Jerry Norman s "Comprehensive Manchu-English Dictionary, " a substantial revision and enlargement of his "Concise Manchu-English Lexicon" of 1978, now long out of print, is poised to become the standard English-language resource on the Manchu language. As the dynastic language of the Qing dynasty (1644 1911), Manchu was used in official documents and was also the vehicle for an enormous translation literature, mostly from the Chinese. The new "Dictionary, " based exclusively on Qing sources, retains all of the information from the earlier "Lexicon, " but also includes hundreds of...