BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG IN PICTURES: Visual Geography Series

In common with earlier volumes in the same series, this ""word-and-picture"" text transcends its picturesque appearance (and advertising) to offer sensible, succinct information for school assignments. In the weakest section, history is presented in outline form as a procession of dates until Modern Times (c. 1850), then as a succession of reigns. In the strongest sections--language, literature, education and religion, food, recreation--the text is both fuller and franker than in juvenile encyclopedias generally, the only valid comparison. The final section, on the economy, spotlights the effectiveness of a single economic unit--the Benelux Union--in improving working conditions and increasing the potential profit of each of its members. The ""picture"" part--over half of the whole--is more aux touristes than a propos: the caption, not the image, carries most of the weight. It's not as easy as it looks, but it's easily accessible for reluctant researchers. Sub-topical table of contents.