Modern Irish Lives: Dictionary of 20th-Century Biography, edited by Louis McRedmond. (Gill & Macmillan, £9.99).

First published in hardback in 1996, this valuable work of reference is now available in paperback at a reasonable price. It provides short biographical details of 1,400 Irish men and women, living and dead, who have become notable in their chosen fields. The only criterion for entry is that a person's main contribution should have been made in this century. Every profession, artistic endeavour and walk of life is included, although I suppose part of the fascination of such a work of reference lies in complaining about who has been left out, rather than praising the efforts of those who have been included.