History Book Review
Due: April 7
th
by 10:30 PM (turn in to Blackboard)
Requirements: 5-7 typed, double-spaced pages, Times New Roman 12 -point font, one inch margins.
Use MLA guidelines for formatting and citations
Choose one book from:
1) The Rise and Fall of Alexandria by Justin Pollard and Howard Reid
(ISBN: 978-0--143-11251-8)
2) Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine by Barry Strauss
(ISBN: 978-1451668834)
3) Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, and Suleiman the Magnificent and the
Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe by John Julius Norwich
(ISBN: 978-0802128096)
The best way to obtain the book is to order it online -the bookstore no longer carries these books
Format: Your review will be graded on the following categories:
*Opening Paragraph- a brief description of the nature of this assignment is required,
specifically what are your expectations going into reading & reviewing this book.
1.) Author: writing style, expertise, and bias – 30 points
A. How interesting to read and easy to understand was the author’s writing style? Give some
examples from the book.
B. What expertise does the author have for writing on this topic: e.g. has he or she written on this
topic before? Do they teach on this topic? What a cademic credentials do they have? Why
should we trust what they have to say on this topic?
C. What biases did you detect on the part of the author? Give some examples from the book.
D. Discuss the types of sources the author used. Do they seem r eliable? Do you detect any
biases in the types of sources the author used? Give some examples of the types of sources used.
2.) The Book: -Theme and Content- 50 points
A. Explain in full detail the book’s main theme(s) (or thesis). What is the author trying to
“prove” with this book? Did the author explain why they decided to write on this topic?
B. Explain how well the author supported the book’s main theme(s). Give specific examples
from the book.
C. Give a summary of the content of the book. ( This will be the biggest part of your paper . Be
sure to include specific examples, such as brief quotes, from the book in order to demonstrate
familiarity with the contents). Your paper should have a lot of citations from the book .
3.) Conclusion- 5 points
A. What was the best part of the book? What was the worst part of the book?
4.) Format, Grammar, and Spelling -15 points
A. Fully Explained and supported Opinions
B. Proper Spelling, Grammar, Sentence and Paragraph Structure
C. Proper MLA format-includes in-text parenthetical citations and a works cited page. For help
with MLA: go to TCL’s Library page and click on the MLA button. The OWL at Purdue
University is also a good reference (be sure you are looking at the MLA part of the site
however)
Works Cited Page in MLA format: Failure to include a works cited page in MLA format will result in a
5-point penalty
MLA Citation Help:
A. Title Page/First Page
a. At the top left of the first page put:
i. Your Name
ii. My Name
iii. The name of the class
iv. The due date
v. Then hit “enter”
vi. Put the title of the review in the center of the page
vii. Hit “enter”
viii. Begin the text of the paper
B. Works cited page
a. Include all sources cited in paper
b. Alphabetize by author’s last name
c. Proper Citation Format:
Last name, First name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
For example:
Jones, Thomas. Cruel Professor: Why Teachers Assign Book Reviews. Hobbes Publishing,
2019.
Notice that the title of the book is italicized
C. In-text Citations
a. Proper format:
(Last name page number)
For example:
(Jones 6)
a. How a paragraph would look:
In the coffee-houses of London and the salons of Paris the philosophes spread the ideas of the
Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment (Smith 7). The coffee -houses of London were the most
popular meeting places of the city in the 18th century (Smith 26). There men met not only to drink
coffee, tea, or a “mocha frappiatto ” but also to exchange gossip, read the newspaper, conduct
business, and to discuss the latest new books and ideas of the writers of the Enlightenment (Smith
102-104). As King George III said: “Mmmmm that’s good coffee!” (Smith 323).
Notice too that the quotation marks do NOT include the in -text citation and that the period is placed
after the parentheses! Notice that there is no comma between the author’s name and page number.
Wrong way: “Mmmmm that’s good coffee! (Smith 323).”
Wrong way: “Now is the winter of our discontent.” (Smith 323)
Right way: “Now is the winter of our discontent” (Smith 323).
Wrong way: (Smith, 323)
B. Helpful hints:
a. Keep track of what page number you got your information from. As you go through the
book you will want to take no tes, write down brief quotes etc. to include in your final
review (See #2 .c above The Book: Theme and Content). Keeping track of what page
number you got the information from will save you a major headache later one.
b. Should I refer to my book as a novel?
i. If it is fiction (i.e. a made up story), yes.
ii. If it is a work of non-fiction (e.g. a history book), no.
c. May I use “I”, as in “I think this book demonstrates the tyranny of Rusnak”, in the
review? Yes.
d. Before turning in the review:
i. Be sure to do an old fashioned proofread-spell-check and auto-correct won’t
catch all types of errors
ii. Re-read the directions of the assignment to make sure you are covering
everything the assignment asks you to do.
e. The Owl at Purdue University online writing lab is a great sour ce for MLA format issues.
f. If you have any questions, be sure to email Rusnak for help!
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