A clear indication of "hyperactivity" in the realm of language-software development is contained within the ReCALL Software Guide. The third edition contains over 530 entries, a significant increase over the 300 entries that appeared in the second edition published in 1990. Arranged alphabetically, and cross-referenced in two indices (a language and a category index), this compendium also contains lists of relevant publications and organizations devoted to CALL applications in higher education.

Although the information given for each title is minimal, the coverage is wide and varied. Each entry includes a brief description of the program's language objectives, a list of hardware requirements, target language(s), price, and supplier. The language index reveals that the majority of programs are intended for use in English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish (and these are often multilingual applications). Other well-represented languages include Russian, Japanese, Chinese and Latin. There is also a category for "Other Languages." This section alone includes approximately 75 programs written for languages as diverse as Albanian, Arabic, Croatian, Dutch, Farsi, Greek, Hebrew, Macedonian, Norwegian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Welsh, and more. The category index lists nearly as many authoring tools. Also receiving extensive coverage are linguistic and cultural database programs (such as CD ROM- based bibliographies and encyclopedias), multilingual word processors, dictionaries, translation tools, games, simulations and self-access courses.

While a qualitative assessment of software is lacking, the publishers invite requests for product information, evaluation sheets, published reviews or user reports, and names of colleagues who are already familiar with particular packages. With a significant breadth of coverage, the ReCALL Software Guide is a useful reference for anyone interested in CALL-related products. Indeed, with the present state of activity in this field, I will be surprised if the next edition, ReCALL Software Guide No 4, 1995, doesn't include a significant addition of newer, "more powerful" authoring programs, and software on CD ROM.