Book reviews
Books for review should be sent to the Review Editor at the address below.
Dr Gerardo J. Arriaga-Garcia
Email: g.j.arriagagarcia@bham.ac.uk
Guidelines for Book Reviewers
As the field continues to grow and diversify, book reviews play a vital role in shaping scholarly discourse, identifying emerging trends, and providing critical engagement with new ideas and evidence. To ensure consistency, clarity, and relevance, we ask reviewers to follow the guidance below.
Length and Format
- Reviews should be no more than 1,000 words.
- Please include full bibliographic details of the book at the top of your review: Author(s), Title, Publisher, Year, Number of Pages, ISBN, and Price (if known).
- Submit your review in a clear, academic prose style, free of typographical errors and properly proofread.
Audience and Tone
- Our readership includes academics, researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers engaged in social policy.
- Your tone should be informed, critical yet respectful, and avoid excessive jargon.
- Assume readers may not be specialists in the specific subfield but are well-versed in broader social policy concerns.
Content and Structure
The book review should not only summarise but evaluate. We recommend the following structure:
- Overview:
- Introduce the book’s subject matter, objectives, and central arguments.
- Situate the book within current debates or literature in social policy.
- Critical Engagement:
- Assess the book’s methodology, conceptual framing, use of evidence, and overall coherence.
- Discuss the book’s originality, strengths, and any limitations or omissions.
- Where relevant, reflect on its implications for policy, practice, or further research.
- Social Policy Lens:
- Make explicit how the book contributes to our understanding of social policy, its development, delivery, or critique.
- Highlight intersections with themes such as inequality, welfare systems, governance, rights, citizenship, etc.
- Conclusion:
- Offer a concise summary of your evaluation.
- Indicate the book’s value to particular audiences (e.g., researchers, students, practitioners).
General Advice
- Avoid excessive quotations or chapter-by-chapter summaries.
- Disclose any potential conflicts of interest (such as prior collaborations with the author).