Refer to these Chicago book citation examples for how you should write your bibliography. Chicago style uses two ways to create bibliographies. With the author-date style, you place the author in the first element and the date in the second element. Include your source entries in a reference list following your report. The notes-bibliography style, on the other hand, is a more complicated style used in higher level writing.
Book Citation Format for One Author or Editor
This basic Chicago author-date style for a book citation with a single author follows this format:
Reference List Format
Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name. Year of Publication. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Author’s Last Name Year of Publication, pp)
Examples
Edwards, Andres R. 2005. The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers.
(Andres 2005, 86)
Citing a Book With Multiple Authors/Editors
When citing a book with multiple authors, follow the formats described below.
Two Authors
Reference List Format
Author #1’s Last Name, Author #1’s First Name, and Author #2’s First and Last Names. Year of Publication. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Author #1’s Last Name and Author #2’s Last Name Year of Publication, pp)
Examples
Herron, John F. and Andrew G. Kirk. 1999. Human Nature: Biology, Culture, and Environmental History. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
(Herron and Kirk 1999, 203)
Three Authors
Reference List Format
Author #1’s Last Name, Author #1’s First Name, Author #2’s First and Last Names and Author #3’s First and Last Names. Year of Publication. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Author #1’s Last Name, Author #2’s Last Name, and Author #3’s Last Name Year of Publication, pp)
Example
Brugge, Doug, Timothy Benally, and Esther Yazzie-Lewis. 2006. The Navajo People and Uranium Mining. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
(Brugge, Benally, and Yazzie-Lewis 2006, 27)
Four or More Authors
If the book has four or more authors, continue using the same pattern created for three authors for your bibliography entry. As for the parenthetical citation, include just the first author’s last name, followed by et al., then the year and pages as usual.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(First Author’s Last Name et al. Year of Publication, pp)
Edited Books
For edited books, add a comma after the first name(s) of editor(s) and add ed. or eds. for one or multiple editors, respectively. Otherwise, you follow the same basic format as listed above for authors.
Reference List Format
Editor’s Last Name, Editor’s First Name, ed. Year of Publication. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Editor’s Last Name Year of Publication, pp)
Example
Etulain, Richard W, ed. 1994. Contemporary New Mexico, 1940-1990. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
(Etulain 1994, 23)
Online Books
For books found online, follow the same formats as listed above. Then, add the URL, DOI or the name of the database.
Reference List Format
Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name. Year of Publication. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name. URL or DOI or Database or eBook Format.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Author’s Last Name Year of Publication, pp)
Example
Berry, Wendell. 2009. Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food. Berkeley: Counterpoint Press. Kindle.
(Berry 2009, 293)
Chicago Notes-Bibliography Examples Format
Follow these basic Chicago notes-bibliography examples for the format to follow when citing books written by a single author, multiple authors or editors.
One Author
Bibliography Citation Format
Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication.
Note Citation Format
##. Author’s First and Last Names, Title of Book: Subtitle of Book (Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication), pp.
Example
Hayden, Dolores. A Field Guide to Sprawl. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004.
1. Dolores Hayden, A Field Guide to Sprawl (New York: W.W. Norton, 2004), 82.
Two Authors
Bibliography Citation Format
Author #1’s Last Name, Author #1’s First Name, and Author #2’s First and Last Names. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication.
Note Citation Format
##. Author’s #1’s First and Last Names and Author #2’s First and Last Names, Title of Book: Subtitle of Book (Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication), pp.
Example
Grinde, Donald A., and Bruce E. Johansen. Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and People. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers, 1995.
1. Donald A. Grinde and Bruce E. Johansen, Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and People. (Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers, 1995), 236.
Three Authors
Bibliography Citation Format
Author #1’s Last Name, Author #1’s First Name, Author #2’s First and Last Names and Author #3’s First and Last Names. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication.
Note Citation Format
##. Author’s #1’s First and Last Names, Author #2’s First and Last Names, and Author’s #3 First and Last Names, Title of Book: Subtitle of Book (Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication), pp.
Example
Jones, Ellis, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson. The Better World Handbook: From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2001.
2. Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson, The Better World Handbook: From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions. (Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2001), 238.
- Chicago author-date style uses a reference list.
- Chicago notes-bibliography style uses a bibliography.
- An in-text citation is also called a parenthetical citation.
- Append https://doi to your DOI entries.
Choosing the Correct Chicago Citation Style
Pay attention to your teacher’s instructions before you start writing your paper. The two Chicago styles cite sources differently. These Chicago book citation examples will guide you as you format your paper. It’s unusual for middle and high school students to use Chicago style for their history papers. College students and publishers use notes-bibliography style. However, if so assigned, you’ll most likely use Chicago author-date style.