History 541: France, 1815 to present S2002 Prof. J. Popkin

Essay Assignment #2 (based on Miller, The Bon Marché) Due in class, Mon., Feb. 25

Write a well-structured 750-1000 word (3-4 pp, double-spaced) review of Michael Miller, The Bon Marché. Follow this suggested outline:

1. your first sentence should define what the book is about.

2. the rest of your first paragraph should expand on that sentence by (1) briefly summarizing the whole book, and (2) indicating the most important things a reader learns from the book.

3. the body of your paper should include paragraphs dealing with the three major sections of the book. Each of these paragraphs should begin with a sentence defining what that particular section of the book is about. Once you have defined the theme of each section, discuss the content and conclusions of the section. Your discussion should indicate what kind of evidence Miller uses to support his story.

4. In addition to explaining the content of the book, a book review usually also evaluates the book’s style. Is it clearly written? Is it logically organized? Does it cover all aspects of the topic that you would expect to be dealt with in a book on this subject? What might have been left out?

5. A book review should have a clear conclusion (usually a separate paragraph) that gives an overall evaluation of the book. Did the author successfully carry out his project? Did you learn from the book what the author apparently wanted to convey? What questions were left in your mind? You may want to compare this book with The French Worker: did you find that you learned more from reading documents written at the time, or did the benefits of having a trained historian helping you to put things together outweigh this?

Students reading the Kselman book (Death and the Afterlife in Modern France): do the same assignment: write a review of Kselman, following the same structure.