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Students are required to read one book:
You may choose one book from either the non-fiction or fiction list below. On the first day of class, you will be required to hand in a 300 word (minimum) paper on the book using the following format.
BOOK REVIEW FORMAT: Three Paragraphs
• The first paragraph is a description of the author's intent or purpose in writing the book and their thesis. Describe how the author has done this. Was there a need for this book?
• The second paragraph of your review should describe how the author went about his/her task. What evidence did he/she rely on? What were the author's sources - or does he/she even let you know? Does the author use intelligent graphics - pictures, tables, graphs, etc.? Do they help clarify and add to the text, or are they padding, or just confusing, or poorly introduced.
• The third paragraph of your review is critical. It is here that you evaluate his/her success. Did the author persuade you? Did the author really bore you, or anger you, or confuse you? Would you recommend it to others and why or why not?
NON-FICTION
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Bagdasarian, Adam
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Forgotten Fire
“Drawing on his own great-uncle’s experiences, Bagdasarian covers the years 1915-1918 when a boy from a wealthy, well-respected family from Bitlis, Turkey, is stripped of everything simply because he is Armenian.” Book Description |
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Weatherford, Jack
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
"In just 25 years, in a blitzkrieg, the Mongols conquered more lands and people than the Romans had in over 400 years. Weatherford also devotes much attention to dismantling our notions of Genghis Khan as a brute. By his telling, the great general was a secular but faithful Christian, a progressive free trader, a regretful failed parent and a loving if polygamous husband." Publishers Weekly |
FICTION
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Bosse, Malcolm
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The Examination
“Set during the Ming Dynasty, this novel follows the path across China of two brothers…to the Imperial Palace in Beijing, where the final exam will take place. As the brothers make their perilous journey through the Middle Kingdom, meeting wise men and fools, heroes and charlatans, each comes to know himself better…” Booklist |
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To Live: A Novel
“…the reckless son of a wealthy landowner…gambles away the family fortune. Fugui is humbled by the loyalty of his loved ones, and comes to accept the severe hardships of his altered life, but fate has only begun its brutal work. Fugui is forcibly conscripted into the army, then, barely alive upon his release, struggles with so-called land reform and the ensuing famine. As Fugui's family die terrible, often bitterly ironic deaths and this stoic survivor makes do with less and less in an increasingly surreal world." Booklist |
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Levack, Simon
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Demon of the Air: an Aztec Mystery
“set in the heyday of the Aztec empire two years before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors…rumors of pale, bearded men with strange weapons have reached the emperor, Montezuma. When a human sacrifice to the war-dog goes wrong… the ensuing uproar threatens the power of the emperor and his chief minister…” Publisher’s Weekly |
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O’Brian, Patrick
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The Road to Samarcand
“In the years before WWII, the teenager Derrick, orphaned by his missionary parents, sails the China seas aboard the schooner Wanderer with his American uncle Terrence Sullivan, his elderly English cousin Ayrton and Sullivan’s business partner, Mr. Ross. Ayrton wants Derrick to leave the sea and attend school, but first they’ll embark on an … expedition to Samarcand…frigid temperatures, militaristic Tibetan monks and… the Abominable Snowman await.” Publisher’s Weekly |
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