Walker Library: Book Reviews: Home

Book Reviews - Contemporary

Book Review Digest Plus This link opens in a new window
Citations and full-text book reviews from leading publications, 1983 to the present.
Reviews of serious, academic works. Subject coverage includes art, biography, business, education, general interest, history, humanities, literature, library and information sciences, music, religion, science and technology, social sciences.
• Over 2 million review citations, many with generous excerpts, from review sources such as newspapers, popular magazines, and academic journals with more than 118,000 new reviews added each year
• Over 270,000 full-text reviews from more than 1,400 American, British, and Canadian periodicals
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) This link opens in a new window
Information and critical reviews on books and audio visual materials for children and youth.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Contains reviews from Humanities and Social Science disciplines. For best results, select Review from the Advanced Search mode.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Contains reviews from Humanities and Social Science disciplines. For best results, select Reviews Only from the Additional Search Options.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
For reviews of literature, look at the Reviews and News tab.
Readers' Guide Full Text This link opens in a new window
Contains comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States. For best results, select Book Review under Document Type.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Index (1980-1984)
CALL NUMBER: Reference -- 1st floor, 028.1 H14sa 1980-84
Science Fiction Book Review Index (1923-1979)
CALL NUMBER: Reference, 1st floor -- 028.1 H14s 1923-73

Book Reviews - Early/Mid 20th Century

Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Contains comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States from 1890-1982. For best results, select Book Review under Document Type.
Reader's Guide Retrospective
ABELL (Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature) This link opens in a new window
Indexes book reviews of world literature, some dating back to 1920. For best results, select Reviews from Search options.
ABELL indexes books, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews and collections of essays published anywhere in the world from 1892 to the present. It is an excellent resource for researching 20th and 21st century authors and literary trends. ABELL is seamlessly linked to 325+ full-text journals in the Literature Online (LION) database. Subjects covered: Drama; Poetry; Fiction; Biography; Literary Theory; Film; Bibliography; Traditional Culture; Onomastics; Lexicography; Dialectology.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. For best results, select Review from the Advanced Search mode.

Book Review Digest (1905-2005)
CALL NUMBER: Reference, 1st floor -- 015 B64

Book Reviews - 18th & 19th Centuries

Eight Centuries (formerly 19th Century Masterfile) This link opens in a new window
Database covering Anglo-American primary source material dating from 1106 until 1960, aggregating indexes, catalogs, collections, and other finding aids. Provides access to articles, newspapers, books, U.S. patents, government documents, and images, with links to full-text where available.
8C includes Poole's Index to Periodical Literature; Niles' Register; American Memory; links to images in ArtSTOR; plus many more. See full content list (click on Resource Descriptions)
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Complete full text (page images) for back issues of various leading scholarly journals.

Guide to Critical Reviews of United States Fiction, 1870-1910
Cites contemporary reviews of major and minor U.S. novelists 1870-1910.
CALL NUMBER: 4th Floor -- 813.09 Ei2g v.1-2
American Literary and Drama Reviews: An Index to Late Nineteenth Century Periodicals (1880-1900)
Covers 13 periodicals for 1880-1900.
CALL NUMBER: Reference -- 1st Floor-- 792.09747 M34a
Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals
Indexes authors/titles of about 500,000 book reviews appearing in over 150 English and American journals.
CALL NUMBER: Reference - 1st Floor - 015 C73h v.1-10
Literary Reviews in British Periodicals (1798-1820)
CALL NUMBER: Reference - 1st Floor 820.907 W21l v.1-2 -
Literary Reviews in British Periodicals (1821-1826)
CALL NUMBER: Reference - 1st Floor 820.907 W21la -

Ask a Librarian

Why Book Reviews?

Question: What value lies in book reviews?

Answer: Book reviews are a good measure of contemporary reaction to a work. They typically contain information about a book's plot, style, and quality of writing, as well as the author's credentials. They may also give comparisons to other similar titles.

Book reviews can be as brief as one paragraph or several thousand words, but generally do not contain the kind of in-depth analysis found in literary criticism.

Books are generally reviewed near the date of publication or within the first two years after publication.

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Book Reviews: Home

Book Reviews - Contemporary

Book Reviews - Early/Mid 20th Century

Book Reviews - 18th & 19th Centuries

Ask a Librarian

Why Book Reviews?