To make a B in this course you must have either a 24 ON EACH TEST OR a 24 average AND write a critical book review.

Rationale: This analytical book review will critically examine an important scholarly book covering some aspect of United States History  from 1492 to 1877. The purpose of the review is twofold: first, to acquaint the student with a classic volume of historical scholarship and second, to allow the student to think critically about an important facet of American history and then to organize your thoughts in clear, cogent prose. You should not view this simply as a hurdle which you must overcome in order to earn a grade of "B" (Option #1) in this course, but rather approach it as an opportunity to expand your creativity in thinking and writing, two very important aspects of any individual's necessary life skills. Therefore, be advised that I consider this a VERY important aspect of this course and your reviews will be read and graded VERY carefully.

Form: Each book review should be double spaced and at least 1200 words, but no more than 1500 words long. The main objective of this analytical book review should be to comprehensively cover the three sections of the following book review outline:

Part I: This is a brief outline of the contents of the book. In the space of one or two paragraphs you should be able to convey the parameters of the book's contents. DO NOT simply reproduce the book's table of contents.

Part II: Here is the place for a careful summary of the author's thesis. The thesis is the primary idea the author is trying to prove and convince the reader to accept as valid. You must first identify the thesis and then show how the author either substantiates or fails to substantiate this thesis. You should quote portions of the book in order to answer this part of the review, and you will need to cite page numbers for these quotations. This will undoubtedly take you a page or two to do a good job.

Part III: This is your personal evaluation of the book and is the most important part of your analytical book review. Here is where you describe your reaction to the book and put its contents in a comparative perspective with your textbook. Some of the questions you must answer include: Do you agree or disagree with the book's conclusions? Why or why not? Did the book support or contradict what you read in your textbook on the same subject? (You MUST quote some of the relevant passages from both books, citing page numbers.)Did you detect any biases on the part of the author? What was the author's background and why did he or she write the book? How in your opinion could the book have been improved? You must be specific and keep in mind there are NO perfect books. Did you enjoy reading this book? Why or why not? Would you recommend it to others?

Proofread your paper. Recognize that a paper rife with misspellings and grammatical errors WILL NOT  be considered acceptable. Make sure that you use Kate Turabian's, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations for your footnotes/endnotes. You will submit two copies of your paper. One copy will be sent to SafeAssign via Blackboard and the other will be sent to me as an email attachment. In the attachment you send to me make sure that you:
1.) include your name and course number (History 1301-098 for example) on the paper.
2.) Name your attachment, "your name."
3.) Make sure your paper is a doc, docx or pdf format. Other formats WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
4.) Make sure you send your paper to me and to SafeAssign via Blackboard before the deadline because papers sent in after the deadline WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!
5.) Make sure that I respond indicating that I have it. Failure to meet these instructions will mean that your paper will be graded UNACCEPTABLE.

Scholastic Dishonesty: Any form of scholastic dishonesty, especially plagiarism, in the production of this paper or in any other part of the course WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Any student committing any form of scholastic dishonesty in this course will automatically receive the grade of "F" in the course and be reported to ACC authorities for further disciplinary action. The college policy states: "Acts prohibited by the College for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty. including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework." Help understanding plagiarism can be found at the ACC Library website and accreditedschoolsonline.org.

Grading: The book review will be graded "ACCEPTED"or "NOT ACCEPTED." Failure to meet any of the above requirements will mean that your paper will not be accepted. If you submit your book review two weeks BEFORE the deadline date in the syllabus and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date. 

Books: The following books, all of which are found in the ACC libraries and most are available in the UT and Austin Public libraries, may be read for the analytical book review. If you wish to substitute another book for one of these titles, YOU MUST RECEIVE PRIOR APPROVAL.

Richard Abbott. The Republican Party & the South
Robert Abzug. Passionate Liberator
Jean Baker. Mary Todd Lincoln
Virginia Bernhard. Southern Women, Histories & Identities
John Boles. Black Southernors
Catherine Dinker Bowen. The Most Dangerous Man in America
Fawn Brodie. Thomas Jefferson
Irving Brandt. The Fourth President
Carl Bridenbaugh. Cities in the Wilderness
Greg Cantrell. Stephen F. Austin: Empressaio of Texas
Catherine Clinton. Devil's Lane: Sex and Race in the Early South
Jack Coombe. Thunder Along the River
Thomas Connelly. The Marble Man
Wesley Craven. The Colonies in Transition
George Dangerfield. The Awakening of American Nationalism
George Dangerfield. The Era of Good Feelings
William Davis. Jefferson Davis
William Davis. Three Roads to the Alamo
Angie Debo. Rise and Fall of the ChoctawRepublic
Alexander DeConde. This Affair of Louisiana
David DeWitt. The Impeachment & Trial of Andrew Johnson
W.E.B. DuBois. Black Reconstruction in America
William Dwyer. The Day is Ours
Paul Escott. After Secession
James Flexner. The Traitor and the Spy
James Flexner. The Young Hamilton
James Flexner. Washington: The Indispensible Man
Robert Fogel & Stanley Engerman. Time on the Cross
William Fowler. Rebels Under Sail
Eugene Genovese. Roll, Jordan, Roll
Joseph Glatthar. Partners in Command
Gwendolyn Hall. Africans in Louisiana
Don Higginbotham. The War of American Independence
Robert Ilisevich. Galusha A. Grow
Robert Johannsen. To the Halls of  the Montezuma
Winthrop Jordan. The White Man's Burden
Linda Kerber. Women of the Republic
Michael Kitzer. Tripoli and the United States at War
Gerda Lerner. The Grimke Sisters
Phyllis Levin. Abigail Adams
Gerald Linderman. Embattled Courage
Piers Mackesy. The War For America
Dumas Malone. Jefferson and His Time [any volume]
William Marvel. Burnside
Richard McCaslin. Tainted Breeze
Drew McCoy. The Last of the Fathers
Marvin Meyers. The Jacksonian Persuasion
Gary Nash. Quakers and Politics: Pennsylvania, 1681-1726
Gary Nash. Red, White, and Black
Allan Nevins. Ordeal of the Union Vols. 1, 2, or 3
Allan Nevins. The War For the Union, Vols. 1, 2, 3, or 4
John Niven. Martin Van Buren
Mary Beth Norton. Liberty's Daughters
Edward Pessen. Jacksonian America
Merrill Peterson. The Great Triumverate
George H. Phillips. Indians and Indian Agents
John E. Pomfret. Founding the American Colonies
David Potter. The Impending Crisis
William Randall. Benedict Arnold
Elizabeth Reis. Damned Women: Sinners & Witches in Puritan  New England
Robert Remini. Andrew Jackson & the Course of American Democracy
Robert Remini. Andrew Jackson & theCourse of Freedom
Robert Remini. Henry Clay
Charles Royster. A Revolutionary People at War
Richard Sewell. Ballots For Freedom
Craig Simpson. A Good Southernor
Thomas Slaughter. The Whiskey Rebellion
Marshall Smelser. The Winning of Independence
Kenneth Stampp. And the War  Came
Larry Tise. Proslavery
Peter Thomas. Tea  Party to Independence
Hans Trefousse. The Radical Republicans
John Weems. To Conquer a Peace
Lynne Witney. Dearest Friend
Peter Wood. Black Majority

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