This guide presents selected resources for finding book reviews in history. For additional suggestions, please consult How Do I . . . Find Book Reviews? on the BC Libraries web site. Feel free to contact O'Neill Library subject specialist for History, Michelle Baildon (552-4477; baildon@bc.edu, O'Neill Library 408), for further help.
This guide draws from the American History Research Guide maintained by Nancy Godleski at Yale, the British History Research Guide maintained by Suzanne Lorimer at Yale, and the Finding Book Reviews in History guide maintained by Elizabeth Bennett at Princeton.
America:
History & Life
For books about the United States and Canada, start with this index. It includes
approximately 6000 citations of book and media reviews from over one hundred
key journals in U.S. and Canadian history and related fields. On the search
screen, type "book review" or "media review" in the "Document Type" field. [show
me how] America: History & Life indexes reviews in many of the journals and
databases listed below.
American
Historical Review (JSTOR) 1895-1999
American
Historical Review (History Cooperative) 1999-present
Includes scholarly articles and critical reviews of current publications in
all fields of history.
H-Net Reviews
An online scholarly review journal. The reviews are published online via discussion
networks and the H-Net web site. Once posted to individual H-Net networks, reviews
are posted to H-Review and archived on this site. You can browse through the
volumes or use the search feature to assist in finding reviews.
History: Reviews of New Books (1997- )
Approximately 100 book reviews per quarterly issue cover all geographic areas
and time periods, from ancient times to the present. Almost all books reviewed
were published in the year prior to the review. Older issues are available in
print (1985-2003: Newton Resource Center Stacks Z6205 .H69; 2003-2005: O'Neill
Current Periodicals Z6205 .H69)
The History
Journals Guide Online Review Index
Provides links to online reviews from a wide variety of sources. The reviews
are listed alphabetically by the author of the work reviewed and by type (e.g.
CD-ROM, exhibition catalogs, diaries). The review list can also be searched.
Reviews
in American History (JSTOR ), v. 1 (1973) - v. 22 (1994)
Reviews
in American History (Project Muse), v. 23 (1995) - present
Each issue presents reviews of over thirty of the newest books in American history,
as well as retrospective essays examining landmark works by major historians.
New York Times Book Review
The highlight of this section of the New York Times website is the searchable
archive of over 50,000 book reviews, author interviews, and book news articles
from the newspaper and the New York Times Book Review since 1980. It also contains
the full text of the weekly Book Review (available on the web since January
5, 1997) as well as a feature called "Life and Times: Major authors, in their
own words and ours," and selected first chapters from New York Times Book Review
or New York Times bestseller list books. Note that these sites, while free,
require registration.
Arts
& Humanities Citation Index
An international interdisciplinary index to the literature of the arts and humanities,
indexing the contents of about 6,100 journals, covering about 1,000 fully and
about 5,100 selectively. It is an excellent source for locating book reviews
published across the broad range of humanities literature. Locate reviews by
searching for the author and title as a cited reference then limiting the result
to book reviews.
Book
Review Digest Plus (1982- )
An index to book reviews in several hundred popular, general interest, and scholarly
periodicals, this title also reproduces sections of many of the reviews indexed.
The word length of the review is also given -- a handy way to identify the core
scholarly reviews. The print version goes back to 1905 (O'Neill Index Area,
Ref. Z1219.C96).
Book Review Index
Bimonthly with quarterly and annual cumulations. While indexing many of the
same sources included in Book Review Digest, this title includes more reviews
drawn from academic journals. (O'Neill Index Area, Ref. Z1035.A1B6)
Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals (1802-1974)
About 500,000 book reviews which have appeared in the backfiles of over 150
humanities journals may be accessed in this 10 volume index. Volumes 1-9 provide
author access, volume 10 title access. (O'Neill Index Area, Ref. AI3.C652 1982)
Expanded
Academic Index
This index to the contents of 1,500 English-language periodicals provides access
to book reviews as well as to articles published since 1985. Search for book
reviews by typing t=[name of the book].
Francis
(1984- )
This electronic version of the Bulletin signaletique offers especially good
coverage of European periodicals in the humanities and social sciences. For
best results, add the phrase "and c. r." (for compte rendu, or "review") to
your keyword author or title search. For example: nehamas and c. r.
Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities (1960--1990)
From vol. 12 (1971) onwards, this index contains all the book reviews (except
children's books) appearing in the journals indexed. Prior to 1971, the journals
were selectively indexed. The reviews are arranged alphabetically by book author.
(O'Neill Index Area, Ref. Z1035. A1I63)
Reader's
Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
Online version of the printed Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, which
indexes U.S. general-interest magazines. Use "review" as a keyword, together
with keywords from the title or subject of interest.
Humanities
& Social Science Index Retrospective (1907-1984)
An index to articles from nearly 1,200 English-language periodicals, including
many of the most important scholarly journals of the 20th century. More than
1,300,000 articles and 240,000 book reviews are included. Periodical coverage
includes some of the best-known scholarly journals and numerous lesser-known
but important specialized magazines. Use document type = book review plus keywords
to search.
Book Review Digest (Print) (1906- )
An index to book reviews in several hundred popular, general interest, and scholarly
periodicals, this title also reproduces sections of many of the reviews indexed.
The word length of the review is also given -- a handy way to identify the core
scholarly reviews. The print version goes back to 1905 (O'Neill Index Area,
Ref. Z1219.C96).
Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals (CRIS)
(1886-1974)
Provides very brief citations to scholarly book reviews in history, political
science, and sociology. Includes two indexes, one for names of reviewed authors,
one for book titles. It has a companion, Combined Retrospective Index to Book
Reviews in Humanities Journals, which is also useful for some topics. (O'Neill
Reference Index Area Z1035 .A1 C64 Range 1: General)
American
Periodicals Series Online (1740-1900)
Searchable full text of periodicals printed in America. Try using the word "review"
as part of your search
Periodical
Contents Index (1770- , bulk 1800s- )
Good coverage of American, British, and some continental European periodicals
for the 19th and 20th centuries. Search for the title of the work in "Article
Title Keyword" and check the "book reviews only" option under "Scope."
19th
Century Masterfile
Includes Poole's Index to Periodical Literature (1802-1906), which indexes American
and English periodicals only. Contains reviews but the word "review" is not
always in the citation, so it's best to do a simple keyword search for your
author and/or title.
New
York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
Dates and Format: 1851-1999, electronic.
Notes: Full text electronic archive of the New York Times. Use the Advanced
Search and select Article Type: Review.
Times
Digital Archive
Dates and Format: 1785-1986 (when archive is completed--check resource for progress),
electronic.
Notes: Full text electronic archive of the London Times. Use the Advanced Search
and select Reviews (under the Features section).
The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900
(CD-ROM: O'Neill Electronic Information Center AI3 .W45 1999; Print: O'Neill
Reference Index Area AI3 .W45 Range 2: General) A five-volume index to British
magazines and journals.
Michelle Baildon
baildon@bc.edu
Created September 5, 2005
Last revised