British History Book Report

Choose one of the following books and write a review on the British History Book Report. The review should be around 5 pages.

1. Barlow, Frank. The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042-1216. 4th edition London and New York: Longmans, 1988.
2. Warren, W.L. King John. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.
3. Gardiner, John. The Life and Times of Chaucer. New York: Vintage, 1978.
4. Marius, Richard. Thomas More. New York: Vintage Books, 1987.
5. Erickson, Carolly. The First Elizabeth. New Jersey: Summit Books, 1984.
6. Carlton, Charles. Charles I, The Personal Monarch. London and Boston: Ark Paperbacks, 1984.
7. Russell, Conrad. The Causes of the English Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
8. Gough, Richard. The History of Myddle. Edited by David Hey. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.
9. Macfarlane, Alan. Marriage and Love in England 1300-1840. Oxford and New York: Blackwell, 1987.

The book review, on British History Book Report should be a critical evaluation of the book and not a digest of its contents.

British History Book Report

1. What is the author's purpose for writing this book?
2. Does the author bring forth any new interpretation?
3. Does he succeed in accomplishing what he intended to do? That is, does he fulfill his purpose?
4. What is the author's literary style?
5. Does the author bring forth any significantly new documentary evidence?
6. Does the author rely extensively on secondary sources, or does he quote from original sources?
7. Do you detect any historical errors or errors of judgement?
8. Can you detect any obvious bias? Or is the author's account impartial?
9. Do you consider any parts of the book especially poorly done? Why?
10. Does the book contain any parts that are significantly valuable? Why?
11. What is your overall evaluation of the book in terms of its contribution to its subject?

Useful Suggestions - British History Book Report:

1. Avoid meaningless phrases like "I like the book," "this book is a good one," "in my opinion," etc. These are of no value without supporting reasons or evidence.
2. Avoid too many quotations.
3. Avoid long questions.
4. If you choose to make a direct quotation, be sure to cite the page number.
5. Do not use footnotes or endnotes. Quotations can be identified by page numbers in brackets.