A book review is intended to let the reader know if the book being reviewed will be of any interest. It is very important that in a clear and concise manner you should define the contents of the book. In doing so, a number of questions must be treated.

• What is the author writing about?
• What is the geographical and chronological scope of the book?
• What are the major themes of the book?
• What are the author's major interpretations?On what aspects of the topic does the author concentrate?

You should then render a judgement concerning the book. This is an important aspect of your review as it indicates your ability to critically evaluate the work of the author. There are a number of questions which you may treat without specialized knowledge of the subject or the state of the historiography in general. Often the author's introduction or preface is very helpful in this regard. The author has perceived a problem, examined some evidence, and reached some conclusions: this process, molded by the intelligence and sensibility of the historian, is then presented. This process must be evaluated. Your critical evaluation can be either favorable or unfavorable but it should not be based on whether or not you agree with the author.

Has the author succeeded in his purpose? Avoid arguing that the author has not written the book you would have--judge the work on the author's terms.

Has the author adequately covered the subject?

Is there any evidence of personal bias?

How well has the author expressed him or herself?

Does the evidence which the author presents justify his/her conclusions?

Can other conclusions be plausibly reached from the same evidence?

What approach does the author employ in her presentation?

What type of sources does the author utilize?

There are other issues which you probably can not explore without more specialized information. These include:

• Are the appropriate sources used?
• Are his/her interpretations controversial or novel?
• Is the approach taken innovative?
• For help with these issues you should read published reviews, which should be properly cited. But you should also be careful to preserve the integrity of your own ideas and to not be overly influenced in your interpretation by these reviews.

Your essay should conclude with a general evaluation of the work relating it to your academic experience and the course.

There are some other matters which you should keep in mind. Your review should be headed with the following information:

1. full title
2. author's full name
3. place and date of publication
4. the actual number of pages in the book and the number of pages which you read for this course.

An example of this format is : Spain in America. By Charles Gibson. (New York: 1966, Pp. xiv, 239 [200]).

Your essay should be concise--not exceeding nine hundred words. In part, your grade will be determined by your ability to remain within this limitation. Your review should be wordprocessed.

Finally you must observe the canons of English grammar.