History Book Report

Cookie Roberts, Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation

For this course, you will be required to complete two 1000-1250 word (approximately 4-5 pages) book review papers.

Write a 1000-1250 word essay analyzing the text. Because many students may think of a “book report” as little more than a summary of a book’s contents, I have used the term “book review” to emphasize that something more is expected. The student is expected to go beyond merely outlining the contents. Although it is, of course, important to summarize the contents of the book as part of the review, the student should analyze it in some depth. In reading the book, the student should pay attention to the footnotes and bibliography, seek out information about the author, and consult the text and other books to gain a wider perspective on the book’s subject.

The most important aspect of the essays is to determine the thesis or main argument of the book and describe how this is presented and supported. Is the case convincing? Does the author seem to have approached the topic from a relatively objective point of view, or is a clear bias apparent? What sources did the author use? Is the author clearly arguing against another historian’s interpretation of the subject? What is your opinion about the argument the author is making?

All books of history have some argument in the material they are presenting. Try to identify what this argument is and give your opinion about the validity of this approach.

The main body of your reviews should be at 1000-1250 words in length (this is equivalent to at least 4 full pages in length, typed and double spaced, with margins no larger than 1 inch in width, using a standard word processing program). Every paper must have a full citation of the book being reviewed and a proper bibliography in the MLA style at the end if you have consulted any additional works.