Guidelines for Book Reviewers

Book reviews published in the South African Journal of Science reflect the diversity of disciplines in the Journal with the aim to interest a general readership in newly published and important books. We commission, and also welcome, reviews on a wide variety of topics, provided that the books reviewed are of high academic quality.

Reviews should be more than an abstract of the contents. Reviewers should attempt to write around the subject, personalities or ideas within the book, conveying the flavour of the publication and including a critical evaluation of how well the author or editors have succeeded in their task. 

Reviews should be no longer than 1000 words. If there are references within the review, they should follow the format of the Journal provided here. The review should be uploaded to our website, together with a completed Publishing Agreement and a Title Page which includes:

1. A title for the review
2. Information about the book:

• book title
• book cover illustration
• author(s)/editor(s)
• ISBN (whether applicable to hardcover, paperback, e-version)
• number of pages
• publisher
• city of publication
• price (in original currency)
• year of publication

3. Reviewer information:

• Name
• Affiliation
• Email address

Books provided by the book publisher for the purpose of submitting a review to the Journal must be returned to the publisher if a review is not submitted to the Journal.