A World
History
Annotated
Bibliography
Manual of Style
Kathleen M. Monti
2
Table of Contents
Introduction
3
What is World History?
3
How to read your books
3
What is an annotated bibliography?
4
What is a world history annotation like?
5
A summary of the author's thesis: how to find it and when to move on or ask for help
6
How this text pertains to World History
6
Which "level" this text is recommended for (middle/high school, undergraduate, graduate,
doctoral)
6
Quoting an author in an annotation
8
Annotating for Upcoming and Recent Books: Book Reviews
8
Annotating for Upcoming and Recent Books: Annotations
9
Annotating for Upcoming and Recent Books: Acquisitions
10
Professional Input: Getting a Second Opinion
10
Last Revised Summer 2012 by Kathleen M. Monti
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Introduction
Congratulations! So you want to write a bibliography for World History? And you would
like to annotate it to help others who would like assistance with their scholarly pursuits? This is
certainly a worthy cause, especially because World History is new to the historical discourse. As
your guide, there are a few things you should know before you begin. Also, before beginning any
bibliography, be sure to have copy of the Chicago Manual or the most recent edition of A
Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students
and Researchers by Kate L. Turabian. I highly recommend the latter because it is less jargon
laden than the Chicago Manual. Also, it pulls out the most important parts of the Chicago
Manual and puts them directly at your fingertips.
What is World History?
Before you start, it is a good idea to get a good understanding of what world history is, so
I recommend studying Navigating World History: Historians Create a Global Past by Dr.
Patrick Manning. Start by reading the first chapter to get a good definition of world history.
While reading it keep in mind "How to Read a Book, v4.0" by Paul N. Edwards. It can be found
here and it will give you some strategies on how to absorb what is presented to you in Dr.
Manning's book.
Think about world history as the conversations and interactions of
nations/peoples/regions with one another. How did these nations confer with one another in the
past? You will be able to answer questions like these soon enough. It may take some time so be
sure to ask plenty of questions and analyze what you are reading. Remember to always remain
skeptical of the information given to you.
Another way to explain World History is in themes. For example, during the late
nineteenth through the twentieth century, many countries experienced the phenomenon of
communism. While some countries embraced it, others had all out wars in attempts to "cleanse"
themselves of it. In the United States, there were two rather bloodless "Red Scares," the second
led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Another example of a theme in World History is the "Nuclear
Club," which started in 1945 when the first atomic bomb was detonated by the United States.
During the next sixty plus years, other countries have followed suit by developing their own
nuclear weapons, much to the dismay of their neighbors and the United Nations. So, as you can
see, World History has many "themes." When figuring out what theme to study, you should try
to pick something that you find interesting.
How to read your books:
Let's face it: There is no way you are going to be able to read every single word of every
book you pull. Your project would end up taking years if you were to even attempt this. You
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don't have years to work on this project. You only have one year or less. So here are some
strategies how to "read" your books.
I highly recommend Jessica Moyer's "How to Read a Book in 10 Minutes" on the ALA
Editions website. While this piece is geared more toward librarians involved in recommending
books to patrons, it is still a good article to have a look at before you start your work. I have
actually utilized some of the strategies Moyer recommended in preparing the first parts of this
bibliography. The hyperlink can be found here:
How to Read a Book in 10 Minutes
When I start on a book I like to start by reading the publisher's "blurp" on the back of the
book. If one is not immediately available, I like to read one online. Something to keep in mind
though is that the publisher has written a small description of the book in your hands to
encourage someone to buy it. You are not buying the book. You are writing a small, preferably
unbiased summary of the book (REMEMBER: Writing without bias is virtually impossible, but
try to be as unbiased as possible anyway!), so take what the publisher says with a grain of salt.
Next, I like to read the introduction to get a feel for the theme of the book. Finally, be sure to
read the table of contents because this will give you more clues about the subject matter of the
book. If you find anything interesting, feel free to skim a few chapters. This will help you write a
better annotation. If after these steps you feel like you still do not have a good feel for the book,
go through them again or read further than the introduction. You could even start conducting
some research of your own on the subject matter presented in the book. Finally, book reviews are
always helpful. And again, do not be afraid to ask questions!
