Outside Reading: Book Review

How Gandhi became Gandhi
By: Geoffrey C. Ward

In this book review of "Great Sole" by Joseph LeLyveld, ward discusses how this book is not an entire biography, but it is written by a well qualified author, Lelyveld, who reported from India in the sixties and has worked covering Southern India in the eighties. In this review, ward praises the complexity of the book, and how some knowledge of Gandhi's life is expected for a comprehensive reading.
Ward uses a lot of detail about the book itself and how it corresponded to Gandhi's life, or how he responded to the book. At times this review veers away from the book and back onto Gandhi's life and what he accomplished, using mostly quotes directly from Gandhi, ignoring the text that he is reviewing
This is a definite weakness of the piece as it is almost as if he never answered the question of how the actual book, making it seem to the reader as though he was somehow bored of it, or at least uninterested. Along the same lines is one of the strengths though, this way of including gave more information about Gandhi to the reader than the go in thinking. This is nice, but unexpected and at the end It feels more like a piece on Gandhi referencing "Great Sole" instead of a book review.
Unless it was a open prompt the usage of mostly detail would not be good for an AP essay. The roundabout way that he does not get to the point would also be destructive in an AP essay, because it would sound as though the reader were trying to BS the answer.