Writer should have access to this particular book “1177 BC The Year Civilization Collapsed” by Eric H. Cline

• What is the book’ s argument?

• Does the book do what it says it is going to do?

• Is the book a contribution to the field or discipline?

• Does the book relate to a current debate or trend in the field and if so, how?

• What is the theoretical lineage or school of thought out of which the book rises?

• Is the book well-written?

• What are the books terms and are they defined?

• How accurate is the information (e.g., the footnotes, bibliography, dates)?

• Are the illustrations helpful? If there are no illustrations, should there have been?

• Who would benefit from reading this book?

• How does the book compare to other books in the field?

• If it is a textbook, what courses can it be used in and how clear is the book’s structure and examples?

It can be worthwhile to do an on-line search to get a sense for the author’s history, other books, university appointments, graduate advisor, and so on. This can provide you with useful context.

Generally, your book review should be between 1000-2000 words

Classic book review structure is as follows:

• Title including complete bibliographic citation for the work (i.e., title in full, author, place, publisher, date of publication, edition statement, pages, special features [maps, color plates, etc.], price, and ISBN.

• One paragraph identifying the thesis, and whether the author achieves the stated purpose of the book.

• One or two paragraphs summarizing the book.

• One paragraph on the book’s strengths.

• One paragraph on the book’s weaknesses.

• One paragraph on your assessment of the book’s strengths and weaknesses.