BOOK REVIEW: Texas History

Suggestions for preparing a book review:

Approach:

        A good book review should provide a clear picture of the book being reviewed without burdening the reader with too much detail. While your review should present a synopsis of the book your job is not to retell the story. Your review should identify the major theme or themes (and, or arguments) the author is presenting.   Is the author trying to give the reader a broad picture, or is he or she concentrating on a very limited area.  Determine whether the author is presenting a particular interpretation of the subject, or trying to describe the subject without presenting a particular slant or special emphasis. What aspects of the book or subject matter  impressed you either positively or negatively. Present your personal impression and/or reaction to the book, and to the author's interpretation.

Mechanics:

    Write a rough draft review of the book, incorporating the key elements discussed above. The review should be approximately 2-3 pages in length double spaced. It should not be more than 3 pages long.  After the review has rested for a day or so, read it over, checking to see that you have written a clear, comprehensible review that presents a clear picture of the book read.. Check your spelling, punctuation, grammar and composition. (If you use a computer, and I suggest that you do, then the particular program like "Microsoft Word" or "Word Perfect" has a grammar and spell check that should be utilized)  Type your final draft. Proof read it and correct any errors you may find. Make a second copy. In the upper right hand corner of the first page should be your name and course number (History 2301). Three lines below that at the top of the first page use as a heading the essential information about the book:

Title. Author. (Location of publisher: Publisher's name, publication date. Number of pages.)

Example:

Hales, Douglas, A Southern Family in White and Black: The Cuneys of Texas. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2003), 178 pp.