Book Review: A book review is a critical analysis of the book. A book report is an explanation of the book. Students in academia perform reviews, not reports. This assignment is patterned after the book reviews that historians draft for professional journals such as the Journal of American History and the American Historical Review. One of the goals is to introduce a new topic, a different interpretation, or to allow you to examine more deeply a topic of your choice. Another goal of this assignment is to develop your critical thinking and analytical means because unlike a book report that merely discusses the book in a linear narrative manner, a book review is a critical examination of the authors thesis, use of evidence, and kinds of evidence. Your review will be no less than five double-spaced pages in length. You will cite within the text and parenthetically before the punctuation such as:
The author said that Emma Smith was the only person who rose from their chair and thus Susan B. Anthony pointed to the eight-year-old girl and in a loud and thunderous voice announced to the crowd that she, Emma, would lead women to the ballot boxes. That was Emma Smith DeVoes Genesis myth. If the story was true is not important. What is important is that Anthony and DeVoe had a lifelong friendship even though they held opposing views on the best way to secure the vote for women (56).
I. Heading. At the top of the first page only you need to place the proper citation. Please follow this model precisely:
Title of Book. By Author (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication). Page numbers. Reviewed by Your Name, Date of Review.
Example:
Winning the West for Women; The Life of Suffragist Emma Smith DeVoe. By Jennifer Ross-Nazzal (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2011). vii + 288 pp. Reviewed by Jim Ross-Nazzal, February 9, 2019.
II. Body. The review itself is a critical examination of the authors theses, evidence, and analysis.
A. One (1) to Two (2) Paragraph Introduction
1. Tell the reader about the author
2. Why is the author interested in the subject?
3. Why did the author write the book?
B. Two (2) to Three (3) Pages on the subject
1. What is/are the authors thesis/theses?
2. What evidence does the author use?
3. Describe the evidence. Who are the authors of that evidence?
4. What potential bias exists in that evidence?
C. At least one (1) full page on the following:
1. Is the authors argument(s) effective? Defend your answer with sufficient evidence from the monograph to suggest the veracity of your thesis.
D. Two (2) to Three (3) Paragraphs on what worked or did not work for you
1. What did not work for you? Why not?
2. What did you find interesting?
E. One (1) Paragraph Conclusion
1. Who would be interested in reading this book?
2. What level of expertise is this book written for?
3. End on a positive note.
