. ; general editor, John S. Bowman.

A Bison book.

This is actually a chronology of westward movement across North America from the time of Columbus to 1985. In addition to the day-by-day chronology, there are brief biographies and topical discussions to supplement the daily entries. Where appropriate, the entries summarize the eventual outcome of the described event. A thorough index provides topical access to both the daily entries and the illustrations. The chronology seems to be well researched and accurate, but a bibliography for more detailed sources would have been helpful. Even so, this is a useful supplement to such standard references as the Reader's Encyclopedia of the American West ( LJ 2/15/78). Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. www.shelfari.com