Book reviews are important resources for establishing context around historical research. These reviews may offer a summary of a book, but will also usually provide a critical discussion of the book’s main thesis, while comparing the book’s content and conclusions to related works in the field.
Finding book reviews can help you:
Identify books to incorporate into your research
Understand how a book fits into the larger scholarly conversation on a topic
Evaluate the merits and shortcomings of a particular work
Develop your skills at assessing research material in the field
Establish the "intellectual climate" at a given point in time
For more information on the value of book reviews as sources, see Jenny L. Presnell, The Information-Literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 45-47.
Selected Journals and Websites with Scholarly Book Reviews
Looking to stay current on what's being published in the field? Need an example of a scholarly book review? The following selection of journals regularly publish book reviews in each issue:
American Historical Review"...has been the journal of record for the historical profession in the United States since 1895—the only journal that brings together scholarship from every major field of historical study. The journal also publishes approximately one thousand book reviews per year, surveying and reporting the most important contemporary historical scholarship in the discipline."
Coverage: 1996-present (see JSTOR for 1895-1996)
English Historical Review"...the oldest journal of historical scholarship in the English-speaking world. It publishes original and exciting research relating to all parts of the world and all forms of historical inquiry from the Classical era onwards. The EHR includes major Articles and Review Articles, and an unusually extensive range of Reviews of books published throughout the world in English and other languages."
Coverage: 1996-present (see JSTOR for 1886-1996)
H-Net Reviews (Humanities and Social Sciences OnLine)"H-Net is an international interdisciplinary organization of scholars and teachers dedicated to developing the enormous educational potential of the Internet and the World Wide Web." The site publishes over 1,500 scholarly reviews each year written by qualified reviewers.
Coverage: 1993-present
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies"Founded in 1936 under the auspices of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies (HJAS) has without interruption pursued its mission to disseminate original, outstanding research and book reviews on the humanities in Asia, focusing at present on the areas of China, Japan, Korea, and Inner Asia."
Coverage: 2009-present (see JSTOR for 1936-2009)
Hispanic American Historical Review"...pioneered the study of Latin American history and culture in the United States and remains the most widely respected journal in the field. HAHR's comprehensive book review section provides commentary, ranging from brief notices to review essays, on every facet of scholarship on Latin American history and culture."
Coverage: 1918-present
History: Reviews of New Books"Approximately thirty to forty book reviews per issue cover all geographic areas and time periods, from ancient times to the present. The reviews are concise, authoritative, and timely. They outline and evaluate the author's arguments, describe the sources used in the research, and place the book in the context of other scholarship."
Coverage: 1972-present
Indian Historical Review"...a peer reviewed journal, addresses research interest in all areas of historical studies, ranging from early times to contemporary history. While its focus is on the Indian subcontinent, it has carried historical writings on other parts of the world as well."
Coverage: 1999-present
Isis"...feature[s] scholarly articles, research notes, and commentary on the history of science, medicine, and technology and their cultural influences. Review essays and book reviews on new contributions to the discipline are also included. An official publication of the History of Science Society, Isis is the oldest English-language journal in the field."
Coverage: 2002-present (see JSTOR for 1913-2002)
Journal of African History"...publishes articles and book reviews ranging widely over the African past, from ancient times to the present. Historical approaches to all time periods are welcome. The thematic range is equally broad, covering social, economic, political, cultural, and intellectual history."
Coverage: 1997-present (see JSTOR for 1960-1997)
Reviews in American History"Each issue presents in-depth review essays about the latest books in American history. Retrospective essays examining landmark works written by leading historians are also regularly featured. The journal covers all areas of American history, including cutting-edge and more traditional sub-fields."
Coverage: 1995-present (see JSTOR for 1973-1995)
Slavonic and East European Review"...the journal of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, is published by the Modern Humanities Research Association and UCL SSEES.... Each volume consists of four issues, published in January, April, July, and October of each year. Its 800+ annual pages include articles, review-articles, book reviews, marginalia, and original documents."
Coverage: 1928-present
Covering reviews from 1903-present, this database is a great resource for finding reviews for a specific work or author. When you find a review of interest, use the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access to the review through another database (we often do!).
Includes Book Review Digest Retrospective, 1903-1982.
For U.S.- or Canadian-based topics, America: History and Life can be a great resource.
>>To limit your search to reviews: Search for a topic of interest and add PT Review to the end of your search (Show Me)
>>To search for reviews of a specific work or author: Search for the author's name and select People from the dropdown menu (Show Me)
If you find a review of interest, click the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access through another database (we often do!).
Finding Book Reviews in America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts
Finding Book Reviews in America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts
For non-U.S. and non-Canadian historical research, America: History and Life can be a great resource.
>>To limit your search to reviews: Search for a topic of interest and add PT Review to the end of your search (Show Me)
>>To search for reviews of a specific work or author: Search for the author's name and select People from the dropdown menu (Show Me)
If you find a review of interest, click the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access through another database (we often do!).
Finding Book Reviews in America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts
Finding Book Reviews in America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts
Particularly strong in the humanities and social sciences, JSTOR provides access to a wide range of journals from history, area studies, anthropology, literature, film and media studies, and more. Before clicking "search," select the "Reviews" checkbox underneath the "Narrow Your Results" section of the advanced search screen (Show Me).
Finding Book Reviews in JSTOR
Subject areas include African-American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, business, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology, statistics. The University of Rochester Libraries currently subscribes to the following multidisciplinary JSTOR Collections: Arts and Sciences I through XV. JSTOR also packages their content in disciplinary collections; however, the only ones of these that we have licensed are the Biological Sciences segment and the first of the Business collections. For alumni access, see also Alumni Library Gateway.
Like JSTOR, Project Muse provides access to scholarly journal articles and reviews from a range of humanities and social science disciplines. Be sure to check off "Reviews" under the "Content Type" filter to the left of your search results (Show Me).
This database includes access to both the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) (1975-present) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) (1900-present) and searches a total of 1.9 billion+ records. Be sure to us the "Document Type" option in the dropdown menu to search for "Book Reviews" on your topic (Show Me); or, if you're searching for book reviews of works be a specific author, use the "Cited References Search" option and then filter your results by "Book Reviews" (Show Me).
Use this database for book reviews published from 1907-1984.
>>To limit your search to reviews: Search for a topic of interest and add PT Review to the end of your search (Show Me)
If you find a review of interest, click the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access through another database (we often do!).
Finding Book Reviews in Humanities and Social Sciences Index Retrospective
Journals indexed cover these disciplines: addiction studies, anthropology, archaeology, area studies, art, classical studies, communications, community health & medical care, corrections, criminal justice, criminology, dance, economics, environmental studies, ethics, family studies, film, folklore, gender studies, geography, gerontology, history, international relations, journalism, law, linguistics, literary & social criticism literature, minority studies, music, performing arts, philosophy, planning & public administration, policy sciences, political science, psychiatry, psychology, public welfare, religion and theology, social work, sociology, urban studies
"This database contains more than 1.79 million review citations of literature starting with 1983" - content is updated weekly. While UR does not subscribe to this product, you can still search the database and then use the library's website to locate the corresponding review (Show Me).
