The History Research Process

When hunting for reviews of a certain book, I recommend that you start narrow and then broaden your search if necessary.

1. Search for the complete book title. Understand that book titles sometimes change during review and publication.
2. Search for the author's last name and a shortened version of the title (e.g., just two or three important words).
3. Search for the author's last name and one or two key words which describe the book's topic. If an author has published numerous books on a similar topic, your results may be much less precise at this point.

Remember that not every book will necessarily get reviewed. Many reviews focus on books which create conversation--often because they are either very good or very bad.

Furthermore, not all reviews will necessarily be found online. If you don't find much online, locate print copies of journals from the time the book was published. Focus on key journals in the same area of history as the book (e.g., military history).