A critical book review is not a book report. It is an evaluation, a critique of the book, not just a report of its contents. Do NOT summarize the book at length; DO evaluate the book in terms of the validity of the author's thesis, the comprehensiveness, accuracy, and sensitivity with which s/he handles the evidence, and (if you can) the relationship of this work to that of others in the same field.

1. Begin your essay with an introduction to the book, examining the author's thesis and the main conclusions s/he reaches.
2. What kind of sources does the author use? (Are they adequate, comprehensive? How does the writer evaluate them? How do you evaluate them?) Does the author use primary as well as secondary sources?
3. How effective is the writer's presentation? (Discuss the organization and use of evidence.)
4. How adequate is the writer's coverage of the subject? (Is the writer fair? Is the treatment too narrow? Too broad? Do you detect personal biases implicit or explicit?)
5. What are the writer's qualifications for dealing with this subject? (Has s/he written on this or related subjects? You can find out more about a particular writer by consulting such works of reference as Who's Who, or the Directory of American Scholars).
6. What kind of history is the author writing? (Economic? Political? Social? Are the chosen methods valid for the particular study?
7. How successful is the writer in presenting his/her ideas?
8. Comment on this book's contribution to your understanding of the topic. (You may, also, if you wish, talk about the book's implications for the field as a whole -- you will have to familiarize yourself with the literature of the subject.
9. Bring your essay to a conclusion, don't just stop. Your reader should have a sense of closure, and feel that all the threads of the discussion have been drawn together in a satisfying way.