What is an annotated bibliography?
Annotation is more of an art than a practice. It is difficult to write a good annotation and
even more challenging to write an excellent annotation. A bibliographic annotation is essentially
made up of 150-words or less and summarizes a source that informs "the reader of the relevance,
accuracy, and quality of the sources cited."1 They can be descriptive or evaluative, but for your
purposes they should be descriptive.2 Basically, you are trying to tell the reader whether or not a
source is relevant to their needs or interests.
What is interesting about annotations is that they can appear in a bibliography at the end
of a book or paper or they can appear in the footnotes. Sometimes an author will use an
annotation in footnotes to direct the reader to more information about a topic. It is almost like
saying "I do not have enough time to explain this further, but if you would like to know more
1
Olin Reference, Research and Learning Services, "How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography," Cornell University
Library, http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm (accessed September 13, 2011).
2
Library Services, Robert E. Kennedy Library, "Writing an Annotated Bibliography," California State University
Robert E. Kennedy Library, http://lib.calpoly.edu/research/guides/bibliography.html (accessed September 28,
2011).
Last Revised Summer 2012 by Kathleen M. Monti
5
about x please see y." When the annotations are at the end with the formal bibliography, the
author is doing the same thing except the citations are separated from the actual text of the
document. The annotations may not be as helpful here if the reader is looking for more
information on x but it is still helpful to write them. Often times when a professor is teaching a
research methods class they will direct their students to a text's bibliography to send them in the
right direction. This is where your annotations will be helpful. In the historical discipline, I find
more often than not that an author will annotate their footnotes before they even think about
annotating their final bibliography.
Here are some helpful websites on annotating bibliographies:
http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm
http://www.iupui.edu/~uwc/pdf/Annotated%20Bibliography,%20Preparing%20an.pdf
http://lib.calpoly.edu/research/guides/bibliography.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/
What is a world history annotation like?
Here is an example of an annotation that I wrote in my bibliography on communism:
Harvey, Robert. 2004. A Short History of Communism. New York: Thomas
Dunne Books. Harvey uses this book to narrate the global history of
communism while examining important issues that surrounded
communism, like why communism flourished in countries ravaged by
feudalism or colonialism instead of under the weight of the middle class
like Marx predicted. He illustrates how seemingly intelligent people can
distort or even invent alternative realities to conform to a dogma like
communism. While Harvey's focus in part one is mostly on Russia, he
does move on to examine other parts of the world including Asia, Latin
America, and the Middle East. Overall this book is an effective
examination of the theme of communism but it is difficult to follow so it is
recommended for graduate students.
This bibliography has several parts:
1. A summary of the author's thesis.
2. How this text pertains to World History.
3. Which "level" this text is recommended for. (middle/high school,
undergraduate, graduate, doctoral)
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A summary of the author's thesis: how to find it and when to move on or ask for help
As is fitting, the most important part of the bibliography, the thesis, is the "biggest" or the
"longest." One must find the authors thesis if there is one. If there is not a thesis, in the case of a
volume of essays on one subject or theme or sometimes an encyclopedia on a subject or theme,
try to summarize the subject or theme of the book.
Traditionally, authors present their theses in their introduction or first chapter. Sometimes
it is hidden and it will not always jump out at you. The most time that I have spent with a book
was a full day because the author had "cleverly" hidden his thesis. If you come across a book like
this, ask yourself if it is really worth your valuable time to hunt for the author's thesis when you
could be adding more books to your bibliography. More often than not you will decide to move
on, but if you are determined to find it, do not be afraid to ask for help.
Sometimes, the author's thesis will be very long and complicated. Do your best to
simplify it. If you need to, ask for help. Discussing with another person what you believe the
author means in his or her thesis is helpful and can make a complicated thesis clearer. Remember
that a thesis that does not make sense to you in your bibliography will not make sense to your
reader. Being clear and concise is your greatest ally in writing.
