HST311, History of Material Culture I. Template for book review.

Title of Book:

Section 1: Who is the author(s) of the book? What is his or her expertise on this subject? Does the author seem to
have a bias? Is he or she responding to claims made by other scholars?

Section 2: What is the author’s thesis? You should be able to determine the thesis by reading the introduction,
perhaps the preface, and the conclusion. If the thesis is stated directly, quote it and cite the page number. If it is not,
what, in your opinion, is the main point the author is trying to make?

Section 3: I expect you to read the entire book, but select one chapter to read closely and carefully. Which is your
chosen chapter?
What kinds of evidence and/or arguments does the author use in this chapter to support his or her thesis?

Summarize the main content of this chapter.

 How well does the content of this chapter support the author’s thesis? Are you convinced that the author is
correct? Why or why not?

Section 4: What was your favorite part of the book? What did you learn from it about the people and times we
have studied?