American National Biography. Published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. Volume 1 [unbroken through] Volume 24 [complete set in fine shape] by Garraty, John A. [and] Mark C. Carnes, general editors - 1999

New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Hardcover. Third printing of the set, purchased new by our consigner and unmolested by him or us, twenty-four massive hardbound tomes in nearly as-new condition. The sole flaws we see are two: that the spine panels of vols 16, 17 and 18 are mildly concave owing to having been packed on their foredges (per foolish space-saving notions), and, vol 22 has a slightly misfolded leaf (283/284) which happened in the OUP bindery (per an untrimmed corner that protrudes, ergo OUP carelessness). Pace these two trivialities, a great set. Successor to the so-called DAB, issued 1926-1937. Our ANB defines "American" as "someone whose significant activities occurred during his or her residence.." - "all subjects must have died prior to 1996". Gay rights activist Harvey Milk gets a page and a half, controversial shrink Stanley Milgram gets two pages. Martin Luther King Jr is written up in over three pages by scholar Clayborne Carson. Some 6,000 academicians worked up ANB, half again as many as compiled the DAB.