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How to Cite a Book Chicago Style: Everything You Should Know

how to cite a book chicago style
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So, you have found a proper publication you can use for your essay but now you are struggling with getting the right format for Chicago style book citation. No wonder, since the Chicago style uses two completely different systems for citing the sources:

  • Notes and Bibliography system: used in humanitarian disciplines
  • Author-Date style: used in Science.

In this guide we’ll tell you how to cite a book Chicago style in notes and bibliography system. Feel free to use this information to write top notch essays!

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Chicago Style Citation Book: General Rules

When it comes to a Chicago style book citation, you should keep in mind that there are 3 types of reference entries. They include:

  • Chicago style bibliography: reference entry that appears on your Bibliography page.
  • Full note: citing sources that are used for the first time.
  • Brief note: subsequent citations of sources that have been cited before.

A formal essay requires you to include all necessary data about any book or magazine article you have used. A proper Chicago style book reference has the following general format:

Bibliography

Writer’s Last Name, First Name. Title: Subtitle. Place of publication: Purlisher, Year.

Full Note

Writer’s First and Last Name, Title: Subtitle (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number or Range.

Brief Note

Writer’s Last Name, Shortened Title, Page Number or Range.

Below you can find examples of citations created for footnotes & endnotes and your Bibliography page. 

Example:

Examples of citations created for footnotes & endnotes in Chicago


There can be certain variations to this rule, depending on the type of your source. Let us dive deeper into it!

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Chicago Style: Translated Book

Chicago Style Citation for Translated Book is an example of a more detailed reference entry. Do you often retrieve citations from foreign sources? If yes, you probably still do it in English. Therefore you should find their translations first and then refer to these versions rather than to original ones. Note that you will need to specify the translator’s name. Mention that your source isn’t an original work by adding the words “Translated by.” When citing a book in Chicago footnotes or endnotes, shorten this word to “trans.” Let’s look at a general formula given below:

Bibliography 

Writer’s Last Name, First Name. Work’s Title: Subtitle. Translated by Translator’s First and Last Name. City: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

Writer’s First and Last Name, Work’s Title: Subtitle, trans. Translator’s First and Last Name (City: Publisher, Year), Page number or range.

Brief Note

Writer’s Last Name, Brief Work’s Title, Page Number or Range.

Here is what such entry should look in your paper’s notes and Bibliography:

Example of citing a paper’s notes in Chicago style

Chicago Style: Edited Book

Some specific quotes might require referring to any special edition of some book. Chicago style citation edited book reference should include the editor’s name as well as numbers of pages which contain the exact information you are using in your essay. Introduce an editor with the words “Edited by” in your Bibliography. In notes, an abridged version “ed.” is used. Don’t forget to pay attention where this edition was published and what was the period of its publication. Here’s a general formula for edited works that you can use for reference.

Bibliography

Writer’s Last Name, First Name. Work’s Title: Subtitle. Edited by Editor’s First and Last Name. City: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

Writer’s First and Last Name, Work’s Title: Subtitle, ed. Editor’s First and Last Name (City: Publisher, Year), Page Number or Range.

Brief Note

Writer’s Last Name, Brief Work’s Title, Page Number or Range.

Here’s an example of such citation.

Example of citing an edited book in Chicago style

Citing Reprinted Book: Chicago Style

A special format is reserved for referencing reprinted works: Chicago Style Citation for Reprinted Book. A popular example is a new publication of an old classic work. Now you will have different pages where a required piece of text is written. In this case it is also important to name the actual publisher of the new version. Also, specify the number of an edition. Follow this format to cite a reprinted work in Chicago style. 

Bibliography

Writer’s Last Name, First Name. Work’s Title: Subtitle. # Edition. City: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

Writer’s First and Last Name, Work’s Title: Subtitle, # edition (City: Publisher, Year), Page Number or Range.

Brief Note

Writer’s Last Name, Brief Work’s Title, Page Number or Range.

Use this example for reference:

Example of citing a reprinted book in Chicago style

Chicago Style Book Review

Sometimes you need to take a critical approach to the selected source. When reviewing books, you might want to find out what other reviewers have said about them. To reference any book review, Chicago style foresees a special type of citation. You have to specify reviewers’ names as well as original authors’ names here. Include doi or URL if it’s an online review. Follow this format:

Bibliography

Reviewer's Last Name, First Name. "Title," review of Title of Book: Subtitle if Any, by Book Author/Editor's First Name Last Name. Name of Journal in which review appears Volume Number, no. Issue Number (Date of Publication): First Page Number - Last Page Number. https://doi.org/DOI Number or Name of Database.

Full Note

Reviewer's First Name Last Name, "Title," review of Title of Book: Subtitle, by Book Author/Editor's First Name Last Name, Name of Journal in which review appears Volume Number, no. Issue Number (Date of Publication): Page Number, https://doi.org/DOI Number or Name of Database.

Brief Note

Reviewer's Last Name, "Title," Page number.

Example:

Example of citing a book review in Chicago style

Chicago Style: Article in a Book

When needed, you can point to some special article using Chicago style: article in a book format. Complete information about the article must be listed among your sources. Mention an article’s and book’s names, as well as an editor’s name if there is any. Here’s a general formula you can use to cite an article in a book in Chicago style.

Bibliography

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article’s Title.” In Work’s Title: Subtitle, edited by Editor’s First and Last Names, Page Range. City: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

Author’s First and Last Name, “Article’s Title,” in Work’s Title: Subtitle, ed. Editor’s First and Last Names (City: Publisher, Year), Page Range.

Brief Note

Author’s Last Name, “Brief Article’s Title,” Page Range.

Here’s an example of such citation.

Example of citing an article in a book in Chicago style


Looking for how to cite a speech Chicago? Do not worry, we have the whole blog dedicated to this topic.

