Book Reviews For History

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History Tip Sheet:
Book Reviews for History

Writing a book review is a useful way to evaluate and understand a scholarly book. You can judge the information and the way the author has presented it. Book reviews usually include comments on the theme of the book, evidence presented, clarity of writing, level of audience, and some observation on the background or authority of the author. Sometimes they also include comparison with other books on the subject.

Tip: Most book reviews come out within a year of the date the book was published. Look for the original copyright date in your book. Subsequent paperback editions or reprints are not normally reviewed again, so use the original publication date.

BOOK REVIEW SOURCES

The sources listed in this section are primarily just book review sources or indexes that direct you to other sources for the reviews.

Book Review Digest is a print index that goes back to 1905. It is on Reference Table 4 and we do not have electronic access. It refers you to reviews in other publications.

Book Review Index is another print index that began in 1965. It is on Reference Table 3 and is not available electronically. There is some overlap with Book Review Digest, but it’s worth checking for different publications.

Books in Print is a web database identifying books both in and out of print. There is a star symbol next to the title if one or more book reviews are attached to the record. This database would be most useful for more recent titles.

History: Reviews of New Books offers lengthy reviews of scholarly history books. You can access it electronically since 1996 or back to 1976 in print in the bound periodicals on the second floor.

New York Times Book Review is an excellent source for reviews of books on many topics. It is the supplement section of the Sunday paper. This link offers coverage since 1997. For older reviews, use the New York Times Historical File.

Times Literary Supplement (now called TLS) is the book section of the Sunday Times (London). There is no online access to it and this title is permanently retained on microfilm back to 1902. The microfilm boxes for the Literary Supplement are filed separately after the regular Times boxes.

Washington Post Book World is the section of the Sunday paper containing book reviews. Issues since 1987 are online while older years back to 1877 are on microfilm only. Use the drop-down box to designate Document Type and enter book review.

HISTORY OR JOURNAL DATABASES THAT CONTAIN BOOK REVIEWS

The sources listed in this section are journal article databases that include book reviews. Since most scholarly history journals include many book reviews, the indexes cite them just like they cite the main articles.

Academic Search Premier is a good starting point for general interdisciplinary topics. Many of the periodicals contain book reviews, however it is not completely full text.

Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals uses the heading Book Reviews to list the reviews they include. Many of these titles have a military focus. This database is on the web since 1990, but goes back to 1948 in print on Reference Table 1.

America: History and Life is the major index for scholarly American history journals. Coverage goes back to 1964. Check the box called Reviews to retrieve just book reviews and not articles.

Historical Abstracts is the counterpart to America: History and Life for world history. Coverage goes back to 1954. Check the box called Reviews to retrieve just book reviews and not articles.

Humanities Full Text is an interdisciplinary index. Some journals are full text since 1995, but it has indexing and abstracts for earlier years. Use the drop-down box to designate Document Type and enter book review. To find reviews back to 1907, ask a Reference librarian to show you the older printed indexes, which are under various names.

JSTOR is a full text archival collection of core scholarly journals, including a number of history journals. Most of the scholarly journals have lengthy book review sections. However, the most recent years (4-5 years) of the journals are not included.

ProQuest Military Collection covers most of the leading English language military periodicals, published commercially or by the military. The content is not completely full text, but we also own many of the journals in print. Use the drop-down box to designate Document Type and enter book review.

Tip: In spite of all these possible sources for finding published book reviews, many books are not reviewed at all. You don’t have to read someone else’s review in order to write you own. However, you can read reviews on any book to get an idea of how they are written.

INFORMATION ABOUT AUTHORS

Often the book itself or a published book review will tell you something about the author of the book. Or some authors or professors have their own web pages. Or, you can try some of these possible sources.

Contemporary Authors is a large set of volumes profiling many recent authors. It is on Reference Tables 7 and 8. Use the index in the most recent volume to see if your author is listed.

Dictionary of Literary Biography is another large set with long articles on many writers. However, generally only more well-known or prolific authors will be included. This set is on Reference Tables 5 and 6.

Directory of American Scholars is a biographical directory of American scholars in the humanities. Each of the 6 volumes covers a discipline. It is in the general collection under LA2311.C32.

International Who’s Who is directory of people worldwide. It gives a brief summary for each person. This book is on the bookcases behind the Reference desk under CT120.I5.

Literature Online (LION) is a fully searchable library of more than 350,000 works of English and American poetry, drama and prose, 154 full-text literature journals, and other key criticism and reference resources.

National Faculty Directory identifies the faculty at various colleges and universities. Often it is professors who write scholarly books. While the information provided is brief, it can tell you where the author is affiliated. This set is in the Reference collection under L901.N34.

Who’s Who in America lists prominent Americans in many fields. Brief overview information is given. This title is on the bookcases behind the Reference desk under E176.W6423.

Tip: Sometimes it is hard to find very much information about the author of a given book. Check the book jacket, introduction, or pages near the front or back of the book or a list of other books he/she has written. Search our catalog to see if we have any other books by the person.

Questions?

Ask a Reference librarian at the Reference desk for additional suggestions or contact the History Librarian.

Return to History Tip Sheets Page.

The links on this page are to sites that are not located at the United States Naval Academy. The USNA is not responsible for the content found on these sites. In addition, the content of these sites does not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards, policy or endorsement ofthe Naval Academy or the United States Government.

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URL: http://www.usna.edu/Library/History/Bookreviews.html
Last updated: January 9, 2008