When to Use Them
Use book reviews when you want to document the critical reception of a book at its time of publication or when you can establish the scholarly credentials of the reviewer. There isn't always a clear distinction between literary criticism and book reviews. Influential critics like William Dean Howells, T. S. Eliot, and Edmund Wilson wrote critical reviews for publications like Harper's New Monthly Magazine, the Times Literary Supplement, and the New Republic—none of which would be considered a scholarly journal.
Where to Find Them
The publication date for your book will determine which resources are most useful to you. Many book reviews are indexed, excerpted, or reproduced in full by the resources listed in previous sections. You may find additional reviews using the sources listed below.
Academic Search Premier
Coverage: varies, but many titles go back to the 1970.
Indexes magazines, academic journals, and some newspapers. To locate book reviews, choose "Book Review" from the drop-down menu next to "Document Type."
Black Literature Index
Coverage: 1827-1940.
Includes over 70,000 bibliographic citations for fiction, poetry and literary reviews published in 110 black periodicals and newspapers.
Book Review Digest
Burke Compact Stacks - Reference Z1219 .C96
Coverage: 1906-1996
Indexes and excerpts book reviews from about 75 magazines and newspapers.
Book Review Index
Burke Compact Stacks - Reference Z1035 .A1 B62
Coverage: 1965-1997
Indexes book reviews from about 450 publications.
Extensive collection of full-text scholarly articles, book reviews, biographical essays, and work overviews. Covers authors and literary topics from all genres, time periods, and regions of the world.
Paste the following into the search terms main search box on the Nexis Uni home page. Substitute for italicized terms:
HLEAD (author first name w/3 author last name) AND HLEAD (book title) AND TERMS (book reviews)
Academic Search Premier
Black Literature Index
Book Review Digest