Chicago Style Citation Chapter in Book

A similar format to the above, Chicago Style: Chapter in a Book, allows you to add citations from specific chapters. It might be handy in case the book is huge. Following this pattern, you need to add information about the chapter name into your reference. Here’s a formula you can use.

Bibliography

Author Last Name, First Name. “Chapter Title.” In Book Title: Subtitle, edited by Editor First Name Last Name, Page Range. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

Author First Name Last Name, “Chapter Title,” in Book Title: Subtitle, ed. Editor First Name Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page number(s).

Brief Note

Author Last Name, “Shortened Chapter Title,” Page number(s).

Example:

Example of chicago style citation chapter in book

How to Cite a Picture in a Book: Chicago Style

But what if you need to refer to pictures in your sources, to talk about situations or characters they depict? We’ll show you how to cite a picture in a book in Chicago style. First, you need to name the picture’s author, instead of the book's author. Then, provide the date this picture was taken – just don’t mix it with the publication date.

Here’s a general format of a Chicago citation for an image found in a book.

Bibliography 

Photo Author’s Last Name, First Name. Image Title. Year Picture was Taken (if applicable). In Work’s Title: Subtitle. City: Publisher, Year.

Full Note 

Photo Author’s First and Last Name, “Image Title,” Year Picture was Taken (if applicable), in Work’s Title: Subtitle (City: Publisher, Year), Page Number.

Brief Note

Author’s Last Name, “Image Title,” Page Number.

Now, let’s look at an actual example so you can get an idea.

Example of chicago style citation picture in a book

Chicago Style Citation Book With Editor and Translator

Let us proceed to more complicated matters. How should you refer to publications with multiple people involved? Here is a special format in Chicago style citation: book with editor and translator. It might come handy if you have some formula for a book with multiple different translations and at least one extra edition. Here’s a formula of the citation you should follow in this case. 

Bibliography

Editor/Translator, Title. Ed./trans., Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

Full Note

Editor/Translator, Title, ed./trans. (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), Page number.

Brief Note

Editor/Translator Last Name, Title, Page Number.

Example:

Example of Chicago style citation book with editor and translator

How to Cite a Book With Multiple Authors Chicago Style

But what if the book you have selected was written by several people? To properly refer to a book with multiple authors in Chicago Style, you must put these people’s names in the same order as specified in this source.  Don’t use an alphabetical order unless this is how they appear on the front cover. Only the first name should be inverted in your Bibliography entry. Here’s a formula of our book citation with multiple authors in Chicago style.

Bibliography

First Author Last Name, First Name, Second Author First Name Last Name and Thid Author First Name Last Name. Book Title: Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

First Author First Name Last Name, Second Author First Name Last Name and Thid Author First Name Last Name, Book Title: Subtitle (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.

Brief Note

First Author Last Name, Second Author Last Name and Thid Author Last Name, Title, Page Number.

Example:

Example of Chicago style citation book with editor and translator

Chicago/Turabian Notes-Bibliography Style for a Book With a Single Author

A simplified alternative named Turabian style has been developed for educational purposes, mostly for students’ papers not intended for publication. Turabian citation for a book with one single author will look exactly like a general format given in the beginning of this article. As was mentioned earlier, Notes-Bibliography requires putting full references to citations on a page directly at the bottom of this page. This way your teacher can read about your source without having to use a reference list.  However, bear in mind that citations in the Chicago author date style system will be different.

Chicago Style Book With Editor No Author

What if your source is a compilation of materials coming from many people? Or if an author the work you have selected is unknown? In this case, you should learn how to cite a book with no author, Chicago style. Instead of the author’s name, you place a work’s title. Next, you will include details on publication place and year just like you did before. Below you can see a formula to use:

Bibliography

Book Title: Subtitle. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

Book Title: Subtitle (Place of publication: Publisher, Yea), Page Number.

Brief Note

Book Title, Page Number.

Example:

Chicago style citation book with editor no author


Except books, you may also want to cite an encyclopedia or dictionary. That's why we created one more blog that will tell how to cite the dictionary Chicago.

Last Thoughts on Chicago Style Book Citation

Chicago style format is one of the most popular sets of rules for proper citation format including those for books. The way you cite books shows your capability to put your sources into order. Following Chicago rules ensures a proper credit for the author of every publication you have used to write your essay. As a result this shows how well you have grasped the academic rules of essay writing.

Citing sources might seem complicated at the first glance so feel free to use our guide and you will master the Chicago Style in no time!

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FAQ About Chicago Style Book Citations

1. How to do in-text citation of a book Chicago style?

To create Chicago style in-text citation for a book, you will need to use an author-date format. Mention an author’s name, year of publication and the page number within round brackets. Here’s an example: (Doe, 2020, 11). Make sure to put it after your quotation before the period.

2. In Chicago style citation, where to put the volume number of a book?

When citing a book inChicago style, put the volume number at the beginning of your reference. This should look as follows: Volume Number, Title of Volume. Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, Year of Publication.

3. What should I do if I need to cite a book in Chicago style, but it has already been cited?

If you cite a book in Chicago style for the first time, use the superscript number in your text after the end of quotation and before the period. Then, use the full note at the bottom of the page. If you need to create a subsequent citation for a book that has already been cited, use a short note. In the footnotes, the Latin term “Ibid.” can also be used instead of repeating the same reference as before.

4. What if your chicago-style book citation has two lines?

Chicago style book citation might take much place when there is much information to include. It is normal for your footnote reference to take two lines, just make sure to separate the 2nd line by an indent. If you have to include a super-long URL into your footnote, just cut it before the end of the 2nd line.

Article posted on:Sep 14, 2022
Article updated on:May 12, 2023

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