Great Events from History: Modern Scandals Review

Friday, February 23, 2018 10:17:41 PM
“This three volume set chronicles nearly four hundred 20th and early 21st century scandals—acts that do “damage to reputation brought on by violations of codes of morality, propriety or ethics to which the transgressors are normally expected to adhere.” Scandals include those involving politics, business, entertainment, sports, education, religion, science and the arts. Organized chronologically, each entry provides ready-reference information including a descriptive title, summary paragraph, locales in which the scandal occurred, subject categories under which the event is listed and key figures involved. More than 190 scholars contributed articles that are structured with consistency throughout…In a 100-plus years, for example, little has changed over the public’s fascination with what is perceived to be sexual impropriety. Same-sex and extramarital affairs among politicians, entertainers, athletes and religious figures abound, with a remarkable similarity among stories…And if the current fraud, bribery and corruption cases feel unprecedented, one need only to turn to this resource to understand that, indeed, when it comes to human nature, some things never change. Teachers in a variety of content areas might use this set to create interest in a unit and the consistent format allows for easy comparisons. Nearly all of the science scandals, for example, are related to ethical or methodological violations of research protocol—providing a groundwork for explorations of the scientific method. Business and political scandals involving fraud or corruption might be used as a basis for a unit on ethics. Written in a style accessible to high school students, events from this set might also act as a springboard for further research. Recommended for high school and university libraries.”
-Reference Reviews

“A captivating read, this is a recommended purchase for public, high-school, and undergraduate academic libraries…”
-Booklist


“Scandal categories range from "Art" "Business," and "Film" to "Politics," "Popular Culture," "Sex," "Sports," and "Women's Issues." Familiar scandals like those described as "Millionaire Heir Murders Architect Stanford White" (1906) or "King Edward VIII Abdicates" (1936) are contrasted with the more obscure "Sex and Spy Scandal Rocks Canada" (1966) or the sensational "Paris Hilton Sex-Tape Appears on the Web" (2003)... In a wiki world, these well-researched, well-written entries provide solid, academic information and a good starting point for researchers. The work is also fascinating and engrossing--a real page turner. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general readers.”
-CHOICE

“Designed for high school and undergraduate students, this is a wonderful resource and will be a welcome addition to the collections of libraries that serve courses in history, social studies, sociology, and psychology. Although articles on many of these scandals may be found in other sources, this work successfully pulls them together into a very readable and useful set.”
-ARBA

“Each essay focuses on a single event, or series of closely related events, that has been perceived as a scandal. The essays reconstruct what happened, why the events are considered scandals, and what their impact on history has been. The chronological distribution of topics is weighted toward the most recent years—more than half of the topics from 1970 onward and one-quarter from the years since 2001. However, every decade of the 20th century is represented by no fewer than 12 topics, and only three decades have fewer than 20 topics. BOTTOM LINE This set offers unprecedented breadth and depth on the subject. Suitable for a wide range of library types.”
-Library Journal