COMPARATIVE BOOK REVIEW: Read a nonfiction book about a topic in U.S. History from 1865 to the present and compare it to the class textbook. The book must be at least two hundred (200) pages in length. Books must be chosen from the booklist in the course’s CONTENT section, or alternate selections approved by the instructor. Alternate selections must be approved by the instructor. The principle limitation for such selections is that their content must be included in the textbook, also. Otherwise, there is no basis by which the authors’ versions of history can be compared.
Reviews should be double-spaced with one-inch margins. They should be typed in number twelve (12) Times New Roman font with no gaps between paragraphs. The entire review should be double-spaced and three to five pages in length. Information at the top left corner of the first page should include the student’s name, the title and author of the book under review, the name of this course and the date the review is submitted.
Book review format: 1. Use APA style. Provide proper citation for the book at the end of the review. 2. Compare at least five(5) issues discussed in both the book under review and the textbook. Discuss the similarities and/or differences in the authors’ works concerning significant issues (not trivia, such as differences in dates or names). Refer to authors. Be specific. Tell, directly, whether the authors agree or not and to what extent. Provide evidence to prove their agreement/disagreement. Evidence should be paraphrased descriptions of the authors’ works. Avoid direct quotes. Use all the authors’ full names upon first reference to them. Thereafter, last names are sufficient. In subsequent references multiple authors are referred to by the first author’s last name and et al. (and others), as in Goldfield, et al.