JHI Home Dictionary Home Search the Dictionary Browse by Contributor Browse by Analytical Terms Browse by Alphabetical Order Preface to the Electronic Edition

The Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, edited by Philip P. Wiener, was published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, in 1973-74. The Dictionary of the History of Ideas also appeared in Chinese- and Japanese-language editions.

However, the DHI has been out of print for many years. Aware of the new potential offered by electronic access to texts, the Directors and Board of Editors of the Journal of the History of Ideas authorized a grant to support digitization of the DHI. Substantial support has also been provided by the University of Virginia Library through its Electronic Text Center. The project has been undertaken with the permission of Charles Scribner's Sons and of The Gale Group, of which Scribner's is a part.

The paper editions of the Dictionary of the History of Ideas included many illustrations. Because of copyright restrictions, these are not included in this electronic edition. However, the Dictionary of the History of Ideas can be found in many libraries, and used copies can sometimes be obtained through www.bookfinder.com and other bookseller sites.

We invite those whose curiosity is stimulated by the Dictionary of the History of Ideas to investigate the Library of the History of Ideas (University of Rochester Press), which is made up of topical volumes containing articles previously published in the Journal of the History of Ideas; or to browse in the JHI itself.

The successor to the Dictionary of the History of Ideas, the New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, is edited by Maryanne Cline Horowitz and published by Charles Scribner's Sons, an imprint of Thomson Gale. It became available in late 2004 in a six-volume hardcover set (ISBN: 0-684-31377-4) and in e-book format (ISBN: 0-684-31452-5).

The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas is a totally updated and rethought work that strives to be global and gender-inclusive. At the January 2005 meeting of the American Library Association, the Reference User Services Association judged the NDHI an “Outstanding Reference Work.”

For a PDF file of Maryanne Cline Horowitz's Preface to the New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, click here.

     
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