Indexes Praised and Indexes Censured are extracted from Indexes Reviewed, a regular feature in The Indexer.

These extracts from reviews do not pretend to represent a complete survey of all reviews in journals and newspapers. We offer only a selection from quotations that members have sent in. Our reproduction of comments is not a stamp of approval from the Society of Indexers upon the reviewer’s assessment of an index.

Bodleian Library: The Bodleian Library: a subject guide to the collections, ed. by Gregory Walker, Mary Clapinson and Lesley Forbes (2004, 240 pp, £19.95). Rev. by John Feather, CILIP Update, 4(11), November 1995.

A comprehensive index which includes donors and former owners makes for relatively easy cross-referencing with the standard histories of the library and earlier accounts of its contents.

Boydell: Accounts of the feoffees of the town lands of Bury S. Edmunds, 1569–1622, ed. by Margaret Statham (2003, 484 pp, $60). Rev. by Claire S. Schen, Sixteenth Century Journal, 36(2), July 2005.

The index is substantial — it even includes ‘Grecians’ in one heading. This provides an example of the comparative cases a scholar of another urban area or topic might search for and find in these records.

Boydell: Westminster Abbey: The Lady Chapel of Henry VII, ed. by Tim Tatton-Brown and Richard Mortimer (2003, 366 pp, $85.00). Rev. by Alexandrina Buchanan, Sixteenth Century Journal, 36(2), July 2005.

The volume provides a mass of fascinating information for the specialist. In addition to its wide scope, the helpful addition of an index enables the browser to search for a single topic across the essays.

D. S. Brewer: John Donne and conformity in crisis in the late Jacobean pulpit, by Jeanne Shami (2003, vii + 318 pages, $85). Rev. by Robert C. Evans, Sixteenth Century Journal, 36(2), July 2005.

Shami’s book is clearly written, well organized, thoroughly documented in both primary and secondary sources, beautifully indexed, and handsomely produced.

Cape: Just as well I’m leaving: to the Orient with Hans Christian Andersen, by Michael Booth (2005, 359 pp, £12.99). Rev. by Antoine Laurent, Times Literary Supplement, 5 August 2005.

Although boosted by a wide-ranging bibliography and an efficient index, the text is let down by a series of solecisms.

Chandos: Globalisation, information and libraries, by Ruth Rikowski (2005, 393 pp, £39). Rev. by John Pateman, CILIP Update, 4(7–8), July/August 2005.

The book is well laid out, with clear type, logical headings and an excellent bibliography and index.

CRC Press: Good pharmaceutical manufacturing practice rationale and compliance, by John Sharp (502 pp, $279.95). Rev. by Gerry Prout, European Journal of Parenteral and Pharmaceutical Services, 10(4), 2005.

The book concludes with a full index, which ensures that the reader can easily find the subject matter of their interest.

Darton, Longman & Todd: Faith and psychology: personality, religion and the individual, by Leslie J. Francis (2005, 160 pp, £10.95). Rev. by Bruce Duncan, Church Times, 30 September 2005.

The usefulness of this well structured book is enhanced by an index of names, a glossary and bibliography, references, and many suggestions for further reading.

Diocese of Ossory: An index to The Rev. William Carrigan’s The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, by Helen Litton (2005, 731 pp, £32). Rev. in Books Ireland, December 2005.

The work of the indexer — who must be familiar with the subject in hand, widely knowledgeable in many fields, skilled, balanced in judgement and infinitely painstaking — is little recognised and appreciated. Here Ireland’s leading and most experienced practitioner has been commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the appearance in four volumes of what is still seen as one of the most comprehensive and reliable diocesan histories by the provision of an index, which it sadly lacked. There is an introduction to the book itself and a bibliography of Carrigan’s published works.

Faber: The selected letters of Michael Tippett, ed. by Thomas Schuttenhelm (2005, 400pp, £25). Rev. by Michael Berkeley, The Guardian, 26 August 2005.

