Frequently Asked Questions

(See also Infrequently Asked Questions)

1. Will you review my book?

   I am not currently interested in unsolicited review copies. I'd love to be able to help new authors publicise their books, but I only have time to read so much.

   If you must tell me about your book anyway, send a brief description in plain text — Word, HTML, PDF, etc. attachments will be deleted unread. Please note that I don't have time to respond to all suggestions or requests, and that I am not interested in e-books or unpublished manuscripts.

   Please take a look at the kind of books I've reviewed in the past. If you're a scholar who's written either a popular presentation or a review of your research area (or your entire field) or you've just translated a classic novel from the Hungarian, that's more likely to tempt me than most offerings.

2. Here's a review, can you put it on your website?

   I don't publish third-party reviews — all the reviews on this site are my own work.

3. Where can I find book X?

   I can't help you find books, but I provide bibliographic information and links to Amazon where books are available there. (Some of the books I review are out of print: you may have to use second-hand booksellers or specialist book-finders to obtain copies.)

4. What is author Y's email address?

   I can't help you here. Most publishers will forward postal mail to their authors.

5. Where is publisher Z's website?

   I can't help you here either. Try a web search engine.

6. Can you write a review or plot summary of X in the next 24 hours?

   Do your own homework!

7. What can you tell me about the history of Vietnam?

   For this sort of question Wikipedia or a specialist resource is your best starting place. .

8. Do you ever answer "yes" to any questions?

   Yes, have a look at the Infrequently Asked Questions