How this text pertains to World History
Relevancy is a very important part of your annotations! This is how you "frame" your
annotation so that it "flows" with the rest of your bibliography. Sometimes, after working very
hard to find the thesis of a book, I find that the book does not fit in the bibliography at all
because it is not a world historical text. This is disappointing, but it happens. Let the book go and
move on to another. Your time is valuable!
Which "level" this text is recommended for (middle/high school, undergraduate, graduate,
doctoral)
This is the final and most difficult determining factor of your annotation, but it is just as
important as the first two parts. When recommending a reading level, it is a good idea to look at
several book sellers online who carry the book to see whom they recommend the book for. If you
disagree with their recommendation or you are having a difficult time determining it yourself, it
is okay to give it a "double level." For example:
Duara, Prasenjit. 2009. The Global and Regional in China's NationFormation. New York: Routledge. Duara uses this book to change
the reader's thinking about China from one of a "self-contained
entity" to a major player in world history during the twentieth
century. The author discusses the major historical problems faced
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by China during this period which include but are not limited to
imperialism, nationalism, state-building, religion, and the role of
history. This book is divided into three parts. Part I examines
imperialism and nationalism in China from a global perspective. It
also examines the changing role of history in China. Part II
examines Chinese myth, religion, and concepts of society and
polity are shaped by external forces and how they are also reshape
these external forces. Finally Part III compares how global
processes have become unique developments in China. This book
is at a higher reading level and would be best suited for
undergraduate and graduate students.
It was not difficult to determine the reading level of this book, but I found that it would
be a good book for two levels: undergraduate and graduate students. It actually opens the book
up to more people than it would have if I had only assigned it one reading level.
There will be times, however, when you will come across a special case where
determining the reading level is impossible. This mostly occurs when a book has multiple
authors or has a collection of essays by three or more scholars on the same or multiple subjects.
In this case, I come right out with it:
Elvin, Mark and Liu Ts'ui-jung, eds. 1998. Sediments of Time:
Environment and Society in Chinese History. New York:
Cambridge University Press. This book contains a collection
of papers presented to Conference on the History of the
Environment in China held in December 1993. This book is also
available in print in Chinese. This book documents environmental
history in China while looking for the source of China's
environmental crisis. The book claims that the roots of this crisis
are multimillennial caused by centuries of the Chinese pursuit of
military power built on a pre-modern economic development
whose foundations were intensive agriculture and water control.
One should pay specific attention to J.R. McNeil's "China's
Environmental History in World Perspective" because it is highly
relevant to the world historical perspective. Since the papers
presented in this book were written by multiple authors, one cannot
assign a definitive reading level to this tome.
It is no fault of your own when you come across a book like this. Even the publishers of
such a book would be hard pressed to assign it to one or any reading level. But if one were hard
pressed to assign it a reading level, you would have to go through every single essay and
determine the level of each one individually. This is a waste of your valuable time and you
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should not attempt it. Remember that it is okay to admit that you are unsure about a book. As
long as you are able to write an adequate annotation for it, consider yourself successful.
Quoting an author in an annotation
Sometimes, paraphrasing an author's thesis is simply not possible, or you may not be able
to say it any better than the author. In a case like this, the following is acceptable:
Carrere d'Encausse, Helene and Stuart R. Schram. 1969. Marxism and
Asia. Translated by Anthony Bishop. Baltimore: Penguin Press.
The authors "examine in detail the forms of 'Asian Marxism'
elaborated by the Chinese and (for the earlier period) by the
Muslim Bolsheviks of the Soviet Union, and... contrast these with
the orthodox line of the Soviet Union and the Comintern." It offers
a slightly more detailed version of early Marxism in Asia, and how
it differs from European, African, and Latin American Marxism.
This book is at a higher reading level and is recommended for
undergraduates.
Quote the author like you would in a scholarly paper, but do not add a footnote.
Footnotes within a bibliography are overly redundant and frankly makes you seem obsessive
compulsive. Plus it looks messy on the page, so avoid it. Simply add quotations and consider
yourself finished.
Annotating for Upcoming and Recent Books: Book Reviews
One of your most important tasks in the Center is searching for and writing annotations
for current texts in world history. This sounds terribly difficult, but in reality it can be quite easy.
