Book excerpt: The Concise Encyclopedia of Democracy is a single-volume version of the award-winning Encyclopedia of Democracy. Not a condensation, the new Concise was created to address the special needs of smaller libraries. The more than 300 articles include concepts, countries, and individuals, emphasizing the historical and practical, rather than the strictly theoretical. While the coverage is international in scope, special emphasis, in the Concise, is given to the democracies of the West. As well as including the most important entries from the four-volume original work, the Concise Encyclopedia of Democracy also includes new entries on the Constitution of the United States, general government practices in the democracies, etc. The 150 maps, photographs, charts, and timelines are designed to present the researcher with information in a concise, visual form.