The Purpose of a Historical Book Review (excerpted from Mark Helstern’s The History Student Writer’s Manual, Prentice Hall, 1998):The essential task of a historical book review is to answer three questions:What did the writer try to do?How well did she or he do it?Was it worth doing in the first place?People who read a book review want to know if a particular book is worth reading, for their own purposes, before expending their time reading it. These potential readers/researchers want to know the book’s subject and its strengths and weaknesses, and they want to obtain this information as easily and quickly as possible. Your goal in writing a book review is to help people decided efficiently whether to read a book.In the process of writing a book review that reaches this primary goal, you will also:Learn about the book you are reviewingLearn about professional standards for book reviews in historyLearn the essential steps of book reviewing that apply to most academic disciplinesLearning to review a historical book properly teaches you to focus quickly on the essential elements of the book, to draw from a book its informational value not just for other readers but for yourself. Writing historical book reviews helps you to become proficient in quickly sorting valuable information from material that is not valuable to you at that time. The ability to make such quick and effective judgments is a fundamental ingredient in academic success. Finally, reading a historical book for review can provide you with practical models of what you should and should not do as a writer. You have a chance to become more conscious of stylistic and organizational strategies than you would if you were reading only for a book’s contents. Writing a book review gives you practice in assimilating and condensing ideas in order to express them with clarity in as few words as possible. FINAL PROJECT REQUIREMENTSYour final project will consist of four parts, as outlined below. Be sure to check the Course Calendar for the due dates for each part. You will submit each of the items below using the appropriate assignment submission link within the Final Project area of the course.