What is a book review?
A book review is a critical analysis or evaluation of a book. A good book review "provides a brief summary of the work, a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses, and an evaluation of its contribution to the field." Source: Jeffrey W. Alexander and Joy Dixon, Thomson Nelson Guide to Writing in History (Toronto: Thomson Nelson, 2006), 22.
Types of Reviews
Avoid using book review sources that are not suitable for scholarly work. For example, Goodreads, Publisher's Weekly, and Booklist are written for a different audience.
Your search results in the library catalogue will include book reviews, but for a faster and more comprehensive search, consider exploring history journal databases, specialized book review journals, and other academic sources. It's important to note that there may be a significant time lag between a book's publication and the availability of a review, and not all books undergo review.
To locate a book review for a particular book, input the book's title and the author's last name in the search fields. Limit the Document Type to Book Review (for AHL & HA) and the Item Type to Reviews in JSTOR.
To check for book reviews on a particular subject, input relevant keywords and narrow down the Document Type to Book Review (for AHL & HA) and the Item Type to Reviews in JSTOR.
Some journals primarily publish book reviews. Here are several examples:
After finding the journal in the library catalogue, look for an advanced search function, and check for an option that allows you to refine the results specifically to reviews.
