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Book
Review Assignment
Spring 2004
ASSIGNMENT
Your assignment is to choose a book from list of choices presented
on the course webpage (see the "Suggestions for Further Reading"
pages linked to each lecture outline), read it carefully, and write a
thoughtful 5-7 page review.
HOW
TO GET STARTED
Begin by keeping
in mind that books by historians are not just interesting stories (though
we hope they are that, too). They
are designed to tell you something new and important about a particular
subject.
So your first task is to figure out what it is the author
wants you to learn from the book.
That information, which is usually called the thesis of the book,
should be mentioned near the very beginning of your review.
Once
you know what the thesis of the book is, you are in a position to be able
to evaluate the book effectively.
Ask yourself the following questions:
·
How is the book organized
and what kinds of historical sources does it rely on?
·
What kind of examples does
the author use to prove the thesis of the book?
·
Are there enough examples
to prove the thesis, and do you find the examples persuasive?
·
Can you think of other possible
examples the author does not use in the book?
·
If other examples were included,
would they change the thesis of the book?
WHAT
TO INCLUDE
Using these questions to get you started, write a book review
that includes all of the following elements:
1)
a statement of the thesis and an analysis of the argument of the book
2)
a discussion of at least three strengths and two weaknesses of the book
3)
your analysis of at least three ways in which the book can be related
to the major themes of this class
DUE
DATES AND GROUND RULES
Your
review is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday,
March 2.
It must be typed or word-processed (hand-written reviews will not
be accepted) and it should be 5-7 pages in length, double-spaced.
Make sure your name and all the necessary information about the
book (the author, title, publisher, and date and place of publication)
are at the beginning of your review.
As the syllabus states, late papers will receive reduced grades,
so start now to locate the book you want to review.
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