Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews: is the book worth it?
Books are expensive and slow. The decision to read one, three weeks of evenings, is made almost always on the basis of a cover, a blurb written by a friend of the author, and a title. It is a bad way to spend attention.
Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews exists to make that decision better, and it is free.
What it is
A review service in philosophy run by the University of Notre Dame. Reviews are commissioned from specialists in the book’s area and published continuously, usually within months of release, far faster than journal review sections, which can run two years behind.
Why it works as a source
Because the reviewers are competent and, as a rule, candid. An NDPR review will say what the book argues, where the argument is strong, and where the reviewer thinks it fails, with reasons. That is more information than most abstracts give.
There is a second use, less obvious. A good review is a compressed introduction to a debate. If you want to know what is at stake in a field you do not work in, reading three reviews of recent books in it is the fastest orientation available.
How to use it
Before buying. Obvious, and almost nobody does it.
Before citing a book you have only skimmed. The review will tell you whether the thesis you are attributing is actually the thesis.
To learn how to disagree well. The reviews model academic objection: specific, grounded, and without contempt. That register is learnable, and it is rare.
For theological reading
The same discipline applies to theology. Much of what circulates as recommendation in religious circles is affinity, not assessment. Getting used to reading critical reviews — including of books you expect to like — is one of the habits that separates a reader from a follower.
Open Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
Image: The Education of the Virgin, attributed to Georges de La Tour, c. 1650. The Frick Collection, New York, public domain. A book read by candlelight under a patient guide.
