With more than 700 cross-referenced entries, this volume joins a sizeable collection of historical dictionaries issued by the publisher, all aiming to summarize the essential information about a place, time period, or research problem. Historian Peebles has assembled for this volume's A-Z entries an expected array of historical figures, geographical names, political formations, and more…. The introduction effectively establishes the scope of the volume…. The book concludes with supplemental material in appendixes (recent historical electoral data, economic and population indicators, and names of colonial era and post-independence heads of state), plus a glossary of Tamil and Sinhala terms. The work's nearly 30-page concluding classified bibliography divides mostly books and some journal articles into discrete subject areas (history, culture, economy, politics, education, flora and fauna, etc.), and includes a brief section of Internet resources…. Summing Up: Recommended.... General readers.