Vol.:(0123456789) Publishing Research Quarterly https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-020-09739-9 1 3 The Book Review Landscape in American History: Specialization, Segmentation, Value, and History Journals Jean‑Pierre V. M. Hérubel 1 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Book reviews constitute an important component in the communication ecology driving and sustaining historical scholarship. This examination frames the discus- sion of the book review as artifact of communication. Within the context of its per- ceived value, its signifcance to historians, and its position within this ecosystem, the book review is further contextualized within a discussion of subject specialization. Additionally, the intellectual and professional position the book review occupies in this ecology, is broached, and tempered by historians’ observations concerning its relative status, purpose, and necessity for the historical profession. Further observa- tions are articulated by university press directors within the context of the infuence that book reviews exert within this communication ecology. Keywords Academic history · Book reviews · Journals · Disciplines Academic disciplines subsist on communication ecologies that sustain their respec- tive activities, research, professionalization, as well as validate their existence. Aca- demic history is but one of these academic disciplines that relies upon a strongly defned communication ecology that includes monographs, articles, and book reviews for efective intellectual consensus and scholarly rigor. The monograph is perceived and indeed, supported by the historical profession as the gold standard, more so than the article, the latter appearing in descending order of scholarly impor- tance. 1 Critically, where does the book review ft in this communication ecology; what is its raison d’être vis-à-vis the monograph, let alone the article? How do his- torians perceive the book review within this graduation of scholarly signifcance and importance to professionalization? For approximately a 50-year period, book * Jean-Pierre V. M. Hérubel jpvmh@purdue.edu 1 Libraries and School of Information Studies, Purdue University, HSSE, 504 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2058, USA 1 See Williams, Peter, et al. “The Role and Future of the Monograph in Arts and Humanities Research.” Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives 61 (2009): 67-82.