Review of "The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence Vol. 1 by Avron Barr & Edward A. Feigenbaum", William Kaufmann, Inc. 1981

Ten years ago a book of this nature would have been a good textbook for AI, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) the field has grown so that three volumes are now required. The three volume series The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence is intended to be an introductory reference book both for researchers within AI and for those outside who need a guide to the uncharted waters of AI research and literature. Under each major topic (Volume 1 includes search, knowledge representation, and language both written and spoken) many different ideas and systems are presented. This should prevent newcomers to the field from deciding that because they have seen one idea they know everything about the field and can now easily solve all problems with one method.