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Contents
Introduction
General
• Online Databases
• Print Indexes
Subject Specific
• Art
• Classics
• Economics & Business
• Education
• History
• Humanities
• Nursing
• Philosophy
• Politics
• Psychology
• Science & Technology
• Sociology
• Theology
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Book reviews can be very useful in the research process. They often provide a summary of the book's contents, comparisons to other books in the field, and critical evaluation of the work. They vary in length from one paragraph to several pages, and may be found in popular and scholarly sources.
If a book is not available in Geisel Library, book reviews can help you determine whether you should request the book through Interlibrary Loan.
The most important thing to know about the book when you are searching for a review is when it was published; most reviews appear within a year of two of publication. To determine year of publication, search the Library catalog or Worldcat.
Online Databases
Academic Search Premier
A broad index providing abstracts and some full-text for a range of academic areas. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
Alternative Press Index
Provides citations from over 250 alternative, radical, and international periodicals, covering cultural, economic, political and social change. To find book reviews, search a keyword, author, or title of a book, and limit the Article Type Phrase to "Book Reviews".
Choice Reviews Online
CHOICE magazine reviews recently-published books that are relevant to college and university curricula. It is published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. Do a keyword search in the CHOICE archive to find book reviews on a topic of interest.
Communication & Mass Media Complete
This database covers more than 600 titles and includes full-text articles from more than 240 journals in the field of communication and media studies. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
H-Net Reviews
This source provides reviews of books in the humanities and social sciences, written by scholars in the field. Use the search box on the main page to search by author, title, or keyword.
January Magazine
An online magazine containing book reviews, book excerpts, and interviews with authors. Reviews can be browsed by categories such as biography, fiction, non-fiction, and art & culture.
JSTOR
A large collection of back issues of major journals in the humanities and social sciences, including Annual Review of Sociology, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Philosophical Quarterly, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. Coverage is generally from the beginning of publication to within 5 years of the current issue. To find reviews, switch to the Advanced Search, type keywords, author, or title in the search boxes, and checkmark "Review" next to Limit to Type.
LexisNexis Academic – News
Enter either keyword, author, or title in the first search box, and enter "book review" in the second search box. Select a Source corresponding to the type of publications you wish to search for reviews. Good choices include "US Newspapers and Wires", "New York Times", and "Major World Newspapers". Be sure to change the date range if you are seeking reviews of books from more than three months ago.
New York Times (1851–2003)
Type Review in the first search box and select Document Type from the adjacent pull down menu. Use the second search box for your search terms (keyword, author or title).
Project MUSE
Select the Search option, then choose "Advanced Search." Search using author or title words, and limit by Type: Review. Coverage may go back as far as 1993, but in most instances begins in 1999.
Print Indexes
Book Review Digest (1905–2000)
Index Area
Provides citations to and brief summaries of book reviews in 75 journals. Search under the author's last name.
Book Review Index (1965–1992)
Index Area
Provides citations to book reviews in hundreds of journals. Search under the author's last name.
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Art
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in art can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
Academic Search Premier
Contains the full-text of The Art Book from 1997 through one year ago. To find reviews in this publication, enter keyword, author, or title in the first search box, search "Art Book" in the "SO Journal Name" field, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
Classics
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in classics can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
APh: L'Annee Philologique
To find book reviews, choose the search type Other criteria – Word(s) in the title. In the search box, type in the name of the book. Click on the number of results to display the results list. Citations to reviews of the book will appear after the double line (||), with each review separated by a single line (|).
Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Publishes reviews of current scholarly work in the field of classical studies. From the main page, select Archives. Type in keywords from the title or author's name. Combine words with AND.
Economics & Business
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in economics and business can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
Business Source Premier
To find reviews of business and economics books, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
EconLit
Provides citations for journal articles, books, and working papers on economics. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and limit the Document Type Phrase to "Book Reviews".
Education
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in education can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
ERIC
Search ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center) for full-text articles from educational and education-related journals. This database contains book reviews from many journals, including Educational Researcher, whose book reviews are freely accessible online. To find book reviews in ERIC, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book/Product Reviews" in the Publication Type limiter.
History
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in history can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
America: History and Life
Focuses on United States and Canadian history and culture from prehistoric times to the present. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
Handbook of Latin American Studies
This is a searchable online index to the academic literature of Latin American studies, including journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers in a variety of disciplines, To find book reviews, search either the title or author's name.
Historical Abstracts
Covers world history from 1450 to the present, excluding North America. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
Iter
Iter's bibliography covers journal literature pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400–1700). To find book reviews, use the Advanced Search to search on the title or author and limit the Type to "Review".
The Medieval Review
Provides reviews of current work in all areas of Medieval Studies. From the main page, click Search, then use the Basic Search tab. To search on book title, select Search in "review title" and enter the title in the Find box. To search on the book's author, select Search in "publication author" and enter the author's name in the Find box.
Humanities
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in humanities can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
Arts & Humanities Citation Index
Provides indexing to the world's leading arts and humanities journals. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and limit the Article Type Phrase to "Book Review".
Nursing
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in health care can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
CINAHL
To find reviews of nursing-related books, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Publication Type limiter.
Philosophy
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in philosophy can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
Philosopher's Index
The premier international resource in philosophy, this database contains over 35,000 book reviews. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
Politics
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in politics can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
Law & Politics Book Review
The Law and Politics Book Review is sponsored by the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association. Almost every book about the legal process and politics is reviewed. Nearly all reviews are available within six months of receipt of the book. This database can be searched or browsed.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Search this database for citations and abstracts from literature in political science and its related fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy. To find reviews, switch to the Advanced Search tab and type "book review" in the first search box, changing the drop-down box at the right end of the first row to Publication Type, PT=. Then in the second row, enter a book title, author, or keyword, and press Search.
Psychology
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in psychology can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
PsycINFO
This database from the American Psychological Association supplies indexing and abstracts from 1887 to the present for more than 1,700 journals. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Review-Book" in the Document Type limiter.
Science & Technology
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in science and technology can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
E-STREAMS: Electronic reviews of Science & Technology References covering Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine and Science
This free online database of science book reviews is a joint venture of YBP Library Services and a team of academic reviewers. New issues are released 3–4 times each year. The archive of reviews can be browsed or searched.
Sociology
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in sociology can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
Contemporary Women's Issues
The focus here is scholarly publications about women's health and human rights issues in over 150 countries. To find reviews, type book review in the first search box and select Article Type Phrase from the adjacent pull down menu. In the second search box, type a book title, author, or keyword.
SocINDEX
SocINDEX with Full Text is a comprehensive sociology research database containing indexing for thousands of books reviews, including those in the journal Contemporary Sociology. To locate book reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Document Type limiter.
Theology
In addition to the following subject-specific resources, book reviews in religion can be found in many of the general sources listed above.
ATLA Religion Database
Compiled by the American Theological Library Association, this database covers all religious traditions; strongest coverage is for materials dealing with the Judeo-Christian tradition. To find book reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Review" in the Publication Type limiter.
Catholic Periodical & Literature Index
CPLI provides indexing to periodicals, books, newspapers, and papal documents dealing expressly with the practice of Catholic faith and lifestyle. To find reviews, type a keyword, author, or title into the search box, and choose "Book Review" in the Publication Type limiter.
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