Library Guide to Finding Book Reviews
Getting Started | Electronic Databases | Print Indexes | Finding Journals and Full Text Articles | Web Resources
A valuable resource, book reviews are often published in journals, magazines, and newspapers, and appear in a variety of lengths and styles. Book reviews can be used for evaluating a book, summarizing its contents, or learning something about the author. For more scholarly critiques of literary works, see the Library Guide to Literary Criticism.
Getting Started
Citation information for books can be verified by searching the MERLIN Library Catalog, the MOBIUS Union Catalog, or Books In Print. To find a review of a book, you must have the following information:
- year the book was first published
- author's full name
- complete title of the book
Begin with the resources listed below to find book reviews. Citations to book reviews or the entire review can be found by searching for the author or title of the book reviewed. Limit your search to the year the book was first published and then expand the dates searched, if needed. Although most reviews appear within a year or two of the book's original publication date, some reviews appear several years later.
Electronic Databases that Include Book Reviews
NOTE: Remote (off-campus) access to databases is available only to UMKC students, faculty, and staff. All other users must access online resources within the Libraries. Begin searching by selecting a database. After selection you will be prompted to provide a UMKC Single Sign-On user name and password OR a 9-digit UMKC ID number followed by the letter k (example: 0123456789k) and last name, as needed.
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Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) 1975 - present.
Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1975 - present.
This database contains reviews and citations to reviews from a variety of sources, including Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, and New York Times Book Review. Search for the title of the book and the word "review" in the basic search. (Example: Choke and review.) The advanced search option allows you to enter a keyword (title, author, or topic) and combine it with another search, such as the subject heading "Book -- Reviews." - America:
History and Life (EBSCOhost) 1964 - present. Save
to del.icio.us
This resource contains reviews and citations to reviews for books relating to historical topics. Search for the title, author, or topic as a keyword and combine it with the word "review." (Example: Native American Society and review.) - ArticleFirst (FirstSearch) 1990 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Links to full text 1997 - present.
ArticleFirst contains reviews and citations to reviews for books in the humanities, sciences, social sciences, medicine, and more. Perform a keyword search for the title or author of the book, combined with the keyword "review" to find reviews. - Book Review Digest (FirstSearch)
Note: This database is no longer be available.
Book Review Digest provides citations to and excerpts of reviews of English-language, fiction and nonfiction books. Search by title or author to find reviews of a particular work. - ERIC (CSA) 1966 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Links to selected full text, 1993 - 2004.
Among other information, ERIC contains citations to book reviews of scholarly works in the field of education. Search for the title or author's last name and the word "review" combined as keywords. The appropriate subject heading for locating all reviews in this resource is "Book Reviews." - LexisNexis Academic 1969 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1980 - present.
Lexis Nexis includes book reviews from newspapers, magazines, and journal. Select "Guided News Search" to locate book reviews from newspapers and major magazines. In step one, choose "General News." In step two, select either "Major Papers" or "Magazines and Newspapers." Enter the title and author, in addition to the word "review," as search terms. - Library Literature & Information Science Full Text (Wilson) 1984 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1994 - present.
This resource indexes citations to book reviews published in library and information science periodicals. Combine title or author information with the word "review" to retrieve book reviews. (Example: Franzen and review.) - ISI Web of Science
Note: This database is no longer be available..
This database includes the Social Citation Index, the Arts & Humanities Citation Index, and the Science Citation Index and includes citations to book reviews from high quality, peer-reviewed journals. To begin, choose the "Full Search Option" and then select "Cited Ref Search." Enter the author or title information to find reviews. Select "Lookup." At the end of the list of search results, you will see a section labeled "Set Search Limits." Select "Book Review" as the document type and perform the search again.
Print Indexes to Book Reviews
- Book
Review Digest, (1905-1999)
Ready Ref Z1219 .C95 - Book
Review Index, (1965-present)
Ready Ref Z1035 .A1 B6
Book Review Index includes citations for reviews of any type of book, periodical, or reference work that is published and at least fifty pages long. Reviews from magazines, journals, and other reviewing sources are included. Reviews are arranged by author's last name and title. To begin, select the volume for the year the book was published and work your way forward chronologically. - Children's
Book Review Index, (1969-present)
Ref Z1037 .A1 C475
This resource provides access to reviews of thousands of children's books and periodicals. Citations are extracted from publications devoted to children's literature and other reviewing media. Entries are organized by author's last name or by title, if there is no primary author. Begin by selecting the volume for the year the book was published and work your way forward chronologically. - Combined
Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, (1886-1974)
Ref Index Wall 2 Z1035 .A1 C64
This fifteen volume set offers author and title access to more than one million book reviews which appeared in 459 scholarly journals in History, Political Science, and Sociology. - An
Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities, (1960-1990)
Ref Index Wall 2 Z1035 .A1 I63 - The
New York Times Index, (1851-present)
Ready Ref AI21 .N452
This resource indexes the entire contents of the New York Times by subject headings and subheadings. Book reviews can be found under the heading "Books and Literature" in the index. Entries are then arranged alphabetically by the title of the work. - Readers'
Guide to Periodical Literature, (1900-2002)
Ready Ref AI3 .R48
The Reader's Guide indexes book reviews in major newspapers, magazines, and journals. For citations to book reviews, see the "Book Reviews" section at the end of the main index for each volume after 1976. In volumes preceding 1976, reviews are found in the main index. Citations are arranged by the author's last name or the title, if there is no primary author. Begin by selecting the volume for the year the book was published and work your way forward chronologically. - Technical
Book Review Index, (1935-1986)
Ref Index Wall 2 Z7913 .T36
Technical Book Review Index provides citations to and excerpts of reviews in current scientific, technical, medical, and trade journals. Reviews are arranged first by subject area and then by the author's last name.
Book Review Digest provides citations to and excerpts of reviews of current juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction in the English language. Books are listed in each volume alphabetically by the author's last name or the title, if there is no primary author. Summaries of each book are also included. Begin by selecting the volume for the year the book was published and work your way forward chronologically.
This resource provides access to book reviews from humanities periodicals. Entries are organized by the author's last name.
Finding Journals and Full Text Articles
To find the full text of articles or other information that you have identified using the databases and indexes above, visit the Libraries' Website on Resources for Finding Journals and Articles.Web Resources
Many Websites devoted to publishing and books provide book reviews. Remember that reviews by the public at large may lack in authority and credibility.
- Amazon
(www.amazon.com) - Barnes & Noble
(www.barnesandnoble.com) - BookMuse
(bookmuse.com) - BookReporter
(bookreporter.com)
For further assistance, please contact the
Miller Nichols Library Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.
