Book excerpt: Vienna can boast of a great deal of culture and history despite its relatively small size. Indeed, the city has a long and rich history. From the medieval feudal town to the twentieth-century bastion of music, theater, and culture, Vienna has weathered changes for the good and the ill. Vienna's rich history has not gone unnoticed by scholars, both Austrians and others. Peter Csendes's Historical Dictionary of Vienna is an important contribution to the literature on Vienna. Csendes provides a unique resource for students or visitors of Vienna. Special articles explain the way of living, the historical development of the political situation, legal system, urban functions, economic structures, cultural institutions, and events. The Dictionary provides a visitor with a perspective wholly different from that of the usual guide book. For the scholar, it describes Vienna as a manifesto for urban development, with all the changes, and their consequences. Of interest to scholars and travelers, the Dictionary is a true vade mecum of Vienna's past, present, and future, with entries focusing on everything from politics, economics, society, and culture to people, places and events. A detailed bibliography follows the work, as do several appendixes of important people and statistical tables.