Intended to assist the student, research scholar, librarian, or information professional gaining a foothold in Northern Africa area studies, this book provides an annotated bibliography of relevant reference materials. The book considers a full spectrum of area studies topics; formal reference works (encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, collective biographies) form the basis of the bibliography, but nontraditional sources are included if they represent important sources of information on neglected countries, regions, or topics. Each annotation indicates the nature of the work and its relevance to the field. The basic premise or approach of each work, the degree to which it is regarded as authoritative and accurate, features that increase its reference value (maps, tables of data, appendixes, illustrations), effectiveness of organization and access, and any special biases or agendas are recorded insofar as possible. The book is divided into three parts: part 1, "General Reference Works" ("Chapter 1: General Works"); part 2, "Area Studies References by Subject" ("Chapter 2: History and Antiquities"; "Chapter 3: Social Sciences"; "Chapter 4: Government, Politics and Law"; "Chapter 5: Economics--Commerce, Industry and Aid"; "Chapter 6. Arts and Learning"; "Chapter 7: Religion"); and part 3, "Reference Sources by Country and Region" ("Chapter 8: The Maghreb--Arabic-Speaking North Africa"; "Chapter 9: The Sahel Region: Sahara"; "Chapter 10: The Horn of Africa"). Contains a names index, a titles index, and a subject index. (BT)