Tips for choosing a book…
Remember that you are looking for something that is making an argument; that is, the book is contributing something new to our knowledge about a specific topic.
An example of a good scholarly argument would be, The American Revolution needs to be understood primarily as a class struggle over the means of production. This is something subject to debate and can be argued many ways.
An example of a bad scholarly argument would be, George Washington was an important president. This is a statement of the obvious and no reasonable person would challenge it.
General surveys do not make arguments - These would be textbooks, anthologies, collected primary sources, etc.
Biographies do not tend to work well on this assignment as they are intensive looks at people's lives; and not specifically making arguments.
Look for something that is written for a specialized rather than general audience
Abilene Christian University Press
American Historical Association
American Psychiatric Publishing
Arte Publico Press (University of Houston)
Bob Jones University Press, publishes textbooks for Christian schools and homeschools
Brigham Young University Press
Brookings Institution Press
Bucknell University Press
Carnegie Mellon University Press, founded 1972 as Three Rivers Press
Catholic University of America Press
Columbia University Press
Cornell University Press, founded 1869
Duke University Press, founded 1921 as Trinity College Press
Duquesne University Press
Eastern Washington University Press, a former press which closed in 2010
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
Fordham University Press
Gallaudet University Press, focusing on issues related to deafness and sign language
George Mason University Press
Georgetown University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP)
Indiana University Press
Johns Hopkins University Press (JHUP)
Kent State University Press
Lehigh University Press
Louisiana State University Press
Mercer University Press
Michigan State University Press
MIT Press
New York University Press
Northern Illinois University Press
Northwestern University Press
Ohio State University Press
Ohio University Press (OUP)
Penn State Press
Princeton University Press
Purdue University Press
Rockefeller University Press (RUP), publishes three scientific journals in medicine and biology
Rutgers University Press
Saint Joseph's University Press
San Diego State University Press
Southern Illinois University Press
Southern Methodist University Press
Stanford University Press (SUP), founded 1892
State University of New York Press
Syracuse University Press
Teachers College Press
Temple University Press
Texas A&M University Press
Texas Christian University Press
Texas Tech University Press (TTUP)
Texas Western Press
Trinity University Press (Texas)
Truman State University Press
University of Akron Press
University of Alabama Press
University of Alaska Press
University of Arizona Press
University of California Press
University of Chicago Press, founded 1891, the largest university press in the U.S.
University of Delaware Press
University of Georgia Press
University of Hawaii Press
University of Illinois Press
University of Iowa Press
University of Massachusetts Press
University of Michigan Press
University of Minnesota Press
University of Missouri Press (proposed closing in 2012 cancelled)
University of Nebraska Press
University of Nevada Press
University of New Mexico Press
University of New Orleans Press
University of North Carolina Press
University of North Georgia Press
University of North Texas Press
University of Notre Dame Press
University of Oklahoma Press
University of Pennsylvania Press
University of Pittsburgh Press
University of Scranton Press
University of South Carolina Press
University of Tennessee Press
University of Texas Press
University of Utah Press
University of Virginia Press
University of Washington Press
University of Wisconsin Press
University Press of Colorado
University Press of Florida (UPF)
University Press of Kansas
University Press of Kentucky (UPK)
University Press of Mississippi
University Press of New England
Utah State University Press
Vanderbilt University Press
Wake Forest University Press
Washington State University Press
Wayne State University Press
Wesleyan University Press
West Virginia University Press
Wharton School Publishing
Yale University Press
Librarian's Note: Please check, and double check, the credentials and background of these suggested historians. This is NOT a comprehensive list. You might want to research prominent universities/colleges and their history departments/history professors as those individuals have often written the types of books suitable for this assignment.
Jeremy Black
Mark M. Boatner III
Daniel J. Boorstin
Julian P. Boyd
Fawn M. Brodie
William Bell Clark
David Brion Davis
Thomas Doerflinger
Lyman Draper
Elizabeth F. Ellet
John Mack Faragher
John E. Ferling
John Clement Fitzpatrick
Thomas Fleming
Douglas Southall Freeman
Richard Frothingham Jr.
Alexander Gregg
John B. Hattendorf
Christopher Hibbert
Don Higginbotham
Woody Holton
Rhys Isaac
Maya Jasanoff
Merrill Jensen
Winthrop Jordan
Eugenia Washington
William B. Willcox
Justin Winsor
Gordon S. Wood
David Ramsay
Lorenzo Sabine
Kenneth Silverman
William Gilmore Simms
Page Smith
Jared Sparks
Arthur Tourtellot
Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet
Claude H. Van Tyne
Piers Mackesy
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Pauline Maier
Brendan McConville
Forrest McDonald
Charles Howard McIlwain
Robert Middlekauff
Philip D. Morgan
Richard B. Morris
John A. Nagy
Mary Beth Norton
Charles O. Paullin
Howard Henry Peckham
William Stevens Perry
Benjamin Arthur Quarles
Benjamin Woods Labaree
Franklin T. Lambert
Every library uses a system of organization that arranges items by "call number" which includes letters and numbers to indicate where the book is located, or can be found. For AUM Library, we use the Library of Congress Call Number system. Each library item has a call number that starts with a letter, or letters, and subsequent lines of numbers. These refer to topics and subjects, and are useful as a guide map as you navigate the library. For more info on Library of Congress, watch this quick tutorial
This arrangement allows for "serendipitous browsing" which means once you find a book in the Library Catalog, go to the shelf and locate the book, and based on the items' organization you might be able to find an even better book.
Library of Congress Call Numbers, or LC Call Numbers, start withone or more letters. These letters refer to a general subject classification - meaning, that the letters on the LC Call Number refer to the the topic of the item.
The AUM Library divides our circulating collection on 3rd - 5th floors based on LC Call Number system
- A-HA Call Numbers - 3rd Floor of Library Tower *
- HB-PN 4887 Call Numbers - 4th Floor of Library Tower
- PN 4888-Z Call Numbers - 5th Floor of Library Tower
* (LC Call Numbers that start with D - World History, E - United States History, and
F - States History will be found on this floor)
AUM Home | People Finder | Email | LibApps Login | AUAccess | MyAUM | BlackBoard | AUMnet
