In his introduction to each volume, Hendrickson maintains, "I've scrupulously tried to include the anecdotes, of both living writers and deceased writers, that could hurt anyone remaining behind." As for the entries he has condensed or paraphrased, Hendrickson says he has tried to retain "the essence of the author and anecdote." Though the scope of the three volumes appears to be fairly comprehensive at first glance, the inclusion or exclusion of particular authors, as well as the length of individual entries, is much more indicative of Hendrickson's personal literary tastes and interests than of the literary scene as a whole. World Literary Anecdotes , for example, has a decidedly Western European flavor, with a sprinkling of Muslim, Japanese, and Chinese notables. The format is the same in all three volumes. Authors are arranged alphabetically, followed by dates. The subject's nationality and other biographical tidbits may be found in the body of the entry. Hendrickson has also conveniently provided places and name indexes, the latter including individuals cited but without entries of their own. Although the research involved is apparent throughout, it is odd that Hendrickson did not bother to include a bibliography of the resources he used. Though these volumes invite the reader to browse at random, they were not originally meant for casual reading. Hendrickson intended to create a three-volume set of reference works devoted to literary ephemera. Serious students of literature, however, will be better served using standard biographical sources.