Guide for Book Reviewers

Thank you for agreeing to undertake this book review. We are grateful for your help, and we look forward to a review that our readers will find both entertaining and informative. As a framework for your review, we present the following guidelines:

1. Please list the essential publication information in the following format at the beginning of the review (capital letters as indicated; double spaced throughout): TITLE. By AUTHOR. Agency or institution identified with the book. City: Publisher, year published. Any other publication information, such as original publication in another language, edition number. Number of pages, maps, illustrations, index, bibliography. Hardbound or softbound. Price (Cdn$ or US$).
2. Plan on writing about 1000 words typed double-spaced; reviews are subject to editing, and any substantive changes will be checked with the author before typesetting. The author will receive a PDF file for proofreading and approval.
3. Note that the readership of Arctic includes people from many disciplines. Thus your reader is not necessarily well versed in the subject area of this particular book, and you will want to make the review intelligible by avoiding specialty jargon and unnecessary detail.
4. State the objective of the writer and attempt to convey the essence of the book. In a critical sense, does the book fulfill its objectives? Indicate the book’s strengths and weaknesses.
5. Are there errors of fact or omissions of important material? Is the book well documented? Are there additions or deletions that would improve a future edition?
6. Please provide the page numbers of any direct quotes from the book and full references for any other works cited in the review.
7. Comment on the quality of reproduction, editing, and printing.
8. Do you recommend the book? This is the central purpose of the review. If so, for whom—e.g., laypersons, junior students of the field, senior students, practitioners, instructors? Is it a state-of-the-art book or a reference book? Is it worth the money?
9. Add your name and affiliation, including full mailing address, at the end of the review.
10. Please send your review to the Book Review Editor as an e-mail attachment (preferably in Word).

In cases where the reviewer finds the book to have serious faults, the editor may send the review to the author of the book, inviting a rebuttal statement for publication as well.

In return for providing your book review, Arctic gives you our copy of the book. If you wish to order a copy of the issue of Arctic ($25) in which the review appears or offprints of the review, this can be done at the time you check the PDF file page proof.

Book Review Editor: Dr. Peter Schledermann: schleder [at] ucalgary [dot] ca

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