Helmut K.Anheier and Recina A. List
Routledge, 2005

Editorial Reviews

Beyond the first sector (the marketplace) and the second sector (government) is the third sector, nonprofit organizations. Around the world, this area has been growing in importance. In approximately 300 A-Z entries, Annheier and List (respectively, director of the Center for Civil Society at UCLA and the research projects manager at the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins) attempt "to introduce greater conceptual clarity to an increasingly unsettled terminology that has been developing in the field of philanthropy and non-profit organizations."

The entries clearly describe historical and contemporary theories, individuals who have shaped the sector over the past two centuries, and foundations and organizations that have been developed. Subjects of entries range from a Hungarian thinker and Bangladesh nongovernmental organization to a Dutch fund and U.S. tax codes. Definitions are specific, and economic entries are comprehensible. Several bold cross-references in nearly every entry lead the user to additional information. Entries for organizations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, include URLs for Web sites. The volume concludes with a selected bibliography.

The information is accurate and current. Burial associations are noted but not immigrant aid or free loan societies. Bread for the World and World Vision are mentioned but not the Salvation Army. Habitat for Humanity appears only in another entry. These are minor quibbles in the larger accomplishment of the first attempt to bring this information together. It will be useful for academic, special, and large public libraries as well as third--sector organizations.

Arthur Meyers Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Definitions are specific and economic entries are comprehensible... Several bold cross-references in nearly every entry lead the user to additional information... The information is accurate and current... It will be useful for academic, special, and large public libraries as well as third-sector organizations.
–Booklist/RBB, October 15, 2005

A helpful introduction describes the growing role and importance of philanthropic and nonprofit organizations in the 21st-century global society... All entries are up-to-date and well written... This resources has no real competitor, and it will benefit anyone who has ever been confused about the differences (and similarities) between nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), charities, and related entities... It belongs in all philanthropy and grantsmanship reference collections... Highly recommended. –Choice, March 2006