How to review scholarly books

by Steven Gump

ISBN: 9780691270494

Published: 2025-06-17

"In accessible, supportive, action-oriented prose, this how-to book contextualizes the writing of scholarly book reviews for scholars and advanced students in the humanities and narrative social sciences. It offers step-by-step instructions for identifying potential books for review and suitable venues for reviews; reading books for scholarly review; and writing scholarly reviews worthy of being considered scholarly contributions in their own right-namely, reviews that offer contextualized arguments, clear analyses, and cogent assessments. Underscoring The Book Review Book is the conviction that scholarly book reviews provide opportunities for exploration of and engagement with disciplinary ideas and conversations. Although the book focuses on single-authored reviews of scholarly monographs, it also offers strategies for reviewing edited volumes, anthologies, and reference works; writing review essays; and coauthoring reviews. The book also addresses how the composition of...