Book Reviews

Getting Started

To locate a book review, you need to know three facts about the book:

Author's complete name
Title of the book
Year the book was originally published

When searching for a book review, start with the volume of the year the book was originally published. Sometimes, due to time lag, a review may not appear until the year following (or even several years following) the publication date.

General Book Review Sources:

Book Review Digest: [(Bibl Ref Z1219.C96) Years: 1905-] Perhaps the most likely place to start in order to find a review for a general work of fiction or nonfiction. Arranged by author, each annual volume is supplemented by title and subject indexes. Special features of the Book Review Digest include a concise summary of the book, quotations or excerpts from the reviews, and the total number of words in the review.
Book Review Index: [((Bibl Ref. Z 1035 A1 B6) Years: 1965-1975; 1983-] While this source lists more reviews than does Book Review Digest, it does not include summaries of the book, nor does it give excerpts from the reviews. Also, it will not be of use for books published before 1965. Each volume is arranged by author, with a title index at the back.
Current Book Review Citations: [(Bibl Ref Z1035 .AI .C86) Years: 1976-1982] An index to reviews in more than 1000 different periodicals. Fiction, non-fiction, science, law children's and young adults books are included. Locate reviews by the title of the book or its author.
National Library Service (1905-74) Cumulative Book Review Index: [(Bibl Ref Z1035.AI.N3)] A cumulative index to book reviews from 1905 to 1974. Contains references to reviews in Book Review Digest as well as reviews from Library Journal, Saturday Review and Choice. Volumes1-3 is author index, volumes 4-6 is title index.

Online Book Review Sources:

Lexis Nexis Academic Universe: [(http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.uamlibrary.uamont.edu/us/lnacademic)] Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe is a full-text newspaper and magazine/journal index. Click on "News" then "General News" then enter the title of the book. You can also select "Arts & Sports News" from the drop down menu under "Step One," and then select "Book, movie, music, & play reviews" from the drop down meun under "Step Two."
ProQuest Research Library: [(http://0-search.proquest.com.uamlibrary.uamont.edu/?accountid=40238)] ProQuest Direct supplies full-text book reviews. Type in the title of the book and click on Search. You can also click on "more search options," select "book reviews" from the drop down menu under "document type," and then enter your search criteria--this way you limit your search results to only book reviews.

Subject Oriented Book Review Sources:

Applied Science & Technology Index (subscription cancelled 1999)	Bibl Ref Z7913.I7 Index Table
Biological & Agricultural Index	Bibl Ref Z5073.A46 Index Table
Business Periodicals Index	Bibl Ref Z7164.C81 .B9 Index Table
Education Index	Bibl Ref Z5813.E23 Index Table
General Science Index	Bibl Ref. Z7401.G4 Index Table
Humanities Index	Bibl Ref. AI3. H85 Index Table
Physical Education Index	Bibl Ref Z6121. P49 Index Table
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature	Bibl Ref AI3.R48 Index Table
New York Times Index	Bibl Ref. AI21 .N45 Ref. Storage 1960-1991; (recent years in electronic format)