Notes on the Book Review

Dear Class,

Please note that your book review is due on April 12th.

As you know the Book Review is due on April 12th.

You will need to submit your assignment through the SSU class page.

Here is the description that appears in the Syllabus:

Book Review (5-7 pages, double-spaced)--- 15%

This assignment is designed to increase the student’s ability to read a complicated text, summarize that text in writing, and provide a critical analysis of the text.  The student will choose one of the books at the end of the “Course Schedule”, acquire the book either by purchasing the book (online or at a bookstore) or getting the book through the library services, read the book, and write a critical book review of the book.  Approximately 75% of the review should be a concise summary of the contents of the book (focusing on the thesis and the evidence and arguments to support the thesis) and the other 25% should be a critique of the book.

Here is the book list that appears in the Syllabus:

Book Review options:

War—The Assassin’s Gate by George Packer

Justice and the Rule of Law—The Locust Effect by Gary Haugen and Victor Boutros

Foreign Aid—Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo

Pro Poor Capitalism—The Mystery of Capital by Hernando DeSoto

Globalization—The Word is Flat; Expanded and Updated (2007 ed.) by Thomas Friedman

Food—The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

What I am especially looking for:

What am I looking for?  First, please do not plagiarize.  Note that when you submit your paper to me through the SSU system it goes through a plagiarism check.  So please do not just cut and paste what others have said about the book you read.  Note that none of the books you are reading are very obscure.  Thus people have written a great deal about these books.

The best way you can help yourself is to relate the book to your own experiences, to current events or to class content so that I know that you actually read the books and have your own thoughts and ideas about it.