Book reviews should help readers decide whether a book is appropriate for her (or him) to buy or read.
A good book review gives to its reader both a basic sense of what one will find in the book and a basic analysis of whether the book is on target.
For non-fiction, this analysis will often include the accuracy of the author's depiction of the people, place and times, the validity of the assumptions and reasoning that the author uses to come to her or his conclusions, what the genre of the book is and where it fits into that genre, the intended audience (scholars? general public? children?), etc.
For a women's history book, it will be helpful to explore, directly or indirectly, the theoretical grounding of the book. For instance, is its purpose to prove that there were great women in history, or to show how ordinary women lived their lives, or to document structures of oppression, or ...? Is it serious historical research or is it meant to pique interest in the subject?
Your style will also change depending on your intended audience. If you're writing a book review for a school, college, or graduate school course, for a popular or scholarly journal, for a web site, or for some other purpose, consider your audience and their needs.
Guides to writing book reviews:
- On Writing Book Reviews
Guide written for a graduate seminar in historical method (Catherine Lavender, City University of New York). - Steps for Writing a Good Book Review
From Maria Escales of Literacy Education Online, St. Cloud University. Helpful questions and ideas.
Sites with book reviews to examine as samples:
- Atlantic Magazine
Atlantic Monthly online home for book reviews, excerpts, and related interviews and articles. Scroll down for the book reviews. - Chicago Tribune: Books
Book reviews from the print edition of the Chicago Tribune. Book reviews and articles about books. - Los Angeles Times Books
Book reviews, book-related events, more, including page of current Sunday book reviews. - New York Review of Books
Online version of the popular book review weekly. - New York Times Books on the Web
Book reviews, first chapters, articles, interviews.
