CRITICAL BOOK
REVIEW
The
following is an example of a critical book review to help you identify the
central elements of a critical book review as well as to provide you with some
tips on how to make sure that your book review is well-structured and has a
good logical flow.
THE ELEMENTS OF A CRITICAL
BOOK REVIEW
Generally,
a book review will have five important elements: a thesis
statement that clearly outlines the conclusions that the
review will draw and the ground that it will cover in doing so; an overview which provides a succinct
encapsulation of the main thrust of the book; an assessment
of the positive contributions (if any -- though there usually is something of
benefit!) of the book; a critique
which outlines the flaws of the work and, unless they are fatal, suggestions
for how the work might be improved; and a conclusion
which provides a brief restatement of the general thrust of the review.
Book Review: Mike Burke, Colin Mooers, and John Shields, ed., Restructuring and Resistance: Canadian Public
Policy in an Age of Global Capitalism. Halifax: Fernwood, 2000.
Examining the political meaning and social
implications of neo-liberal restructuring in Canada, surveying examples of such
restructuring within major policy fields, and theoretically placing it within
the broader context of globalising capitalism, this collection is an important
contribution to understanding Canadian public policy in the contemporary
context. The collection also presents
an interesting and informative overview of the state of debates on the left
regarding strategies of resistance to neo-liberal restructuring. [Thesis statement]: The collection compellingly challenges
some of the central propositions that
have dominated left discourse on neo-liberal restructuring in Canada. Nevertheless, another one of the central
tenets of left discourse -- the assumption that more open democratic politics
will foster greater resistance to neo-liberal restructuring – remains largely
unexamined. Further consideration of
this issue would strengthen the discussion of strategies of resistance to
neo-liberal restructuring.
[Overview]: The explicit political
project underpinning the collection is to consider “the forms and strategies of
social resistance that have emerged in response to the neo-liberal agenda”
while engaging “both theoretical and concrete arguments for developing the
capacity to resist.” (11) Part One,
Globalization, the State and Shifting
Terrains, “examines theoretical approaches to policy change and the broader
social and structural contexts of neo-liberal policy-making.” (13) Part Two, Neoliberal Restructuring of Public Policy provides “six case
studies of policy sectors that have been affected by restructuring and examines
some of the concrete policy changes that have occurred in each sector.”
(16) Part Three, Restructuring and Resistance: Theory and Practice, considers “the
challenges faced by the left in confronting the neoliberal agenda” (20)
although the focus is largely on internal debates of the left.
[Assessment]: The collection
compellingly challenges arguments positing the limited power of the state under
globalising capitalism. This is
particularly important when the claim that “there is no alternative to
neo-liberal restructuring” has been “largely accepted by both the right and
much of the left in Canada…” (23) The
overall collection supports the view that “the scope of governance is far
greater than proponents of “strong” versions of globalization allow.” (15)
A realistic appraisal of the strength of the state is indispensable to
discussions of the scope for democratic resistance to neo-liberal restructuring
and this is one of the central contributions of the collection.
Perhaps more notably, the linkage between nationalism and resistance to the neoliberal agenda which has dominated left discourse in Canada for a considerable period is also challenged. From a gender-based perspective, Ferguson compellingly outlines “just how dangerous the preoccupation with national sovereignty can be from the standpoint of women.” (21) McNally’s penetrating and incisive analysis of globalization as a new form of capitalism powerfully develops a complementary critique of left-nationalism in Canada.
