Book Reviews: General Resources
Suggested resources for finding reviews for current or historical book publications
About
Academic book reviews are critical assessments of scholarly texts, written to evaluate a book’s contribution to its field. Unlike casual reviews, they go beyond personal opinion to examine the author’s arguments, methodology, evidence, and relevance within a broader academic context. Book reviews serve multiple purposes: they help readers decide whether a work is worth engaging with, provide insight into current debates and research trends, and foster scholarly dialogue.
Separate but relatedly, popular book reviews—such as those featured in The New York Review of Books or London Review of Books—offer thoughtful, in-depth discussions of new and significant works of fiction and nonfiction. While grounded in critical insight, these reviews are written for a broader audience, balancing accessibility with intellectual rigor. They often situate a book within a cultural, historical, or political context, weaving analysis with reflection and sometimes even storytelling. More than just summaries or endorsements, these reviews engage with the ideas a book presents, drawing connections to wider conversations and offering the reviewer’s distinctive voice and perspective.
Book Reviews - General Resources
- Best Sellers LibGuideLibGuide created by John Unsworth, UVA University Librarian, for his class on 20th Century Best Sellers. Links to class created Best Seller Database.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull-text backfiles of many important scholarly journals in the areas of anthropology, Asian studies, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology, and statistics. A
- Web of Knowledge/Web of Science This link opens in a new windowIncludes Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index, which can be searched together or separately. Allows users to limit search result to reviews.
- Book Reviews: A Finding Guide (Cornell University Library)Guide to finding book reviews in both print and online.
Consult Humanities Book Reviews or Social Sciences Book Reviews for more specific book review resources.
For book reviews of older books you might consult the printed book review resources.
- Google Book SearchChoose "About this Book" for a summary and reviews.
- New York Review of Books.Reviews since 1963; searchable by author, title, publisher, keyword, and date.
- Amazon.comCustomer reviews plus reviews written by Amazon staff and culled from a number of recognized reviewing resources.
- BookforumArchived copies available in Virgo through 03/31/2022.
- CSPAN Booknotes ArchiveRealAudio author interviews and book synposes back to 1997 from the bibliophiles at C-SPAN. Many entries nclude book excerpts.
- H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences.Several thousand book reviews (including more than 1,100 from 1998 alone) from this on-line scholarly review journal. Reviews back to 1993.
- London Review of BooksOnline federated access for electronic articles.
Physical copies available in the periodicals room, Shannon 4th floor. - n+1 MagazinePhysical copies of volumes 1-25 (2004-2016) available from Ivy Stacks by request.
- The New YorkerArchives from 1925 - present.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new windowReaders’ Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 provides indexing of over three million articles from more than 550 leading magazines including full coverage of the original print volumes of Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. This resource offers researchers access to information about history, culture, and seminal developments across nearly a century.
- Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature This link opens in a new windowReaders’ Guide to Periodical Literature is an index to the most popular and important periodicals. Covering subjects such as art, business, education and entertainment, it is an ideal general reference database for educators, students and patrons.
Print Book Review Resources - General
Book Review DigestCall Number: Ivy Stacks Z1219 .C96Publication Date: 1905-1998Book Review Digest "provides excerpts from, and citations to, reviews of adult and juvenile fiction and nonfiction. It also includes descriptive summaries of the books. Virtually every book has at least one substantial review excerpt, and most have at least two or more. " Library has print copies covering 1905-1998.
Book Review IndexCall Number: Ivy Stacks Z1219 .B788Publication Date: 2003-2017Excellent standard resource, good for reviews of titles primarily in the fields of general fiction, nonfiction, humanities, social sciences, and juvenile literature. Library holds volumes from 2003-2017. Preceded by Book Review Index: A Master Cumulation.- Book Review Index: A Master CumulationCall Number: Ivy Stacks Z1219 .B788Publication Date: 1965-2002Multi-volume cumulations for book reviews index 1965-1984, 1985-1992, 1993-1997, and 1998-2002. Note - Vols. 8-10 of the 1965-1984 master cumulation constitute a title index.
Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen Wissenschaftlicher Literatur/ International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature/ Bibliographie Internationale des Recensions de la Litterature Savante (IBR)
Call Number: Ivy Stacks AI9 .I5 v.25Publication Date: 1971-1995Library owns print coverage 1971- 1995. International source for book reviews in more than10,000 journals covering a very broad range of topics. Annually published in two half-year parts. Each part contains five sections: subject index, keyword index, reviewed works, reviewers, and periodicals cited. A search in this print source involves the use of at least three indexes to locate all publication data for a specific review. Scope includes international coverage in many foreign languages.
The [London] Times IndexCall Number: Ivy Stacks AI21 .T46Publication Date: 1914-2002Print volumes available from Ivy 1914-2002. See also Virgo record for microfilm.
Detailed alphabetical index referring to date, page, and column. Includes book reviews which are listed both under author and "book reviews." Preceded by Annual Index to the [London] Times (1906-1903). The UVA Library has online access to the Times Digital Archive:1785-2019.- Annual Index to the [London] TimesCall Number: Ivy AI21 .T44Publication Date: 1906-1913Library has in print 1906, 1909-1911, 1913. See Virgo for microfilm of 1907-1908 & 1912. Preceded by Palmer's Index to the Times Newspaper (London). Library has online access to the Times Digital Archive:1785-2019.
- Palmer's Index to the TImes Newspaper (London)Call Number: Ivy Stacks AI21 .T42Publication Date: 1790-1905Library holds volumes covering 1790-1905. Continued by the Annual Index to the TImes. Library has online access to the Times Digital Archive:1785-2019.
Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature
Call Number: Shannon Reference AI3 .R48Publication Date: 1900-1990See above or in the Library's databases A-Z list for online access to Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature and Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982.
Shannon Reference holds print volumes covering from 1900-1990. Some volume duplicates also held in Ivy Stacks. Book reviews in this source are indexed under author reviewed (1900-1904 only); later volumes (1905-1990) list reviews in a separate section following the main index. Journals indexed in this source include a broad spectrum of popular, non-technical, and general-interest titles
