Knowing the author and his/her organization also helps you understand the book’s
intellectual context. This includes the academic discipline(s) from which it draws, schools of
thought within that discipline, and others who agree with or oppose the author’s viewpoint.
A book is almost always partly a response to other writers, so you’ll understand a book
much better if you can figure out what, and whom, it is answering. Pay special attention to
points where the author tells you directly that s/he is disagreeing with others:
“Conventional wisdom holds that x, but I argue instead that y.” (Is x really conventional
wisdom? Among what group of people?) “Famous Jane Scholar says that x, but I will show
that y.” (Who’s Famous Jane, and why do other people believe her? How plausible are x and
y? Is the author straining to find something original to say, or has s/he genuinely convinced
you that Famous Jane is wrong?) Equally important are the people and writings the author
cites in support of his/her arguments.