The
    Midwest Quarterly

General Guidelines

The quality and format of the reviews submitted for publication are of special importance to us. The purpose of a book review is to evaluate the significance of new scholarly work: identify its contribution to knowledge and its deficiencies.

Too frequently reviews simply itemize the book’s contents while failing to satisfactorily analyze and appraise. Conversely, a review that is unfairly critical, fails to evaluate strengths, or results from a philosophical difference of opinion with the author also does a disservice--to the reviewer, the book author and this journal.

To help avoid such pitfalls, a discussion of the format and content of a suitable review follows. With respect to the content component, the suggestions draw liberally from the work of Professor Wesley Calef (Illinois State University) entitled "Some Canons of Reviewing."

                                                     —Tim Bailey, Book Review Editor

Guidelines to Review a Book

Guidelines to Review a Book of Poetry