The decision to put the letters in groups, one for Britten, one for the BBC, one for his publishers, Schott, and so on has a major drawback. Instead of reading chronologically, you have to return to the 1930s and 1940s each time you get to a new recipient, thus preventing a narrative thread. Given the presence of a perfectly good index, the rationale behind this is hard to understand.

Faber: Untold stories, by Alan Bennett (2005, 640 pages, £20). Rev. by Jane Stevenson, The Observer, 9 October 2005.

The process of dipping has been hugely facilitated by an index — even better, the index has been made by someone with a sense of humour — ‘Llanberis pass, Wales: AB’s 17-year-old thigh stroked (no trauma resulting)’.

Harvard University Press: Polydore Vergil on discovery, by Polydore Vergil, ed. and tr. by Brian P. Copenhaver (2002, 721 pp, $29.95). Rev. by Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier, Sixteenth Century Journal, 36(2), July 2005.

This volume forms a most worthy addition to the I Tatti Renaissance Library. Its facing Latin and English texts are impeccably presented, preserving in both languages all book, chapter, and paragraph numbers. These are accompanied by an illuminating introduction, informative notes on the text, an extensive bibliography, and a substantial index.

Hodder & Stoughton: Landmarks of Britain: the five hundred places that made our history, by Clive Aslet (2005, 547 pp, £30). Rev. by David Dimbleby, The Spectator, 17/24 December 2005.

There is, however, an excellent index.

Allen Lane: The secret life of trees, by Colin Tudge (2005, 400 pp, £20). Rev. by Felix Dennis, The Oldie, December 2005.

With a first class glossary, a well-organised index and appealing line illustrations, The Secret Life of Trees is probably the best general purpose book on the subject published in the last decade.

Peter Lang: Die Heldenschilde (2 vols), by Abraham ben David Portaleone, tr. and commentary by Gianfranco Miletto (2002, 883 pp, £86.00). Rev. by Dean Phillip Bell,

Sixteenth Century Journal, 36(2), July 2005.

In addition to the lengthy text itself, the edition includes a series of illustrations and extensive and helpful indexes.

Lilliput: Wordgloss: a cultural lexicon, by Jim O’Donnell (336 pp, £20/£14.99). Rev. in Books Ireland, December 2005.

While it is basically in alphabetic order, the discursions go farther and wider, but a good index means you can find what you want.

Manson Publishing: Self-assessment colour review of respiratory medicine, by S. G. Spiro et al. (2004, 192 pp, £17.95). Rev. by Mark L. Levy, Asthma Journal, 3(3) 154, 2005.

... there is a very good index at the back.

New York Review of Books: Moura: the dangerous life of Baroness Budberg, by Nina Berberova (2005, 360 pp, £17.95). Rev. by Nicholas Haslam, The Spectator, 26 November 2005.

... the index, which contains almost every politician, artist, actor, dancer, singer and writer between the wars, promises pleasure during winter evenings.

University of California Press: Elizabeth I: her life in letters, by Felix Pryor (2003, 144 pp, $34.95). Rev. by Mary Hill Cole, Sixteenth Century Journal, 36(2), July 2005.

... a fine index facilitates cross-referencing.

Vintage: The naked woman: a study of the female body, by Desmond Morris (2005, 276 pp, £8.99). Rev. by Juliet Clutton-Brock, Times Literary Supplement, 28 October 2005.

In line with Desmond Morris’s disciplined attitude to publication of his research, the book ends with a list of references and a comprehensive index.

John Wiley: Drug discovery — a history, by Walter Sneader (468 pp, £34.95). Rev. by Henry Connor, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 98, November 2005.

For most people this will not be a book to read from cover to cover but one into which they will dip repeatedly with pleasure and profit. It will probably be used primarily as a reference book and it does have the essential accompaniment of any such work, namely an excellent index; albeit one in a font size so small as to trouble the eyes of some older readers.

World Health Organization: Climate change and human health: risks and responses, ed. by A. J. McMichael et al. (2003, 322 pp, $18). Rev. by Paul R. Epstein, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 83(5), May 2005.

The informative glossary and extensive index help make this comprehensive volume useful as an introductory text and a reference for those already initiated.