First, one must understand that a critical book review is not a book report (a summary of the

contents of a book). A critical book review is a vehicle for examining and discussing issues the
book itself raises or fails to raise. One writes a critical book review for the benefit of those who
might not presently have time to read the book but who nevertheless need to learn more about
its basic approach should they desire to read or study it at a future time. The job of the book
reviewer is to inform these readers concerning any merits and/or shortcomings the book may
have. From information based on a well-written review, the reader may conclude that this book
is either indispensable or inconsequential.
Components of a Critical Book Review
A. Give complete bibliographical information at the top of the page (title, author, publisher,
place of publication, date of publication, number of pages, and name of reviewer).
Use the following format:
Toward Rediscovering the Old Testament, by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, l987. 250 pages. Reviewed by Randy C. Slocum.
B. Briefly state the reason this book was chosen for review. State the author’s credentials
(education, place of employment, previous achievements, etc.) as a preface to giving the book a
serious hearing. Biographical information about the author should be included only as it
demonstrates the author’s competency to write the book. Within the context of the paper, do
not use titles (Dr., Rev., etc.). In most brief reviews, you will likely need to limit the
introduction to one or two paragraphs.
C. Briefly (in one or two well-written sentences) summarize the thesis of the book.
This is a crucial step because the thesis contains the reason why the author produced this
particular book (there may be dozens on the market with similar subject matter).
The thesis will state the author’s basic presuppositions and approach. The critical nature of the
book review will then grow from the reviewer’s conclusion that the book does or does not
achieve the author’s stated purpose.
D. The main body of a critical book review will be concerned with “thesis development.”
That is, did the author achieve the stated purpose? In this section the reviewer will inspect each
of the chapters of the book to see how the thesis is (or is not) developed. If the author makes
progress and develops the thesis convincingly, providing adequate information and statistical
data, the reviewer says so, providing concrete examples and citing their page numbers in the
text.
Given the limited amount of space in a brief book review, footnotes should not
be utilized.
Quotations or ideas taken directly from the text should be followed
parenthetically by the page number of the quotation. The abbreviation for
page(s) (p./pp.) should not be used.
Example:
Rainer argues that evangelistic churches should focus on reaching youth (20).
Indeed, he writes, “Many churches fail to recognize that adolescence is a
critical time of receptivity to the
gospel” (21).
If the thesis is poorly developed or if the examples are inadequate to support
the assertions of the author, the reviewer will point this out as well. Most
critical book reviews will contain both praise and criticism, carefully weighed
and balanced against one another.
Remember the purpose of a critical book review is not to provide a summary
of the book. You may assume that the professor and the grader know the
contents of the book.
Questions the reviewer will seek to answer in this section might include:
• Is there an adequate, consistent development of the author’s stated thesis?
Why or why not?
• What is the author’s purpose, i.e., what does he/she hope to accomplish
through this book? Does the author accomplish the purpose? If so, how does
he/she do so? If not, why not?
• Does the author approach the subject with any biases, i.e., do the author’s
theological, experiential, philosophical, denominational, or cultural
perspectives influence his/her conclusions?
• Does the author properly support his/her thesis? Does the author adequately
consider and refute opposing viewpoints? Is the book limited in application to
specific types of churches? Is the book relevant to contemporary culture?