Containing nearly double the number of entries and surveying more than twice the number of volumes than the original 1979 edition, this well-organized catalog for special collections provides an excellent starting point for anyone taking on the task of research in the history of the American and British theater. Works indexed include the Burns Mantle Best Plays series, the Theatre World yearbooks, the Who Was Who annuals, and numerous other published books. Individual full-length biographies are not cited. Although some of the sources surveyed are also available in e-book format (as this title is), the author has excluded Internet sources "for a variety of reasons, such as unreliability of content, existence, and accessibility." Each entry includes basic biographical information, including name (with cross-references to stage names and other pseudonyms), birth and death dates, nationality, occupation, and a code to the sources listed at the front of the first volume. The range of entries is wide, extending from the early days of theater to the present day. Since the focus is on performers "working in live theatre before paying audiences," film and television actors are excluded unless they have actually appeared onstage. Artists performing in other theatrical arenas, such as opera, dance, circus, music, and music halls, are included, as are critics and others in stage-related occupations.

You might not want to "put your daughter on the stage," but you will want to put this title on the shelf if your library supports theater research and study.