Within the collection, various authors challenge how
progressive the Keynesian consensus was, how far neo-liberal restructuring has
progressed, and, as a result, the
significance of the impacts of the shift. Not
surprisingly, those who view the defunct Keynesian consensus in the most
favourable light tend to emphasize the “full-scale dismantling” of the welfare
state. For example, Russell’s overview
of the historical development of the Canadian welfare state argues that the
“worst fears” of the critics of FTA and NAFTA have been realized.(26) This view is confronted by Ferguson’s
admonition in her excellent chapter on the relationship between left feminism
and welfare state that the left must avoid “nostalgia for a Golden Age that
never was.”(21) On the other side of
this coin are debates regarding the current state of affairs. For example, Burke and Shields’ chapter on
the Canadian labour market take pains to point out that the favourable current
employment situation obscures a disturbing underlying reality of labour market
polarization. Similarly, Saloojee
interprets employment equity programs as a means to contain resistance to the
existing social hierarchy. These
efforts to demonstrate how certain apparently progressive advances are really
part and parcel of regressive neo-liberal restructuring are confronted by
alternative analyses. For example, Lum
and Williams’ chapter on employment equity convincingly describe a more complex
pattern of simultaneous retreat and advance in which some developments are out
of sync with a shrinking state and neo-liberal restructuring. These issues are central to debates about
the potential of third way politics as a strategy of resistance – a strategy
with which several contributions (Russell, McNally, Mooers) directly take
issue.
[Main Critique]: However,
the overall collection rests rather heavily at times on a largely implicit and
undertheorized assumption that a further opening of the political system to
popular forces represents the antidote to neo-liberalism. Purporting to demonstrate “how fundamentally
anti-democratic the neoliberal state has become” (17, italics mine), the
collection does not fully consider changes over time in the inclusiveness of
the Canadian political system. For
example, women and visible minorities were not more fully included in the political
process at the high-water mark of the welfare state in the early to mid-1970s
than they have been over the past quarter century – the period in which the
Keynesian consensus unraveled. Solidly
linking neo-liberal restructuring with a decline in openness of the political
process seems relatively crucial to the argument that opening the political
process to greater popular participation will help generate significant
resistance to neo-liberal restructuring.
The lack of success in resisting neo-liberal restructuring is largely attributed throughout the
collection to the weaknesses of the left.
Again, the assumption is that there is wide-spread latent popular
resistance to neo-liberal restructuring that the left could seize upon if it
could simply overcome internal challenges.
[Conclusion]: The collection fails to consider the
possibility that public indifference or even popular sentiment generally in
line with neo-liberal restructuring
(for example, widespread demands for lower taxes) is one of the fundamental
challenges faced by the forces of progressive resistance to neo-liberalism. Deeper empirical investigation of this
question would contribute to the overall consideration of strategies of
resistance. The collection is a
significant contribution to debates regarding Canadian public policy in the
context of globalising capitalism as well as an important overview of the
current state of the left discourse on strategies of resistance to neo-liberal
restructuring.
SUGGESTED
METHODS TO CHECK YOUR WRITING…
Reading only the thesis statement
and the paragraph topic sentences should give you a good, coherent, and
relatively well-flowing overview of the entire argument. The paragraph below is comprised of only the
thesis statement and topic sentences from the review above. While stylistically leaving something to be
desired, the resulting paragraph gives a good coherent overview of the whole
argument -- signaling that the thesis statement and paragraph topic sentences
are relatively coherent and that the review does not wander off course.
The collection compellingly challenges some of the
central propositions that have
dominated left discourse on neo-liberal restructuring in Canada. Nevertheless, another one of the central
tenets of left discourse -- the assumption that more open democratic politics
will foster greater resistance to neo-liberal restructuring – remains largely
unexamined. Further consideration of
this issue would strengthen the discussion of strategies of resistance to
neo-liberal restructuring. The explicit
political project underpinning the collection is to consider “the forms and
strategies of social resistance that have emerged in response to the
neo-liberal agenda” while engaging “both theoretical and concrete arguments for
developing the capacity to resist.” (11)
The collection compellingly challenges arguments positing the limited
power of the state under globalising capitalism. Perhaps more notably, the linkage between nationalism and
resistance to the neoliberal agenda which has dominated left discourse in
Canada for a considerable period is also challenged. Within the collection, various authors challenge how progressive
the Keynesian consensus was, how far neo-liberal restructuring has
progressed, and, as a result, the
significance of the impacts of the shift.
