COMPARATIVE BOOK REVIEW

Sellers, C. G. (1994). The market revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846. New York: Oxford University Press.

Martin, S. C. (2005). Cultural change and the market revolution in America: 1789-1860. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Write a comparative review of them. Additional books are optional. For this project, select book-length secondary sources; avoid compilations of shorter pieces, such as essay collections .A comparative review requires explanation, analysis, assessment, and comparison of books’ content, arguments, strengths, weaknesses, value, etc. It is not a book report. Do not devote your paper merely to summarizing the books’ “plots.” Instead, tell your readers enough about each book to enable them to understand its scope, aims, and content, and then analyze what you have read.As you read the books and construct your review, consider each author’s focus, thesis, and main point(s) and/or purpose(s). Consider what the authors cover, how (and how well) they present their studies, and whether they make effective cases in support of their ideas. How do they compare to one another? Do they agree and/or disagree in significant ways? Does each book have any especially strong and/or weak points? Explain.
STYLE: Assume that you are writing for a general audience of reasonably intelligent people who are not familiar with the books you have read but who want to know about them—what they cover, what points they try to make and how they do so, what purpose(s) they are intended to serve, how well they live up to their authors’ goals, the relative merits of each book, etc.
Organize your paper carefully. In your introduction, introduce the books, and state your thesis about them. Develop and present your analysis in the body of your paper. Summarize your main points in the paper’s conclusion.Writing skills matter. Use standard English. Avoid slang, colloquialisms, contractions, and incomplete sentences. Be sure that pronouns have appropriate antecedents.Be objective, analytical, and professional. Do not use “I think,” “I feel,” “in my opinion,” or other first-person constructions. First-person comments weaken your presentation by prompting readers to think about you, your expertise or credentials, and whether your statements should be considered reliable. Avoid excessive use of quotations. When you do quote or paraphrase a specific point, idea, etc. from any source, you must provide adequate citations for that material. You may use footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical references, but be clear and consistent.