The most difficult part of this entire experience is wading through all of the irrelevant material to
find the material is relevant. I will not guide you through the relevant and irrelevant because
those decisions are entirely up to you.
Your best friends for this particular type of bibliography are the book reviews that you
will find in scholarly journals. Here is a small list of the journals that I recommend for you to
keep abreast of:
1. The Journal of World History
2. The Journal of Global History (This specific journal will not come up in PittCat+. It is
best to use the following URL, which is this journal's homepage:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JGH)
3. The American Historical Review (Look under "Comparative/World" in the review
section.)
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As for where and how to find these journals and their reviews, here is a short
instructional video that will help you navigate the University Library System's website:
Finding Journals Using ULS
Another way to find information about recent and upcoming texts is to read the
catalogues that are sent to the World History Center by academic publishers. You may receive
these catalogues in print once a month, quarterly, or seasonally. For example, Oxford University
Press puts out a print catalogue in the fall and the spring, but you can also go to their website and
others to stay abreast of what they are publishing. These websites also include a number of other
publishers who are under a parent publisher. Here is a list of publishing websites that you may
want to check on a regular basis, but remember that this list is by no means exhaustive:
1. Oxford University Press
2. Harvard University Press
3. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
4. Berghahn Books
5. Palgrave MacMillan
6. Bedford/St. Martin's
Annotating for Upcoming and Recent Books: Annotations
These annotations are sometimes similar and at other times nothing like the previous
annotations which you have written. The technique which you may use to write them will be
different. More than likely you will not have the book which you are annotating in front of you.
On one hand, you are still writing a very short summary of the book. On the other hand some of
the books may be so new that you will not be able to get a copy of the book. That's okay. No big
deal. Also, since you may not have the actual book or ebook in front of you, there are no reading
levels to be assigned!
Let's take a look at an example of this particular kind of annotation:
Dexter, Miriam Robbins and Victor H. Mair. 2010. Sacred Display: Divine and
Magical Female Figures of Eurasia. Amherst, New York: Cambria Press.
The authors describe this work as a "joint study 'of very powerful
goddesses, heroines, and even everyday women who demonstrate to us
female power at its most inspiring." While this work is by no means
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exhaustive, it still covers a broad sampling of goddesses and myths the
Neolithic of African and Eurasian traditions. The authors, however, avoid
the "systematic interpretation" of these myths, but do make it clear "that
their interpretations are merely suggestive of possible meanings."
Call Number: GN799.W66 D49 2010
Full Library of Congress Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2009046264
This bibliography has several parts:
1. Summary written from book review.
2. Library of Congress Call Number
3. A link to the Full Library of Congress Record for more information.
The first part of the annotation is a no-brainer. However, the last two are new additions to
your annotations. If you can find the Library of Congress Call Number with a full record of the
book, include it! If you cannot find one or the other, just put "NA" for "Not Available" in those
spaces. You may be able to come back to that annotation later and add those in when the
catalogers at the Library of Congress catch up with their work.
Annotating for Upcoming and Recent Books: Acquisitions
While the main purpose of this list is to assist world history students and scholars with
their research, this list has a secondary purpose which is acquisitions. This list will eventually be
given to acquisitions so that they can buy them. This helps the University Library System when
they are trying to decide which books would be beneficial to collection development. On top of
that, once they are in the ULS, it becomes easier for students and scholars at the World History
Center to access the texts in your bibliography. While these new books will not be housed at the
Center, the books will still be available to them.
Professional Input: Getting a Second Opinion
Once you have completed your annotations of Recent and Upcoming Books, it is time to
get a professional opinion. Having a professor of World History review your annotations and
possibly add to them makes your annotations stronger. To complete the final phase of your
project, you must first find the books in your bibliography. This can be a daunting task because
many of the books you have chosen may not be immediately available to you, but it is extremely
important.
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There are a number of avenues available to you when requesting library books:
1. The University Library System
2. EZ Borrow
3. Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Be sure to find and request your books as soon as possible and give them to your
professor. They will need plenty of time to review each book and the sooner they make revisions
to your bibliography, the sooner you can send the books back to the library.
Last Revised Summer 2012 by Kathleen M. Monti