What is Book Review?

A book review is a description, analysis, and evaluation of a book. It talks about the
quality, meaning, and significance of a book. It isn't just a short, 6 paragraph retelling.
It's not a book report or a summary.

What to Put in a Book Review

You should identify the book by giving:

• the author
• the full title
• the publisher
• the place and date of publication
• the edition

You might use some or all of the following approaches in your review:

• outline the contents of the book

• evaluate and make critical comments on the book
• use quotations or references to the new ideas in the book to illustrate
your theme
• identify the author's qualifications, and any other personal information
that is relevant to your discussion of the book
• place the book with reference to the author's other writings
• compare the book with a similar work by a contemporary
• point out the author's intentions, including the audience for which the
book is intended
• relate the work to a social or literary trend

Writing the review

A good review is clear, orderly, and fair. It should not merely summarize but also
evaluate. Like most academic writing, reviews are extremely formulaic:

They generally open with

(1) An introductory comment or two on the overall value of the book; then
(2) Summarize each chapter in order, including chapter numbers but not
titles, and citing authors if the book is an edited collection
(3) Mention the book's greatest strengths
(4) Mention its greatest weaknesses
(5) Give an overall assessment once again. If the book is an edited volume, most
evaluation will take place in the discussion of each chapter, after the summary.

1. Write an opening statement giving essential information about the book: title,
author, first copyright date, type of book, general subject matter, special features
(maps, color plates, etc.), price.

2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. You can often get this from their
preface or first chapter. Where they don't come out and say so, you can ask yourself
these questions:

• Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some other subject?
• From what point of view is the work written?
• Was the author trying to give information, to explain something technical, to
convince the reader of something?
• What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit into it?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What is the author's style? Did it suit your own tastes?
• Scan the Table of Contents to see how it's organized sensibly.
• How did the book affect you? Did you change any ideas you held
because of it?

3. Sum up the book in an elevator pitch - if you had to recommend this book to
someone during an elevator ride, in the time between floors.

4. Explain how the author got his point across. What descriptions did they use? How
did they tell the story - and did they keep you interested? Did their arguments make
sense? Did they leave anything out or leave you unconvinced at the end?

5. Check into the author and see if what you find - reputation, qualifications,
influences, biographical, etc. - establishes them as an authority

6. If relevant, make note of the book's format - layout, binding, typography, etc. Are
there maps, illustrations? Do they help your understanding?

7. Summarize (briefly), analyze, and comment on the book's content and its summary.
List the main topics, and briefly summarize the author's ideas about these topics, main
points, and conclusions. Use specific references and quotations to support your
statements. Once you have a good grip on that book, the conclusion will some simply.
Characteristics of a good review:
The review should introduce the reader to the book's content and focus on the subject of the
book being reviewed.

• Include an exposition of how the book fits into the current thinking on the subject (e.g. a
novel approach, an introduction, a magisterial review, the finest book on the subject ever
written, etc.).

• Avoid repeating its table of contents; rather, give the reader some idea of the author's thesis
and how he or she develops it.

• If the book is an edited collection of essays, or chapters by different individuals, give some
idea of the overall theme and content, but be free to focus on specific chapters you consider
particularly significant or worthwhile.

• Inform the reader about what is happening in the area of academic activity the book
addresses; what the state of knowledge is in the subject; and how this new book adds,
changes, or breaks new ground in our knowledge of this subject.

The review should be fair to the author.

• Tell readers why the author took many months to write the book, who the intended
audience is, and how the author handles his or her material.

• Convey the content of the book, not chapter by chapter so much as the entire book.

• Add flavor to the review by including pungent or revealing quotations from the book or
notable facts or findings.

• Be specific. Give details. Try not to be too abstract or vague (e.g., avoid writing
"interesting
observations," "lots of arresting data," or "a strange view of campus design" unless you
complement this with specific examples).

You should submerge your own opinions or reaction.

• Write the review about the book and its contribution to the subject, not about the reviewer's
feelings on having read the book.

• Do not tell the author what book you feel he or she should have written.

• The reviewer's appraisal is valuable, but this should be quite secondary.

You should establish your authority to write the review.

• Do not point out the author's flaws, but display in a detailed and instructive way your
expertise on the subject.

• Strive to make your review richly informative, even insightful.

• The finest reviews are extraordinarily understanding and moderately generous (but not
uncritical), and they are enlightening little essays in their own right.

• There is no substitute for a careful reading of the book itself. Judgments about a book's
usefulness and scholarly value based on a close reading of the text make the heart of a good
review.

Components of the review:

• An introduction to the author(s), including the author's title and place of work, and some
indication of who the author is (e.g., the renowned authority on campus finance; a bold,
young architect-scholar of campus design; a frequent critic of academic administration).

• A summary of the intended purpose of the book and how it contributes to improving
academic life and operations and to the discipline of college planning generally.

• A description of the way the author approaches his or her topic, the rigor of the research
and scholarship, the logic of the argument, and the readability of the prose.

• A comparison with earlier or similar books in the field to place the book in the existing
literature.

• An evaluation of the book's merits, usefulness, and special contributions, along with
shortcomings you think are necessary to point out.

What to leave out of a book review

Usually a book review does not include:

• footnotes
• a bibliography
• long quotations from the book or other reviews
• information about the author's life that is not related to the theme of the
review
Reminders
• There is no right way to write a book review. Book reviews are highly
personal and reflect the opinions of the reviewer.
• A review can be as short as 50-100 words, or as long as 1500 words,
depending on the purpose of the review.
• Before writing the review, be sure that you understand what type of
review is required for your assignment.
• Keep your audience in mind! This will help define the emphasis you
put on various parts of the review.
• Do not use legal size paper.
• Use a one inch (1”) margin on all sides.
• Double space everything, including quotes, footnotes, tables and
references.