You will be writing a book review of one of the following books. In addition to the regular workperformed in a book review, you will address the question: What does the book contribute toour understanding of Canadian elections and voters, and to Canadian politics broadly speaking?Reviews are not to be more than 10 pages each. Minimum or no outside background research isnecessary
Carty, R. Kenneth, and Munroe Eagles. 2005. Politics is Local: National Politics at the Grass-roots. Toronto: Oxford University Press
Goal of a Book ReviewTo display substantial knowledge of the book’s contents, as well as the ability to think critically about anacademic argument/work and to assess this work in relation to the broader themes we’re concerned aboutin this course.2 Content of a Book ReviewA book review should answer four questions:1. What is the writer of the book trying to accomplish?2. Concisely, what is the story the author tells? Alternately, what argument is the author trying toconvey?3. How clearly and effectively did the author get her message across to the readers?4. Was the book worth reading? Why or why not?3 Argument of a Book ReviewBook reviews assert a claim. They are more than just summaries. The thesis of your book review willrespond to questions 3 and 4 above: is the argument of the book compelling? Did the author convince youof his or her point, and how significant is the point? What unique things did you learn from the book?Further, you will be linking your arguments to core questions in this course: what does the book contributeto our understanding of Canadian political parties, and to Canadian politics broadly speaking?In considering your thesis and in presenting your argument, you will need criteria for judging the book.Here are some suggestions of criteria to think about while reading the book and formulating your argument:• How important is the subject to the study of political science in general and to the study of Canadianelections and voters in particular?• How complete and thorough is the author’s coverage of the subject?• Does the author include sufficient evidence or neglect necessary evidence?• How carefully is the author’s analysis conducted?• What are the strengths and limitations of the author’s methodology?• What is the quality of the writing? Is it clear, precise, and interesting?• How does this book compare with others on the subject?∗Adapted from “ Writing Book Reviews in Political Science ,” Washington University Writing Centre.1• What contribution does this book make to political science?• Who will enjoy or benefit from this book?4 Organization of a book review1. Introduction. In this paragraph you should briefly introduce the work under discussion and stateyour thesis.2. Summary. Following your introduction, you should concisely restate the central claims of the author.In this section, be particularly sure to remain faithful to the ideas of the author as he or she statesthem. At the same time, aim for the essence of the book: What is the author’s main point? What arethe significant subpoints? Make sure that your summary is short and to the point.3. Body of the paper. The largest portion of your review should be devoted to elaborating andexpanding on your thesis. In this section, you will move step-by-step through the criteria you haveselected to assess the book; for each criterion, you will show how the author’s effort holds up.4. Conclusion. Wrap up your paper with a statement about the significance of the book. This statementmay concern the extent of its contribution to the discipline of political science or explain how it changedyour understanding of a certain phenomenon
