Finding New Books and Their Reviews
Many journals contain book review sections. A good way to stay on top of the newest literature is to browse these book reviews as the journals come out.
AnthroSource is probably the easiest place to do this. Simply click "Browse AnthroSource," click on a journal title, go to the newest edition and look for the book reviews section. See images below.
Project Muse contains the full text of many anthropology journals and can be browsed or searched for book reviews. Watch an example search.
JSTOR lets you limit a search to anthropology journals and to book reviews, but it does not have the most recent issues of journals. Though it is a great place to find book reviews, it is not an appropriate place to find the newest books reviewed.
The Current Contents database is designed to let you see the contents pages of journals as they are published. It is a fast place to browse or search for book reviews. Watch an example search and an example browse.
Browsing for Book Reviews in AnthroSource
Find the newest book reviews in "Early View," where the articles are published online before they're grouped into issues.
Browse Example Book Reviews
...by journal...
- American Anthropologist (via AnthroSource)Click on the browse tab, then Current Issue, then scroll to the bottom. To see more, browse other issues under All Issues.
- Anthropological Quarterly (via Project Muse)Issues usually include 8-10 book reviews.
- Medical Anthropology Quarterly (via AnthroSource)Most issues include around ten book reviews.
- Ethos (via AnthroSource)Final section of each issue is usually book reviews.
- Cultural Anthropology (via AnthroSource)Book reviews are less common in this journal and are usually in a style different from what your assignment calls for. They can serve as a counter-example for comparison.
Search for Anthropology Book Reviews
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowMain index to research in sociology, anthropology, and related fields in the social and behavioral sciences. To Find Book Reviews: enter your search terms then scroll down to the prompt for Document Type. Check the applicable book review boxes. Distinguishes between favorable, unfavorable, and "no opinion" reviews.
- America: History & Life This link opens in a new windowSearches through citations, subject indexing, and abstracts about scholarship on the history and culture of the U. S. and Canada. (For World History, use Historical Abstracts). To Find Book Reviews: enter your search terms then scroll down to "Publication Type" in the "Limit Your Results" section and select "Review."
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowDescription: Indexes journals important to historians of places other than the U.S. and Canada.To Find Book Reviews: Select "Book Reviews" from the "Document Type" box under "Limit Your Results." Search by author or title.
- AnthroSource This link opens in a new windowDescriptionFull text search of only anthropology journals published by the AAA.To Find Book Reviews:Browse journals that regularly feature book reviews, such as the American Anthropologist, Cultural Anthropology, or American Ethnologist. (There is no filter for book reviews, but they are well labeled, which makes skimming results lists easier).
- Current Contents Connect This link opens in a new windowDesigned to let you see the contents pages of journals as they are published, Current Contents is a fast place to browse or search for book reviews. Watch an example search.
