Book Review Guidelines
Keep the following general guidelines in mind when you do your book review. The book review is due the day that we discuss your particular book.
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The review should be a minimum of 3 pages and a maximum of 4.
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The review should identify the book clearly with a full citation in the following manner: Title (in italics), Author (Place of Publication, Publisher, Date of Publication. # of pages.) This information should be at the beginning.
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The text of the review should evaluate the following questions:
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What is the author's thesis? Provide a concise summary of the argument and reason(s) why the book was written.
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Provide a summary of the book. This does not need to include every single detail—just the major points.
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Discuss the author's methodology and sources. You should discuss questions the author is asking, source material he or she is using, place of the book in the current historiography, historical approaches (Marxist, Microhistory, Annales, etc.) that the author is using and other information you consider relevant. It is important that you convey to me that you have understood the book.
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Critique the work. Does the author succeed in what he or she is trying to accomplish? Are there problems with the argument or with the way it is presented? Is the book well-written or is it dull? Highlight the book’s weaknesses or strengths and explain why you think they are weaknesses or strengths. This is the part of the review where your critical thinking skills will be on display and where you tell me what you think. Make sure they are evident in your finished assignment.
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The book review should not be a series of answers to the questions posed above, but a well-written and stimulating essay where the answers are part of the narrative.
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Try to avoid quotations longer than one line and cite them using parenthetical citations (e.g. pp. 56-58). If you reference other books, cite them using footnotes.
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It is also important that you review the book that the author has written and not one that you wish she had written. Stick to a critique of what the author has done.
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Be professional, fair, and honest, but also firm. Do not feel intimidated by the book. Let me know what you think and why.
There are some excellent student book reviews published in Ex Post Facto, the history student journal. You can find some of them here, here, and here. There are more Ex Post Facto reviews here.
It may be worthwhile to read some published book reviews in journals like the American Historical Review or Speculum. Both can be found on JSTOR.