LibGuides: History & Historical Research: Find Book Reviews

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Book Reviews

A review is a critical evaluation of a text, event, object, or phenomenon. Reviews can consider books, articles, entire genres or fields of literature, architecture, art, fashion, restaurants, policies, exhibitions, performances, and many other forms.

Above all, a review makes an argument. The most important element of a review is that it is a commentary, not merely a summary. It allows you to engage in dialogue and discussion with the work's creator and other audiences. It can offer agreement or disagreement and identify where you find the work exemplary or deficient in its knowledge, judgments, or organization.

"Book Reviews." The Writing Center. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, n.d. Web. 21 Apr 2011. <http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/review.html>.

Databases for Academic Book Reviews

Below are some key historical databases that include Academic Book reviews.

Limit your search to "Book Review" or "Reviews". You might try searching for the keywords "book" AND "review" in separate search boxes, or enter the phrase "review article" into a single search box.

JSTOR Arts & Sciences I-XV
JSTOR's archival journal collections include more than two thousand journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. It ontains the entire runs, from the first volume up to the volumes published only a few years ago. Currently published titles have a "moving wall" of 3-5 years after which the current issues are added to JSTOR.
Book Review Index Plus
An online guide to book reviews that includes more than five million review citations from thousands of publications, with links to thousands of full-text reviews.

Some Information in this guide is adapted from:

https://guides.library.harvard.edu/HistSciInfo/primary#s-lg-box-wrapper-7437024

https://guides.temple.edu/history