A Guide to Doing Book Reviews
Dr. Fritz
Books are both reservoirs of information and
works of explanation and interpretation. The key words here are
interpretation and explanation. The basic point to remember is
that when you read a book your main goal should be to understand
the author's major conclusions and interpretation/point of view.
Remember, you are not writing a book report, which is a simple
summary of a book, but a book review. Book reviews are more
complicated and demanding.
Reviewers report on the content and evaluate
the book, discussing matters such as the author's evidence,
logic, style, conclusions, and organization.
The Thesis: The first thing to look for is the author's thesis or central argument. Keep in mind that the thesis is not necessarily the subject of the book. The subject of a book may be a biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt, but the thesis may be that Roosevelt was a great wartime leader but a poorinterpreter of the postwar world. A book may have several sub-themes, but a good book has aprimary thesis.
How do you find the main thesis? Read the book thoughtfully. Always read the Introduction or Preface, since authors use these to state the reasons why they wrote their book. Next, read the Conclusion (or last chapter), since authors usually review their purposes in their conclusions. If you know the author's conclusion, you can keep it in mind when you go back and read the book from start finish, and that knowledge will help you understand what you read.
Another helpful suggestion is to skim the
book quickly the first time you look at it: read the table of
contents, look at the first and last paragraphs in each chapter,
look at the illustrations (if any) and the legends under them.
This sort of reading will help you absorb the meaning of the book
and the author's point of view. This kind of reading also helps
you remember better when you begin your methodical reading of the
book.
The Organization of the Review: The thesis of
the book usually comes first in a review. You might begin with a
quotation from the book that spells this thesis out. Also,
identify the author as quickly as you can, so that your reader
will know early on who the person is who wrote this book (a
professional historian, an amateur historian, an archivist, a
novelist, etc.).
Once you introduce the thesis of the book, go
on to develop the main ideas. Avoid the temptation to summarize
each chapter. Don't try to report every interesting detail, but
recount a few interesting aspects. As a reviewer, you are
expected to make some judgements, whether on the accuracy of the
book (if you know the field well or have specialized knowledge of
the subject matter) or on your own opinion/feelings about the
book. Did you like it? Mistrust it? Find it interesting?
From these initial feelings you can go on to
analyze them. Why did you like/dislike the book, mistrust it,
find it interesting? What was interesting/uninteresting about it?
By analyzing your intuitions you can provide a foundation of
informal reasoning and questioning that can serve as the basis of
your more formal analysis of the book.
Checklist for Writing Critical Book Reviews:
1. Always give the author's main
thesis.
2. Always give some of the evidence that the author gives
to support this
major thesis.
3. Identify the author and state his/her
biases.
4. Avoid lengthy comments on the style of the book, but do
indicate whether it is well-written or
not.
5. Comment on what the book added to your understanding of
the
subject.
6. Avoid vague generalizations or polemical attacks
on the book.
7. Don't feel compelled to say negative things about the
book. If you find problems or faults with the book, or
disagree with the author's thesis, state these objections.
But you are not obliged to look for petty problems just to have
something t criticize.
8. Judge the book the author has written. You may
wish the author had written a different book, but this is the
book the author wrote, so don't review it as if it should be
another book.
9. Quote selectively from the book you are reviewing.
Quotations give some of the book's tone and may express thoughts
in a sharp and concise way. But avoid long chunks of
quotations. You must show your readers that you have
understood the book you are reviewing and can provide pungent
analysis of it.
10. Whenever possible, bring some of your own knowledge to
bear on the book; something you have learned in class, read in
another course, or from your own experience.
If you have thoughts about ideas the author
overlooked, mention them in the review--but avoid giving the
impression that you are an independent expert on the subject (if
you are not); that gives a dishonest impression.
A book review should observe the basic
requirements of literary discourse. There should be an
introduction (an overview of your thesis or ideas concerning the
book), a middle section in which you develop your argument, and a
brief conclusion. As always, clarity and grammatical precision
are important if your reader is to understand what you are
saying.
From: Richard Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History, 1st
ed. (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1989), pp. 178-192.
Last modified: Ides of August, in the 2762th
ab urbe condita
(from the Foundation of the City, Rome, that
is....2009, for those of you on a different calendar).