Book Review
Assignment
Select one book from the attached list and provide a critical review of the text.
Reading the Book
Start reading your book right away and do not wait until the assignment is due. Be an active reader of the book. Being an active reader can include the following: Sit at a desk with pencil and paper, or with your computer. As you read, stop frequently to summarize the argument, to note particularly clear statements of the book's argument or purpose, and to describe your own responses. If you have read in this active way, putting together the book review should be straightforward.
Book Review: Written Content
Some questions to keep in mind while reading the book:
- What is the author's central argument?
- Does the author do what he or she says they are going to do?
- Does the book make a contribution to the field of urban planning?
- Does the book relate to a current debate or trend in urban planning?
- Is the book well written?
- How accurate is the information (e.g., the footnotes, bibliography, dates)?
- Are the illustrations helpful? If there are no illustrations, should there have been?
- Who would benefit from reading this book (professional planners, students, academics, others, etc.)?
- Take note of the title. Does the book deliver what the title suggests it is going to deliver?
- Observe the Table of Contents. Does the book cover all the ground you think it should?
- the preface (often the richest source of information about the book), and the index (is it accurate, broad, deep?).
Review Structure
Your book review should address and/or include the following:
- Complete bibliographic citation for the work (i.e., title in full, author, place, publisher, date of publication, edition statement, pages, special features [maps, color plates, etc.], price, and ISBN.
- One paragraph identifying the thesis, and whether the author achieves the stated purpose of the book.
- At least two paragraphs summarizing the book.
- At least one paragraph on the book's strengths.
- At least one paragraph on the book's weaknesses.
- At least two paragraphs on your assessment of the book's strengths and weaknesses. How did this book affect you? Would you recommend this book to others? Why or why not?
- At least one paragraph explaining the book's relevance to urban planning. In what way do some of the major themes or terms in the book relate to material covered in this course?
- A concluding paragraph should be included.
Writing a Book Review: Avoiding Common Pitfalls
1. Evaluate the text -- don't just summarize it. While a succinct restatement of the text's points is important, part of writing a book review is making a judgment. Is the book a contribution to the field? In what way(s) does it add to knowledge to the discipline of urban planning? Should this book be read and, if so, by whom? In other words, what is the appropriate audience for this text?
2. Do not use the table of contents as a structuring principle for your review. Try to organize your review around the book's argument or your argument about the book.
3. Take note of important issues related to the book's topic that the author does not address in some way. If the book purports to be about ethnicity and planning and yet lacks a section on Native Americans, by all means, mention it, but keep such criticisms brief.
4. Do not use too many quotes from the book. One or two direct quotes are fine, but it is generally best to paraphrase or use short telling quotes within sentences.
5. It is recommended that you look at a few examples of book reviews before you get started. Look in the book review section of such relevant journals as the Journal of the American Planning Association, the Journal of Planning Education and Research, or the Journal of Urban Affairs. These are considered to be some of the leading journals in our field.