| Historical Material 1: Academic Book Reviews | ||||||||||||||
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Whatever your interest in history, you will have to read about the subject, whether you're studying articles to pass an exam or a re-enactor checking your costume. But what are you going to read? Historical literature takes many forms, from century old letters to a television series tie-in. This is the first in an occasional series examining the material available to you, in this case, the book review. Most people will have seen book reviews of one form or another, in newspapers, magazines, web sites and television. Reviews can take many forms, from a few sentences to thousand word essays, ranging from blatant adverts to bitter attacks. However, academic book reviews have a traditional format, one that is commonly echoed in newspapers and journals, especially for texts with a historical subject matter. These historical book reviews are not simply for people interested in buying books. They can be sources of information in there own right, providing small introductions on many subjects, giving both a summary of the relevant contents, and an idea of the debates involved. Devotees of European history are especially fortunate because of the sheer number of works produced every year. A review will usually begin by introducing the author of the work in question, listing their experience and other publications. If not, these details should be included at some point. There is no reason why you should regard the work of a doctor or a professor any differently to that of an amateur or a journalist if you don't want to. Books written by historians are more likely to have followed historical methodology, but this doesn't guarantee that they will be more valid, or interesting to read, as anyone else's.The historical book review will summarise the work's contents. The major themes and arguments will be described, any prominent examples noted, and the conclusions recorded; types of evidence used are also mentioned. The level of detail will depend on the length of the review, but some writers can give chapter by chapter synopses. This has several benefits; firstly, complicated arguments can be distilled into very brief, but comprehensive, form, enabling any reader to understand what is being said. Some writers can be extremely wordy and dry, writing in a style wholly unsuited to the everyday reader, and a good reviewer can pass on the required information and save us the struggle. Another benefit concerns language. Many books on European history aren't written in English and can remain untranslated for a long while. Unless you learn the relevant language the information may be lost to you, but because reviews are often written in different languages, you can read an English review of a Spanish text and learnt the basic contents. The second half of most historical book reviews casts a critical eye on the contents. The review's author will use their own knowledge to assess the merits, and flaws, of the text, pointing out inconsistencies or praising inspired ideas. Some reviewers can get pretty viscous, which makes for interesting reading (unless you wrote the book). The obvious benefit to the reader is that they can swiftly gain a critical appreciation of the book they may be about to, or already have, read. A good review will point out the flaws, and anything that has been missed, which we might not be aware of. The review will often discuss the heritage of the book's ideas - are the conclusions new, or is the author following the work of another historian? This will give the reader a sense of depth, and where this book fits in alongside others they may have read.However, readers have to be careful, because the comments made in a review could be dubious. While there are many bad books on history, arguments and grudges can emerge between authors, and reviews have been used as tools for attack. Once again, if you apply a degree of skepticism these can be enjoyable to read, and provide perfect introductions to the world of historical debate. Of course, a review is no substitute for reading a book yourself, but many people don't have the time to read everything, or the breadth of knowledge to recognise when a text is flawed (or just plain wrong). In these cases, book reviews can be useful tools.
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