Berkshire Publishing Group

Hard truths about publishing by Karen Christensen

Publishing has become a zombie business, but I'm wondering if it can be brought to life in the post-pandemic era.

Library Journal’s “Best Reference Sources”
Choice “Outstanding Academic Books”
Booklist “Outstanding Reference Sources”
New York Public Library “Outstanding Reference”
American Libraries “Outstanding Reference Sources”
The Observer (London) “Top 20 Green Books”
William Hill Ltd (UK) “Book of the Month”

WELCOME TO

Berkshire Publishing

Our mission is to open new windows on the world. Join us as we explore different countries, different periods in the history of humanity, and look to the stars and galaxies. Our community includes teachers and students, writers and scientists, and experts from universities in over one hundred countries – all curious about this beautiful wide world and eager to share knowledge for our common future. The names of a few of our thousands of expert authors are shown below.

“Take a publisher with a decade of experience in China, add a group of well-known Chinese and Western scholars, pay special attention to details, add 1100 unique photographs, sprinkle in dozens of traditional Chinese proverbs, do it all on recycled, chlorine-free paper, and the end result is [the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, a] sumptuous resource on all things China for the 21st century.”

Library Journal Best Reference, from the book review

“The call we made in Our Common Future, back in 1987, is even more relevant today. Having a coherent resource like the Encyclopedia of Sustainability, written by experts yet addressed to students and general readers, will support education, enable productive debate, and encourage informed public participation as we join in the effort to transform our common future.”

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development and three-time prime minister of Norway

“Sorting the sum of human endeavors and presenting students with a coherent plan of study is no easy task, but [in creating the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History] a winning combination of distinguished historians and a seasoned editorial staff has proven more than equal to this massive undertaking.”

John Lawrence, Lawrence Looks at Books

“A monumental undertaking, [the International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports, edited by Christensen et al.] covers women’s sports worldwide and throughout history … A scholarly resource for public libraries and school at all levels, middle school through college.”

Library Journal, from the book review

“Incredibly, [the Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World] is the first encyclopedia to focus on community as concept and experience, so stands alone in its field as the one title any library must buy to cover this topic. . . . Essential. All readerships.”

CHOICE, from the book review

“The Encyclopedia of Leadership is a model of a modern reference book … [it] belongs in the personal collection of every person seriously interested in leadership, whether as student, scholar, or practitioner.”

Compass, Kennedy School, Harvard, from the book review

“Works like the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction play a valuable role in lending definition to emerging, interdisciplinary fields of study.”

Against the Grain, from the book review

“[Berkshire’s Patterns of Global Terrorism] offers a great service to policy makers, journalists, researchers, and the general public … [It] provides context, coherence, and thorough access.”

Reference & Research Book News, from the book review