Assignment 1.2: Book Review (Portfolio)
Book review (10%; 500 words):

Provide a critical review of one of the following books:

Christopher M. Andrew, For the President’s Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bush (New York, 1995) (327.1273 AND)
Richard H. Immerman, The Hidden Hand: a Brief History of the CIA (Chichester, 2014) (327.1273009 IMM/ university bookshop)
Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, The CIA and American Democracy (New Haven; London, 1989) (327.1273 JEF/ university bookshop)
John Ranelagh, The Agency: the Rise and Decline of the CIA (London, 1986) (327.1273 RAN)
Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes: the History of the CIA (London, 2008) (327.1273009 WEI)
Athan G Theoharis, Richard H Immerman, The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny (Westport, CN, 2006) (EBOOK)

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Book Review Instructions
The following information should be given about the book being reviewed at the start of the review:
Author / Editor Name, Book Title, Publisher, Year of Publication, ISBN: 000-0-00-000000-0, Number of Pages, Price
You should write your name and then on the line below your institution at the end of your review. For example:
Steve Long
Canterbury Christ Church University

Book reviews should be objective and should consider the following:

• The intended audience for the book and who would find it useful.
• The main ideas and major objectives of the book and how effectively these are accomplished. For instance, you should pay close attention to the introduction and the conclusion. What research questions does the author establish in the introduction? What are the core themes and issues that the author sets out to examine? How successfully does the author engage with and address these core issues?
• The soundness of methods and information sources used.
• The context or impetus for the book – political controversy, review research or policy, etc.
• A statement about the place of the book in a wider field – other books of the same genre, other books by the same author – and explanation of the points of similarity or difference. In other words you should conduct wider research by reading other books and articles on the CIA (for example, use readings from earlier in the module and look at some of the other books listed for this assignment) in order to position this book within the broader field of study. How does the book under review compare or contrast with other books written about the history of the CIA? If you refer to other works you should include referencing, and all reviews should include a bibliography. Remember though, that the notes and bibliography are excluded from the word count.
• Constructive comments about the strength and weaknesses of the book with examples of each (ie provide an evaluation of its merits and deficiencies).
• A conclusion that brings together the main points of the review but is more than a summary or a recapitulation of what has been said.
• Some things reviewers should avoid: quotations that do not clearly illustrate a specific critical issue; long quotations; references to works or authors not generally known to most readers.
• If you want to make a page reference to the book under review simply put the page number in brackets at the end of the point being made – for example a reference to page 359 would simply be presented as (p.359).
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On the Limited Word Count
Due to the very limited word count you are probably going to have to make some difficult editorial decisions in order to keep your paper within the prescribed word limit. Here are some tips that might help: take out any unnecessary descriptive content (it’s your analysis and evaluation of the book that really counts, not long summaries of the content), use straightforward prose and write in a pithy style, avoid using lengthy quotes taken from the book you are reviewing – paraphrase in a succinct manner or use a few choice keywords for your quotes.

If none of the above helps get you down to the maximum 550 words then you’re going to have to prioritise the bits of text that you think are most important in your review. Remember, everyone is restricted by the word count and I realise that you can’t cover absolutely everything in fine detail with so few words at your disposal.
SL
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A Note on the Books in Question
Please note, one copy of each of the books is available in the main library on short loan, plus Theoharis/Immerman can be accessed as an e-book. I have ordered copies of Immerman and Jeffreys-Jones in the university bookshop, and all of these books should also be available at a reasonable price second hand on Amazon or AbeBooks.
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General Style Guide

Please ensure that you consult the AS general style guide when you write up your coursework essays. A copy of the style guide is available in the general information folder in the assessment section of this Blackboard site, or in the course information section.
A few key tips for you to note: please use Times New Roman size 12 or a similar font and size and double-space lining so that there is plenty of room for me to leave annotations on your script; please also insert page numbers in the bottom right hand corner of each page, and ensure that your name and the essay question are on the front page.
SL