How to Write a Book Review: A Guide for Students, Assignments of Research Methodology

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HOW TO WRITE A BOOK

REVIEW

prepared by:

HAFISA.V

L.L.M ,SLS CUSAT

WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW?

• (^) A book review is a thorough description , critical

analysis, and or evaluation of the quality ,meaning

and significance of a book.

• (^) The basic purpose of a book review is to help

readers decide whether to read

the book themselves.

• (^) A book review should identify the central idea of

the book , give the reader some indication of the

author's style, approach, or premises, and then offer

an overall evaluation.

General approaches on how a book is reviewed There are two general approaches on how a book is reviewed: 1)Descriptive analysis 2)critical analysis Descriptive : Presents the contents and structure of a book as objectively as possible ,describing essential information about a book's purpose and authority .•done by stating the recognised aims and purposes of the study, often incorporating Critical : This describes and evaluates the book and supports this evaluation with evidences from the text in most cases , in contrast and in comparison with the research of others. It should include a statement about what the author has tried to do, evaluates how well the author has succeeded in meeting the objectives of the study etc. There is no definite methodological approach to writing a book review. But it's necessary that one needs to think critically about the research problem under investigation before begining to write.

Elements

**1)Description

2. Critical analysis
3. Evaluation.**

1. Description : This section should be concise, giving a brief overview of the purpose and structure of the book. Some of the information this section should contain : title, author, copyright , date ,general subject area ,the purpose and scope of the book ,structure of the book; chapter break-down, the author’s thesis/argument 2. Critical Analysis : In this section you will analyze the content of the book. It’s important to be selective in this section, choosing only the points of the work that you feel are the most significant. One way of selecting points to develop is to choose what you see as the major strengths and weaknesses of the work.

Contd..

• (^) 3. Evaluation : This section acts as the climax of your review. Again, your review will have an argument/thesis, and this is the section in which you will articulate it clearly and succinctly.
• (^) This section discusses if the book is a valuable contribution to debates and discussions.
• (^) This will contain one’s own thesis and concluding remarks.

How to Write a Book Review

These guidelines are taken from: Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff,

The Modern Researcher, 5th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich, 1992.

 1) Introduce the book

• (^) Purpose is to link together the forthcoming paragraphs into a few

captivating sentences.

• (^) Must include the following : the author’s name and the book’s title.
• (^) Understand the book’s purpose and scope and convey these

findings to the reader.

Contd..

 4)Explain how the book compares with other books in the field

• (^) Present additional or contrary points found in other books by the

same author and with other authors in the same field.

 5 ) If need be ,deliver key short comings of the book

keep objections to the substantive nature of the book

 6) If need be, suggest how the author ought to clear up

questionable points and fill in any gaps

• (^) Should include your knowledge on the subject and themes that

the author may/not have included, intentionally or unintentionally

 7)Tell the readers how the book will change readers’ views of the

subject/field

Contd..

8) Provide an appraisal of the author and the book

• (^) The last word belongs to the author and his/her book.
• (^) Insofar as the Journal’s (limited) readership goes, the author’s fate is

in your hands.

• (^) Be fair in the balance of the book’s merits and faults.
• (^) Respect the amount of work that has gone into writing the book.

BOOK REVIEW EXAMPLE Introduction to Law of Contract (3rd edn. 1999) by Avtar Singh, Eastern Book Company, Lalbagh Lucknow, pp. XL + 259 Rs. 90/ Learning the general principles of the law of contract has always been a matter of concern for the students of law. This is so because of the legal intricacies involved in understanding this branch of law. In spite of the multitude of legal literature available on the subject, the perinnial absence of a simple but grant text was always felt. The needs of the students who are supposed to study the contract law widely vary. Some require in depth study whereas others need only to have a general understanding of the law in question. In order to cater to the needs of different category of student consumers, we find quite a large number of academic venture by many authors. The book under review is only one among them. It is written to cater to the needs of those who want to inculcate in them a general awareness on the subject. This fact the author has explicitly stated in his preface.

contd..

The book being one dedicated for the non-legal fraternity, those who want

to study and pursue the profession of law, need to look for books with more

wishful study and presentation, hopefully the author's own detailed text on

contract. Looking from the angle of the community to which the book is

addressed, it can safely be said that it stands out from the queue. If it is a

carving from his own text, without hesitation, one, can say that this job has

been accomplished with utmost sincerity, dedication and scholarship. The

overall presentation of the topics in the book enables those who want to

look upon the subject in more details, to go ahead with that by the providing

C.U.L.R. Book Reviews 215 of footnotes in appropriate places. References to

case law, Indian and foreign, not only makes the expositions clear and

unambigious but also authoritative. References to other statutes lead the

reader to assume correctly that Contract law like other branches of law is

interactive and Contract law is only a part of a composite whole.

216 Cochin University Law Review [ Defeasible concepts of coercion, undue influence misrepresentation, fraud and mistake constitute the subject matter of discussion in chapter 4. Free consent is considered an essential requirement of a valid contract. Consent is generally said to be free when it is not obtained by any of the above means. In order to say that a contract is the result of consensus ad idum, it is essential that the presence of any of the above said defeasible concepts are done away with. A brief explanation of all these concepts along with illustration enables the reader to get a first hand knowledge about it. All agreements in form and content entered into by competent persons not affected by vitiating elements are not going to make a contract worthy of enforcement in law. It is also essential that the parties must contract for a lawful object. Contracts which are opposed to the law of the land may become unlawful or void as per the law to which it is opposed. Circumstances that make an agreement unlawful constitute the topic of discussion in chapter 5. Certain types of agreements such as agreement without consideration, agreement that restraint marriage, trade or legal proceedings which the contract law itself declare as void and uneforceable, are also summarised in this chapter. When formation of a valid contract is accomplished, the parties reach the next stage namely the fulfilment of the object which the parties had in mind. When the object is fulfilled, the liability of either party to the contract comes to an end. The contract is then said to be discharged. But performance is not the only way in which a contract is discharged. Discharge is possible (1) by performance (2) by impossibility of performance (3) by agreement or (4) by breach. Discharge of a contract by all these contigencies find an able expression in chapter 6. The mode of performance of a contract including contigent C.U.L.R. Book Reviews 217 contracts, party by whom it is to be perfor-med, performance is case of joint promisees, time and place of performance etc. are also summarised in this chapter.

Contd.. There are at least few situations in which law as well as justice require certain persons to conform to an obligation although they have neither broken any contract nor committed any tort. Such obligations are generally described for want of a better or a more appropriate name, as quasi-contractual obligations. All those relations resembling those created by contract which are intended to prevent what is popularly known as in just enrichment is also shortly dealt with in the above chapter. In addition to the fundamental principles of the contractual obligations, the Indian Contract Act encompass certain specific forms of contracts. They are contracts of indemnity, guarantee, bailment, pledge and agency. Law in these specific forms of contracts are expressly laid down from Sections. 124 to 209 of the Contract Act. Chapters 7 to 11 are a compendium of the issues and principles enshrined in those special contracts. The author's methodology of presentation is really fascinating. In this brief book, he could highlight all the major legal issues concerning the diverse topics in question in a comparative manner. Reference to foreign cases and statutes has in fact added more value to the contents. In printing style and taste, the book is unique and provide the readers much value for the money. V.S. Sebastian* *Senior Lecturer, School of Legal Studies, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Kochi - 22.