Helen Chapin Metz (April 12, 1928 – May 13, 2011) was an American editor and Middle East analyst.

Life

Helen Chapin was born on April 12, 1928, in

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, China. She was the daughter of diplomat Selden Chapin and Mary Paul Noyes. Her brother, Frederic L. Chapin, would also become a diplomat. She was educated at the Potomac School, the Madeira School,

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...

, graduating in 1949, and the American University of Beirut. She married Rev. Ronald Irvin Metz on July 14, 1951, in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

, Netherlands. The couple settled in Washington, D. C., as they both had jobs in the federal government. Metz worked for the

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Un ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

, editing 15

Library of Congress Country Study The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public doma ...

handbooks. She died in Washington, D.C. on May 13, 2011.

Works

* (ed.) ''Iran: a country study''. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1989. * (ed.) ''Libya: a country study''. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1989. * (ed.) ''Iraq: a country study''. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1990. * (ed.) ''Israel: a country study''. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1990. * (ed.) ''Egypt: a country study''. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1991. * (ed.) ''Jordan: a country study''. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1991. * (ed.) ''Nigeria: a country study''. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1992. * (ed.) ''Somalia: a country study''. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1992. * (ed.) ''Sudan: a country study''. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1992. * (ed.) ''Saudi Arabia: a country study''. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1993. * (ed.) ''Somalia: a country study''. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1993. * (ed.) ''Algeria: a country study''. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1994. * (ed.) ''Mauritius'', 1994. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1994. * (ed.) ''Persian Gulf states: country studies''. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1994. * (ed.) ''Indian ocean: five island countries''. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1995. * (ed.) ''Turkey: a country study''. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1996. * (ed.) ''Global Terrorism: an Annotated Bibliography''. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1997. * (with Glenn Curtis) ''The Housing Market in Mexico''. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1999. * (ed.) ''Dominican Republic and Haiti: country studies''. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metz, Helen Chapin 1928 births 2011 deaths American Africanists American book editors American University of Beirut alumni American women editors Library of Congress Madeira School alumni Middle Eastern studies scholars Vassar College alumni