ABSTRACT
The beginning of the new decade next month coincides with an important milestone for Mathematical Reviews (MR): the very first issue appeared in January 1940 and so the first issue of 1990, issue 90a, will be the 50th anniversary issue. This comes just a few months after the acquisition of the millionth item at MR [see these Notices, September 1989, 858–859]. Anniversaries are a time for reminiscence and reflection. A fascinating and informative history of MR by Everett Pitcher has already been published [A history of the second fifty years. American Mathematical Society 1939–1988, pp. 69–89, Amer. Math. Soc, Providence, RI, 1988] and that story will not be repeated here. It was in reflecting on the huge number of authors whose work has been reviewed in MR over the last 50 years that it seemed appropriate to write an article for them and perhaps answer some of the questions authors may have about reviews of their papers.
