Black business activity has been sustained in America for almost four centuries. From the marketing and trading activities of African slaves in Colonial America to the rise of 20th-century black corporate America, African American participation in self-employed economic activities has been a persistent theme in the black experience. Yet, unlike other topics in African American history, the study of black business has been limited. General reference sources on the black experience―with their emphasis on social, cultural, and political life―provide little information on topics related to the history of black business. This invaluable encyclopedia is the only reference source providing information on the broad range of topics that illuminate black business history. Providing readily accessible information on the black business experience, the encyclopedia provides an overview of black business activities, and underscores the existence of a historic tradition of black American business participation. Entries range from biographies of black business people to overview surveys of business activities from the 1600s to the 1990s, including slave and free black business activities and the Black Wallstreet to coverage of black women's business activities, and discussions of such African American specific industries as catering, funeral enterprises, insurance, and hair care and cosmetic products. Also, there are entries on blacks in the automotive parts industry, black investment banks, black companies listed on the stock market, blacks and corporate America, civil rights and black business, and black athletes and business activities. This encyclopedia, edited by a professor of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, analyzes the African American business experience from the 1600s to the present through three main types of entries: biographies, topics in black business history, and black participation in selected industries. Each biography begins with a geographic location and name or type of business that distinguishes the person. After an overview of the individual's business activities, the development and successes or failures of the enterprises are discussed. Among those who are the subjects of entries are William Ellison (1790^-1861), a freed slave who became a wealthy planter; Mary Ellen Pleasant (ca. 1814^-1904), a San Francisco real estate entrepreneur; Booker T. Washington; and Oprah Winfrey. Some of the entries on business history, such as Slaves, plantation market-related activities; Great Migration, black entrepreneurship; and Business trends, post-1960s, focus on specific historic periods. Others, such as Boycotts, economic and Set-asides, minority business , are issue-related. Industry entries include Architects; Book publishers, commercial; and Hair care products industry . The more than 200 entries are arranged alphabetically with extensive cross-references. Length ranges from half a page for some biographies to more than 10 pages for Women business enterprises. Additional topics related to an entry are marked with an asterisk. Following each entry is a selected bibliography of sources used by contributors, as well as ones important for locating more information. These are a mix of primary documents, standard reference titles, scholarly journals and monographs, and periodicals such as Black Enterprise and Business Week. Following the entries is a "Chronology of Black Business History" (1619^-1999) and another selected bibliography grouped in six general subject areas. Concluding the work are an index and a list of the more than 100 contributors and their academic affiliations. Though some of the information can be found elsewhere, this resource's focus on business makes it unique. Recommended for academic libraries as well as large public libraries. .,."the Encyclopedia of African American Business History could represent a literal treasure trove for graduate students seeking disertation topics (as well as for established scholars seeking to diversify their research and publications). It has become almost a cliche to state that a book deserves both wide readership and to be on as many library shelves as possible. Nevertheless, in the case of Encyclopedia of African American Business History, such an assertion is entirely warranted."-Enterprise & Society ?...the Encyclopedia of African American Business History could represent a literal treasure trove for graduate students seeking disertation topics (as well as for established scholars seeking to diversify their research and publications). It has become almost a cliche to state that a book deserves both wide readership and to be on as many library shelves as possible. Nevertheless, in the case of Encyclopedia of African American Business History, such an assertion is entirely warranted.?-Enterprise & Society ?A fine ready-reference source, this work culls a vast amount of material covering an eclectic range of