Book Reviews
By: Linda Hildebrand
Assistant Professor &
Coordinator of Archives
 Phone: (248) 370-2483
E-mail: hildebra@oakland.edu

Book reviews appear in a variety of sources. Locating reviews of particular books is made easier by the reference sources listed below. To begin to look for a book review, the most important fact to know is the date the book was first published. If the book for which you want a review was published in 1976, for example, look in the indexes for the year and a year or two after it (in this case, 1977 and 1978). Reviews often appear a year or more after the book is first issued. When you search for a review, look under the name of the author of the book. If you need help, ask at the Reference Desk.
 
 
GENERAL

Book Review Digest. (Ref. Z 1219 .C96; 1905-1998 in print; 1983-- online via FirstSearch)

Useful for the more popular works, fiction and non-fiction. Includes excerpts from reviews and references to where complete reviews can be found. Coverage is primarily popular journals but some scholarly ones are included. There is a cumulative author/title index for 1905-84.
 

Book Review Index. (Ref. Z 1035 .A1 B59 and B6)

1965 to 1998. Cites reviews that have appeared in over 420 popular and scholarly journals in a variety of subject fields.
 

Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities. (Ref. Z 1035 .A1 I63)

1960 to 1990. Excellent source of reviews of scholarly non-fiction books on art, history, philosophy, music, literature, etc.
 

National Library Service Cumulative Book Review Index. (Ref. Z 1035 .A1 N35 1975)

1905-1974. Cumulated index of reviews cited in Book Review Digest, Library Journal, Saturday Review and Choice. Useful when you are not sure of the book's publication date.

Current Book Review Citations. (Ref. Z 1035 .A1 C86)

1976-1982. An excellent source of reviews for the time period covered; indexes reviews in over 1,000 journals and includes books of all types, including foreign languages, children's books, etc.

New York Times Book Review Index. (Ref. Z 1035 .A1 N4)

1896-1970. Lists reviews that appeared in the New York Times. For reviews of books published since 1970, see the New York Times Index under the heading "Books--Reviews."
 

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. (Ref. AI 3 .R4; online via FirstSearch)

Separate section of book reviews appears at back of each volume/issue from 1976 to 1998. Lists reviews appearing in popular and general interest magazines.
 

Detroit News Index. (Ref. AI 21 .D4 D45)

1976 to date. Reviews are listed under the heading "Book Reviews."
 

New York Times Index. (Ref. AI 21 .N45; current 12 months also available online)

Reviews are listed under the heading "Books--Reviews" in the print version.
 

Poole's Index to Periodical Literature. (Ref. AI 3 .P7)

1802-1907. Reviews are listed under the author of the book.
 

Official Index to the Times (London). (Ref. AI 21 .T46)

From 1906-1929, reviews are listed under the heading "Publications reviewed and noticed"; from 1929 on, they are listed under the heading "Books."
 

Lexis-Nexis. (Online from library home page)

From Lexis-Nexis home page, choose "News," then "Guided News Search."  Then select "Arts & Sports News" as the News Category and "Book, Movie, Music & Play Reviews" as the News Source.
 

Wall Street Journal. Index. (Ref. HG 1 .W26)

1955 to 1998. Reviews are listed under the heading "Book Reviews."
 

Washington Post Index. (Ref. AI 21 .W33 W36)

1971 to 1998. Reviews are listed under the heading "Book Reviews."
 

SPECIAL BOOK REVIEW SOURCES

The reference sources listed below provide access to reviews of books in specialized subject areas. For a more complete listing of subject-specific book review sources, see Richard Gray's A Guide to Book Review Citations: A Bibliography (Ref. Z 1035 .A1 G7).
 

Except where otherwise noted, citations to book reviews appear as a separate section at the back of each issue or volume of the print reference works listed here. The dates following each title refer to when the special book review sections began appearing in that particular index.
 

America: History and Life. (Ref. E 171 .A1 A48 and A482; also available online)

"Index to Book Reviews" appears each year as Part B.
 

Applied Science and Technology Index. (Ref. TA 1 .A1 A5; 1974 to 1998 in print, 1983-- online via FirstSearch)

.
Art Index. (Ref. N 1 .A1 A78; 1974/75 to 1997/98 in print; 1984-- online via FirstSearch)
 

Arts and Humanities Citation Index. (Ref. PN 1 .A1 A7; 1977 to 1992 in print, 1980--  online via FirstSearch)

Book reviews are listed in the "Citation Index" under the name of the author of the book.
 

Biological and Agricultural Index. (Ref. QH 1 .A1 B56; 1975/76 to 1997/98 in print, 1983-- online via FirstSearch)
 

Business Periodicals Index. (Ref. HF 5001 .A1 B8) 1975/76 to 1997/98 in print, 1983--  online via FirstSearch)
 

Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. (Ref. RT 1 .A1 C8; 1956-1998 in print, 1982- online via FirstSearch)
 

Education Index. (Ref. L 11 .A1 E23; 1975/76 to 1997/98 in print; 1983-- online via FirstSearch)
 

Historical Abstracts. (Ref. D 299 .H5; 1955 to 1995 in print, now available online)

Reviews can be located by looking in the subject index under the author of the book. Reviews are identified by the heading "Review Article."
 

Humanities Index. (Ref. AI 3 .R492; 1975/76 to 1997/98 in print, 1984-- online via FirstSearch)
 

Index to Book Reviews in Historical Periodicals. (Ref. D 4 .A1 B73)

1972 to 1977. Index to reviews appearing in scholarly journals and historical society publications.
 

Index to Legal Periodicals. (Ref. KF 8 .I5; 1952 to 1998 in print, 1984-- online via FirstSearch)
 

Library Literature (Ref. Z 666 .L69; 1978 to 1998 in print, 1984-- online via FirstSearch)
 

Philosopher's Index. (Ref. B 1 .A1 P55; print version,1967 to 1998; also available online, 1940-current)
 

SFBRI: Science Fiction Book Review Index. (Ref. PN 3448 .S45 A1 S5)

1970 to 1983. Cites reviews of science fiction and fantasy literature appearing in science fiction magazines.
 

Social Sciences Citation Index. (Ref. H 1 .A1 S6, 1966 to date. 1990 to date available online through Web of Science.)

Reviews in print edition are listed in the "Citation" volume under the name of the author of the book and are identified by the code "B." In Web of Science, be sure to choose Social Sciences Citation Index. Using the General Search, you can restrict your search to Book Reviews at the bottom of the screen.

Social Sciences Index. (Ref. AI 3 .R493; 1974/75 to 1998 in print, 1983-- online via FirstSearch)
 

Technical Book Review Index. (Ref. T 1 .A1 T36) 1960 to 1983.

Index to reviews appearing in scientific, technical, medical and trade journals. Includes excerpts from the reviews.
 

Women Studies Abstracts. (Ref. HQ 1101 .A1 W66) 1974 to 1998.

Separate section of book reviews appears in each issue.
 
 


FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE OR INFORMATION
ASK AT THE REFERENCE DESK.

LH/5.85
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Created on 5/85 by Linda Hildebrand, / Last updated on 9/4/08 by mj
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