"This four-volume collection, edited by Smith (emeritus, U. of Sussex, UK) and Best (psychology, Wake Forest U., US), reprints 72 articles for the purpose of providing a concise overview of research into cross- cultural aspects of psychology, drawing from all areas of psychological investigation. The first volume addresses basic issues of theory and method, as well as cognition. The second volume covers developmental psychology and is organized into two sections on early socialization and learning environments. Personality and social psychology are addressed in the third volume. Finally, the fourth volume is devoted to applied psychology and organized into sections on organizational psychology; clinical, health, and gender issues; and cultural change. A few examples of specific topics include the need to operationalize the psychological determinants of cross-national differences; culture, control, and perception of relationships in the environment; multicultural analysis of cultural models, socialization goals, and parenting ethnotheories; cognitive consequences of formal and informal education; mapping and interpreting cultural differences around the world; the English version of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory; job level and national culture as roots of job satisfaction; and immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. For the most part, the reprinted papers were originally published in the 1990s and onwards." -- Reference & Research Book News, 08/01/2009.