However, the overall collection rests rather heavily at times on a
largely implicit and undertheorized assumption that a further opening of the
political system to popular forces represents the antidote to
neo-liberalism. The collection fails to
consider the possibility that public indifference or even popular sentiment
generally in line with neo-liberal restructuring (for example, widespread demands for lower taxes) is one of the
fundamental challenges faced by the forces of progressive resistance to
neo-liberalism.
Reading only
the introductory and concluding paragraphs should give a good overview of the
general thrust of the paper. If there
is evidence of a weak connection between the introductory paragraph and
concluding paragraph, it may suggest
that the paper has wandered off-course.
The following paragraph is constructed from the introductory and
concluding paragraphs of the review above.
Examining
the political meaning and social implications of neo-liberal restructuring in
Canada, surveying examples of such restructuring within major policy fields,
and theoretically placing it within the broader context of globalising
capitalism, this collection is an important contribution to understanding
Canadian public policy in the contemporary context. The collection also presents an interesting and informative
overview of the state of debates on the left regarding strategies of resistance
to neo-liberal restructuring. The
collection compellingly challenges some of the central propositions that have dominated left
discourse on neo-liberal restructuring in Canada. Nevertheless, another one of the central
tenets of left discourse -- the assumption that more open democratic politics
will foster greater resistance to neo-liberal restructuring – remains largely
unexamined. Further consideration of
this issue would strengthen the discussion of strategies of resistance to
neo-liberal restructuring. The
collection fails to consider the possibility that public indifference or even
popular sentiment generally in line with neo-liberal restructuring (for example, widespread demands for lower taxes)
is one of the fundamental challenges faced by the forces of progressive
resistance to neo-liberalism. Deeper
empirical investigation of this question would contribute to the overall
consideration of strategies of resistance.
The collection is a significant contribution to debates regarding
Canadian public policy in the context of globalising capitalism as well as an
important overview of the current state of the left discourse on strategies of
resistance to neo-liberal restructuring.
Reading only the topic sentence
and concluding sentence of each paragraph and checking for coherence and
consistency will help you ensure that the paragraph contains only one central
idea and has not wandered off-course.
Topic Sentence (Para.2): The explicit political project underpinning the collection is to consider “the forms and strategies of social resistance that have emerged in response to the neo-liberal agenda” while engaging “both theoretical and concrete arguments for developing the capacity to resist.” (11)
Concluding
Sentence: Part Three, Restructuring and Resistance: Theory and Practice, considers “the
challenges faced by the left in confronting the neoliberal agenda” (20)
although the focus is largely on internal debates of the left.
Topic Sentence (Para.3): The collection compellingly challenges arguments positing the limited power of the state under globalising capitalism.
Concluding
Sentence: A
realistic appraisal of the strength of the state is indispensable to
discussions of the scope for democratic resistance to neo-liberal restructuring
and this is one of the central contributions of the collection.
Topic Sentence (Para.4): Perhaps more notably, the linkage between nationalism and resistance to the neoliberal agenda which has dominated left discourse in Canada for a considerable period is also challenged.
Concluding Sentence: McNally’s penetrating and incisive analysis of globalization as a new form of capitalism powerfully develops a complementary critique of left-nationalism in Canada.
Topic Sentence (Para.5): Within the collection, various authors challenge how progressive the Keynesian consensus was, how far neo-liberal restructuring has progressed, and, as a result, the significance of the impacts of the shift.
Concluding Sentence: These issues are central to debates about the potential of third way politics as a strategy of resistance – a strategy with which several contributions (Russell, McNally, Mooers) directly take issue.
Topic Sentence (Para.6): However, the overall collection rests rather heavily at times on a largely implicit and undertheorized assumption that a further opening of the political system to popular forces represents the antidote to neo-liberalism.
Concluding Sentence: Again, the assumption is that there is wide-spread latent popular resistance to neo-liberal restructuring that the left could seize upon if it could simply overcome internal challenges.
If you perform these three checks and do not discover any problems, you should be reasonably confident that your paper has a strong organizational structure and good logical flow. It is worthwhile to perform these checks yourself because chances are that the person reading your review will also do so!