Critical Book Reviews: Evaluate Reviews

• What relevant details does the reviewer provide about who the author is; and where they stand in their genre or field of inquiry?
• What context or framework does the reviewer consider in his/her review?  Example:  A philosopher reviewing the book in the context of philosophy, comparing the book to other similar books.
• What is the thesis of the book?  Does the reviewer identify the book's originality, angle, novelty, showiing the specific contribution the piece is making?

Examples of Critical Book Reviews:

These examples are from a journal aimed specifically at scientists in Biology. These reviews are not geared to general audiences so the language may be hard for the general public to understand.

• A critical book review by Randy Moore of the book Not In Our Classrooms edited by Eugenie C. Scott, NCSE's executive directorr.
• Several examples of critical book reviews from BioScience, 57, 884-890, 2007.

Two examples of book reviews from the New York Times Book Review:

I include the following two reviews because they are reviews of science-oriented books and because the NYT Book Review is a popular supplement that many people read. Thus, the style and content of these reviews are for general audiences and should give you a good idea of the level you should be writing at.

• The Unraveling, a review by Peter Dizikes of the book A Life Decoded, written by J. Craig Venter.
• Look Who's Talking, a review by Emily Eakin of the book The First Work written by Christine Kennelaly.

Last updated November 27, 2007
© William P. Clement 2007