The purpose, aim, or goal of the author-What is he or she trying to prove or show? (simply to say an entertaining story is not sufficient). An author may have more than one aim or purpose.

The book is-
Tucker, Holly. Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011

1. The purpose, aim, or goal of the author-What is he or she trying to prove or show? (simply to say an entertaining story is not sufficient). An author may have more than one aim or purpose. For example, J.H. Parry, in The Age of Reconnaissance, a book about European explorations of the world in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, had as one of his purposes the tie in with technical advances in map-making, navigation, and ship-board technology with European successes in world exploration. A result was that European superiority in ships gave her dominance in this area. Parry therefore spends much of his book on map-making and ship building technology.

2. A synopsis of the book-or what is it about. This should be the longest part of the book review.

3. A few words about the sources-what does the author base his information on (look at footnotes and bibliography)-were they primary documents or secondary sources or both? Provide a few examples,

4. In your opinion, did the author succeed or fail in his major purposes or aims in writing the book.

Last Completed Projects