Many book reviews published in scholarly journals are indexed in the specialized indexes which cover the literature of the subject. For example, book reviews of works in the field of history will be found through searching the America: History & Life Index or Historical Abstracts. To identify other specialized indexes, see the list of Indexes by Subject.
Click on Historical Indexing for Book Reviews to see print indexes that would help in the search for contemporary reviews-- from the time of a book's date of publication.
Academic OneFile
To find book reviews in this interdisciplinary index, type the book's title in the search line. If this generates too many false hits, type a few words from the title and the author's last name. (e.g., war and civilization and keeley) 1980-present.
LexisNexis Academic Universe
Full text of national and international newspapers, magazines, wire services, etc. Also includes business, financial, and legal information, including laws, regulations, cases, and EU law. The non-English language news link includes news in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Tip: Search for book reviews under NEWS - GENERAL NEWS - MAGAZINES & JOURNALS or under NEWS - GENERAL NEWS - MAJOR NEWSPAPERS. Other categories are also possible.
Book Review Digest
(Print Only)
REF Z1219 .B6
Index to reviews of English-language fiction and non-fiction books from over 100 periodicals published in the US, Canada, and Great Britain. Includes excerpts from reviews. For current indexing of most of these periodicals, see Expanded Academic ASAP & Lexis-Nexis.
- Library has 1905-1995.
- Author/title index for 1905-1974
PIO: Periodicals Index Online
PCI indexes the contents of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, from their first issues (as early as the 17th century) to 1995. Includes journals in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and other Western languages--with links to full text, when available.
Book Review Index
(Print & Restricted Online)
REF Z1035 A1 B6
Indexes book reviews appearing in over 600 publications from the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia, including many more scholarly journals than Book Review Digest. Also indexes non-English language books.
- Print: 1965 - current
- Also available online, 1969 - current, through DialogWeb (database #137). Password restricted. You must be trained by a librarian to be given the password. Come to the reference desk for details.